The Hiller Instinct: Money Matters

Blame it on a dot-com Wall Street bomb. Blame it on the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the war that followed. Or blame it on the bush tax cuts.

The candidates may disagree on the causes -- but they both know the economy could decide the election. So the president makes the best of the numbers:

President George W. Bush
"I think that the way to grow this economy is to keep taxes low, have an energy plan, is to have litigation reform. As I told you we just got a report that says over the past 13 months we created 1.9 million new jobs. We're growing."

Bush is bullish, insisting the country is on the road to recovery. He promises to limit spending on everything except defense and security. Plans to cut the deficit in half within five years and calls for making the 2001 tax cuts permanent.

President George W. Bush
"When you have more money in your pocket, you're able to better afford things you want."

If the president's economic model for this campaign is his father, John Kerry's might be Bill Clinton.

Former President Bill Clinton
"I have a fundamental difference from the present administration. I don't believe trickle down economics will work."

Like Clinton in 1992, Kerry believes the economic policies of a President Bush have hurt the country.

Sen. John Kerry, (D) Presidential Nominee
"He's the only president to have family incomes go down for the last three years; the only president to see exports go down; the only president to see the lowest level of business investment in our country as it is today."

If Kerry is elected he says he would work to

• Repeal tax cuts for wealthy
• Close corporate loopholes and restrain spending.
• Increase the minimum wage

Economically, there is something Kerry and Bush do agree on:

President George W. Bush
"The fundamental question of this campaign is: who's going to keep the economy growing so people can work?"

Is there a simple way to make dollars and sense out of what the candidates are saying? Maybe. According to Global Insight--an economic-research firm--there's not much difference in the impact of the Bush and Kerry budget plans. But there's a huge difference in how they'd generate growth. The President would use tax cuts; Kerry - government spending. Take your pick.