Meeting the challenges of the next American century.

• Author: Dole, Bob

"We can leave America undefended and hope for the best. Or we can deploy the finest minds and the world's most advanced science to ensure that Americans a century from now will have reason to thank us for extending a protective shield over posterity."

EVERY CHILD born this year already owes $18,500 as part of his or her share of the national debt. The average American family now pays more in taxes than it does for food, shelter, and clothing combined. Drug use among our youth is skyrocketing--up 105% since Pres. Clinton took office. Violent crime is a very real presence in inner cities, suburbs, and rural areas. As many as 25% of our kids graduate from high school functionally illiterate. Our merchandise trade deficit is the highest in history. Medicare is projected to go bankrupt in five years. Tyrants and terrorists grow more aggressive and ship missile components and lethal technologies around the globe.

These are the realities America faces as we approach the new century. I am running for President because I believe, for the past four years, the Clinton Administration has taken us in the wrong direction. I believe we can do better--much better than the status quo. I believe that our best days are in the future, and not in the past.

With the support of the American people, here is what I aim to accomplish as President:

I will send a balanced budget to Congress and give my full support to a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. We simply can not sentence our children and grandchildren to a future of staggering deficits and debt. A balanced budget will also reduce interest rates, which will put more money in the pockets of families who borrow money to buy a home, a car, or to send a child to college.

When Pres. Clinton took office, Tax Freedom Day, when the average American stops working for the government and starts working for himself or herself, fell on April 30. Now, thanks to the Clinton tax increase--the largest in American history--it is May 7. This means that, in just three years, the Clinton Administration has condemned Americans to work seven more days each year for the government. I intend to be the President who liberates American workers to enjoy more of the fruits of their labor and who pushes Tax Freedom Day earlier in the calendar.

Pres. Clinton can think of a thousand new things he wants government to do with your money. In the four-day train trip he took before the Democratic convention in Chicago, the President listed just some of those ideas. And when someone added up the cost of the proposals he made on his train ride, it came Sen. Dole, former Senate Majority Leader, is the Republican candidate for President. out to more than $12,000,000 a mile.

My campaign is based on a simple principle: It's your money and you should be able to spend, invest, and save it as you see fit. That's why Jack Kemp and I will cut taxes 15% across the board. That's why we will help lower- and middle-income families with a $500 tax credit for every child they are raising.

These tax cuts will also help spur America's economy--now experiencing an anemic growth rate of 2.3%. Pres. Clinton believes this is as fast as America's economy can grow. He raises your taxes; then he lowers your expectations. I will do the opposite. I will...