Kucinich: media is promoting war
Rep. Dennis Kucinich in a
release stated, “The media promoted this war, and
now the media does not want to create a debate in
this country about whether we should be in a
military occupation of Iraq. This is a serious
matter for our democracy. I'm suggesting to you
that with the capture of Saddam Hussein, this is
the moment for the United States to seize a new
initiative.”
Kucinich also stated that he was
the only candidate who would get America out of
Iraq, "We have a way out. I want to know why the
other candidates for President aren't talking
about it. Why are the Democrats conceding this to
President Bush? I am not going to concede a single
thing to President Bush."
His release also stated, “At
this moment, most Presidential candidates and
people in the Administration, including military
officials, have resigned themselves to a course of
action that would place the United States in a
continued military occupation of Iraq for years. I
am here today as a candidate for President of the
United States to insist that this is the wrong
course of action. The United States should be
reaching out to the world community to come up
with a whole new plan to get our troops out of
Iraq. We need to bring in UN peacekeepers and
bring our troops home… You haven't heard that
reflected in any of the national media, because
the media was promoting this war. They promoted
the war, and they drove up support for the war,
even though there was no proof that Iraq had
anything to do with 9/11, or that Iraq had vast
quantities of weapons of mass destruction. There
is still no evidence of that.”
His plan suggested the need for
four points:
1.
The United States gives up ambitions for
the control of the oil of Iraq. Let the UN handle
the oil on an interim basis until the Iraqi people
can become self-governing.
2.
The US hands over to the United Nations the
contracting process. No more Halliburton
sweetheart deals, no more war profiteering, no
more contracts going to Administration favorites.
Let the UN handle that on behalf of the Iraqi
people until the Iraqi people can become
self-governing.
3.
The United States must give up ambitions to
privatize the Iraqi economy. It is illegal to go
into any nation, to invade it, to seize its
assets, and then try to chop up that nation's
resources and sell them to the highest or lowest
bidder. It's a violation of international law. It
is a violation of the Geneva and the Hague
conventions. We must as a nation renounce any
interest in privatizing the Iraqi economy. When we
do that, it will help us persuade the UN to take
over.
4.
The United States must turn over to the UN
the business of helping the people of Iraq develop
a new constitution. It will be impossible for any
government elected in Iraq that has ties to the
United States to have any credibility. This
Administration would like to run Iraq by remote
control. But it is clear that is not going to
happen, because the clerics in Iraq are already
insisting on free and open elections, and they are
not going to accept any structure allowing the
United States to maintain its influence over Iraq.
Kucinich also called on
Americans to pay war reparations to the families
of Iraqi non combatants.
“What are we waiting for? We know full well the
path we must take: not only restoring Iraq by
paying for what we blew up, but also by providing
reparations to those families of innocent civilian
non-combatants who were killed by our action,”
Kucinich release stated.”
Kucinich sees the war in Iraq
taking away from America’s social agenda.
“I know this is not the only issue in America. But
let me tell you something. The longer we stay in
Iraq, the higher the casualties. The longer we
stay in Iraq, the more money it is going to cost.
And the money we spend in Iraq is money taken away
from education, away from health care, away from
housing, away from a whole social and economic
agenda.”
“Don't believe for a second that our presence in
Iraq isn't going to sap the vitality of this
nation. It is going to undermine our own agenda
here at home. It is urgent that we get out.”
Dean critical of Clinton?
Howard Dean soon after giving
his major domestic policy speech he was trying to
clarify whether he was repudiating President
Clinton’s Presidency. Dean used the following line
in his speech:
“While Bill Clinton has said that the era of big
government is over,” Dean said in a speech at the
city library, “I believe we must enter a new era
for the Democratic Party — not one where we join
Republicans and aim simply to limit the damage
they inflict on working families.”
Predictably, opponents Wesley
Clark and Joe Lieberman have reminded voters how
Bill Clinton’s Presidency had great economic
success. In an interview with the Manchester Union
Leader, Dean offered that he wasn’t criticizing
Clinton:
He called Clinton “a skillful President” who moved
the nation “toward the middle,” but that under
President George W. Bush, “we’ve moved towards the
far right.” He said his approach is necessary to
move the country “back toward the middle.”
Dean said he is not promoting bigger government,
but “fairer government.”
However, Dean did not try to
square that with the statement that linked Clinton
with the need to enter a new era for the Democrat
Party not one where we join Republicans. Joe
Lieberman commenting on the statement said, "If
you look at the language, it sure looks like he's
being critical of the Clinton idea that the era of
big government is over."
Press troubles
Dean found the press less
interested with his speech than with Dean’s
inconsistencies. There was a crack in Dean’s
openness with the press. On follow-up questions,
Dean refused to answer.
