TALLAHASSEE (March 8, 2000)-- One day following the "Super Tuesday" presidential primary, at a news conference held at The Capitol, U.S. Senate candidate Willie F. Logan challenged the presidential candidates to "wake up and admit that our American economic system isn’t serving everyone." Citing statistics and anecdotal evidence suggesting the American economy truly isn’t providing for the majority of working Americans, Logan challenged the current two-party political system as well.

"Frankly, I’m sick and tired of hearing all the rhetoric out there that claims ‘our rising tide of prosperity lifts all boats.’ That’s simply not true – lately, there’re far too many yachts motoring by, and they end up capsizing the smaller boats," said Logan.

In throwing out his challenge to the presidential candidates, as well as the Democratic and Republican parties, Logan articulated statistic after statistic indicating the reality of daily life in the United States whether for working families, college students, children, or senior citizens. In particular, Logan stressed the so-called "federal surplus" issue that has been talked about by every politician running for office this year. Logan told reporters that a federal surplus doesn’t exist, that "despite what the folks in Washington would have you believe, there really is no federal ‘surplus’. The only ‘surplus’ we have is money that must remain committed to funding Social Security and Medicare. If we spend that money, we’re mortgaging our future"

Logan also related stories from the campaign trail and from his experiences in the Florida legislature saying "most young adults age 18-35 believe Social Security will go bust before they are able to collect a dime from the system. In fact, Social Security will run out in 2014 if the federal government doesn’t do something now and protect the so-called ‘surplus’ – a surplus that belongs to the American people for a secure retirement." Logan further remarked that "Social Security was set up as a trust, as a compact between the American government and the citizens of the U.S. The two parties collaborated to break this trust, then wonder every election cycle why fewer and fewer Americans turn out to vote."

Logan said, "I’m running to send a wake-up call to the two-party establishment in Washington to remind them that before a problem can be solved, we’ve got to admit that the problem exists. If things are so great in today’s American economy, why has child poverty not been reduced? Why is the average annual paycheck of working Americans 400% less than that of a corporate CEO? Why were there 700,000 job layoffs in 1998 – 56% more than in 1997 – if our economy is supposedly thriving? Why do we have to worry about our retirements because Social Security will go bust by 2014? You can’t try to delude the American public into thinking ‘everything’s rosy.’ It’s not, and it’s insulting to think that we’re all stupid enough to believe that it is."

Recent newspaper reports have documented that more Americans are uninsured today than when President Clinton took office in 1993, with the rolls of the uninsured and under insured increasing by 4.5 million since 1993. And Hispanic Americans are the demographic group in the U.S. least likely to have health insurance, according to surveys -- a big concern in a state like Florida whose Hispanic population hovers around 15% of the state’s total population. "Clearly, Congress’s ‘legislative incrementalism’ of the 1990’s (a series of incremental laws intended to expand coverage over the decade) has not worked," Logan said.

"Neither of the two major parties -- Democrat or Republican -- are willing to admit that our system is broken because both parties are responsible for allowing it to happen," Logan said. "Families may be making ends meet, but they’re working longer hours to do it and receiving fewer benefits – if they’re receiving any at all. More children are living in poverty than during the Great Depression. I wouldn’t call any of these realities of daily life in the United States examples of successful government or a well-run political system. Would you?"

"I’m running as an independent because I think big companies, big interest, big money already have great representation in the U.S. Senate. I’m running because I think it’s time that the working families of Florida have great representation in Washington, to provide for good paying jobs with real benefits and security. I think it’s time that our very youngest, Florida’s children, have great representation in Washington that protects their health and their educational environments. I think it’s time that our seniors lived in dignity and that our future seniors of 2014 and beyond be comforted in the knowledge that a secure retirement exists. And I think it’s time that Florida sent a Senator to Washington who will keep these promises and not sell out once again to the special interests that control the current two party system. I intend to be the Senator that represents you the people, not the system." Logan concluded.

Logan, 43, announced his independent campaign for Florida’s open U.S. Senate seat last October. For more information on his candidacy, visit the campaign’s website at www.logan2000.org or call the campaign at (305) 681-5042.