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For Immediate Release
August 24, 2004
Kerry Outlines the Fundamental Choice Facing Voters in This Election
Where President has Led for Special Interests and the Few, Kerry Pledges to Stand Up for Middle-Class Families and Values
New York, NY – Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry Tuesday laid out the fundamental choice facing voters in the 2004 election between four more years of an administration that puts the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans or new leadership that will serve as a champion for the middle class and those struggling to join it.
Speaking in New York just days before the Republican convention, Kerry said it is time for a truthful debate about the choices America faces. Kerry urged voters to look past the misleading soundbites, slogans and attacks coming from the Republican convention next week and to watch as they disguise the president’s failed record. Whereas President Bush has presided over record job loss, increased taxes on the middle class, skyrocketing health care costs and squandered U.S. leadership in the world, Kerry pledged to put middle-class families first, as he has done throughout his career.
“I am here today to call for a truthful and robust debate about our values as Americans and the fundamental choices we will make at a critical time in our history,” Kerry said. “That is what this election should be about. But from the other side, we have seen a calculated effort to evade that debate. The Bush campaign and its allies have turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can’t talk about jobs, health care, energy independence, and rebuilding our alliances – the real issues that matter to the American people. They have no plans, no positive vision and no understanding of an urgent and undeniable truth -- a stronger America begins at home.”
From supporting outsourcing of American jobs to turning surpluses into record deficits to putting the interests of HMOs and drug companies over the interests of patients and families, President Bush has turned away from the middle class and the American Dream.
No where is this more true than the economy. Thanks to a deliberate set of choices by this president, 1.8 million jobs have been lost, middle-class families are paying a higher share of taxes, skyrocketing costs for health care, education and energy are squeezing family budgets and 6 million workers now face life without overtime pay.
As Kerry noted today, this is a record the Republican party is trying to conceal at their convention and through their support of negative, misleading attacks and smears. The Bush Republicans at their 2000 convention misled Americans by promising to create jobs, get tough with trade violations so “our trading partners will hear from us,” provide seniors with affordable prescription drugs and the power to hold their HMOs accountable, balance budgets and ease the tax burden on hard working families, make America energy independent and offer a “humble foreign policy.” Four years later, Americans know the Bush Republicans' record and they know this administration is out of credibility.
“The world will listen to what the Republicans say when they come here,” Kerry said. “But words, slogans, and personal attacks cannot disguise what they have done – and left undone. They are going to say that we’ve turned the corner; that the job is getting done. They are even going to claim, as they already have, that this is the best economy of our lifetimes.”
Having traveled across the country meeting families on front porches and main streets, Kerry and Edwards know that America has not yet “turned a corner” or gotten “the job done.” Their plan to strengthen the middle class offers a clear choice from the Bush administration’s failed record for America’s families.
In stark contrast to the actions of George Bush, they will put middle-class families first and strengthen the economy to expand opportunity and help families get ahead. Their plan, outlined in their new book “Our Plan for America,” will create millions of new, good-paying jobs, expand access to quality, affordable health care, move America towards energy independence and restore America’s leadership in the world to make us stronger and more secure.
“If people want to know the real choice in this election, just look at the record,” Kerry said. “For more than 20 years, I’ve fought for the middle class and those struggling to join it. But time after time, President Bush has sided with the narrow interests of the few.”
Kerry has spent his life serving his country and fighting for families. As a prosecutor, he fought for victim’s rights and to put criminals behind bars. In the Senate, he was a leader in the fight to put more cops on the street and broke with party lines to support the same common sense budget principles families live by every day. He has been a champion for our nation’s veterans and for health care for America’s children.
“The fundamental choice we face comes down to this: because a strong America begins at home, as president, I will be a champion for the middle class and those struggling to join it,” Kerry said. “But this administration has weakened our middle class, weakened our economy, neglected the crisis of health care and turned away from the American dream of growth and opportunity for all. Every step of the way, George W. Bush has put the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans.”
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A Plan To Strengthen The Middle Class
In America, anyone who works hard, lives responsibly, and does right by their family and their country – anyone who does the best with what they’ve got – should be rewarded with the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families. That principle is what has made the American middle class the greatest engine of economic strength the world has ever known – and it’s the heart of John Kerry and John Edwards’ vision for a stronger America.
