Following the campaign, September 25
From Karin Caifa:
ON THE ISSUES
According to his Web site, here’s a snapshot of where Kucinich stands on some key economic issues.
CORPORATIONS: Corporations should be compelled to pay a fair share of taxes. If corporations shift profits offshore to avoid paying taxes, they should not be permitted to operate in the United States. The decrease in corporate tax responsibility is an indication of the rise of corporate power. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, after the 2002 tax cuts, corporations will pay in taxes an amount equivalent to 1.3 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. In the 1950s they paid taxes of 4.5 percent of the U.S. GDP. Corporations have fewer regulations, pay fewer taxes and yet have greater influence.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE: The federal government can give cities and states loans for infrastructure programs to be repaid over a period of 30 years, at zero interest. This will boost economies and spur private investment. A Federal Bank for Infrastructure Maintenance would administer a program of lending $50 billion per year to state and local governments.
UNEMPLOYMENT: With work that needs to be done, and people needing to work, what America needs is a way to put unemployed Americans to work rebuilding America’s neglected infrastructure. The Kucinich plan will make that happen. The Kucinich plan calls for the creation of a low-cost federal financing mechanism to administer $50 billion in zero-interest loans every year to localities for infrastructure projects for ten years. Twenty percent of these funds would be targeted for school construction and repair.
MANUFACTURING: Our nation will be restored with new manufacturing policy, where the maintenance of our industrial base is understood to be vital to our national economic welfare. We can fuel domestic steel production and consumption by rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure with American made steel, utilizing the productive capacity of our mills. We need to spend at least $500 billion to rebuild our schools, roads, bridges, ports, sewer systems, water systems, our government buildings. A highly trained, highly skilled workforce backed by Davis-Bacon guarantees will make it happen. A federal bank of infrastructure modernization can be created to fund this program with zero interest loans to the states.
’TRUE PATRIOT ACT’
Kucinich has released the details of his legislation to repeal portions of the USA Patriot Act. The bill is co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and 20 other members of Congress, as well as the ACLU. “At a time when over 200 years of Americans’ faith in civil liberties is endangered by two years of fear, I believe that with the ‘True Patriot Act,’ this Congress can achieve both liberty and safety for all Americans,” a statement from Kucinich said. The bill, called the “Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act” seeks to roll back several provisions of the original, including permission to conduct “sneak and peek” searches, a requirement that all aviation security screeners be U.S. citizens and rules on the detention and prosecution of immigrants. The ACLU has thrown its support behind the bipartisan bill. “We now know that the Patriot Act and other measures went too far, too fast,” said Gregory T. Nojeim, Associate Director and Chief Legislative Counsel of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “Now we see members from both sides of the aisle are calling for corrections to be made, and this bill stays true to Benjamin Franklin’s call for a balance between security and liberty. We remain committed to ensuring that America remains both safe and free.” Kucinich is the only member of Congress who is also a presidential candidate to vote against the original Patriot Act in October of 2001. Under fire from both sides of the aisle and many civil liberties groups, Attorney General John Ashcroft has been touring the country to encourage support for the law. Despite having bipartisan support, it’s unlikely Kucinich’s bill will get attention from the House anytime soon, as it remains bogged down with spending bills. It’s also possible that Kucinich’s plan could hurt his presidential and congressional bids, particularly with those who don’t think the anti-war candidate could do enough to protect the homeland and combat terrorism. In his congressional district, Kucinich has already attracted a challenger, Edward Fitzpatrick Herman, who said he’s challenging Kucinich because he “does not appreciate the nature and magnitude of the threat facing America from worldwide terrorist organizations.”
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