THE RAW DEAL: John Kerry's Shifting Positions On Outsourcing

George W. Bush ^ | September 7, 2004

[RWR8189]

"John Kerry's own advisers say his tax plan won't stop outsourcing, and Kerry himself has disavowed his attacks on 'Benedict Arnold CEOs,' blaming them on 'overzealous speechwriters.' Kerry's own list of business supporters includes outsourcers and a sweatshop owner. He has even said he would 'support' companies taking jobs overseas 'in the normal course of business.' Kerry's shifting positions on outsourcing are another reason that he faces a credibility problem with the American people."

-Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman

Kerry's Outsourcing Proposal Is Disingenuous

Kerry Campaign Officials Know Kerry's Plan Will Not Stop Outsourcing. "Campaign officials acknowledged that the new plan would not stop the broader trend of outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries. But they said it would at least remove what they called a bias in the tax system that encourages such practices." (Edmund L. Andrews and Jodi Wilgoren, "Kerry To Propose Eliminating A Tax Break On U.S. Companies' Overseas Profits," The New York Times, 3/26/04)

Kerry's Own Advisers Won't Predict If His Plan Will "Reduce The Flow Of Jobs Outsourced." "Mr. Kerry's advisers wouldn't predict whether his plan actually would reduce the flow of jobs outsourced from the U.S., partly because they don't want the proposal to be portrayed as the work of a protectionist." (Bob Davis and John Harwood, "Kerry Targets Job Outsourcing With Corporate-Tax Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/26/04)

Kerry's Shifting Position On Outsourcing

Kerry Now Claims "Benedict Arnold" Line Does Not Refer To Companies Outsourcing Jobs, Saying "I Support That." Kerry: "But the Benedict Arnold line applied, you know, I called a couple of times to overzealous speechwriters and said 'look that's not what I'm saying.' Benedict Arnold does not refer to somebody who in the normal course of business is going to go overseas and take jobs overseas. That happens. I support that. I understand that." (Jerry Seib, John Harwood and Jacob Schlesinger, "Excerpts From An Interview With John Kerry," The Wall Street Journal, 5/3/04)

Kerry Previously Railed Against "Benedict Arnold" CEOs Shipping Jobs Overseas. Kerry: "My economic policy is not to export American jobs, but to reward companies for creating and keeping good jobs in America. Unlike the Bush Administration, I want to repeal every tax break and loophole that rewards any Benedict Arnold CEO or corporation for shipping American jobs overseas." (Sen. John Kerry, Statement From John Kerry In Response To President Bush's New Economic Report, 2/10/04)

Kerry's Business Supporters Are Outsourcers, Have Questionable Business Practices

Forty Business Leaders Have Endorsed Kerry Who Work For Businesses On Lou Dobbs' "Exporting America" List. These leaders include Kerry National Finance Chairman Lou Susman of Citigroup and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin of Citigroup. ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," CNN.com, Available At http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/, Accessed 8/4/04)

In 1993, The Department Of Labor Raided Eight Sweatshops In San Francisco, Including Three Which Were Manufacturing Goods For Esprit, A Company Run By Kerry Supporter And Fundraiser, Susie Buell.

• Three Of The Eight San Francisco Garment Contractors Raided By The Department Of Labor Were Manufacturing Clothing For Esprit. "Just six months earlier, in a bust of eight Bay Area garment contractors, three of those cited were working for Esprit." (Laurie Udesky, "Sweatshops Behind The Labels," The Nation, 5/16/94)

Kerry Proposals Would Hurt Businesses

U.S. Businesses Say Proposal Would Hurt Them. "Raising taxes on U.S. companies that do business abroad will only make these companies less competitive, less profitable, and less likely to create new jobs at home or abroad." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "U.S. Chamber Warns Against Misguided Tax Reforms," Press Release, 3/26/04)

Independent Economists Say Proposal Would Make U.S. Companies Less Competitive. "Our analysis indicates that the proposed reforms would do more to benefit foreign-based MNCs [multinational companies] than to prompt US-based MNCs to relocate operations in the United States…Senator Kerry's prescription to level the tax field by ending deferral is wrong…it would actually tilt the tax field more steeply in favor of foreign MNCs [multinational companies]…[it would] damage the US competitive position in world markets." ("Senator Kerry on Corporate Tax Reform: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription," Gary Hufbauer and Paul Grieco, Institute for International Economics, 4/04)

Kerry's Record Of Voting For Higher Taxes

Kerry Voted 98 Times For Tax Increases Totaling More Than $2.3 Trillion.

Kerry Voted At Least 126 Times Against Tax Cuts Totaling More Than $5.3 Trillion.

The Economy, Including Manufacturing, Is Rebounding

The Manufacturing Sector Has Added 107,000 Jobs Since January.

The Economy Has Posted Job Gains For Each Of The Last Twelve Months – Creating Nearly 1.7 Million Jobs Over The Past 12 Months.

The National Unemployment Rate Fell To 5.4 Percent In August. This is down 0.9 percentage points from a peak of 6.3 percent in June 2003 and the lowest rate since October 2001. At 5.4 percent, the unemployment rate is below the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. It is also the same as the average for 1996, when President Clinton was seeking reelection.

