1 day ago
LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani told voters worried about job losses and outsourcing that burdensome taxes and regulations are to blame rather than corporate greed.
Speaking at a VFW hall, the former New York mayor disagreed with a woman who said she blames greedy CEOs for the outsourcing of jobs to other countries. Businesses have a right to make a profit, he said.
"I think outsourcing is a function of being anticompetitive," he said.
The solution, he said, is lifting some regulations on businesses and lowering the corporate tax rate.
"If we right now lowered the corporate tax from 35 to 28 percent you'd stop a lot of outsourcing like that," he said. "All of sudden the incentive to do business in this country would go up."
Another voter told Giuliani that Laconia once was home to a thriving knitting machine industry back when Manchester, N.H., was a major player in the textile industry, but lamented that all those jobs now are in China.
Again Giuliani defended businesses, saying the focus shouldn't be on limiting the flow of cheaper products from overseas into the United States, but rather increasing American exports to make up the difference.
"If we're talking about pure economics, I believe we shouldn't worry about buying from overseas. What we should worry about is how much we're selling," he said.
For example, a huge opportunity exists for American companies to help China and India become energy independent, he said.
"China's gonna need windmills. China's gonna need better use of water power. China's gonna need to use solar power better than it does," he said.
"It makes up for a lot of stuff you can buy from them," he said. "It makes up for a lot of sweaters — one big wind mill, a lot of sweaters."
Saturday was the first day of Giuliani's two-day bus trip through New Hampshire, where he is second place in the polls behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and about even with Arizona Sen. John McCain.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLWgYoNvA6Q7svkFMXAgPL8S42IwD8T4A8MO0So, outsourcing is NOT due to corporate greed? My ass.