Kerry Calls for Economic Security Chief

Kerry, a Democratic presidential hopeful, told a group of New Hampshire business leaders Wednesday that the Director of Personal Economic Security will strengthen financial security by helping workers make better decisions about their retirement savings, the Associated Press reported.   The “pocketbook watchdog” would protect the financial security of smaller investors, crack down on identity theft and ensure lenders follow fair housing laws, Kerry said.

“America has a problem when the workers who helped build its economy are pocketing pennies while the few who are bragging about an economy are pocketing billions,” Kerry told the group.

Workers have a right to secure retirements, safe workplaces, and fair and equal pay, Kerry said, but instead have suffered under what he called “George Bush’s Bill of Privileges for Special Interests.” The Bush administration respondent to Wall Street greed with a “look-the-other-way attitude,” Kerry insisted..

“It’s time we had an economy that’s run not just by the value of our stocks, but the values of our families, an economy where common courtesy and common sense count for as much, if not more than, dollars and cents,” Kerry said.

The new position is part of Kerry’s “workers’ bill of rights,” policy ideas which he claims show his willingness to represent working people. The package includes his earlier plans to expand health insurance coverage, enforce trade agreements, end corporate welfare and repeal President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.