Politics New Hampshire Online made it a
feature of their story today:
After Dean’s second major policy address of the
week, this one at the public library here,
reporters, fueled by an editorial and stories in
Thursday’s Washington Post, peppered Dean less on
the content of his speech and more on what are
perceived as contradictions in Dean’s remarks in
passing weeks and years.
Dean refused to answer reporters’ questions in
that vain more than once.
Bush tax
Dean also tried to link a new
definition to President Bush’s tax cuts by saying
that the tax cuts where tax increases according to
the Union Leader:
Dean dubbed the Bush tax cuts the “Bush Tax.”
Since the tax cut, he said, “Your property taxes
probably went up. In New Hampshire, property taxes
went up an average of $270 per family last year.”
He said most state budgets are also in crisis due
to less federal funding of programs such as
special education.
“The ‘Bush Tax’ is huge,” Dean said “many times
greater than most people’s refunds.” He said the
typical American family will “take on $52,000 more
in its share of the national debt” in the next six
years.
Dean offered no supporting data
on the state’s previous tax increases before the
Bush tax cuts.
Dean raised taxes?
Howard Dean has been throwing
brix bracks at President Bush for raising taxes by
cutting taxes. The theory is Bush not sending
money to state and local government is causing
property taxes to increase. The problem is that
researchers are showing that Dean as Governor of
Vermont raised property taxes due to his policies.
The Associated Press reports:
When state revenues fell short of budgets in
Vermont, Dean held the line on state aid to
education and town highways. In some cases he
sought outright cuts; at other times he proposed
slowing the rate spending grew. With property
taxes their major source of funding, towns and
school boards raised them in the face of rising
costs of their own.
"Basically, he didn't increase (state aid to
education) nearly at the rate of the underlying
cost, so — just as he's complained about George
Bush — that pushed the cost onto local towns,"
said economist Richard Heaps of Northern Economic
Consulting. "I don't blame him for it. It's what
every governor did back then."
Dean helped Enron hide facts
In a conference call with the
press today, Gephardt for President Campaign
Manager, Steve Murphy, made the following remarks
on new details regarding former Governor Dean
providing lucrative tax breaks to Enron.
"In 1997, Governor Dean signed into law a measure
that would reduce the public disclosure
requirements on corporations like Enron that
received tax windfalls from the state of Vermont.
This law came four years after Dean signed the
original corporate tax giveaway legislation that
lured self-owned insurance companies to Vermont
which were nothing more than shell corporations
for these multinationals.
"Lack of disclosure was a major contributor to the
corporate scandals of the past few years and
Governor Dean followed the prevailing climate
which was to relieve corporations of fundamental
disclosure requirements.
"Governor Dean continues to stubbornly refuse to
disclose any details of meetings or negotiations
with Enron prior to them locating a shell
corporation in Vermont in exchange for huge tax
breaks. Obviously, it's hard to explain these tax
cuts for corporations like Enron while you're
making deep cuts in social services for the
neediest people in society. The most important
corporate reform is disclosure. If Governor Dean
is not committed to that, the rest of what he says
is just more political talk.
"Governor Dean has constantly attacked President
Bush, Vice President and the Bush administration
quite correctly for refusing to disclose
information requested by the commission
investigating the attacks on September 11.
Governor Dean should at least live up to his own
standard on disclosure.
"If Governor Dean were the Democratic nominee, he
would be effectively compromised from using Enron
or the issue of disclosure in drawing contrast
between himself and President Bush's
administration.
"A lack of disclosure was a major contributor to
the corporate scandals of the past few years and
Governor Dean followed the prevailing climate
which was to relieve corporations of fundamental
disclosure requirements."
Bonior endorses Gephardt
Former Democratic Whip David
Bonior announced his endorsement of Dick Gephardt
for president. Bonior will serve as a national
co-chair for the Gephardt campaign.
"Having known and worked with Dick Gephardt for 30
years, it is my distinct honor to endorse him for
president of the United States. We have fought
side by side for fair trade deals, to protect
Medicare and to create good jobs here in America.
Dick is a thoughtful leader who will make a great
president and I am proud to give him my support. I
intend to work day and night with his millions of
supporters across the country - and we intend to
win," Bonior said.
"I am so proud that my friend David Bonior has
endorsed my campaign. His fights for fair trade,
good jobs and a strong Medicare, have made David a
recognized leader on the national and
international stage. His stature, experience and
vision will be a significant contribution to my
campaign," Gephardt said. "My message of health
care for all, economic growth and job creation is
resonating in Iowa and all over the country and I
am excited to have David's help in getting that
message to all Americans," Gephardt said.
