Kerry's Economic Remedy Won't Be Revealed Before Election

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 7/30/04 | Nathan Burchfiel

[kattracks]

(CNSNews.com) - A top economic advisor to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said the public won't hear Kerry's financial plans until after he's elected - if he's elected.

In the Aug. 2 cover story of "Business Week," former Clinton administration treasury secretary Robert Rubin said, "I don't think you can make proposals to try to dig out of this hole until you've gotten elected ... If you start to put out proposals now, they would be vigorously attacked and they would in effect become tainted so they couldn't be used."

The conservative group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) stated that Kerry is trying to avoid revealing his plan to increase taxes on the middle-class because it would create a campaign liability if he did.

In a release, the group stated that Kerry's plan to roll back President Bush's tax cuts for the top earners "will yield him only $40 to $60 billion per year, far below the more than $200 billion of new spending commitments he has promised to special interests who feed off of American taxpayers."

"In other words," ATR stated, "if Kerry is elected, middle-class tax increases are coming."

Dan Clifton, chief economist for ATR, said the Kerry strategy relies on deception. "The idea is just say, 'Only the rich are going to get taxed,' [and] run out the clock on the campaign. Once they get in, they'll develop a crisis and say 'we've got to raise taxes on everybody.'"

If, as a presidential candidate, "you have something up your sleeve, you should let us know," Clifton said. Rubin's comments, furthermore, "made it very clear that they (the Kerry campaign) have something up their sleeve."

According to Clifton, Kerry's plan could include raising the gasoline tax which the Democrat has proposed in the past, raising the tax rates on the top one, two or three tax brackets, raising the capital gains tax and more.

"There are a number of things that they can do once they get in," Clifton said. "They're just not giving an indication to any of us what they're doing."

Clifton said Kerry's campaign promise not to raise taxes on the middle-class echoes the promises former president Bill Clinton made in his first Democratic National Convention speech as a presidential hopeful in 1992..

Clinton promised that "the wealthy" would be asked to pay their "fair share" and the taxes on middle-class families would not increase, but "Clinton and Kerry imposed the largest tax increase on middle class families," ATR stated.

The group pointed out that Kerry voted in favor of Clinton's tax increases while he served in the U.S. Senate.

Repeated calls to the Kerry campaign office seeking comment for this article were not answered.

[arielb]

Kerry's economic plan: adopt Vietnam's economic system. Yup and did you know he was a war hero for serving there?

[George W. Bush]

If there actually is a plan (and I doubt it), it's probably a Euro-style VAT tax, tied to universal health care.

One has to wonder what Kerry will say during the debates with W.

Kerry: "If you elect me, I'll tell you my secret plan..."

[George W. Bush]

Of course they're not. However, Kerry demands that other companies that relocate should pay the same benefits they did in the U.S. Why does he not demand this of the Heinz Company, since he is married to the owner?

According to a recent thread here on FR, the Heinz corporation said that Teresa and her kids own something like 4% of Heinz Inc.

Much of what you're posting is urban legend: Snopes.com on 'Heinz Sight'

I guess I'd like to know where your info came from. My understanding was that they owned stock, not actual factories. I'd be interested to know if these factories are Heinz factories or some other kind.

Your info makes it sound like they own all of Heinz or at least a controlling interest. I don't think so.

Can you provide a reference to the Wall Street Journal info on these factories owned by Heinz-Kerry? And it's probably her, not him, who owns them.

Teresa is a smart broad when it comes to money and knows better than to give a kept man too much of it in his own name.

[boop]

I LOVE that picture! LOL!

[Capitalism2003]

Kerry's platform can be found at this link:

http://sp-usa.org/about/platform.html

[philetus]

Sorry. Looks like I should have went to Snopes first.

[George W. Bush]

Hey, no problem. FReepers use Snopes all the time to keep the forum operating on a factual basis.

I should bring up that Snopes has an entire section on Kerry. Looking at it, it would appear to me that they may pro-Kerry because they are making almost a weasely argument to try to refute some of what they list as urban legends about him.

So we might not be able to trust Snopes on Kerry. I think some of their other material is defensive of Kerry. But on this matter of the outsourcing by Heinz and how much Teresa and the kids own, it is a matter of record and the Heinz corporation is waging an aggressive campaign to make sure the media knows that they have nothing to do with Kerry.

They probably hate it every time we call him Ketchup Boy.

BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHA...

[SupplySider]

kerry....goodbye capitolism, hello socialism....ultimately leading to communism.

While Kerry and his pals may dream of communism (under a more "nuanced" name, of course) I think they'll be happy just bringing us down to the level of France. Hello permanent double-digit unemployment.

[Defender2]

I think that more "nuanced" name being that "Third Way" cr*p, yet again or something similar.

Thanks for the post!!!!:-)

Best FReegards, D2

[SupplySider]

Rubin should be in jail for what he did

Thank you. I am so sick of Rubin being treated like a god by the media. Besides his ethics outrages, his big brilliant idea was raise taxes to cut deficits to make interest rates go down to bring prosperity. It didn't happen that way and it never will, no matter how many economically illiterate journalism majors at the major media say it.

[SupplySider]

After the convention I wouldn't be surprised if their name for communism is just "capitalism".

[norton]

Vietnamization was underway LONG before Nixon was elected; some of us wanted to scale it back, slow it down, in 1968.

[norton]

I had a plan before I didn't have a plan but I'll only tell you about it after 51% of you, including Florida, which was stolen from what's's name, vote for me.

[Defender2]

Could be, nothing that lefty freak show does surprises me.

Freegards, D2

[Smartass]

[GeronL]

A top economic advisor to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said the public won't hear Kerry's financial plans until after he's elected

Thats it. This candidacy is OFFICIALLY doomed.

[Terridan]

Throughout Edwards speech, we all wondered how he hoped to achieve his goals... no mention was made, either by him or Kerry. Not once did either mention how to attain or achieve their stated goals! Only promises to unite the "two Americas". Huh?! I really thought we were all one, but I guess only multi-millionheirises like Kerry and his protoge believe us little people are separate entities....

[GeronL]

Most secret campaign in history!

[steveegg]

A sure sign he doesn't know what he wants to do yet.

He knows exactly what he wants to do (raise taxes on everyone except ketchup heiresses, their husbands and trial lawyers); he just hasn't figured out how to break the news to those that don't live in Jean-John's Amerika.

[MeekOneGOP]

LOLOLOL! Good pic!

In the Aug. 2 cover story of "Business Week," former Clinton administration treasury secretary Robert Rubin said, "I don't think you can make proposals to try to dig out of this hole until you've gotten elected ... If you start to put out proposals now, they would be vigorously attacked and they would in effect become tainted so they couldn't be used."

Well, HE** yeah. Increasing taxes for ALL Americans can't help you win votes, can it ?? Doh !!

If I only had a brain!