Here are a few of the questions presented to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (edited for space reasons):
Question: (As) an aerospace worker, we’re living in a world where outsourcing is happening. Globalization is happening. Things like GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) are happening. My question for President Kerry would be this: What would a President Kerry do to assure an individual like myself that I have the confidence to know that … I have a future in aerospace and (in) living the dream that each and every American desires to live?
Kerry: .I can’t guarantee you that every job is going to stay here. … Some companies are going to decide to go overseas. …
But in your case in the aerospace industry, what we need to do is help make that industry and others like it more competitive by evening out the playing field, making sure the trade laws are applied properly. …
Lowering the cost of health care… makes us more competitive. Investing in science and technology and the creation of new jobs helps us be more competitive. There are countless numbers of ways.
Let me give you an example. We have a thing called the manufacturing extension program. It helps small manufacturers be able to get the technology from the lab and the university out into the marketplace. George Bush has cut it by 90 percent, even though it was shown that that helped produce additional manufacturing jobs. I’m going to restore it and grow it. And we’re going to do things that try to accelerate the ability of an aerospace industry to grow here.
Q: Future President Kerry, my question is, bottom line, what is your prognosis for leading this country out of the quagmire that it’s currently in, courtesy of Bush-Cheney?
Kerry: Well, with respect to the issues at home – schools, health care, prescription drugs … it’s an issue of regulatory oversight.
And what’s happened is we have an administration that whenever it’s had an opportunity to act for the collective interest domestically, for the kids in school where they’re $27 billion underfunded, “No Child Left Behind.” Or for the after-school programs, which they’re cutting …
All of those are the kinds of narrow choices the president has made in favor of the wealthiest people, the most powerful people, at the expense of the middle class. I’m going to fight for the middle class. …
Now, abroad, we need a president who can do what we need to do in Iraq to get the stability necessary and create the security through training of the military forces and the police forces to get our troops home as fast as possible.
And it’s going to be necessary to bring other countries into that effort. … We need to get rid of this sense of American occupation, get this target off American troops, and get this war out of the pockets of the American taxpayer. And that’s what I intend to do.
Q: I plan on going to college, and college tuition is pretty much not affordable, and I was wondering if you have a plan to make it affordable for the kids who want to go to college?
Kerry: I do. … One of them … is the $4,000 per student tuition tax credit per year, which helps defray some of the costs of going to school. The second thing we’re going to do is provide a student loan pay-down incentive.
So that if you’re willing to go to work at things that don’t pay a whole lot, like child care, where many of the entry salaries are ($17,000) or something like that, it’s incredible … we’ll pay down the loan a certain amount over those years. … The third thing we’re going to do is the program … for high school kids who want to serve their country.
You’re willing to give two years, we’re going to pay that for your in-state … college public education.
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