David Bonior was elected to
Congress in 1976 and served as the Democratic Whip
from 1991-2002, when he retired. He graduated from
the University of Iowa in 1967, where he earned a
football scholarship as quarterback. Bonior joined
the U.S. Air Force in 1968 where he served until
his honorable discharge in 1972.
Gephardt launches Iowa food drive
Dick Gephardt today officially
announced his campaign’s statewide holiday food
drive. Supporters and volunteers can drop off
canned and dry foods at local Gephardt campaign
offices throughout Iowa and the food will be
delivered to homeless shelters and food pantries
on December 23. "The Gephardt holiday food drive
is a generous thing to do during this holiday
season, especially with so many Iowans struggling
to make ends meet," said Mitch Henry, a program
coordinator for the Iowa Homeless Youth Center.
Des Moines residents can drop
off food at the campaign headquarters located at
105 Grand Avenue in West Des Moines. The food
collected will be delivered to the Iowa Homeless
Youth Center, which provides transitional and
emergency housing, meals, counseling and crisis
intervention for homeless youth ages 16 to 21.
Lieberman: Dean soft on defense hard on middle
class
Sen. Joe Lieberman issued the
following statement in response to Howard Dean's
economic speech in New Hampshire today:
"Howard Dean has given two big speeches this week,
on foreign policy and the economy. After this
week, my conclusion is that Howard Dean is soft on
defense and hard on the middle class.
In his speech today, Governor Dean accurately
described the tremendous burdens that George
Bush's leadership has placed on the middle class.
But his answer was to raise their taxes, by taking
back all the middle class tax cuts that we
Democrats fought for. That would take back $2,000
from the average family in New Hampshire.
I don't believe we can ease the squeeze on the
middle class by raising their taxes. They need a
tax cut, not a tax hike. I'm the only candidate in
this race who would go beyond the limited Bush tax
cuts for the middle class -- and give a broad tax
cut to 98 percent of taxpayers.
The most startling point of the speech was Howard
Dean's attack of Bill Clinton's extraordinary
economic record -- including the creation of 22
million new jobs. That's a recipe for dividing the
party and taking us back to where we were before
1992 -- out of power. I want to build on the
Clinton record; Howard Dean seems to want to tear
it down.
Finally, missing from this economic declaration is
any plan to create growth and jobs. In particular,
he did not mention anything about reviving the
manufacturing sector or investing in innovation --
both of which were integral parts of the Clinton
boom, and which are significant components of my
plan to get the economy moving again."
Lieberman noted the highlights
of Clinton's economic record:
·
Longest economic expansion in U.S.
history;
·
Moving from record deficits to
record surplus;
·
More than 22 million new jobs, the
most jobs ever created under a single
Administration;
·
Fastest and longest real wage growth
in over three decades;
·
Unemployment the lowest in over
three decades;
·
Lowest poverty rate since 1979.
Clark: buy Canadian drugs
The
Associated Press reports that Wesley Clark
while campaigning in New Hampshire said that he
would support legislation that allowed Americans
to buy Canadian drugs:
Democratic Presidential hopeful Wesley Clark says
he supports amending federal law to allow
individuals and groups to buy prescription drugs
from Canada.
"Until we get this worked out, we need to be going
to Canada to buy a lot of our drugs," Clark told
eight of the 23 registered voters in the tiny town
8 miles from the Canadian border.
It's illegal for U.S. residents to buy Canadian
drugs, and Clark later added, "I don't encourage
people to break the law."
Clark: Milosevick knew
Retired General Wesley Clark,
the former NATO commander, told a UN war crimes
tribunal in The Hague this week that Yugoslavia's
former president, Slobodan Milosevic, indicated in
1995, he had prior knowledge of the massacre of
Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica -- the worst act of
slaughter of the Bosnian civil war, according to
transcripts of Clark's testimony released
yesterday. The
Boston Globe reports that Clark had to answer
the question about his character:
"So
your former superior talks about your character.
Isn't that right, General Clark?" Milosevic said.
He later asked, "Why were you removed from your
post prematurely?"
Clark
responded by reading a lengthy commendation given
to him by former defense secretary William Cohen,
and also the citation read by President Clinton
when he gave Clark the Presidential Medal of
Freedom. Clark said he and Shelton had policy
disagreements over how to pursue peace in the
Balkans. Clark recalled a break in a 1995 meeting,
when he asked Milosevic, "You say you have . . .
much influence over the Bosnian Serbs, how is it
then, if you have such influence, you allowed
General Mladic to kill all those people in
Srebrenica?" Ratko Mladic was the Bosnian Serb
military commander. According to Clark, Milosevic
replied: "I warned Mladic not to do this, but he
didn't listen to me." Clark said he found the
remark "stunning" because "that was an admission
that he had foreknowledge of Srebrenica." Clark
also said he did not know if Milosevic was telling
the truth when he said he tried to stop the
slaughter.
