As a former governor, Jeb Bush, demonstrated in this interview that he has an executive’s grasp of how to solve complex problems like the heroin epidemic or reforming the tax code. Governor Bush also stated that he looked forward to the media focusing on more substantive questions which deal with real issues rather than whether Donald Trump thinks someone is ugly or stupid. Another discussion which he hopes to put to rest is whether New Hampshire should be the first in the nation primary. Recently, the Republican National Committee Chairman, Reince Priebus, said that he would suggest looking at other formats at the party’s rules committee meting next July. Jeb Bush, for his part, defended New Hampshire’s role as the first in the nation primary. He believes that Granite Staters are very informed and engaged, and they force you to answer important questions. Bush pledges to be in this fight for the long haul, and he will continue to come to New Hampshire four or five times a month until February. He mentioned that he was participating in a round table discussion about the heroin overdose epidemic in New Hampshire. Governor Bush went on to describe how he dealt with the drug problem in Florida. He would convene an annual summit where he could listen and learn about the problem with representatives from the following groups: treatment providers; the recovery community; prevention coalitions; and the law enforcement community. Then, they would develop a comprehensive strategy. Bush believes that there should be federal involvement only to provide funding and that the best solutions to this problem are developed locally.
Jeb Bush also discussed his tax plan which he compared to Donald Trump’s. He addressed the Democratic criticism that Republican tax proposals increase the deficit and benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class. He pointed out that since wealthy citizens pay more taxes, it is only natural that they would benefit more than other tax payers. However, under his plan, the upper class would pay at a proportionally higher rate than the middle class. Middle class tax payers would have a 33% cut in their taxes. The AMT, alternative minimum tax, and the marriage penalty would be eliminated. Also, due to simplification, only 13 million IRS long forms will be filed instead of 47 million. He admits that under his plan the deficit will increase by $3 trillion (Trump’s plan has been scored to be a $9 trillion deficit.) Bush believes that economic growth and curbing the growth of federal programs from the standard 5% to 3% could decrease the deficit to $1 trillion. The Bush Tax Plan would stimulate the economy and reindustrialization by cutting the corporate tax rate to 20% and allow the full expensing of all capital investments.
