CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Good evening eve...

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Good evening everyone. I welcome the people of our great community. I welcome the students of Georgetown who have anticipated this for a very long time. To the press, welcome to our campus and hope you have a great time tonight. I hope our hospitality will make up for the fact that only paper and pencils are allowed to cover this event. I would like to thank correspondents WASH, WHUR, WOL, Oh, I remember the days of old WWDC. Great times. Anyway, also WKYS and WFED Hopefully next time voice recorders, cameras, and a broadcast system will be used to document such a historical event. I would like to thank our university president, Reverend Edward Bunn, for allowing us to host this even tonight. It took some time, but any time is better than never. Thank you, sir, and thank you Georgetown University for being here. For all who don’t know, my name is Christopher Washington. I am the dean of students for Georgetown’s law school but tonight I will be moderating the debate between current junior senator, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Treasury Francis Dellamore. Secretary Dellamore served as acting Secretary of Treasury during the Truman administration. Both sides will then get two minutes for closing statements. The audience here in the hall has promised to remain silent -- no cheers, applause, boos, hisses, among other noisy distractions, so we may all concentrate on what both sides have to say. Tonight, shall be an eventful one that will cover an array of topics pertaining to domestic issues. There will be three fifteen-minute segments and both sides will be given two minutes to answer the question. Then open discussion for the remainder of the segment. I have conjured up some question along with submitted request from our student body. The segments that shall be followed tonight will be as followed; the economy, governing and the role of government, along with emphasis throughout differences, specifics and choices. Bur first I will allow both sides to address the audience. Applause is welcome only for this section of tonight. Let’s start with the economy. Despite, the country suffering a setback with another economic recession which now has been coined as the “Eisenhower Recession”, the United States is facing its greatest economic gain in history since post World War II. What do you believe needs to be implemented, politically or even strategically is necessary to continue that trend of economic growth? Senator Kennedy.

KENNEDY Thank you very much, Doctor Washington, and thank you, Georgetown University, for this amazing venue and audience. I want to thank Secretary Dellamore for attending and agreeing to this debate. It is an honor. I would like to spend some time making some points to you that I believe need to be addressed for the sake of our country going forward. To answer that question, we must first acknowledge the policies set forth by President Franklin Roosevelt. We have been able to distribute the great a mass of American wealth into the hands of our working-class citizens, which I believe, had brought us out of the worst economic setbacks God’s green earth had ever seen. Now I may not be the economic genius like my colleague to my right but let’s lay down the fact of the last recession. It is evident, that the economic boom is a product of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The economy isn’t more than a ball, a round projectile that is thrown into the air. And just like that ball that reaches pinnacles, upon the natural law of gravity, that ball will come down if there isn’t any force keeping up. Through Truman and Eisenhower administrations I think we have gone away from what has made this country soar but also understand that recessions of the sort are products of substantial economic growth and the likes of what we saw are more than likely to appear in the future. As my notes read, auto sales have dropped over thirty percent. People believe that this is because consumers are not buying cars. In reality, this is true but not because they chose not to it is because our automobile industry has produced vehicles that can withstand far more than vehicles pre-world war II. Cars are lasting a lot longer. Car manufactures are able to produce a better product that inherently serves the public even greater. If you brought a car in ‘55, there isn’t a reason to buy another vehicle in ‘57. However, the automobile industry like many others operate on high demand --

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Sorry, Senator, you have run out of time. Secretary, respond.

KENNEDY Have I so?

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Yes, sir.

KENNEDY Well next time I won’t butter up to everyone before I make my point.

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Yes, sir. Secretary?

DELLAMORE Thank you, Doctor. Thank you, Georgetown, and also thank you, Senator Kennedy. You just have to be quick with it, Senator. There isn’t much to disagree with the senator. He is right, Roosevelt socialist policies have redistributed wealth. I t has put money and power into corners of our economy that we depend on greatly. However, the result of the last recession is not a result on poor policy. It is a result of poor management derived from a “eat or be eaten” society. Senator Kennedy talked about Roosevelt’s socialist policies, policies that bailed out the biggest industry in our economy; the rich. The rich, the one percent of our population that put us into the great economic downfall. Senator Kennedy is right when he talks about the automobile industry. He is in fact right about it being a part of our latest recession. The second iteration of the New Deal implemented policies to save industries that were deemed too important to fail. If so, the economy would never recover. The honor of such policies that have now been taken advantage of --

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Senator Kennedy, your response?