Clark: we are all patriots
The Boston Globe reports that
Wesley Clark is going to declare himself a Patriot
fan during the Patriots vs. Jets football game.
The Globe also takes a dig at Iowa for not having
a professional football team. They do, however,
reference the Jets who reside in N.J as a NY team.
Hillary Clinton on her recent Sunday talk round
said the Buffalo Bills are the only NY team. Could
Clark’s endorsement of the Jets be because NJ’s
governor endorsed Dean? Here is the commercial:
"We as Americans know what it
takes to be great," Clark says in the ad, as the
camera closes tightly on his face. "It takes
leadership. It takes teamwork. It takes spirit,
and sacrifice, and commitment… "
"And let's face it, you have to
be strong on defense," he continues, as the camera
pulls back to reveal that he's wearing a Patriots
sweatshirt. "You also need to be strong on
offense. And having a heck of a quarterback
doesn't hurt."
He concludes, with a little
smile, "We are all Patriots."
Clark defends Clinton
Wesley Clark suggested that
Howard Dean’s economic speech was a repudiation of
the successful President Clinton years. Clark
stated, “I was surprised to hear that Governor
Dean has once again attacked the economic policies
of the Clinton years.
“This isn't the first time he's done this. Last
month, it was reported that Governor Dean wanted
to distance himself from Bill Clinton's economic
legacy when he called for "re-regulating" the
economy. Now, in a speech he gave today, he
essentially claimed that President Clinton didn't
stand up for America's working families.
“Did Howard Dean live through the same eight years
as the rest of us?
“Maybe Governor Dean should check his facts.
Because if I remember correctly, under Bill
Clinton ...
“America created more than 22 million new jobs...
“Under Bill Clinton, we balanced the federal
budget...
“Under Bill Clinton, we turned record deficits
into record surpluses ...
“Under Bill Clinton, we had the lowest poverty
rate in 20 years - and the lowest African American
poverty rate ever… And under Bill Clinton, we had
the lowest inflation in decades - and the lowest
African American and Hispanic unemployment rates
on record.
“If that's not standing up for America's working
families, then I don't know what is.
“So I don't know about Howard Dean, but when I'm
president, I'm not going to throw out the proven
policies that brought America the longest economic
expansion in history.
“I'm going to embrace them. I'm going to use them
as a foundation to take our country forward
again,” said Clark
Bush rewriting rationale for war
Wesley Clark accused President
Bush of rewriting the rationale for war. A Clark
release states, “The Bush Administration has been
touching up history and rewriting its rationale
for going to war in Iraq. In recent weeks, the
White House has redacted words it used on the
White House website.” The release cites a
Washington Post report that the Bush
Administration edited its website so that a May
1st speech by the President entitled "President
Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have
Ended," now reads "President Bush Announces
/Major/ Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended." The
release accuses the administration that this is
just the latest effort of the Bush Administration
to change its rationale for war.
"First the Bush Administration
played a game of bait-and-switch, by focusing on
invading Iraq to distract the American people from
their failure to round up al Qaeda… Now the Bush
Administration is playing a shell game of shifting
rationales for why we went to war in Iraq…
Leadership isn't about playing tricks. It requires
honesty and accountability. I would like to return
those qualities to the White House," said Clark
Clark’s protection for manufacturing jobs
"Under the current
Administration, New Hampshire's manufacturing
sector has lost more than 21,900 jobs." Clark
said. "The sad fact is that under George W. Bush,
America's biggest export is jobs. President Bush
hasn't looked out for American workers. Today, I
want to make you a promise: I will… Under the Bush
Administration, New Hampshire lost 1 in 5
manufacturing jobs. Just last month, 129 workers
were laid off in Berlin. And this month, a
Manchester meat-packing plant announced it would
close and more than 500 people got pink slips for
Christmas.”
Here's what Wes Clark's
Manufacturing Security Plan will do:
5.
Jumpstart manufacturing job growth.
Give manufacturers fresh incentives to keep and
grow jobs at home by providing up to a $10,000 tax
credit for each additional full-time hire. These
tax credits would apply to all sectors--including
the software industry, which has been shipping
high-tech jobs overseas.
6.
Stop rewarding companies that ship jobs
overseas and start rewarding companies that
produce jobs in America. The Bush
Administration's biggest export has been jobs,
including the high tech jobs that are vital to the
future of our economy. To discourage conglomerates
from exporting jobs, require companies to disclose
layoffs in America and job increases overseas.
