Republican presidential candidate Morry Taylor said yesterday running the country requires qualities that most successful businessmen possess and most politicians lack.
"Someone has got to go in and we have to set management up," he said to a crowd of about 30 people in the Rockefeller Center for the Social Science's Hinman Forum.
Taylor, who is the president and chief executive officer of Titan Wheel International, is the third Republican candidate to visit the College this fall as part of the Daniel Webster lecture series. Political commentator Patrick Buchanan visited the College last week and former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander spoke three weeks ago.
Titan Wheels International manufactures rims and wheels for farm and construction equipment.
In his campaign literature, Taylor said the American government is the largest business in the world.
The key to increasing its efficiency is to "cut at the top and never layoff anyone in the work force," he said. This plan would reduce the federal bureaucracy without decreasing the amount of services provided to taxpayers, he explained.
Taylor said he will balance the budget right away if he is elected president.
He also supports "fair" trade. "There is only one way to have trade: fair trade," he said. "Treat them the same as they treat us."
Taylor said he agrees with Republican presidential candidate Malcolm Forbes, Jr., on the topic of tax reform. Taylor said he believes the Internal Revenue Service should be "scrapped."
"What about the big 'A' question?" Taylor asked the audience. "I believe decisions about abortion should be between a woman, her doctor and the woman's religion. The federal government does not belong in it."
Taylor also said that if he is elected president, America will pull out of Bosnia. "We need to take care of America first," he said.
"I believe in a very lean, mean fighting force," he said. The United States should "mothball the Pentagon" and send the army, marines and navy back to bases.
When asked about foreign aid, Taylor said America should "give nothing away. I would help other countries, but I would want something back."
Taylor said states should be responsible for cleaning the environment and called the Environmental Protection Agency "the biggest joke in the country."
"They are not cleaning up hazardous waste sites," he said. "They have no idea what they are doing. Let states take care of it."
Taylor also discussed why he chose to run for president even though he has no prior political experience.
"You only need to have two qualities to run for president: real thick skin and a lot of cash," he said, adding that he sold $15 million in stocks to raise money for his presidential campaign.
Taylor, who said his nickname is "the Grizz" because he is known as a "tough negotiator," said he decided to run for president after one of his employees suggested he run.
"I am going to step up and give everyone a choice," Taylor said. "No one else like me is running for president on either side at this time."
"Once Bill Clinton was elected president he proved a point: anyone can do it," he said.
Taylor, who dropped out of Michigan College of Technology after one term and quit his first job as a plant engineer for General Motors because it was "too boring," said, "I never left until I finished a job. If I get the job [of president] done early, I might decide to leave early too."
Taylor who voted for Ross Perot in 1992, said he did not consider running as a third party candidate."
"You've got to have a major party," he said. "If you don't like it, get in and make a change."
