Reply #10: Dean's economic policy position

[w4rma]

The economic policies of the Bush Administration are misguided, unfair and unsuccessful.

They fail to meet the basic standard of economic justice – decent, well-paying jobs for all who want them. They are policies that have created a legacy of debt for future generations. Huge tax cuts that benefit the wealthy are starving essential government services like education and homeland security, and forcing states and local governments to increase sales, income and property taxes. While America’s wealthiest individuals – those in the top 2 per cent of income brackets – receive the bulk of the tax cuts, America’s middle class is left behind.

Since this Administration took office, nearly 3 million Americans have seen their jobs disappear. The unemployment rate has risen to over 6%. Nine million people are unemployed, and countless more have joined the ranks of discouraged workers and dropped out of the labor market entirely. Millions of Americans – from young people just out of school to others who are the victims of massive layoffs – are underemployed in jobs that fail to take advantage of their talents or reward their reasonable expectations. Too many of our fellow citizens are laboring at subsistence pay levels without benefits or prospects of advancement,

Month after month, for nearly three years, manufacturers have fired more workers than they hired, and the world-class manufacturing sector that has been the heart of America’s strength continues to shrink.

Meanwhile, the federal budget deficit – now estimated to be more than $450 billion this year – soars out of control, with no relief in sight. The Bush Administration philosophy has become “borrow and spend” – and let our children and grandchildren pick up the pieces.

But the truth is that this Administration’s economic agenda is about far more than budgets and deficits. The ideologues gathered around the President have a more ambitious goal -- to repeal the progressive legacy of the Twentieth Century. They want to return to a time when private wealth was insulated from the graduated income tax, and the many labored for the benefit of the few. They would ignore the widening gap between rich and poor, shred the safety nets that provide at least some protection for the unfortunate, and dismantle the safeguards that protect consumers and workers alike.

I believe we must take drastic actions to repair the damage that this President is inflicting on our economy.

As Governor for more than 10 years, I guided the Vermont economy through two Bush recessions. Despite economic uncertainty, I was able to reduce taxes, maintain a balanced budget, expand health care and increase funding for education.

My economic policies for America are based on four fundamentals:

- Repeal the Bush tax cuts, and use those funds to pay for universal health care, homeland security, and investments in job creation that benefit all Americans.
- Set the nation on the path to a balanced budget, recognizing that we cannot have social or economic justice without a sound fiscal foundation.
- Create a fairer and simpler system of taxation.
- Assure that Social Security and Medicare are adequately funded to meet the needs of the next generation of retirees.

I know what it takes to generate economic growth. As President, I will work tirelessly to put the American economy back on the road to prosperity – not just for the favored few, but for all.
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