Plus, purge government policies of tax breaks and
regulations that encourage American companies to
shift jobs abroad and implement new incentives to
keep manufacturing jobs at home.
7.
Create the Conditions for An American
Manufacturing Renaissance. Reduce labor costs
by making health care more affordable. Lower the
cost of capital through deficit reduction.
Consolidate government trade promotion activities.
Promote trade. And invest in education and
training.
Edwards supports decision on enemy combatants
Edwards stated in response to
the court
ruling that an American detained on American soil
must be charged and afforded legal council that,
"America can and must fight terror without
surrendering the ideals that define our nation.
"As I have
long said, President Bush's policy on enemy
combatants violates our country's sacred ideals
without making us safer. Under this policy, U.S.
citizens can be seized and detained
indefinitely--without a right to an attorney,
without a right to have their case heard in an
impartial court of law. This is not the America we
believe in.
"President
Bush should not defend the indefensible. Instead,
working with Congress if necessary, he should
pursue a new policy that defeats terrorists
and upholds our values: liberty, justice, and the
rule of law," Edwards said.
Edwards names chief of staff
Senator John Edwards Thursday
named longtime aide Miles Lackey as his campaign's
chief of staff.
"Miles is one of the people
whose advice I trust the most," Edwards said. "He
is a fellow North Carolinian, and he is a close
friend. I am so excited to welcome him to the
campaign team."
Lackey comes to the campaign
after serving as chief of staff in Edwards' Senate
office. In this position, Lackey helped Edwards on
key legislative efforts, like passing the
Patients' Bill of Rights, battling the Bush
administration's efforts to weaken environmental
laws, improving corporate accountability and
working for fair trade, a more secure homeland,
and cheaper prescription drugs.
Kerry: no to Bush faith based initiatives
Sen. John Kerry campaigning in
Iowa wants the line drawn at a different place
than President Bush when it comes to faith based
initiatives. Kerry said that he is for faith-based
initiatives such as Catholic Charities or the
Jewish Community Center that he said provide
social services without blurring the line.
However, he reports in an Associated Press story
that Bush has gone too far:
"I think George Bush and his administration has
stepped over the line of separation of church and
state," Kerry said at Hopkinton High School. "What
George Bush is trying to do is allow (religious
groups) funding for actually using the religious
activity as a component of the service."
Kerry said that he stands firmly for the clause in
the Constitution against the establishment of
religion. "All through our history we have drawn
that line," Kerry said. "And I will continue to
draw that line."
Kerry’s money
Senator John F. Kerry recently
loaned $850,000 to his struggling presidential
campaign to pay staff salaries and other expenses,
and is now scouting banks for a
multimillion-dollar mortgage package on his Beacon
Hill home, campaign officials said yesterday.
The senator chose not to wait
for the larger loan against his home because he is
unsure when that loan will be secured; advisers
said they hoped it would be in hand in two weeks.
Kerry’s house currently does not have a mortgage,
and he has left it with his lawyers to arrange the
loan.
Dean’s new social contract
“About two years ago, I began my
campaign – as all candidates do – here in New
Hampshire and out in Iowa meeting with small
groups of voters to talk and to persuade, but
mostly to listen. I ate with Iowans in their
diners, gathered with families in their living
rooms in New Hampshire, toured factories and
farms, and spoke in town halls.
I engaged in one of the great
traditions of American presidential politics –
listening – really listening to the people at the
heart of America.
I heard their hopes and their
fears. They shared their concerns and their
dreams.
And what I heard truly surprised
me. A level of anger and despair I never imagined.
About jobs. About working conditions. About making
ends meet. About the stress of day-to-day life.
More than anything, I was
surprised by the outrage of working Americans at
the corporations that employ them and toward the
government that serves them. They sense that
neither their employers nor their government
really care about their problems. That all that
matters to business is the bottom line and all
that matters to their elected representatives is
re-election and collecting campaign contributions.
It became clear to me that there
is a fundamental disconnect between the working
people of America, corporate America and our
government. The social contract that binds us has
frayed and stands in desperate need of
redefinition and repair.
More than two hundred years ago,
the American people launched a new era of
self-government. In the words of the Constitution,
“we the people” committed to each other to
“promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity”.
These words created the promise
of America – a pledge by a people to uphold the
principles of justice and fairness.
At the heart of those principles
was the promise of equal opportunity for all in
the land of opportunity. The land where a person
born with little can grow to great wealth. The
land where the children of immigrants can rise to
the highest offices.
