Employment: What is your plan to stimulate job growth in the U.S.?
John Edwards: I will stand up for U.S. trade rights and cut taxes by 10 percent for companies that create jobs at home. I will help workers improve their skills by making education and training more affordable and relevant. I will bring venture capital to hard-hit rural and urban areas.
The best way to create jobs is to get our economy back on track. I will provide tax relief to help the struggling middle class because America does better when we are all doing better.
I will also insist on a responsible budget in Washington to support businesses across the country.
We should be exporting American products, not American jobs. I will end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas and instead give a 10 percent tax cut to companies that manufacture products and create jobs here at home.
I believe we need trade that works for America and the world. I will hold our trading partners to their commitments to trade fairly and stand up to abusive practices, like Chinese currency manipulation.
I will sign new trade deals only if they have real benefits for U.S. workers and include meaningful labor and environmental standards overseas.
My REACH Fund and Economic Revitalization Zones will bring venture capital and management expertise to create businesses in rural and urban areas that are losing jobs today.
Howard Dean: My $100 billion “Fund to Restore America” will create immediate jobs and rebuild our infrastructure. Beyond that, we must invest in a future economy based on new energy sources � wind, solar, and hydrogen power � which will be the cornerstone of a 21st century economy.
John Kerry: I will fight to bring back the three million jobs that have been lost under George Bush. I will create jobs through a new manufacturing jobs credit, by investing in new energy industries, by restoring the technology sector, and providing fiscal relief to states to stop layoffs and budget cuts.
I will fight to bring back the three million jobs that have been lost under Bush in my first 500 days by:
Saving manufacturing jobs by ending tax breaks for U.S. corporations that move offshore to avoid paying their fair share of taxes and creating new manufacturing jobs with tax breaks to manufacturers who produce goods and create jobs in the United States.
Strongly enforcing trade laws to crack down on countries that violate trading laws.
Creating a new “State Tax Relief and Education Fund” that will help states with $50 billion over two years to stop the education cuts, tuition increases and tax raising that are inhibiting our economic growth, causing layoffs and hurting families.
Making the U.S. independent of Mideast oil in ten years�and creating 500,000 jobs by investing in renewable energy sources like ethanol, solar, and wind.
Preparing Americans for the jobs of tomorrow by creating a new “College Opportunity Tax Credit” that will make four years of college affordable for all Americans.
Wesley Clark: I have a job-creation plan to jumpstart the economy and reverse President Bush's record of losing more than 3 million private-sector jobs. My jobs plan takes $100 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy and puts the money toward creating jobs.
I have a job creation plan that will:
Invest $40 billion in homeland security to keep America secure while creating jobs.
Provide $40 billion in fiscal relief so that hard-pressed states do not have to pass tax increases onto working families.
And provided $20 billion in tax incentives for job creation and small business investment. This investment in homeland security make America safer and create jobs at the same time.
I've also released a detailed manufacturing security plan to revitalize our ailing manufacturing sector, which has hemorrhaged jobs every month since President Bush took office.
The plan will jumpstart the manufacturing sector to get jobs growing quickly and also promote the long-term health of the manufacturing sector.
We must stop rewarding companies that move jobs overseas and start rewarding companies that produce in America.
We must also invest in new technologies that will keep America competitive in the 21st century.
