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DARMAN: The deficit, as a percentage of the economy, is close to 5%. It was 6.3% in the 1982-83 period. I'm not saying that we should be happy with it, but I think that you're way out-of-bounds in suggesting that it's an impeachable offense.
This is one area where the people who are attracted to Ross Perot should note that they are in much closer agreement with the Bush Administration than with Governor Clinton's proposals, and that is on spending control. Perot recognizes that you have to do something about the mandatory program structure. It is two-thirds of the entire budget.
We would put a cap on the rate of growth to allow it to grow for inflation and population. That would save money because spending would otherwise grow even more rapidly. It would save $294 billion every five years.
ALTMAN: Our view is that the central part of an effort to reduce the growth in entitlements is to reduce the explosive rate of health-care cost inflation.
DARMAN: I'm sorry, Roger. All the money you save, by your own plan's assertion, you turn around and spend.
ALTMAN: We think we're going to ultimately save a heck of a lot more than that.
Can I ask you a question? You've got a 1% across-the-board tax-cut proposal that costs $125 billion. How do you propose to pay for that? You're double- counting.
DARMAN: The President has not made a formal 1% rate-cut proposal. He has said that insofar as we can achieve budgetary savings that would allow additional tax relief, some of that should go to an across-the-board tax cut.
What would worry me enormously about the Clinton plan is that the middle class will be hit with a substantial tax increase. By our calculation, if he wants to hold his tax increase to a 36% top rate, he would have to bring that rate all the way down below $36,600 in individual taxable income in order to fulfill his promises.
ALTMAN: I just don't agree with your numbers. The Clinton plan essentially says that if your family has $200,000 or more of adjusted gross income, you'll pay more tax. If you don't, you won't pay more tax. The average family of four at median income will experience a $600 tax cut.
DARMAN: Your biggest savings proposal is called "prevent tax avoidance by foreign corporations." You estimate $45 billion from that. Now, I'd like to know how it is possible. Clinton's numbers would be laughed out of court. They're a sham. They don't add up.
ALTMAN: There have been reliable estimates that the Japanese auto companies have reported losses in the U.S. market, since they began to operate in this country, of $7 billion to $11 billion. Anybody who has had any involvement with auto companies knows that that cannot be. I think there's a huge problem here in terms of underpayment.
Q. What are your plans for reforming the health-care system?
DARMAN: The President's plan includes a number of important features. For every poor person, they would be given the equivalent of a voucher. We set it at about $1,850, which is sufficient to buy a satisfactory basic health- insurance plan in a market, something we favor. If for some reason they did not do so on their own, as soon as they come in contact with a hospital emergency room, they would be informed that they are eligible for the coverage.