I know from the families I’ve
spoken to here in New Hampshire and out in Iowa
that for too many Americans, the promise of
America today is largely unfulfilled.
I believe that fulfilling that
promise today requires a new social contract.
The starting point for this new
social contract must be a fresh understanding of
the way American families live today. A lifestyle
that is far different from the family of even a
few decades ago.
In 1960, one parent was at home
in 70% of all families with children. Today, it’s
just the opposite. 70% of today's families with
children are headed by either two working parents
or a single parent who works. And they’re working
harder and longer.
Parents have 22 fewer hours a
week outside of work to spend with their children
than they did just 35 years ago.
Today’s economy is different as
well. One quarter of all American workers are
temporary employees, self-employed or part-time,
employed in jobs with little security, often
without health insurance or pensions.
Too many workers reach 45 or 50
years of age and find that the pension they
counted on is greatly reduced or even gone for
good.
The average family health
insurance policy now costs about $670 a month. To
put that in perspective, the average family of
four spends $750 a month on its mortgage. The way
things are going, the average family without
employer-sponsored benefits will soon be paying
more for health insurance than on the family home.
Families see their debts
increase and wonder how they will pay for their
children’s education or their own retirement. They
know too well that a single tragedy – the loss of
a job, a divorce or the illness of a parent –
could spell the end of all their plans for the
future.
At the start of a new century,
as we shift from the industrial to the information
age, it is once more time for “we the people” to
form a more perfect union. It is time for us to
spell out a new social contract – a fundamental
renegotiation of the rights and responsibilities
of the critical actors in the American economy:
families, corporations and government.
The New Social Contract
Seventy years ago, the
Democratic party of Franklin Roosevelt helped
create a new Social Contract for American
families. In the face of unprecedented economic
hardship, FDR assured families certain basic
freedoms. And he created Social Security and a
range of programs to provide jobs and opportunity
to those who earned them by working or raising
children.
Today, it is time for a new
vision for the Democratic Party and for a new
Social Contract for America’s families.
Our party must offer a new
vision that speaks to working families. Working
families who make just too much to qualify for
assistance, but not quite enough to make ends
meet.
Republicans seek to dismantle
the basic building blocks of our nation’s social
contract with working families. They hope to
privatize Social Security, dismantle Medicare, and
to end public education.
Republicans claim to be helping
average Americans with their tax cuts.
The Bush Tax
But let’s look at the facts. The
average wage earner did get a few hundred dollars
back. But the refund didn’t come for free.
President Bush never told you
about the “Bush Tax”. He never mentioned that over
the next six years the typical American family
will take on $52,000 more in its share of the
national debt. That’s a part of the “Bush Tax”.
But there’s a lot more.
Take a look at your property
taxes. They probably went up. In New Hampshire,
property taxes went up an average of $270 per
family last year. That’s part of the “Bush Tax”.
Or look at your state budget. Is it in crisis? In
most states, it is. That’s part of the “Bush Tax”,
too.
Getting fewer services and
paying more for things like state college tuitions
or special education – that’s the consequence of
the “Bush Tax”.
The “Bush Tax” is huge – many
times greater than most people’s refunds. And
it’ll be here for a long time to come. Just add
the “Bush Tax” to all the other things the
President never told us.
Some Democrats have accepted the
Republican notion that the Social Contract cannot
be preserved, let alone made stronger.
While Bill Clinton said that the
era of big government is over, I believe we must
enter a new era for the Democratic party – not one
where we join Republicans and aim simply to limit
the damage they inflict on working families.
I reject the notion that damage
control must be our credo. I call now for a new
era, in which we rewrite our Social Contract. We
need to provide certain basic guarantees to all
those who are working hard to fulfill the promise
of America.
First, every American family
must have access to affordable health care. The
centerpiece of my campaign is a health care plan
that gives every American the right to the same
private health insurance that Members of Congress
and federal employees have, at reasonable rates.
A refundable tax credit will
help lower-income people afford the premiums. It’s
health care that stays with you and goes with you,
whether you work or not.
Second, every American family
must have access to affordable quality child care.
Right now, only one in seven working poor families
do. American families have come to recognize that
child care is no luxury item – but a necessity for
parents who work and an enormous benefit to
children who can start school ready to succeed.
The new Social Contract respects
our responsibilities to care for our children. I
propose that we make the investment necessary to
fully fund Head Start, offer pre-K to every four
year old, and expand other child care options to
almost a million and a half more children. I call
it Investing for Success.
