It’s no accident. Rain or shine, surplus or deficit, George Bush's economic prescription begins and ends with tax breaks for those with special pull and special influence. It reminds me of that old sign on a country road. It read: “veterinarian - slash - taxidermist. Either way you get your dog back.” With George Bush, no matter what the economic question, tax giveaways for the few is the answer. The problem is that his policies just haven't worked. And George Bush isn’t facing up to it.
Even today, in The New York Times, George Bush's top economic advisors - the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce - say that even they don't believe the smoke and mirrors promises this Administration is feeding to the American people when it comes to jobs.
Why should they? A policy that's failed over and over won't work just because it’s an election year. Time after time, this President's policies have failed to create the jobs that George Bush promised they would. First, they said they would create 800,000 jobs - and lost 2 million. Then they said they'd create 500,000 jobs - and lost 50,000 more. Now George Bush is saying he's going to create 2.6 million jobs this year alone - and his advisors are saying, "What, you didn't actually believe that, did you?"
Apparently George Bush is the only person left in the country who actually believes the far-fetched promises he's peddling.
On the other hand, and on another front, this month the Administration actually admitted what they are doing. They said that shipping American jobs overseas is good for America.
Tell that to Lucy Hopkins. Tell that to Vicki Johnson. Tell that to the middle class working people here in Ohio and all across America who should be getting a shot at a better life, but instead are getting the shaft.
They deserve better. They deserve a President who will fight for the people who do their jobs and do what's right, who are good workers and good parents. This President has made life harder for middle class Americans. I will honor them - and stand on their side.
This President promises us the moon - and spends money on Mars. We're going to create jobs here at home - and we're going to deliver.
I won't raise taxes on the middle class. In fact, I'm going to give middle class people a tax cut - and I will do what George Bush hasn't done: rebuild our economy and bring back jobs.
For nearly a thousand days, George Bush stood by as jobs disappeared. Now, with his reelection campaign around the corner, the Bush Administration has decided that if they're not going to do anything to preserve manufacturing jobs, they should at least look like they're doing something.
So after the worst job slide since the Hoover Administration - after three years of inaction - the Commerce Secretary came to Ohio last month to talk about their big new idea: a new Assistant Secretary in the Department of Commerce. A new box on the bureaucratic flow-chart.
The sad thing is that this position isn't even new. It's a new title for an old position. George Bush isn't even reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic - he's just renaming them.
I have a real plan to rebuild our economy - and as President, I'll get it done. Here's what we're going to do:
We will repeal the tax loopholes and benefits that reward Benedict Arnold CEOs and companies for shipping American jobs overseas. Instead, we will provide new incentives for good companies that create and keep good jobs here in America.
We're going to invest in our people again. Let me give you an example: the Manufacturing Extension Partnership has done so much good, especially for small manufacturers who want to create new jobs. In 2001, it helped create and keep 800 jobs here in Ohio. George Bush's Administration has the gall to brag on this program at the same time he wants to eliminate it. As President I will restore the funding to this partnership - and then double it.
We're going to make health care affordable for our families and our small businesses and hold down the soaring costs of health insurance and prescription drugs.
And I'm going to stand up and insist that free and fair trade mean fairness for workers - not a free ride for those that break the rules. This Administration has let foreign countries break the rules and walk all over us.
Just look at what has happened at Delphi - where Lucy worked and where Vicki's still holding on to her job. They didn't just send the jobs to China - they literally unbolted the equipment and sent our industrial might overseas. This isn't how we're supposed to do business in America. American corporations used to feel some sense of loyalty to their workers, their community, and their country. But too often that's gone today.
We can do better - if we have a President who is willing to stand up to foreign companies, stand up to foreign lobbyists - and fight for American jobs.
Just a few months ago, this Administration said they opposed efforts to increase the funds for enforcing China's trade agreements. They said the money just was "unnecessary." I'll tell you what is necessary - a President who will put American workers first.
Shortly after he took office, President Bush said - quote - "if our trading partners trade unfairly, they'll hear from us." But for more than a thousand days, all they've heard is the sound of silence, the quiet of a wink and a nod. Instead of raising his voice, George Bush has been sitting on his hands.
As President, I'll take on the countries, like China, that are manipulating their currency to undermine American exports. These countries are supposed to be playing by the same rules as we do and they'll feel the full force of our trade laws if they don't.
We're going to have a five-year lobbying ban so that government officials can't sell their influence and sell out our jobs to foreign countries and companies.
And we won't sign any trade agreements that are just a front for undermining the right to organize - here - and around the world.
This President just unveiled his first campaign message to the American people: a negative ad against me. But he doesn't have a single new idea to create jobs. It's clear George Bush will fight like hell to keep his own job, but he won't lift a finger to help Americans keep theirs. I'm running for President to put America back to work.