Unrealistic promises if you ask me...
Originally posted by rpm371
Kerry's stand on issues.
Here is his plan for the first 100 days:
(1) A New National Education Trust Fund
We will propose a National Education Trust Fund to make sure that, for the first time ever, we fully fund our schools so they have the tools to assure our kids can succeed in the 21st century economy. We will make a new deal on education – if Washington is going to mandate something for our schools, then the funding should be mandatory.
Define fully fund? Are we going to set a reasonable bar for the expectations of our children's future, or are we just going to throw money at the education system? People knock NCLB because they say that it sets the bar too high for realistic results in public education. The fact that we have trouble teaching kids to read and add is not an issue that's going to be solved just by throwing money at it. Give the public schools goals to stretch for, THEN apply money as necessary. A lot of my family is in public education, and it's AMAZING how wasteful schools are when they get government money without starving a bit under lofty goals.
(2) A New Era of National Service
John Kerry will call on Americans of all ages – from students to America’s seniors - to serve in our classrooms, after school programs, nursing homes and nursery schools. We will fight to allow students to earn four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service.
The first initiative is nice, but a President asking people to volunteer time to improve the community is not a new thing. It's also something that can't and shouldn't be a benchmark of a national administration. Community improvement can only be realisticly directed from the local level.
As far as four years of college for two years of national service... I take issue with that. For instance, two years of tuition assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill would only net a person $6500, hardly enough to pay for 4 years in a State school. Where are you paying for this? Honestly, I believe the college education is overrated for (and even wasted by) most Americans. 2 years of National service should more realisticly earn you the right to vote.
(3) End the ‘Era of Ashcroft’
John Ashcroft has launched an all-out assault on individual rights, allowing for a wholesale invasion of attorney-client conversations, e-mails and telephone calls. Immediately after the election, John Kerry will name a new Attorney General whose name is not John Ashcroft. We will also fight to protect women’s rights, civil rights and workers rights and enforce anti-trust laws.
Limiting rights when terrorism is suspected can hardly be considered wholesale. Most of these people aren't even Americans. This bullet is more like poorly worded filler so you can reach a magic 10 points. What civil rights under law have been lost with John Ashcroft as Attorney General? What civil rights will come under law when he's replaced? The fact is that any civil rights they may be whining about are already in place, and what they will attempt to enact is more like social favoritism.
(4) Repeal Bush Assault on the Environment and Make U.S. Energy Independent
We will rollback the George W. Bush assault on clean air and clean water and work to strengthen our nation’s environmental laws. Kerry will also put forward a plan to make the U.S. energy independent of Middle East oil in ten years—and create 500,000 jobs by investing in energy renewable sources, such as ethanol, solar, and wind.
All I'll really say about this is that if you check with the Department of Energy, you'll notice that we get very little of our oil from the Middle East. The vast majority of our oil comes from the american continents. However, I personally think that energy independence is a very sexy goal, and cutting off the Middle East is a good first step. 1 Point to Kerry for almost saying it.
(5) Rejoin the Community of Nations
We will immediately declare the Bush policy of unilateralism over and work to rebuild our shattered alliances all across the globe. We will launch a successful war against terrorism and also restore trust here at home and abroad by making sure that America always tells the whole truth.
A successful war against terrorism is one of everlasting vigilance. I agree that we need allies in this war so they can police thier own, but the fact of the matter is that Bush chose the 'unilateralist' action because our allies WOULDN'T police thier own. Kerry doesn't have an effective solution for that problem. He simply hopes that he can put the trust and the lives of the American people into the hands of the UN. In my opinion, such a corrupt organization would, after having been given Kerry's approval, would sacrifice more American lives and trust than Bush ever did on his own.
(6) First Major Legislative Plan: Affordable Health Care
John Kerry’s first major proposal to Congress will be a realistic plan that stops spiraling healthcare costs, covers every child in America, and makes it possible for every American to get the same health care as any Member of Congress.
That's just silly. If you want to control health care costs, start with litigation and tort reform. Unfortunately, John Edwards got rich off of poor people battling corporations with the all mighty tort. Under Kerry and Edwards, not only would healthcare CONTINUE to spiral in cost, but so would taxes.
(7) Reward Companies that Create Jobs not Phony Corporate Profit
We will work to reward companies that create jobs by helping with health care costs, a new manufacturing jobs tax credit and new assistance for small businesses. We will also close every single loophole for companies that take jobs offshore and apply new criminal penalties, such as RICO penalties, on companies that defraud their customers and workers.
Note on socialized health care costs: see the above bullet.
I could be wrong here, but I don't see anything in the term 'Manufacturing jobs tax credit' other than a handout to the AFL-CIO. I'm INCREDIBLY anti-union so I'll stop on this point before I make an bellybutton of myself.
Finally, closing loopholes for corporate tax evasion is a good thing. The fact that they're trying to pin it onto the wave of corporate accounting scandals is shameless. If there was a loophole in the law that allowed me to not pay taxes, I'd use it. What the accounting scandals amount to is me lying to the IRS on my taxes. One is legal, the other isn't.
(8) Create a Middle Class Economy and End the Privileged Class Economy
We will fight to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so that we can invest in education and health care. We will also protect middle class tax cuts, such as the child credit and the elimination of the marriage penalty and propose additional tax credits to help middle class families make ends meet.
Kerry can't fund all his initiatives by repealing the tax cuts for those who make more than $300,000 a year. It's a mathematical impossibility. It's sad that Kerry believes that they way ahead in America is to punish the successful for succeeding.
(9) Cut the Deficit in Half in Four Years
We will put forward a budget to restore fiscal sanity, eliminate corporate welfare, and cut the deficit in half in four years. However, we will keep our compact to seniors by securing Medicare and Social Security and protecting our children and veterans.
It's a fine goal, but they won't be able to do it. We had a budget surplus under Bill Clinton during the hayday before all that accounting malpractice surfaced on the public radar. At that time, the government was getting it's tax revenue from 'successful' corporations. Waging war on the 'honest' successful corporations that we have left will leave us with nothing. The way out of the deficit is to start an initiative to kill wasteful government spending. It will take longer than 4 years, to kill 50 years of piled up crap.
(10) End Influence Peddling and Secret Deals
We will reinstate the five-year ban on lobbying so that government officials - like Bush’s former campaign manager and FEMA director - cannot cash in by peddling influence. We will also shine the light on the secret deals in Washington by requiring every meeting with a lobbyist or any special interest deal inserted into a bill by a lobbyist be made public.
Wait... they're going to keep people from talking to their Congressman? That's probably the worst idea I've ever heard. And don't get me started on defining 'special interests'.
RPM, I'd like to hear your rebuttal to these responses. I realize it's difficult for people like you and I to come to agreement, but it would elevate the arguement if we had some kind of intellectual discourse.