Third, every American family
must know that their child will be able to afford
to go to college. The cost of college should not
be an obstacle that prevents any child from
working hard and finishing school. The new Social
Contract acknowledges our responsibility to
educate our children. That’s why my College
Commitment guarantees $10,000 a year in college
financing for every student in a mix of grants and
loans that depends on family finances. No one will
ever pay more than 10 percent of their income
after college to repay their loans. And every loan
will be fully paid off after ten years. Those who
give back to their communities – working as
nurses, teachers, policemen for instance – will
pay even less.
Fourth, every American family
must know that their retirement will be secure.
The Democratic agenda here must be broader than
simply preserving the critical commitment of
Social Security. We must offer working Americans
new incentives to save for the future. The
Republicans and President Bush may be planning to
propose yet more benefits to protect the income
and savings of the wealthiest Americans. But I
want to target workers and middle class families
instead. I will soon propose a new savings program
that will help millions of Americans save for
their retirement.
Taken together, these are four
new rights the Democratic Party must establish as
its new social contract with the families of
America.
But no contract comes solely
with rights and without responsibilities. Each
party to this new social contract must fulfill
some basic responsibilities.
American citizens have a
responsibility to participate in our country’s
civic life. That duty starts with the vote. It
continues in our neighborhoods and communities –
through an ethic of service. That service is
promoted through efforts like Americorps in which
government provides incentives to serve for young
people.
But more importantly, it is
through places of worship, charitable
organizations and schools at the community level –
and on a voluntary basis. Helping neighbors when
newborns come home from the hospital,
participating in volunteer fire departments,
pitching in when disaster strikes. When we lose
that tradition, when we forget our
responsibilities to each other, we endanger the
promise of America.
Corporations too – as
fundamental partners to the Social Contract – must
recognize and fulfill certain basic
responsibilities. And the new social contract must
redefine the role of government in establishing
appropriate limits for corporate behavior.
The American economy is, of
course, the engine of our society, providing jobs
and opportunity to American workers. But, today,
economic power is concentrated in too few hands,
and not very clean hands, at that.
The Boards of Director of too
many corporations are governed by the buddy
system; the compensation of some top executives
could put 19th century Robber Barons to shame.
Economic power has too often
become political power, corrupting the very
process that is supposed to guarantee our rights.
Corporate lobbyists outnumber the Congress many
times over.
The new social contract must
include stricter accountability for corporate
behavior, and a return to a stronger role for
government in protecting the public interest.
First, we need to prevent
corporate misconduct with laws to make sure
corporate boards of directors and auditors are
independent of management. And we should reward
whistleblowers who expose corporate wrongdoing.
The standards that are on the
books must be backed up by regulations with teeth.
The fines and penalties imposed for breaking the
law must be equal to the potential financial
gains. It is absurd that the penalty for promoting
an illegal tax shelter worth millions is only
$1,000.
We need sound, full and open
accounting practices. We should expand the concept
of “full disclosure” for corporations. Of course
corporations must be held to the highest financial
fiduciary standards. But beyond finances, why
shouldn’t companies be accountable to investors
and the public on other important matters, like
environmental standards, and labor relations?
Knowledge is power.
And it’s time to look behind the
fiction that allows corporations to become
“citizens” of places like Bermuda, and avoid
paying income taxes on their foreign income. They
are Bermuda citizens, yet they still get US
corporate welfare, like special tax breaks, while
Bermuda protects their directors and executives
from liability under American law.
I want to restore protection in
the marketplace for all Americans. The regulatory
system must be free to work as designed. Our laws
deserve to be enforced, and to be free of moneyed
interests and their Washington lobbies. This is
the only way to ensures opportunity and fair
competition for our nation's entrepreneurs and
honest business people.
Time after time, the Bush
administration and their Republican cronies have
removed important safeguards – in the environment,
in energy, in finance and consumer protection.
They have rolled back the
nation’s clean air standards to allow increased
pollution from the oldest and dirtiest power
plants. Blocked the investigation of 70 power
plants suspected of violating clean air standards.
Permitted logging in old-growth forests, but done
little to protect homes from wildfires.
Under this administration, Enron
took advantage of utility deregulation to rip off
California before ripping off its employees and
shareholders. Mutual fund companies are cheating
their investors; mortgage and credit schemes are
putting families deeper in debt; worker safety
standards are being lowered.
Americans deserve better. It’s
time for corporate America to clean up its act.
And an important step is
ensuring that American workers are allowed to
organize to protect their interests. Organized
labor played a critical role in building the
middle class of this country. Yet the Bush
administration is doing all it can to make it
harde, not easier, for workers to join unions
today. Workers should be able to join unions if
they freely choose to sign a union card. We need
card check legislation, so that workers can
organize without enduring coercive anti-union
campaigns.
