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In My Opinion: Kerry Has a Vision – and a Plan – for 'Technological Revolution'
Most people probably won't pay much attention to the presidential election races until the major party conventions take place and the back-to-school sales herald summer's end. Labor Day traditionally kicks off the serious election season, with politicians showing up at parades and picnics to honor the working middle-class as America's bedrock.
Senator John Kerry didn't wait for Labor Day to make it clear that the foundation of his plan for America's economic future is "an agenda focused on high-wage job growth," for this generation and the next.
Speaking in Silicon Valley recently, Kerry laid out a vision for a technological revolution founded on universal Internet broadband access, investment in research and education, and support for small and middle-size business ventures to spur creation of "new products, services and even new industries."
Giving more than lip service to workers' needs and job growth, Kerry has set forth a detailed program to achieve the goal of creating 10 million American jobs in his first term as president.
A centerpiece of the Kerry plan is jumpstarting the rollout of universal broadband access by offering 20-percent tax credits for investment in next-generation broadband infrastructure.
Echoing CWA's warning that the United States is badly lagging behind other countries in high-speed Internet access, he declared: "We need to make sure we don't settle for slipping to 10th place in the world when it comes to providing broadband. This means connecting every corner of our country to a network that is up to 100 times faster than today's."
This alone would create over 1 million jobs and grow the economy by $500 billion, he said. But even more: "It's about a little boy in Detroit or a little girl from rural Florida having access to the same research for a science project as a child from the wealthiest suburb. It's about allowing hospitals to prepare for incoming patients by watching streaming video feeds from the ambulance. And it's about providing first responders with the best communications network to protect America."
Kerry's jobs plan also targets manufacturing and other industries affected by outsourcing to stimulate job creation in this country. An expanded version of Kerry's New Jobs Tax Credit would cover employers' payroll taxes for new jobs in these areas.
At the same time he would eliminate special tax
loopholes that actually encourage companies to ship jobs overseas, stating, "We must end tax breaks that force American workers to subsidize the loss of their jobs." The savings would help finance a broad 5-percent cut in corporate taxes to stimulate investment and job growth in this country.
Pointing out that the Bush administration has cut federal funding for scientific and technological research, Senator Kerry proposes increased funding of university research as well as expanded and permanent tax credits for long-range research and experimentation by small and middle-sized businesses.
Special research initiatives, under his plan, would be targeted at defense capabilities, development of super-computers and "cyber infrastructure," clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing processes to bolster industrial competitiveness, and medical technology.
And what's refreshing about Senator Kerry's approach is that he has laid out a program to pay for it all while also reducing the budget deficit. For example, by promoting a transition to digital television and auctioning off TV spectrum, at least $30 billion can be raised, at the same time freeing up wireless spectrum for use by emergency first responders.
By contrast, the Bush administration's job growth program is basically the discredited concept of "trickle down" economics, the notion that giving huge tax breaks to the super-wealthy will stimulate investment and eventually lead to business growth and job creation.
What trickle down eventually produces is a mere trickle of new jobs, and meanwhile the federal deficit continues to mount and needs such as national health care and better school systems are left to languish. And the jobs that are being created today pay 10 to 20 percent less than the jobs that have been lost - 2.7 million in all, including those of at least 40,000 CWA members - since this administration took office.
Pointing to these failings will be termed "negative" by the White House as the campaign proceeds, and as President Bush explains in TV ads how "optimistic" he is for America, trying to echo Ronald Reagan.
But it is John Kerry who is laying out a truly optimistic, and attainable, vision for the future when he says: "At the dawn of the 21st century, the possibilities are limitless. But they won't just happen. We have to invest more in our people and their ideas. And America must lead, not follow, other countries in the great discoveries that bring greater prosperity."
Senator John Kerry didn't wait for Labor Day to make it clear that the foundation of his plan for America's economic future is "an agenda focused on high-wage job growth," for this generation and the next.
Speaking in Silicon Valley recently, Kerry laid out a vision for a technological revolution founded on universal Internet broadband access, investment in research and education, and support for small and middle-size business ventures to spur creation of "new products, services and even new industries."
Giving more than lip service to workers' needs and job growth, Kerry has set forth a detailed program to achieve the goal of creating 10 million American jobs in his first term as president.
A centerpiece of the Kerry plan is jumpstarting the rollout of universal broadband access by offering 20-percent tax credits for investment in next-generation broadband infrastructure.
Echoing CWA's warning that the United States is badly lagging behind other countries in high-speed Internet access, he declared: "We need to make sure we don't settle for slipping to 10th place in the world when it comes to providing broadband. This means connecting every corner of our country to a network that is up to 100 times faster than today's."
This alone would create over 1 million jobs and grow the economy by $500 billion, he said. But even more: "It's about a little boy in Detroit or a little girl from rural Florida having access to the same research for a science project as a child from the wealthiest suburb. It's about allowing hospitals to prepare for incoming patients by watching streaming video feeds from the ambulance. And it's about providing first responders with the best communications network to protect America."
Kerry's jobs plan also targets manufacturing and other industries affected by outsourcing to stimulate job creation in this country. An expanded version of Kerry's New Jobs Tax Credit would cover employers' payroll taxes for new jobs in these areas.
At the same time he would eliminate special tax
loopholes that actually encourage companies to ship jobs overseas, stating, "We must end tax breaks that force American workers to subsidize the loss of their jobs." The savings would help finance a broad 5-percent cut in corporate taxes to stimulate investment and job growth in this country.
Pointing out that the Bush administration has cut federal funding for scientific and technological research, Senator Kerry proposes increased funding of university research as well as expanded and permanent tax credits for long-range research and experimentation by small and middle-sized businesses.
Special research initiatives, under his plan, would be targeted at defense capabilities, development of super-computers and "cyber infrastructure," clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing processes to bolster industrial competitiveness, and medical technology.
And what's refreshing about Senator Kerry's approach is that he has laid out a program to pay for it all while also reducing the budget deficit. For example, by promoting a transition to digital television and auctioning off TV spectrum, at least $30 billion can be raised, at the same time freeing up wireless spectrum for use by emergency first responders.
By contrast, the Bush administration's job growth program is basically the discredited concept of "trickle down" economics, the notion that giving huge tax breaks to the super-wealthy will stimulate investment and eventually lead to business growth and job creation.
What trickle down eventually produces is a mere trickle of new jobs, and meanwhile the federal deficit continues to mount and needs such as national health care and better school systems are left to languish. And the jobs that are being created today pay 10 to 20 percent less than the jobs that have been lost - 2.7 million in all, including those of at least 40,000 CWA members - since this administration took office.
Pointing to these failings will be termed "negative" by the White House as the campaign proceeds, and as President Bush explains in TV ads how "optimistic" he is for America, trying to echo Ronald Reagan.
But it is John Kerry who is laying out a truly optimistic, and attainable, vision for the future when he says: "At the dawn of the 21st century, the possibilities are limitless. But they won't just happen. We have to invest more in our people and their ideas. And America must lead, not follow, other countries in the great discoveries that bring greater prosperity."