09/02/96 TABLE: The Plan

The Plan

The political climate has changed since '94, and the best place for Clinton to be now is the middle of the road. New programs will come from a smaller mold, with targeted incentives.

EDUCATION: Give families a $10,000 tax deduction or a $1,500 tax credit for college costs. Provide $5 billion over four years to help pay for school construction and renovation, plus $2 billion to spur schools to connect to the Internet. Expand Head Start.

FAMILIES: Require companies to give workers 24 hours a year of unpaid time off for family obligations. Change wage laws so workers can forfeit overtime pay for time off. Allow families to use IRAs to pay for first homes, medical emergencies, or education.

HEALTH CARE: Help the unemployed pay health-insurance premiums for six months. Set up a program for currently uninsured children, expand home services for the disabled. Expand Medicare benefits modestly while bolstering Medicare's finances.

TAXES: Back targeted incentives to promote desired behavior. Among the proposals: a $500-per-child credit for middle-class families, plus inner-city investment credits. Trim capital-gains taxes--and then paint the cut as a boon for middle-class investors.

TRADE: Seek Presidential fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements without congressional approval. Try to set tough conditions for China's entry into the World Trade Organization. Renew trench warfare with Japan over specific trade issues.

URBAN GOALS: Expand number of ``empowerment zones'' to encourage businesses to settle in depressed communities. Offer new tax credit for developers to redevelop chemically contaminated urban industrial sites. Help welfare mothers connect with jobs.