WELCOME BACK, CARTER!
Kerry Promises Return To Higher Taxes And 70s-Era Economy
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“Kerry’s other bright idea is a new jobs tax credit, which would reward companies for increasing employment over some base period. This was also one of Jimmy Carter’s bright ideas, but it never worked.” (Bruce Bartlett, Op-Ed, “Kerry’s Useless Economic Plan,” National Review Online, 3/31/04)
Like Carter, Like Son: Would Cut Deficit
By Reducing Federal Electricity Costs
Sen. John Kerry Has Proposed 20 Percent Electricity Conservation By Federal Government Over Next 10 Years. (“John Kerry’s Framework To Cut The Deficit In Half And Invest In Affordable Health Care And Better Schools,” John Kerry For President, Press Release, 4/7/04)
Carter, Too, Promoted Energy Conservation In Federal Buildings Through Use Of Solar Power. “Carter’s program would make the federal government a big booster of solar energy and geothermal steam projects, but synthetic fuels would have to pay their own way. … He also said the federal government would lead the way by undertaking a three-year program with a price tag of up to $100 million for the installation of solar systems in federal buildings, while state governments would be asked to change their laws to encourage the use of solar power.” (Richard Corrigan, et al., “Jimmy Carter’s Energy Crusade,” The National Journal, 4/30/77)
Retro Kerry: Wants Return To Era Of
High Taxes, Killing Entrepreneurship
“I Would Take Back … The Highest End Of The Ones That Go To The 35 Percent And 38 Percent. The Wealthiest Americans, At This Moment, Should Not Be Getting An Additional Tax Cut …” (CNBC’s “Capital Report,” 7/16/03)
Voted For Clinton’s Tax Increase, Raising Top Marginal Income Tax Rate To 39.6 Percent. (H.R. 2264, CQ Vote #247: Adopted 51-50: R 0-44; D 50-6, With Vice President Al Gore Casting A “Yea” Vote, 8/6/93, Kerry Voted Yea; “Summary Of The Revenue Provisions Of The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Of 1993,” Joint Committee On Taxation, 8/23/93)
“Repealing The Top Two Tax Rates Would Mean That Approximately 1 Million Small Business Owners Would Be Subject To A Higher Tax Rate (35% Or 39.6%) Than Most American Corporations (34%).” (“Tax and Spend Democrats: Every Democratic Budget Proposal Calls for Higher Taxes,” Republican Study Committee, 3/25/04)
Two Peas In A Pod: Carter Also Backed A 50-Cent Gas Tax
1994: Kerry Supported Half-Dollar Increase In Gas Tax. (Jill Zuckman, “Deficit-Watch Group Gives High Marks To 7 N.E. Lawmakers,” The Boston Globe, 3/1/94)
“[Carter] Administration Officials Briefly Floated The Idea Of A 50-Cent-A-Gallon Gasoline Tax …” (David Espo, “Kennedy Attacks Carter On OPEC Price Hikes,” The Associated Press, 12/20/79)
Sen. Edward Kennedy Said Plan Would Increase Inflation, Hurt Poor. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) said the Carter “proposal to slap a 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline … would cost the average family $200 a year in 1981. ‘The American public is already numb from the soaring cost of energy,’ Kennedy said … ‘Yet the Carter administration is on the verge of proposing a 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.’ … Kennedy said such a tax would add 2 percent to 4 percent to inflation, impose an unfair burden on the poor, discriminate against areas with poor mass transit systems and fail to achieve a significant savings in gasoline consumption. … ‘I oppose any plan to impose a 50-cent-a-gallon gas tax,’ Kennedy said in the statement.” (David Espo, The Associated Press, 12/8/79)
Would Kerry Rather Have Us Drive Renault Le Cars?
Carter – And Fellow Democrats – Wanted Tax On Big Cars So Americans Would Drive Less. “The auto industry said … the proposed tax on big ‘gas guzzlers’ would cause unemployment and could signal the end of the five or six-passenger family car. But Senate Finance Committee chairman Russell B. Long (D-La.) made it clear … he expects the committee will follow the lead of the House and vote some tax on purchase of big cars as part of President Carter’s energy conservation program. ‘We ought to put a tax on big cars so consumers won’t demand them so much,’ said Long. ‘I don’t know how we can lessen consumer demand except by a tax. People would expect to pay a premium for a Cadillac or Lincoln. They should have the privilege of buying a big car but should pay the tax.’” (Richard L. Lyons, “Auto Industry Testimony,” The Washington Post, 8/11/77)
Kerry Advocated Reduction Of Cars In 1970 Candidate Questionnaire. Kerry’s interview with the Third District Citizens Caucus, marked, “not for publication,” says Kerry supported stopping the building of highways and reducing the number of cars. (Third District Citizens Caucus, Report Of Interview Committee, 2/11/70)
In 1999 And 2002, Kerry Voted For Increased CAFE Standards. (H.R. 2084, CQ Vote #275: Rejected 40-55: R 6-45; D 34-9; I 0-1, 9/15/99, Kerry Voted Yea; S. 517, CQ Vote #47, Adopted 62-38: R 43-6; D 19-31; I 0-1, 3/13/02, Kerry Voted Nay)
Kerry’s CAFE Proposal Would Hurt American Automakers And Workers. “Employment in automobile industries, including both manufacturers and parts suppliers, would decline by approximately 104,000 jobs” as a result of increased CAFÉ standards. (Andrew Kleit, “Modeling Increases In CAFE Standards Proposed By Senator Kerry,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, 2/10/02)
USA Today Study Found CAFE Standards Have Resulted In 46,000 Deaths! “Federal ‘corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards’ effectively forced people into less-safe smaller cars, and 46,000 have died as a result … 7,700 people have died for each mile-per-gallon boost in overall fuel economy.” (“Are Lives Really An Acceptable Price For Fuel Efficiency?” USA Today, 7/8/99) |
