posted on May 29, 2004 11:42:01 AM new
We have mentioned before that kerry has a long list of 'promises' he's been making IF elected.
And many here have expressed great concern about our current deficits.
How do you reconcile this additional kerry-proposed spending with bringing down our decifit?
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May 28, 2004
Chris Edwards is director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute and he wrote this article.
John Kerry is the consummate modern candidate with his blow-dry hair, earnest tone, and easy ability at covering all sides of every issue. He has also mastered the art of giving rousing stump speeches that say little by using vacuous statements, such as "we need a real deal that stands up to the powerful interests."
Perhaps Kerry's greatest campaign asset is his ability to design spending initiatives that target every conceivable special interest.
The following is a list of spending proposals mined from John Kerry's website. By my count, the website includes at least 79 separate initiatives that would create new programs or step up spending on current programs.
There is one interest group that the senator has forgotten about: the American taxpayers who would pay for all this new spending.
Agriculture
Increase spending on conservation programs and farm subsidies.
Expand Amtrak service in rural areas.
Increase spending on rural health care and community health clinics.
AIDS Plan
Increase AIDS spending abroad to $30 billion.
Increase spending on tuberculosis and malaria.
Increase spending to train foreign health-care workers.
Expand programs to assist children orphaned by AIDS.
New programs to help women reduce risk of HIV infection.
Americans with Disabilities
Enhance Medicare coverage for workers with disabilities.
Low interest loans for bus companies to purchase accessible busses.
Federal grants for Paratransit, particularly in rural areas.
Expand Project ACTION for civil rights in transportation services.
Increased spending on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Children
Increase child-care funding with grants to the states.
Ensure after-school care for every child in America.
Fund states to provide salary bonuses to child-care workers who get training.
Expand child anti-abuse programs.
Increase the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
New program to train health professionals and school officials to prevent childhood obesity.
Economy and Jobs
Expand YouthBuild and other job-training and education programs.
Subsidize manufacturers to provide worker health-care and retirement benefits.
New "State Tax Relief and Education Fund" to give the states $50 billion over two years.
Expand programs that assist minority- and women-owned companies.
Assist workers in declining industries to retrain and upgrade skills.
Cancel a portion of student loans for engineering and computer students if they agree to work in manufacturing.
Education
Expand Head Start and Early Head Start.
New National Education Trust Fund to increase education funding.
Fund the 21st Century Community Learning Center program.
Expand early intervention efforts like Gear-Up and TRIO.
Issue $24.8 billion in new bonds to build and repair schools.
New refundable tax credit for $4,000 of college tuition.
New "I Have a Dream" program to prepare for college.
New "Service for College" initiative to earn college tuition in exchange for two years of community service.
Energy and Environment
New Manhattan Project to make America independent of Middle East oil.
New renewable energy trust fund.
New national tracking system for chronic diseases and environmental hazards.
Health
Expand health care coverage to 96 percent of Americans and provide health insurance for every child in America.
Enhance Medicare benefits to include rehabilitation services, community-transition services, mental-health parity, and home health service.
Expand the new Medicare drug benefit.
Expand Medicaid benefits.
Greater federal financing of long-term services for the disabled.
Subsidies to companies and insurance firms to pay for part of catastrophic health costs.
Technology bonus for companies to switch to electronic health records.
Fund drug-abuse prevention and treatment.
Raise the Medicare-reimbursement rate for nurse midwives.
Homeland Security
New First Defenders Service to hire 100,000 firefighters.
New Community Defense Service to organize Americans under community Service Captains.
National Homeland Health Initiative for health training and research.
Housing
New demonstration projects for disabled housing.
Expand Section 8 housing-voucher program.
Increase funding for seniors' independent living centers and local aging agencies.
National Service
New Retired Not Tired program to enroll 100,000 seniors in community service.
New Summer of Service program for teenagers.
Major expansion of the Peace Corps.
Native Americans
Increase funding for the Indian Health Service.
Strengthen health care for Indian seniors.
Increase funding for roads and infrastructure in Indian Country.
Build safe and affordable housing in Indian Country.
Increase loans to Native-American-owned small businesses.
New Office of Native American Affairs in the Small Business Administration.
New grant program to assist American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Repair and build new schools for Indian children.
Increase funding for tribal colleges.
Increase funding for tribal courts.
Small Business
Expand micro-loans for small businesses.
Expand loans for small business start-ups.
New Office of Manufacturing at the Small Business Administration.
Increase the government's venture capital investments.
New refundable tax credits to small businesses for health insurance.
Technology
Fund cutting-edge technology that the private sector will not.
Increase research funding for the Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.
Double funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
Urban America
New Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide 1.5 million rental units for low-income families.
New funding for faith-based charities that provide services to children, families, seniors, and that fund AIDS education, shelter, drug prevention, and job training.
Increase funding of drug-treatment programs.
Veterans and Military
Increase veterans' retirement benefits.
New program to fund health care for reservists.
Bolster Family Assistance Centers on military bases.