Today, American families – pinched by sagging wages and rising costs – are feeling the middle class squeeze. Today, middle-class families are paying an increased share of the tax burden. The cost of raising a middle-class child until age 18 in America exceeds $200,000 – and that doesn’t include the cost of college. Families are especially hard hit by rising costs in everything from health insurance premiums, college tuition, and energy use. At the same time, median family income has dropped by nearly $1,500 since 2000.
John Kerry and John Edwards will work to expand and strengthen America’s middle class like never before. They will (1) cut middle class taxes, (2) cuts costs in everything from health care to education to gas, (3) close the pay gap between men and women, (4) raise the minimum wage, and (5) help all Americans balance the competing demands of work and family.
I. Cut Middle-Class Taxes To Raise Middle-Class Incomes
John Kerry will cut taxes for 98 percent of American families and 99 percent of businesses. In addition, he will:
Propose At Least $250 Billion In Tax Cuts For Health Care, Child Care, and Education – Without Increasing the Deficit By One Dime. As president, John Kerry will close corporate tax loopholes and use some of the money gained from repealing Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans – families making over $200,000 a year – to pay for tax credits without increasing the deficit by one dime. The Kerry-Edwards tax cuts include:
A tax credit on up to $4,000 of college tuition
A tax credit to help small businesses and vulnerable workers pay for health care and buy into John Kerry’s new Congressional Health Plan.
A tax credit on $5,000 of child care expenses
Create a New Jobs Tax Credit. Research has demonstrated that new jobs tax credits increase employment. The Kerry-Edwards New Jobs Tax Credit will cover an employer’s share of payroll taxes for net new jobs created in manufacturing, other businesses affected by outsourcing, and small business. The credit will be available in 2005 and 2006.
II. Cut Costs For Middle-Class Families
John Kerry and John Edwards will:
Cut Health Care Premiums By Up To $1,000. Under the Kerry-Edwards plan, employers will benefit from offering their employees quality care with choices. By helping out with certain high-cost cases, the Kerry-Edwards plan will cut premiums by up to $1,000 per year for America’s families.
Lower Energy Prices. By investing in new energy sources and technologies, John Kerry and John Edwards will help America move toward energy independence while lowering costs, spurring job growth, and protecting our environment.
Cut Tuition Costs. Average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges increased by 35 percent over the last four years. Because of tuition increases, an estimated 220,000 young people could not afford to enroll in four-year public universities last year. As president, John Kerry will offer a fully refundable College Opportunity Tax Credit on $4,000 of tuition for every year of college and offer $10 billion in fiscal relief to states that restrain tuition growth. And he will launch a new National Service Plan that will allow young people to pay for college by serving their country.
Affordable Housing. John Kerry has a long history of working to make housing more affordable and increase homeownership for all Americans. As president, he will continue to fight for affordable housing.
III. Ensure Equal Pay For Men And Women
On average, women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. John Kerry and John Edwards believe that we must make equal pay for equal work a reality, not a slogan. They will ensure greater transparency and fairness by improving enforcement and disclosure about companies’ payment practices.
IV. Raise The Minimum Wage
Today, the minimum wage is currently worth only 33 percent of average American wages – its lowest level since 1949. John Kerry and John Edwards understand that today’s eroded wage no longer meet the needs of American families. As president, John Kerry will increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.00 by 2007. That will give 7 million Americans a raise, and help millions of families pay for basic needs like education, food and health care. With this increase, parents working full-time will not have to raise their children in poverty.
V. Help All Americans Balance Work and Family
Today, more parents are working longer hours and fewer parents are at home full-time than ever before. Yet today, high-quality child care costs more than tuition at a public university. John Kerry and John Edwards will put the government on the side of families that work hard to get ahead. They will increase the child-care tax credit and make it partially refundable to moderate-income families for the first time ever, while also expanding after-school programs to serve 3.5 million children and keep schools open until 6 pm. As president, John Kerry will also expand the Family and Medical Leave Act.
www.johnkerry.com
Paid for by Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc.
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