Dean Blurb on Job Creation (speaking to hurting rural communities)

[stickdog]

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2003/09/19/dean_touts_rural_values_and_jobs_in_berlin/

Democrat Howard Dean headed into rural, economically struggling Berlin on Friday to say he would work to undo Bush administration policies he says cost jobs and threaten to undermine the rural values that shape the nation. Speaking to an enthusiastic lunchtime crowd at City Hall, Dean said people are leaving rural American, and places like Berlin, because they can't find jobs. He said it's important to the entire country to support rural businesses, "Rural American would be stronger and so would the country be stronger because the values of places like this are the values that are good for the rest of the country."

The former Vermont governor said one important way to get jobs back is to repeal the Bush administration tax cuts. He said the tax cuts gave breaks to the rich with money that could be lent to small businesses; to reinvest in roads, mass transit and schools and to develop renewable energy. He specifically mentioned projects such as improving the country's electricity grid that would create union jobs, a detail that would not be lost in Berlin, where many residents are union members who work at the region's paper mills.

Dean repeated his argument that any Bush cuts aimed to benefit the middle class were wiped out because of increases in local and school spending. He said the tax cuts diverted federal money from programs that could have helped communities. He said another way to restore good-paying jobs is to make sure small businesses get help, in part through loans. "If you want to do something for businesses that are going to stay in America and stay in rural America and help the rural economy, you ought to help small businesses, not large businesses, and we do almost nothing for small businesses," he said.

He also would support union organizing. "When you pay your workers enough so they can spend a little money at the local store and keep the money in the economy and circulating, guess what? The economy gets better," Dean said.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Small business

and by that I mean businesses that employ less than 25 people-are not going to outsource their labor force. The boss knows everyone personally, and you know what? It's darned hard to tell someone you know that you're firing them because labor costs are cheaper overseas.