President Bush's Agenda For America Helps Workers Succeed In Our Changing Economy

Opportunity Zones Will Benefit Areas That Have Lost Manufacturing, Textile And Other Jobs. President Bush: "In this time of change, opportunity in some communities is more distant than in others. To stand with workers in poor communities -- and those that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other jobs -- we will create American opportunity zones. In these areas, we will provide tax relief and other incentives to attract new business, and improve housing and job training to bring hope and work throughout all of America." (Remarks by President Bush, Republican National Convention, 9/2/04)

[flashbunny]

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

Expect Kerry to continue to adopt more Bush positions.

Outsourcing is good for America and good for the world.

If you have ever been to India, you would see that the Indians who get the jobs use the money they make to buy American products. Can you imagine an American trade surplus?

The problem Bush has is that he is no Reagan when it comes to communicating. He is doing the right things, unfortunately he can explain them about as far as he can throw them (I know that "thrown them" makes no sense, but I could not come up with anything else)

[EdReform]

BTTT

[ARCADIA]

...you would see that the Indians who get the jobs use the money they make to buy American products.

What would you call an "American product", and what percentage of this item is actually made within our borders?

I admit it is getting harder for me to imagine an American trade surplus; since it is getting harder to find anything made in the USA on our own store shelves. There are some larger items going through final assembly here, but the components are imported, and one would think that these companies could just as easily produce their final assembly in India for whatever is sold there. The only thing we have mastered producing lately seems to be debt.

If you can think of something that is actually 100% made here, please let me know. I would really like to buy American if I can.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

"If you can think of something that is actually 100% made here, please let me know."

This is a naive way of thinking in the modern era. Because our economy is so unbeleivably dominated by the service and infomration industry, the actual location of where a product is manufactured is irrelevant (not really true, if it was done inthe US the labour costs would be between 4 and 40 times as high).

Asking whether a product is actually "made" in the US is like asking whether the cotton was grown, the oil driled, the ore mined or the wood chopped in the US 60 years ago.

The manufacturing process is like a raw material today. It is the design,, marketing and distribution that are key and where the real money and good jobs are. The more we do of this, the wealthier the US will become. If the manufacturing jobs go elsewhere, then those countries will then have the income necessary to buy the products the largest percentage of the profit from which flows to the US.

The peole who lose out in the US are those who lack education and skills. This is why education and life-long learning initiatives are vital

Thus, an American product is one that is owned and distributed by and American corporation that has predominantly American management, design and marketing teams.

If you want to buy products completely made in the United States, I would suggest going to Amish country in PA, or finding a tailor willing (at least in terms of clothing) who will make clothes for your. Of course, you will pay through your teeth because labor costs are so high, but can rest assured that it was 100% made in America. However,, the wool might be from Europe or elsewhere and the cotton from India. The dyes might be made in South America or Germany. . . . .

[ARCADIA]

This is a naive way of thinking in the modern era.

No, it is just basic to the concept of a trade balance. Marketing and product development are intimately linked with the ability to produce the product. You cannot design a manufacturable product unless you are intimately aware of the manufacturing criteria and limitations. It is easy to outsource an existing manufacturing process; the hard part is designing the next generation of product as your skills inventory fades. We are also outsourcing the service sector as fast as we can; service and information technology is booming in India and shrinking within our own borders.

Your whole education pitch is a Cunard, since it is precisely people with education and skills who have been loosing their jobs recently. The modern factory isn't the sweat shop of yesteryear. It is full of advanced machinery and supported by an army of engineers, logisticians, administrators, and other highly skilled staff. The "do you want french fries with that" folks at the local fast food joint are still with us; and, you don't need a PhD to do that. It is the higher order jobs that we are throwing away.

Yes, domestic sales people will still be with us for a while. But, this activity will contribute zero to the trade balance; and it remains a mystery how you expect your customers to pay for all of this imported stuff. To do this we need to find products and services which can be exported, and I noted that you were unable to name a solitary example.

[Judith Anne]

Iirc, Heinz outsources.

[guitfiddlist]

Outsourcing works for Americans. Well...at least this American. This engineer is going to China to facilitate the manufacture of additional "American" products, which will be American because they will have an American label on it, and will be marketed by Americans to Americans..if all goes as planned.

If you can't beat 'em, join'em and shut up about it. I'm working on the last part...

[ARCADIA]

Iirc, Heinz outsources.

[ARCADIA]

Iirc, Heinz outsources.

Neither candidate has addressed the issue to my satisfaction.

[ARCADIA]

This engineer is going to China to facilitate the manufacture of additional "American" products.

Hopefully, you will not be going off to train your replacement. Interesting what passes for "American" products these days.

[guitfiddlist]

Hopefully, you will not be going off to train your replacement. Interesting what passes for "American" products these days.

My replacements number in the hundreds for each half-decent manufacturing engineering job in the US - American replacements. Definitely a buyer's market. But they and I have long been "replaced" here in the US by factories in China. I figgered since these jobs went over there...I may's well go over there and get one of'em back... :^)