Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in a speech in Cincinnati yesterday attacked President Bush on the loss of jobs and touted his own plan to create 10 million jobs.
The Massachusetts senator said the Bush administration has its priorities mixed up on job creation, blaming it for the loss of 170,000 manufacturing jobs in Ohio. He said the president’s trade policy, which includes jobs going overseas, weakens America.
“Just last week — right here in Cincinnati — this president’s Treasury secretary told you that outsourcing makes our economy ’stronger.’ My friends, if that’s their definition of ’strength,’ then that’s putting jobs dead last,” Mr. Kerry said.
He also said the Commerce Department under Mr. Bush had hosted workshops to show American companies how to outsource jobs to China.
Ohio, along with Pennsylvania, Missouri, Michigan and Arizona, are key swing states targeted by Democrats as must-win states to take back the White House.
Since he locked up the Democratic nomination last month, Mr. Kerry has made several speeches in the Midwest, including Ohio, nearly all of which have focused on the loss of manufacturing jobs in the region.
On the budget, Mr. Kerry said the president has spent $6 trillion on his proposals to make his current tax cuts permanent and institute new tax cuts on top of his direct spending plan, without explaining where the money will come from.
“But after $6 trillion in spending, what does this president have to show for it?” the Massachusetts senator said, “2.6 million lost jobs, the lowest wage growth in 40 years, 43 million uninsured, and deficits as far as the eye can see.”
“We saw record surpluses turn into record deficits, and he still kept spending trillions upon trillions of more money we don’t have,” he said.
But the Massachusetts liberal didn’t elaborate on how his administration would create 10 million jobs or how his proposed tax plan would reward companies that keep jobs in America or punish those that don’t.
In response to Mr. Kerry’s speech, the Bush campaign released an updated cost analysis of the Democratic candidate’s platform so far.
The analysis uses funding figures by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), independent think tanks, the media and, in some cases, the Kerry campaign. It reviews Mr. Kerry’s promise to create a universal health care program and repeal some of the Bush tax cuts, as well as 42 other proposals made by Mr. Kerry on the campaign trail.
“An updated analysis of Senator John Kerry’s campaign promises shows they would cost at least $977 billion over 5 years and $1.9 trillion over 10 years … on top of the president’s budget,” the study said.
And Bush campaign officials said, while Mr. Kerry is accusing the president of not being forthcoming about how he will fund his proposals, he should follow his own advice and submit his plans to federal and third-party experts for review.
“A good start would be to submit his tax-and-spending proposals to the CBO and [Congressional] Joint Committee on Taxation for cost estimates. American voters deserve to know the full details and costs of his promises,” the Bush campaign said.
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