We need to protect the rights of
employees to be paid overtime and defeat the
outrageous attempt of President Bush and the
Republicans in Congress to take overtime pay away
from 8 million American workers.
And it’s time to recognize
another reality of the 21st century – the fact
that there are nearly as many working women as
there are men.
The average woman starting out
today will be paid half a million dollars less
over the course of her lifetime than her male
counterpart. That’s unfair and unacceptable.
Closing the pay gap will be one of my top
priorities as President.
Let me be clear: My program is
pro-business and pro-jobs. It will help small
businesses and emerging businesses. Entrepreneurs
built America. They have always understood the
promise of our nation, and seized the opportunity.
Small businesses create more
jobs than big business. They’re part of our
communities – they don’t move their headquarters
or their jobs offshore. Fourteen million American
women own small businesses – we must do more to
help them grow and succeed.
Small businesses have the right
to expect equal access to capital. I have proposed
the creation of a major new financing tool for
American small businesses, built on the model of
the home mortgage finance system that has made our
nation a leader in home ownership and the envy of
the world.
Business also has the right to
expect that government will help keep the nation’s
economic engine focused on the future. This means
investments for the future not only in our
nation’s human capital, but also in the research,
science and technology that builds a common base
of knowledge for the future.
For instance, America should be
a leader in developing and using alternative
energy. It’s a major industry ready to take off –
ready to create thousands of jobs and major
sources of power. Whether it’s wind power, or
solar energy, or hydropower, or other new
technologies, all we need to do is open the
market, take away the old subsidies and corporate
welfare, and let them compete.
Taxes
Taxes are what we pay to be
Americans – to live in a democracy, to have
opportunity, and to use the vast resources of
America – the highways, the schools, the national
parks, the internet, the medical centers and
scientific breakthroughs of government research.
No one likes the idea of payroll deductions or
writing a check to the IRS, but the truth is our
taxes are the membership fees we pay to belong to
the world’s greatest society.
And that responsibility includes
corporations. Two generations ago, American
corporations carried 30-40% of the tax burden in
this country. Twenty years ago, under Ronald
Reagan, that number went down to less than 20
percent. Today, the corporate share is less than
10 percent, and individuals are shouldering over
90 percent of the tax burden for the country. That
balance has to change.
The New Social Contract I am
proposing will include fundamental tax reform to
ensure that every wealthy American individual and
corporation is paying their fair share of taxes –
and that the tax burden on working families is
reduced.
Not paying your fair share is
equivalent to turning your back on being an
American. And that’s what American companies that
move to offshore shelters are doing. They’re
avoiding $70 billion a year in taxes – enough
money to bring a real tax cut to every family.
Better and fairer tax
enforcement could collect another $30 billion a
year from known tax cheats. Closing corporate
loopholes and ending unnecessary tax subsidies
would bring $100 billion into the US Treasury each
year – money that the rest of us are paying today.
I want to get rid of the Bush
tax program and repeal the “Bush Tax”. Let’s start
over with a real tax reform plan to make the code
fairer and simpler, based on a few simple
principles:
·
We must eliminate abusive tax
shelters and crack down on corporate tax evaders.
·
Corporations and inherited wealth
should pay their fair share of taxes.
·
Individuals and small businesses
should spend less time dealing with taxes, and the
tax code must be simplified.
Our government is the guarantor
of the future of America. It is the repository of
our trust, and the ultimate keeper of the promise
of America.
If our government is to be there
in the future – if it is to “secure the blessings
of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”, we
must be responsible stewards, not profligate
spenders.
This administration has ignored
that fundamental responsibility. It pretends that
deficits don’t matter and that tomorrow will take
care of itself. They have turned us from a beacon
of financial strength to the world’s greatest
debtor. Foreign investors now control our
currency. We are running a credit card economy.
Balanced budgets matter. They
lead to economic growth. Social progressives
should be fiscal conservatives, because only
fiscal responsibility guarantees that the American
people will have the government they need when
they truly need it.
Part of the New Social Contract
will be controlling spending and bringing budgets
into balance. I know it can be done. I did it
eleven times as governor.
Building this New Social
Contract won’t be easy. The interests that oppose
change are deeply entrenched. They have built
longstanding political relationships. Each hand
has washed the other in the basin of Washington
politics.
But in our nation, the people
are sovereign, not the government. It is the
people – not the media, or the financial system,
or mega-corporations, or the two political parties
– who have the power to create change.
The biggest lie that candidates
like me tell people like you is, “Elect me, and
I’ll solve all your problems”. The truth is -- you
have the power to change this country.
You have the power to write a
new social contract that keeps the promise of
America.
And you have the power to take
our country back and take back the White House in
2004.”
Iowans for Bush 2004
