John Kerry Talks Economics

The Bush Administration's treatment of working people is the "worst...since I've been in public life," he says. Here are his solutions

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry recently took his economic case to Middle America with a three-day bus tour through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. BusinessWeek's Richard S. Dunham caught up with the Massachusetts senator on Apr. 28 aboard the Jobs First Express between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Here's an extended version of the edited excerpts appearing in the May 17 issue of BusinessWeek.

Q: You and the President both have plans to create "jobs for the 21st century." You both are going on bus tours of the industrial heartland.
A: I'm intrigued that the President is following my lead. Now, in the context of the campaign, playing copycat. It's about four years too late. The American people will hold them responsible for the loss of 2.8 million manufacturing jobs. Let's see how direct and honest he is about his record.

Q: What's your top economic priority?
A: The most important thing is creating jobs and giving the American worker a fair playing field to compete on.

Q: But you can't say that you will restore all of the lost manufacturing jobs?
A: I'm not going to tell people it will happen in a day or a week or a month. I will restore investor confidence in the fiscal policies of the United States. I will restore worker confidence that the trade rules are going to be applied and enforced.


http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2004/nf2004056_9403_db052.htm


Good Businessweek article on Kerry. States that Kerry's ecnomic ideas are creating a serious dent in support for the Bush Administration, and its attempt to win a second term.