Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
JK Today: John Kerry continues his College Tour in Rhode Island today, where he will visit the University of Rhode Island at Providence. There, he will discuss a newly released report that shows how the high cost of tuition is putting a college education out of reach for more and more families.
George W. Bush: Pricing Families Out of College
· A college education has always been one of the surest roads to the American Dream. Today, the fastest-growing and best-paying jobs require a college degree.
· For years, this country has helped millions of students down that road. But today, the dream of a college education is slipping further and further from the reach of average Americans because the price of college tuition is rising faster and faster than at any time in history.
· Just this year, tuition rose a record 28% in America. Because of this increase, 220,000 Americans did not attend college this year for the simple reason that it cost too much.
· After three years in office, George Bush has not lifted a finger to help college students. In fact, his failed policies have directly contributed to the rising price of tuition. George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy have left states without any money for education, and colleges everywhere have been forced to raise tuition.
· During the 2000 campaign, George Bush ran around promising that he’d expand college scholarships and increase student aid. But when he got to the White House, he did neither.
· But here’s what he did do: George Bush wanted to make college students pay $1.3 billion more for their student loans. And he moved mountains to protect his billions in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
· If hardworking families think that keeping tax cuts for people making over $200,000 a year is more important than keeping college affordable for 220,000 Americans, then George W. Bush is their man. But John Kerry is offering a new direction for America.
· John Kerry’s Compact with the Next Generation ensures that every American can afford four years of college. And it ensures that when students leave college, they aren’t so burdened with debt that they spend the rest of their lives paying it off.
John Kerry: A Plan to Win in Iraq
· John Kerry has laid out a plan to win the peace in Iraq. Today, we are paying the price for this Administration’s failure to come up with such a plan and their decision to go-it-alone in Iraq. It’s time for a new direction.
· The extremists attacking our forces should know they will not succeed in dividing America, and John Kerry is committed to help the Iraqis build a stable, peaceful and pluralistic society.
· John Kerry has a three-step plan to proceed in Iraq:
1. If our military commanders request more troops, we should deploy them, and we should give our troops the equipment and the support they need to fight.
2. The Administration has finally acknowledged their failures by turning to U.N. representative Lakhdar Brahimi to develop a formula for an interim Iraqi government that each of the major Iraqi factions can accept. We must let him accomplish this mission. And the United States should say in advance that we stand by the plan he proposes.
3. We should urge NATO to create a new out-of-area operation for Iraq under the lead of a U.S. commander. This would help us obtain more troops from major powers. The events of the past week will make other countires reluctant to put their citizens at risk. But we can bring in the international community if we place the remainder of the Iraqi transition under international authority.
· While the responsibility for security must remain in the hands of the U.S. military, the United Nations, not the United States, should be the primary civilian partner in working with Iraqi leaders to hold elections, restore government services, rebuild the economy, and re-create a sense of hope and optimism among the Iraqi people.
George W. Bush: Middle-Class Misery
· President Bush says his economic policies are helping the middle class but what today’s report shows is that President Bush is out of touch with Americans and out of credibility on the economy.
· Under George W. Bush, middle-class families are hurting like never before. The Middle-Class Misery Index combines seven different indicators: median family income, college tuition, health costs, gasoline costs, bankruptcies, homeownership and private-sector job growth. In the last three years, the Index fell 13 points – the largest three-year fall on record.
· After four years of policies that have hurt middle-class families, George Bush is actually running on the promise that he’ll give us four more of the same. But in 2003, the bread-and-butter issues that families talk about at the kitchen table all got worse:
_ Wages are stagnant
_ College tuition shot up 13 percent – the largest increase on record
_ Health premiums went up 11 percent – the largest increase since 1977
_ Gasoline went up 15 percent – the second largest increase since 1980
· The simple truth is George Bush can’t see the problem. He does not seem to even care about the middle-class squeeze, let alone have a strategy to deal with it.
· George Bush has passed tax cut after tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Because he has spent so much on the wealthy and spent so far beyond our means, George Bush has not done a thing to make sure hardworking families can pay for health care, college, or anything else. Bush opposed fiscal relief to help states stave off record tuition increases, and he broke campaign promises to do something about high gas costs.
John Kerry: Easing the Squeeze
· Americans need a President who cares about making sure that people have good-paying jobs and can afford health care and college. George Bush had his chance to do something and didn’t. It’s time for a new direction. It’s time for John Kerry.
· John Kerry offers America a new direction. He has a plan to create 10 million new jobs in America during his first four years. 98% of Americans and 99% of all businesses will pay lower taxes under John Kerry. Finally, middle-class families will get $225 billion in tax cuts that will help them pay for health care and tuition costs.