Improve service members' life insurance and increase benefits for surviving spouses.
What is the total price tag for John Kerry's promises? Nobody knows, since few are costed-out by the candidate.
Besides, the prescription-drug bill jumped one-third in cost after it was signed into law, illustrating that federal programs usually cost more than promised anyway.
What Kerry's promises reveal is a candidate who thinks that the solution to every societal ill -- real or perceived -- is an expanded federal budget.
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So....these are kerry's proposals....they will either increase our decifit or REALLY raise our taxes.
posted on May 29, 2004 11:47:57 AM new
Ignoring, of course, your hero, Bush, who took us out of the black and plunged us into an ever-growing deficit. $570 Billion & growing, last time I looked.
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We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy
posted on May 29, 2004 12:04:17 PM new
Nope....not ignoring the current situation one bit.
Asking how those who intend to vote for kerry....while complaining about the current deficit....can explain all the ADDITIONAL money he is PROMISING to spend.....
he's saying he'll spend...to BUY those votes.
So ... it's okay with you bunni that our deficit will either very much increase under kerry....in order to provide all these promised items? Or maybe it's okay with you to have your taxes be increased dramatically??
posted on May 29, 2004 12:10:26 PM new
And there'd be other increases in spending, under a kerry administration, that weren't mentioned in the above list either.
kerry's complained about the lack of funding to the No Child Left Behind program. Guess that means he'll request MORE money for that program.
He's stated the troops don't have adequate funding [even while voting against that same funding]. So I guess that means he'll propose MORE spending for them too.
His list of promises go on and on and on....
I'm just asking how those who complain can rationalize this much ADDITIONAL spending?
posted on May 29, 2004 12:22:06 PM new
Considering that you have presented only one half of thepicture i t is hard to give you an answer Linda. How do these proposed increases measure up against proposed budget cuts. Without a ballanced picture there is no way of knowing if we are really looking at propsed budget increases or simply budget reshuffling.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on May 29, 2004 12:42:28 PM new
That's true fenix.
But that's kerry's fault. In all these months he's been making these different promises to all the 'special interest' groups....he not only hasn't given us a total figure....nor an approx. estimate of cost but he hasn't mentioned if he's going to cut other programs. I'm sure Americans would like to have an answer to BOTH questions before deciding to vote for him.
Like on most issues....he blames....he says he'll 'do things differently' but never actually gets around to saying just 'how' he's going to manage it.
But IF he's not just promising 'goods' he can't deliver...he has a responsibility to say how he's going to pay for them....wouldn't you agree? They're either going to add to our deficit or he's going to raise our taxes sky-high to pay for them.
I'm just surprised because of all the complaining that there's been about our already high deficits....that no one appears to care how all these programs will be paid for.
Kerry also has been promising to reduce our deficits, remember.
posted on May 29, 2004 12:45:52 PM new
On bunni's statement -
ever-growing deficit. $570 Billion & growing, last time I looked.
Last time I looked I read the deficit was projected to be approx. 100B less than had previously been stated....due to the economy improving.
Re-elect President Bush!!
taken from MSNBC:
Federal deficit seen $100 billion lower
Tax receipts pare Treasury borrowing
By By Jonathan Weisman
Smaller-than-expected tax refunds and rising individual tax receipts will pare back federal borrowing significantly for the first half of this year and could reduce the $521 billion deficit projected for the fiscal year by as much as $100 billion, Treasury and congressional budget officials said yesterday.
The Treasury Department's borrowing estimates may prove to be more good news for President Bush on the economic front, as opponents attempt to make his fiscal stewardship a campaign issue.
The $184 billion the government is now expected to borrow through June is a 27 percent improvement from Treasury's February projection of $252 billion, the department said.
[ edited by Linda_K on May 29, 2004 12:50 PM ]
posted on May 29, 2004 01:03:45 PM new
Linda, you are too funny. The audacity in view of Bush's 550 Billion dollar deficit and growing to find Kerry at fault? I'm sure that most Americans when given the choice of a continuing Bush budget will vote a resounding NO.
posted on May 29, 2004 01:16:54 PM new
oh right helen....now it's not appropriate to discuss just how kerry's going to pay for all these new and improved programs - according to you.
We're ONLY supposed to complain about the money the Bush administration has spent....which YOU cry out the loudest about. But kerry spending EVEN MORE won't upset anyone....
Does this proposed HUGE increased [some have estimated it at over $100 Billion dollars - NOT COUNTING his health care program]...bother the left? It sure doesn't appear so to me. It's like they want to avoid even the mention of kerry increasing taxes....or horror of horrors the deficit increasing even more under a kerry administration.
posted on May 29, 2004 01:20:36 PM new
Oh yes....and then there's those who for whatever reason think the war is going to SOMEHOW cost less under a kerry administration.
posted on May 29, 2004 01:35:29 PM new
And since kerry's noticing that American's still trust this President more in fighting terrorism than they do him....he's trying to change that image too.
