Bush plans to create culture of ownership

As the old saying goes: “Nobody washes a rental
car.” This phrase is especially popular among conservatives,
who cannot stand the idea of government providing people with the
means to their ends.

We believe the tendency for people to rely on others for their
well-being is a source of self-destruction and that it perpetuates
diminished opportunity as a consequence of apathy.

The Bush agenda for the United States is a brilliant step toward
the reversal of this trend.

Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, the federal government has grown
into a behemoth of social regulation and a source of economic
inertia. Our private property rights come second to the needs of
society, and our individuality is shrouded by an almost tyrannical
mandate of altruism.

It is unlikely that even a Republican president can reduce the
size of government from the inside and force the body politic to
reclaim its independence.

Instead, President George W. Bush plans to cut the demand for
government, and his Ownership Society agenda will do exactly that.
Bush’s domestic agenda for his second term centers on
creating a culture of ownership in the United States. This is
especially important for future UCLA graduates who desire economic
opportunity to save them from considering graduate school or the
French Foreign Legion.

In particular, if an opportunity to buy the rental car presents
itself, we will most definitely wash it.

Bush has revealed three major goals that Republicans believe
will help create a stakeholder democracy where our money is our
own, our decisions are our own, and our health care is our own.

First, Bush plans to simplify the tax code. The oversight costs
of the tax system are horrendous, with well over a billion hours
spent by the government each year to monitor revenue. Conversely,
the strains placed on ratepayers do more to counter economic
mobility by punishing success than contributing to a “greater
social good.”

Bush’s solution includes a gradual movement to a flatter
tax system where upward mobility is encouraged. The reduction of
the marriage penalty to encourage family values; the elimination of
the death tax to stop the government from double-taxing income
already earned; bigger corporate deductions to stimulate capital
investment; and tax breaks for first-time property buyers to expand
home and business ownership.

Second, our failing social security system demands a proactive
and innovative solution. Because of structural problems arising
from low rates of return, bureaucratic borrowing and a dynamic
population in need, Bush has recognized that simply throwing money
at the problem will not fix it.

Bush supports the gradual privatization of social security, to
the extent that individuals choose. More exactly, an individual
citizen will have the right to invest a portion of their retirement
into private accounts, thus allowing for a higher rate of return.
For those who choose not to assume risk, the government will
continue to guarantee social security payments.

Third, Bush has decided to address the issue of health care
costs without the obtrusive hand of big government.

The expansion of tax-free private health savings accounts will
inspire Americans to save for medical expenses, while allowing them
to maintain control of their own health care.

Together with deregulation and tort reform, this plan should
help make health care more affordable for the middle class.

These three main points are meant to begin small processes whose
sum will ultimately nourish the American dream by giving all
Americans a greater stake in their earnings, savings, investments,
health care and property.

Contrary to popular campus thought, Republicans do not push a
stale and uncompassionate agenda.

Rather, our fundamental faith in the enterprising human spirit
leads us and George W. Bush to conclude that reducing our
dependency on government and creating a culture of ownership will
stimulate economic opportunity and prosperity.

This Nov. 2, join the nation in re-electing the president, and
help us realize our future needs as college graduates by giving us
the choice of ownership.

Louw is the acting vice chairman of the Bruin
Republicans.