Mark Barrett

Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Hillary Clinton would be a "You're hired" president and Donald Trump would be a "You're fired" president, Clinton's running mate said here Monday.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine told about 300 people at a campaign rally that Clinton has a plan to boost the economy and a record of championing the causes of women and children while Trump has offered vague assurances that won't help the country and a record of helping himself.

Trump delivered the line, "You're fired," again and again on a reality television show when it was time to let losing contestants go.

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By contrast, Kaine said, Clinton "has said in the first 100 days we're going to do everything we can to give the economy the biggest job growth jumpstart that we've had since World War II."

Part of Kaine's 40-minute speech at the Arthur Edington Education & Career Center just south of downtown was devoted to outlining ways he said a Clinton presidency would help the economy and part focused on problems he sees with Trump and his business practices.

Clinton's plan

Clinton says she wants to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour, allow students to graduate from state schools debt-free, expand technical education, invest $275 billion in infrastructure in her first term and make it easier for companies to share profits with employees. She has called for higher taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers to pay for her plan.

Kaine said the current $7.25-an-hour minimum wage doesn't match American values, Kaine said.

"If we say work is dignified and important and if we mean it when we tell people to work, then we ought to have polices that respect workers, that respect hard work," he said.

But, he added, a single parent working full-time at minimum wage is below the poverty line, Kaine said.

"Other countries not as wealthy as us" can afford to allow students to graduate from college debt-free and the United States can do the same, he said.

Kaine cited an analysis of the two candidates' tax plans by economic research firm Moody's Analytics that said Clinton's plan would result in the creation of 10 million jobs while Trump's would cost the country 3.5 million.

"Would you rather be up 10 million or 3 million down?" he asked the crowd.

The New York Times reported Trump has reduced the size of tax cuts in plans since that analysis but it is difficult to say what the impact of the changes would be because Trump has not released details.

The Trump campaign says Clinton's plan amounts to more of the same policies that have already failed.

"Right now the American economy is only working for the rigged system in Washington and on Wall Street, yet Hillary Clinton is running to keep things as they are," Dan Kowalski, deputy national policy director, said after a Clinton speech on jobs last week. "Clinton’s plans today will short circuit our economy by raising taxes, increasing spending and killing jobs. Donald Trump presents a better vision and a new direction — a plan to unleash prosperity, create jobs and increase wages so that all Americans can succeed."

Trump's record

Kaine said voters should be skeptical of anything Trump says.

"He tends to say, 'We're going to be rich. Believe me,' or, 'We're going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Believe me,'" Kaine said.

He referred to news reports questioning several of Trump's business dealings, saying, "The promises he made in this campaign are the same kind of promises he made to contractors who he stiffed ... to the students at Trump U who gave him thousands of bucks and ended up with a diploma that wasn't worth the paper it was written on."

Kaine criticized Trump's refusal to release his income tax returns, noting presidential candidates have routinely shared theirs for several decades.

Trump has proposed doing away with the estate tax, now levied on estates of more than $5.45 million. Trump's estate could face a significant tax bill upon his death, although it could be reduced with planning.

That potential liability may explain why Trump is keeping his tax returns private, Kaine said. If they were released, "Then you could ... see that the chief beneficiary of the Trump tax plan is Donald J. Trump," he said.

That, Kaine said, is typical of the Republican presidential nominee.

"There's a consistent issue that he has been focused on his entire life. ... It's Donald J. Trump," Kaine said.

Kaine is a former governor of Virginia and now represents the state in the U.S. Senate. He said he had argued cases as an attorney in Asheville and been kayaking nearby. He said he met with a former professor, Weaverville resident John Kuhlman, just before the rally.

"Think of a teacher or a professor ... who made a big difference in your life," Kaine told the crowd. "John Kuhlman was that person for me."

The rally was held at the home of Green Opportunities, a non-profit that provides job training for low-income area residents.

A graduate of the program, Justin Tweed of Asheville, introduced Kaine's wife, former Virginia Secretary of Education Anne Holton, who in turn introduced her husband.

Tweed said he had once battled substance abuse problems and Green Opportunities helped him turn his life around. He now works at Mission Health.

He said Clinton and Kaine "want to help programs like the one that helped me so much."

Follow Mark Barrett on Twitter: @MarkBarrettACT