NEW YORK – The American economy can do much better than it has done under President Bush. He will be the first president in 72 years to lose jobs over a four-year term. Worse, family incomes have fallen and health costs and fuel bills are far higher. The budget deficit and trade deficit are setting records, and businesses are investing less than they were four years ago.

America does not deserve four more years of these declines.

John Kerry is determined to chart a new direction that will create good-paying jobs, relieve the squeeze on middle-class families, establish fiscal discipline and restore America’s competitive edge.

John Kerry recognizes that our dynamic private sector can create millions of jobs. His plan will help make American employers more competitive by bringing down their costs and enabling them to create good-paying jobs here. He will end the tax breaks that encourage companies to outsource jobs and use the savings to cut corporate taxes by 5 percent, providing a tax break for 99 percent of companies.

To jump-start job growth, Kerry is proposing a New Jobs Tax Credit for manufacturers, other businesses affected by outsourcing and small businesses. Unlike President Bush, he will enforce our trade agreements and ensure that all future agreements include enforceable labor and environmental standards.

Restoring fiscal responsibility will also help make our businesses more competitive by ensuring that we do not pass huge debts onto our children and keeping interest rates lower so that our businesses and families can invest more. During the 1990s, John Kerry helped President Clinton balance the budget while creating 23 million jobs.

He will restore fiscal responsibility by trimming excessive government expenses, re-establishing budget caps on discretionary spending and reinstating the PAYGO rule, which requires politicians to specify how they will pay for their proposals. President Bush has taken none of these steps.

The Kerry plan also helps businesses and families by cutting the skyrocketing costs of health care and energy. Health premiums have jumped $3,500 in the last four years, the fastest rate of increase on record. Kerry’s plan will encourage the use of information technology and disease management, allow the reimportation of safe prescription drugs from countries like Canada and provide premium relief for the most expensive health cases that are driving up the costs for the entire system. And the Kerry plan will cut fuel costs by diversifying our energy supplies and implementing long-run policies to make America energy-independent of Middle East oil.

The Kerry plan will help strengthen middle-class families by making the tax cuts permanent for the 98 percent of families that make up to $200,000 per year. Kerry also would restore overtime protections for 6 million workers and raise the minimum wage to $7 per hour by 2007, providing a raise for 15 million Americans and ensuring that no family working full-time will have to raise their children below the federal poverty line.

Finally, the Kerry plan sets the groundwork for regaining America’s competitive edge. Under President Bush, the United States has fallen to 10th in the world in broadband penetration. Research budgets have been cut and the president has banned federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research.

Kerry will invest more in our most promising technologies, including stem-cell research and the next generation of energy-efficient technologies that have the potential to bring down the cost of energy, clean the environment and create high-paying jobs here in America. In addition, Kerry is proposing a College Opportunity Tax Credit on up to $4,000 of tuition to make college nearly universal.

The Kerry economic plan will move America back onto a growth track, create millions of new jobs and raise family incomes.