KENNEDY Well, I thought this section was going to be about economic but has turned into a philosophy lecture I suppose. The economy went downhill because the policies that we implemented, we have diverted from them and have not expanded upon the, since conception. I believe that the policies did save this great nation, but we have to remember that the world has change in such short years. These policies were implemented into a crippling society. That society is of the past. We are about to scratch the surface of sixties the world has changed greatly. Our economy is booming but, on a system, as if it is on its last legs. We can be surprise if we see a recession that has economy policies fit for a third world country. These policies need to be expanded upon. We need people to believe understand that this country is growing. Day by day, people are experiencing things that Hundred, fifty, twenty, even ten years ago wasn’t possible. The world for Americans is getting bigger and bigger. The question was, “how do we continue this trend?” It simple. How do we continue great growth of prosperity by the same old tactics? That is the conservative way.

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Secretary?

DELLAMORE I will make my point before I comment on Senator Kennedy’s point of view. These backward policies the senator speaks of did save our country. But today, it has been piggy-backed, altered and switched around to favor the rich. Policies bailed out banking and financial institutions, those financial bail outs fueled backing up the automobile industry, from the auto industry that fueled manufacturing and steel work and etc., etc., etc... In all of those industries and what did the leaders of said industries do? They didn’t serve the public hopes of sustaining an illustrious recovery for the better of our people. Those leaders saw dollar signs. Made moves to get richer and richer while the poor get poorer and the middle class was a population of its own, essentially fueling the recovery of our economy on the backs of blue-collar workers. And every consumer fell into the same trap that we fell for forty years ago. That ladies and gentlemen is greed. Nothing more than greed. Now these policies over time must be altered. Senator Kennedy is right when states that recession will come. Most of the time, they can be the result of huge growth. But why should we deal with the problems of the past. It has to be a sin, that we will allow next generations to deal with the same problems that our parents and their parents dealt with. Under the leadership of today, we will be seeing more and more of that.

KENNEDY Can I just respond to that?

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Sure, Senator.

KENNEDY Now, I believe we are in some sort of a conundrum. We are basically saying the same thing. We need to change things because we cannot continue to go on like this and see the same level of prosperity as of recently. By definition, a recession is not a good a thing nor is it a bad thing it’s all about context. Though it has some sort of negative quality to it, it is necessary for growth. Regardless whatever you believe, as Secretary Dellamore could even vouch for, the economy goes up and down. Even when it is at a great height, it will still dip every now and then. The problem with the everyday man is that you can’t always feel the effects when it goes down. When that is the case, you are in possession of a strong economy. And with innovation, in times where technology and social awareness advances, there will be brief periods of reflection. In those times, the economy will dip or stay idle, but a panic isn’t necessary. If you want to see the economy of the perspective of a business, you have to spend money to make money. And when there is a great level of satisfaction, people will not find the need to consume until there is something arises in what they are lacking. This is what this is all about.

DELLAMORE Until you realize that people live outside of their means all the time.

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Secretary, we have to move to our next question or maybe you can be more specific in viewpoints. What policies or actions of the government you believe will benefit the economy?

DELLAMORE It is not a secret that I am a fan of big government. The government is in order only for one reason at all, and that is to serve the American people. I believe the money that circulates in the top one percent and even in dynasties like the Kennedy’s who my opponent happens to be a part of, need to pay their fair share. Not like everyone doesn’t need to, in an all classes, but the wealthy of course. The government needs money to continue and expand what we have now. That means a tax increase. Now I know how everyone feels about tax increases. The general consensus about it twenty years ago was the same I can see from the crowd. Money is power. Your money is power. The policies that have been set forth thrives on the country’s contribution.

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON So, an increase in taxes?

DELLAMORE Yes, sir.

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Okay I just wanted to make that clear. Senator do you have anything to follow up before we go onto the next question?

KENNEDY Now, back in ‘32 I was skeptical of Hoover’s tax increase. Surprising, right? It was before my career in the treasury department, but you could feel the level of uncertainty like the plague. But not because I thought that a tax increase was bad. There wasn’t much money to really go around at that time. I was uncertain because I was not convinced of leadership. It’s not surprising that the capitalist policies that our country has endured brought us to the brink of disaster. Under the Hoover administration, FDR impose a tax increase in ‘37. I opposed that tax increase and of course it led us into a recession. An unbalanced one that made people richer. I understand that I have inherited a certain amount of wealth, but I find it kind of odd that Secretary Dellamore would talk about the rich and distribution of wealth. While the economy was trying to pull itself out of an economic drought, Secretary Dellamore was making three million dollars a year off of Wall Street. The idea of someone sprouting the notion of the discrepancy between classes, the disparity of the wealth and the poor, it surprises me that someone who has made their fortune directly from said issues but can preach about financial equality.

CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON Okay, gentleman. Now, for our next question...

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