Another 8% added to the cost of gold production, iron production, aluminum production, chrome and moly production......sure as heck will passed onto consumers......8% increase in the cost of cars, computers, golf clubs.
If it isn't grown, it's gotta be mined. And if it isn't mined here in the US, it will have to be imported from any one of dozens of other countries.
Oh, yea....this makes sense. Do away with private sector jobs, to increase the number of goobermint employees. Yea, that's the ticket.

Ed

Mining communities in Arizona are already devastated and have been for twenty years. I don't know what "highest paying" jobs Jack Gerard is talking about.

While I agree that the mining boom days in Arizone are long gone, mining is not.
From: http://www.azcu.org/azcumining/index.html

Arizona leads the nation in copper production, accounting for 65 percent of the total U.S. mine production. In addition, Arizona is among the leaders in the production of gemstones, molybdenum, silver, perlite, and sand and gravel. There are 72 mining companies operating 126 mines in the state, with an additional 70 sand and gravel producers. More than 15,000 people are directly employed by the mining industry.
Arizona's copper production declined 4.8 percent in 1998 and fell 7.5 percent in 1999 to 2.42 billion pounds.

Now 15,000 may not seem like a lot of people, but mine workers tend to earn a bit more than minimum wage. In fact, from this web site (http://www.miningcost.com/westernmine/sept2002.htm)
we can see that-
Meanwhile, at an Arizona coal mine where workers are represented by the United Mine Workers of America, an unskilled laborer earns $19.77 per hour, while a master electrician’s pay is $21.50 per hour, only $1.73 per hour more.

Assuming the $19.77 per hour rate, those 15,000 miners earn $616M in wages (not including benefits).

Now, is $600M+ wages to be ignored? And the numbers are even higher for Nevada (largest mining state in the union).

ed

44,000 jobs is small-time compared to other Kerry proposals. The much bigger story is the effect the Kerry amnesty for illegal aliens would have. That would convert millions of currently exploitable illegal aliens into not-so-exploitable legal workers. Suddenly, they'd become less attractive to those companies that like exploitable serf labor, which would then import millions more illegal workers. And, more illegals would come in order to take part in the Kerry Amnesty. And, all those companies that have been violating our immigration laws for years would get off scot free. Not exactly an example of Kerry trying to encourage corporate responsibility.

The people most affected by the Kerry amnesty would be low-wage Hispanic- and African-Americans; someone should tell them what Kerry plans to do.

Fuck! $19.77 an hour for unskilled labor?!? Why am I bothering to keep toiling away as a computer tech, racking up expensive certifications? Sonova...

Bush-Cheney better hurry up and get ads out there pointing all this out because you know damn well the Kerry surrogates running the media won't.

What's happening on November 2?

Sorry, I'm an idiot. I was thinking the election was a few days later in the month this year. I guess I got it confused with when in September Labor Day is this year.

Kerry just gave Bush a good TV ad.

Mining labor has been, historically, a pretty good paying job. Back in California, in the 1850's, miners earned $3 to $5 a day, when the prevailing wage was about a buck.
Most mining jobs are out in the boondocks, further accentuating the value of that job. Towns like Ely, Carson City, Aspen, Lead, etc owe their current existance to mining. All states in the west (cept mebbe Ahnuldland) thrive in the rural areas with mining.
This sort of propoal is assinine. It will eliminate mining a lot quicker than a tobacco tax might eliminate smoking.

ed