Employment

by Edward Grabianowski
October 2004

The Issue


USDA Photo by Dorothea Lange
Economic health has always been a major issue for American voters. The ability of an American to get a decent job with benefits and a salary that can support his or her family is the clearest barometer of the economy's health. With the economy trying to pull out of a slump caused in part by the 9-11 attacks, the collapse of dotcom businesses, and a variety of other factors, voters are focused on candidates' job plans.

The outsourcing of American jobs to foreign countries is a serious problem. While factory jobs have been moving to countries with cheaper labor (like Mexico) for decades, the loss of tech jobs to countries on the other side of the world has brought the issue to the forefront of many Americans' minds.

Simply creating new job opportunities will not be enough to appease the American middle-class, however. The new jobs must pay close to the national average and offer the health and retirement benefits families need to survive.

While there are as many responses to economic problems as there are politicians, Republicans typically try to energize job growth by cutting taxes, hoping the extra money in the pockets of citizens will fuel consumer spending. Democrats are historically known for using taxpayer money to fund public works projects that create jobs and pump the tax money back into the economy.

Badnarik: Position and Record
Badnarik subscribes to the Libertarian viewpoint that government regulation and interference should be removed from virtually all aspects of American life. He blames poor economic conditions and a lack of quality jobs on excessive government regulations and tries to draw a direct connection between a reduction in government regulators in the 1980s and overall U.S. job growth in the same period. Badnarik has repeatedly promised to "downsize the government."

Record:
Since Badnarik has never held a public office, he has no voting record on this issue.

Bush: Position and Record
Bush initiated broad tax cuts shortly after taking office. Although the cuts, combined with increased military spending due to the war in Iraq, have erased the federal budget surplus and led to a deficit, Bush is pushing for Congress to make the cuts permanent.

In 2003, Bush passed the Jobs and Growth Act, which was essentially a package of tax cuts. The deepest cuts (an average of $17,000 in tax savings) were reserved for the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans. The act also increased the child tax credit and the deduction for married couples and eliminated taxes on some stock dividends.

When it comes to putting welfare recipients back to work, Bush is in favor of:

  • making able-bodied recipients enroll in welfare-to-work programs
  • offering tax breaks to companies who provide welfare-to-work job opportunities
  • cutting benefits to people who have more children while on welfare
  • providing daycare and increased access to public transportation to welfare recipients

Bush has supported "flex time" laws that allow employees to take compensation time instead of overtime pay. Opponents of such laws fear businesses will pressure employees to take the comp time so they can save money by not paying overtime.

Record:

  • In 2003, Bush approved a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits for those seeking jobs.
  • Bush passed tax cuts early in his term that returned $300 to $600 to lower- and middle-class Americans.
  • Bush passed another tax-cut package in 2003.
  • Bush increased the upper limit on expenses that small businesses can write off as tax-deductible from $25,000 to $100,000.

Kerry: Position and Record
Kerry wants to grow jobs in the United States by supporting the infrastructure that leads to job creation. "We need to increase our commitment to science in America, to venture capital, to the kinds of incentives that draw capital to the creation of jobs," said Kerry at a debate in 2003.

Kerry's proposed plan would:

  • provide a budget boost to the states in hopes of preventing education cuts and layoffs
  • offer tax cuts to corporations to increase manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
  • work to enforce international trade laws to stop other countries from undercutting American workers
  • push for a strong focus on science and math and fund educational and technological initiatives
  • offer tax credits and tuition help so more Americans can get a college education
  • maintain Bush's middle-class tax cuts
Record:
  • 2004 - Did not vote on 13-week unemployment benefits extension
  • 2001 - Voted no to repeal ergonomics rules in the workplace
  • 1999 - Voted no to increase the minimum wage
  • 1998 - Voted no to increase the minimum wage
  • 1998 - Voted yes on the Workforce Investment Partnership Act, which combined various job-training programs into large block grants, expanded use of technology in education, and gave state and local governments more flexibility in designing job programs
  • 1998 - Voted yes to add an amendment to the budget that would create a reserve fund to make childcare more affordable
  • 1997 - Voted no to limiting use of tax-payer funds in Teamster elections, and also voted no to a law that would require written notice on the part of a union before it could use members' dues to support political causes
  • 1996 - Voted yes to increase the minimum wage
  • 1991 - Voted yes to an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act increasing the number of hours someone has to work to qualify for maternity or medical leave

Nader: Position and Record
Nader has long been a proponent for a "living wage," that is, a minimum wage that someone working full-time could support a family on (several studies have shown that even in cities where housing costs are low, people are forced to work multiple jobs to survive on minimum wage). As such, he would immediately raise the minimum wage, noting that today's minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, is about 25 percent lower than it was 30 years ago.

Nader is also a fierce supporter of workers' rights in general (he has proposed a Workers' Bill of Rights), and he specifically supports unions. He wants to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act, which makes it difficult for workers to form unions. Nader wants cheaper health care and access to public transportation to make working easier for low-income Americans.

To create jobs, Nader would invest in public works and infrastructure improvements such as roads and bridges, make education more affordable, and require fair international trade agreements that prevent corporations from moving jobs offshore for cheaper labor. He also wants to limit salaries and perks for upper-level corporate executives.

Record:
Because Nader has never held a political office, he has no voting record on jobs and the economy.

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