JK Today: John Kerry continues his College Tour in Rhode Island today, where he will visit the University of Rhode Island at Providence. There, he will discuss a newly released report that shows how the high cost of tuition is putting a college education out of reach for more and more families.
George W. Bush: Pricing Families Out of College
· A college education has always been one of the surest roads to the American Dream. Today, the fastest-growing and best-paying jobs require a college degree.
· For years, this country has helped millions of students down that road. But today, the dream of a college education is slipping further and further from the reach of average Americans because the price of college tuition is rising faster and faster than at any time in history.
· Just this year, tuition rose a record 28% in America. Because of this increase, 220,000 Americans did not attend college this year for the simple reason that it cost too much.
· After three years in office, George Bush has not lifted a finger to help college students. In fact, his failed policies have directly contributed to the rising price of tuition. George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy have left states without any money for education, and colleges everywhere have been forced to raise tuition.
· During the 2000 campaign, George Bush ran around promising that he’d expand college scholarships and increase student aid. But when he got to the White House, he did neither.
· But here’s what he did do: George Bush wanted to make college students pay $1.3 billion more for their student loans. And he moved mountains to protect his billions in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
· If hardworking families think that keeping tax cuts for people making over $200,000 a year is more important than keeping college affordable for 220,000 Americans, then George W. Bush is their man. But John Kerry is offering a new direction for America.
· John Kerry’s Compact with the Next Generation ensures that every American can afford four years of college. And it ensures that when students leave college, they aren’t so burdened with debt that they spend the rest of their lives paying it off.
John Kerry: A Plan to Win in Iraq
· John Kerry has laid out a plan to win the peace in Iraq. Today, we are paying the price for this Administration’s failure to come up with such a plan and their decision to go-it-alone in Iraq. It’s time for a new direction.
· The extremists attacking our forces should know they will not succeed in dividing America, and John Kerry is committed to help the Iraqis build a stable, peaceful and pluralistic society.
· John Kerry has a three-step plan to proceed in Iraq:
1. If our military commanders request more troops, we should deploy them, and we should give our troops the equipment and the support they need to fight.
2. The Administration has finally acknowledged their failures by turning to U.N. representative Lakhdar Brahimi to develop a formula for an interim Iraqi government that each of the major Iraqi factions can accept. We must let him accomplish this mission. And the United States should say in advance that we stand by the plan he proposes.
3. We should urge NATO to create a new out-of-area operation for Iraq under the lead of a U.S. commander. This would help us obtain more troops from major powers. The events of the past week will make other countires reluctant to put their citizens at risk. But we can bring in the international community if we place the remainder of the Iraqi transition under international authority.
· While the responsibility for security must remain in the hands of the U.S. military, the United Nations, not the United States, should be the primary civilian partner in working with Iraqi leaders to hold elections, restore government services, rebuild the economy, and re-create a sense of hope and optimism among the Iraqi people.
George W. Bush: Middle-Class Misery
· President Bush says his economic policies are helping the middle class but what today’s report shows is that President Bush is out of touch with Americans and out of credibility on the economy.
· Under George W. Bush, middle-class families are hurting like never before. The Middle-Class Misery Index combines seven different indicators: median family income, college tuition, health costs, gasoline costs, bankruptcies, homeownership and private-sector job growth. In the last three years, the Index fell 13 points – the largest three-year fall on record.
· After four years of policies that have hurt middle-class families, George Bush is actually running on the promise that he’ll give us four more of the same. But in 2003, the bread-and-butter issues that families talk about at the kitchen table all got worse:
_ Wages are stagnant
_ College tuition shot up 13 percent – the largest increase on record
_ Health premiums went up 11 percent – the largest increase since 1977
_ Gasoline went up 15 percent – the second largest increase since 1980
· The simple truth is George Bush can’t see the problem. He does not seem to even care about the middle-class squeeze, let alone have a strategy to deal with it.
· George Bush has passed tax cut after tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Because he has spent so much on the wealthy and spent so far beyond our means, George Bush has not done a thing to make sure hardworking families can pay for health care, college, or anything else. Bush opposed fiscal relief to help states stave off record tuition increases, and he broke campaign promises to do something about high gas costs.
John Kerry: Easing the Squeeze
· Americans need a President who cares about making sure that people have good-paying jobs and can afford health care and college. George Bush had his chance to do something and didn’t. It’s time for a new direction. It’s time for John Kerry.
· John Kerry offers America a new direction. He has a plan to create 10 million new jobs in America during his first four years. 98% of Americans and 99% of all businesses will pay lower taxes under John Kerry. Finally, middle-class families will get $225 billion in tax cuts that will help them pay for health care and tuition costs.
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