Critics say economic forum won't lead to policy change
Aug. 8, 2002, 11:30PM
chron.com
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- As the White House prepared to showcase its economic agenda at a forum
to be held next week in Texas, critics Thursday derided the half-day event as more show
than substance.
President Bush, who is trying to demonstrate to voters that he has a handle on a fragile
economy, will host the conference Tuesday at Baylor University in Waco.
White House officials, often reluctant to release information about presidential events before
the day they occur, have been more eager to publicize the economic summit. On Thursday,
they unveiled details of the event.
The forum will consist of eight panels to be held concurrently in the morning, on issues
including economic recovery, corporate responsibility, trade, health care, small business and
education.
The president will visit four of these sessions before attending a wrap-up session and a
luncheon on the campus.
Attending the summit will be a number of Bush's Cabinet members as well as Vice President
Dick Cheney, who the White House initially indicated would not be present.
Cheney also will drop by four of the eight panels, which will feature as guest speakers top
corporate executives, and union and university leaders.
The White House has not invited lawmakers from either party, prompting criticism from
Democrats that their views will not be represented on panels chaired by high-ranking GOP
officials.
"I don't believe the American people are going to buy that the administration is going to solve
the economy's vulnerabilities with a one-day seance that only includes members of the
administration," said Jennifer Palmieri, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National
Committee.
Noting that 240 people had been invited, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "I'm
sure there will be a cross section."
Jim Wilkinson, White House deputy communications director, said the event will allow "real
Americans" to interact with top government policy-makers.
However, administration officials said they did not believe any Enron workers had been
invited to the panel that will deal with corporate malfeasance and its impact on the economy
and employee pensions.
The event is being held the day before the chief executives of the nation's 1,000 largest
publicly traded companies will have to verify to the Securities and Exchange Commission
that their balance sheets are accurate.
Administration officials have denied that the Baylor forum was timed to stem any fallout from
the prospect that many companies may have to revise their revenue levels downward to
comply with the SEC order.
Both conservative and liberal economic experts questioned whether the summit would have
any real impact on the economy, particularly since the administration has given no
indication that it plans to alter its policies.
"I think in general these kinds of things may have more political and public consumption
purposes than any direct economic purpose," said Gerald O'Driscoll, director of trade and
economics at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
O'Driscoll said there may be some "give and take" between the participants and the
president, but that Bush "didn't go down there to be attacked."
Gene Sperling, who was President Clinton's national economic adviser, said that "there is
nothing wrong with an event like this if it is really a part of a sincere overall strategy to
rethink what's working and what's not working on the economy."
But Sperling said he had not seen any indications that Bush "is willing to do anything
painful or take any political risks to restore the dramatic deterioration of the long-term fiscal
situation."
In contrast, Sperling said Clinton embraced some politically difficult measures such as
endorsing the North American Free Trade Agreement, which alienated many traditional
Democrats.
Sperling also said Bush's father agreed to a controversial deficit reduction package in 1990
that included a tax increase. Analysts have said the tax increase alienated conservatives and
contributed to his loss to Clinton in 1992.
That deficit reduction deal was sealed at an economic conference convened by the former
President Bush in September 1990 that included leaders of both parties.
It is that sort of bipartisan summit that Democrats have called for during the current
economic downturn.
Bush, however, has made it clear he is not going to veer from the major pillars of his
economic policy, particularly the 10-year $1.35 trillion tax cut he ushered into law during
his first year in office.
Bush has repeatedly said the tax cut was partly responsible for cushioning the impact of the
most recent recession, which the president and Cheney have argued began under Clinton's
watch.
Bush has called on Congress to make the tax cuts permanent, a move that Democrats say
will lead to steeper deficits.
The administration, however, has been flexible in other areas, agreeing this week to back a
$30 billion rescue loan to Brazil to prevent Latin America's largest country from falling into
economy disarray. In the past, the White House has resisted such bailouts.
And recently, the president signed a measure to crack down on corporate abuse that he once
opposed.
Rachel Graves of the Chronicle staff contributed from Crawford. |
