Kerry decries outsourcing, speaks of health care, tech

The U.S. should close tax loopholes that provide incentives to companies that want to ship jobs to other countries, provide its military with the most advanced technology, while also focusing on security and improving the health-care system, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said Thursday night in a wide-ranging speech accepting his party's nomination.

Kerry opened his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston with an appeal to "family values," a theme that Republicans trumpet and are sure to make a big part of their national convention next month. The Massachusetts senator, whose daughters spoke before he did, talked about his family, his upbringing and invoked the name of John F. Kennedy, the former Democratic president whose initials are the same as Kerry's.

The Nov. 2 presidential election, which pits Kerry against President Bush, is the first since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. that killed nearly 3,000 people, leading to the military campaign in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and changes in U.S. public policy and law, as well as reshaping the tenor of relations with other nations. Many Democrats and civil liberties groups have argued that U.S. rights have been severely eroded under the Bush administration, which contends that it is doing what it must to keep terrorists at bay and protect the nation.

"My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime," Kerry said. "The stakes are high. We are a nation at war -- a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before. And here at home, wages are falling, health care costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends, two jobs, three jobs, and they're still not getting ahead."

As U.S. workers toil ever more, they also increasingly face the prospect of losing their jobs as companies move to other countries, Kerry said, addressing outsourcing as one of the first issues in his speech.

"We're told outsourcing jobs is good for America. We're told that new jobs that pay US$9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do," Kerry said. "They say this is the best economy we've ever had. And they say anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can't do better."

As part of his economic plan, Kerry called for closing tax loopholes "that reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward companies that create and keep good-paying jobs right where they belong -- in the good old U.S.A. We value an America that exports products, not jobs -- and we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job."

If he is elected, Kerry pledged that he will not raise taxes on the middle class, but will instead cut taxes for that large group, and will also decrease the tax burden on small businesses. Tax breaks given to the rich by the Bush administration will be rolled back under Kerry's plan, with that money invested in job creation, health care and education.