It's my PARTY

Entrepreneur, Sept, 2000 by Chris Sandlund

But this position, and any other, is subject to change as Gore and Bush tack between competing interests in their race for the presidency. Plan on turning to the Internet for the latest updates. (See "Parties Online" on page 113). Read the fine print, because entrepreneurs tend to get lots of praise but few concrete policy proposals.

Whether Republican or Democrat, voting for a president goes beyond party lines when you take into account whose policies will help your business grow and succeed. Take a close look at the candidates--you may be surprised at whose ideas you favor.

Freelance writer Chris Sandlund is a former editor of Success and Home Office Computing magazines. He worked as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate covering tax, trade and banking issues from 1985 to 1987.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: GORE

Entrepreneur: What specific policies do you propose that the country pursue to keep small businesses growing in the near future?

Al Gore: My strategy will focus on helping small businesses gain access to capital and technical assistance, creating unlimited possibilities for small-business success, and continuing to streamline the regulatory process. For example, I want to facilitate the use of the Specialized Small Business Investment Company Tax Credit and double the New Markets Tax Credit to help small-business men and women gain access to needed capital. I also intend to continue opening new markets for small-business exporters. We can do that through granting more international trade loans and bolstering the SBA's Export Working Capital Program.

We can also continue to provide tax cuts and other financial incentives to encourage the development of small businesses in traditionally disadvantaged areas. Small businesses also need a regulatory environment that does not create undue compliance burdens, while protecting consumers, workers and the environment.

Entrepreneur: Small businesses don't tap two pools of potential workers: the long-term unemployed and the disabled. Is there a role for government in encouraging them to hire these individuals?

Gore: I believe we must begin with an aggressive national policy to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment. My new Disability-to-Work Initiative encourages small-business public-private partnerships to hire people with disabilities, give them the skills and technology they need to enter into the work force and share the best practices.

To help integrate the long-term unemployed into the new economy, I want to expand the welfare-to-work tax credit to encourage businesses to hire and retain people off the welfare roles. Small businesses would continue to receive a tax credit equal to 35 percent of the first $10,000 in wages for the first year a welfare recipient is hired, and 50 percent of the first $10,000 in wages for the second year.

Entrepreneur: Small businesses have been reluctant to use the SIMPLE retirement plan established by the Clinton administration. Is there another approach that a Gore administration would take?