Kalb Hosts Simon at K-School

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Paul Simon (D-III.) pulled out his calculator yesterday at the Kennedy School in an effort to refute charges that that his platform of increased social programs is inconsistent with his pledge to balance the federal budget.

Simon, one of six Democrats contending for the party's nomination, said he would reduce defense spending, create new jobs and lower the interest rate as part of his drive for a balanced budget. He said that at the same time it would still be possible to create new social programs, including a $5 billion jobs program and major education initiatives.

"We now have a mindset out there that says we can't do all kinds of things," said Simon. "[People are] unwilling to make the investment that this nation ought to make. We need to seize and create our own destiny."

Simon, a first term senator and four-time U.S. congressman, has been criticized by his Democratic rivals for the impracticality of his domestic spending programs and for his reluctance to specify how he would accomplish those plans. In a debate among all the presidential candidates last week, Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) called Simon's economic platform "Reaganomics with a bow tie."

Simon said he made a mistake last week by refusing to specify how he planned to accomplish his domestic spending program during an NBC News-sponsored debate among the presidential candidates. "I made a mistake to have ducked the question. I could have started answering it, and then Tom Brokaw could have cut me off," he said.

Simon made an effort yesterday to enumerate his fiscal plans for making the budget work. He responded to questions from Marvin Kalb, moderator of the program and director of the Kennedy School's Barone Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy, by saying that "a series of very concrete steps" can be taken.

According to Simon, those steps includereducing outlays in the federal budget by $20billion, centralizing American trade policy inhopes of reducing the trade deficit by one-third,and creating at least one-and-a-half million newjobs.

If those measures fail Simon said he wouldraise taxes: "As a last resort, and only a lastresort, I am willing to raise taxes."

Simon, who has been a long-time supporter for abalanced budget amendment to the Constitution,said that he has several top priorities fordomestic spending, including a job trainingprogram which he said would cost between $3 and $5billion in its intitial stages.

The Illinois Democrat also said he would launchan attack on adult illiteracy which might cost upto $500 million, an improved student grantsprogram whose cost he would not specify, and achild care program linked to either the jobstraining program or the education package.

When Kalb pressed him on how the governmentcould pay for the additional social serviceprograms, Simon said the more important questionwas, "how much does it cost not to do it?"

And Simon said that his economic message wasone that plays well with the voters in Iowa andNew Hampshire, the earliest hurdles in the 1988presidential race. "You are tested in a smallstate where people really get to know you," hesaid