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children and grandchildren to pay.
• The president proudly presided over a prescription drug bill which gave wealthy drug companies an incredible windfall worth $139 billion in profits by making it illegal for the government to negotiate lower drug prices with drug companies.
• Only industry lobbyists and like-minded people were allowed at the table to craft the nation’s energy plan. People who might dissent— consumer groups and conservationists—were not invited. Within a year the administration had given billions in subsidies to energy firms and begun weakening pollution laws while opening up wilderness areas to exploitation. The administration misled people by calling a plan to weaken pollution controls the Clear Skies’ initiative. As one example, a new law allowed coalburning power plants to avoid installing pollution-control equipment during renovations.
• Four years ago, and again this month, the president proposed dismantling Social Security by converting portions of it to private investment accounts, a major payoff to the financial services industry that would shift enormous risk to individuals who would have to rely on the vagaries of the stock market to build retirement savings.
The fist goes on and on and on. This time around though, the president has some difficulty in avoiding responsibility—the presidency, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Supreme Court for the most part have been in George Bush’s hands. I again urge everyone in Rappahannock to review George Bush’s record before casting their vote.
Floyd Stilley
Washington
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