2012 U.S. House of Representative Candidates on the Economy

Jamie Wall

Democratic candidate

http://www.wallforcongress.com

Age:  41

Previous Political Office: None

Education:  Bachelor’s in history and political science from University of Wisconsin – Madison; masters in philosophy and politics from University of Oxford.

Business Experience:  Has worked as an engagement manager, director of business development and product marketing, administrator, and principal at various companies and public institutions since 1997.

On the Economy:

Jamie Wall liked parts of President Obama’s stimulus plan, particularly the tax cuts given to middle class families and aid given to individual states, but he doesn’t agree with where all of the spending went.

“There were some things in it that were clearly mistakes, including loans to particular businesses that have since failed,” said Wall in an email to the Pulse. “I think they tried to do too much with it.”

Wall believes the Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for those making under $250,000 a year. Since spring, Wall has been posting a “Cut of the Week” on his website, identifying areas where he thinks the government could trim spending to work towards a balanced budget.

“Everything should be on the table, including domestic spending, defense spending, and taxes,” said Wall. “I’ve identified billions of dollars in savings, including ending special perks for members of Congress and Washington bureaucrats, eliminating foreign aid to China, and ending subsidies for big oil companies.”

Wall will also look to extend payroll tax cuts that decreased the amount of money workers pay into Social Security, and he lists encouraging investment in small businesses, ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and ensuring that American and foreign businesses operate on an even playing field as his top economic priorities.

While he’s for balancing the federal budget, Wall said an actual balanced budget amendment would place too much of a restriction on federal spending.

“It could cripple our economy during severe economic downturns,” said Wall.

On Education:  Wall believes the federal government has a place in promoting education, and he would work to improve access to the federal Head Start program and quality after-school programs. He would not support any policy that restricted access to Pell grants, and he recognizes the need to provide greater technical training in high school and after graduation.

On Healthcare:  Wall supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but he believes some changes should be made to the law. He does not support the changes Paul Ryan’s proposed federal budget would make to Medicare, saying it places too much of the cost of healthcare on seniors.

Reid Ribble

Republican incumbent

http://www.ribbleforcongress.com

Age:  56

Previous Political Office:  U.S. House of Representatives, 2011-current

Education:  Graduated Appleton East High School; attended Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music before deciding to join his family’s roofing business.

Business Experience:  Began working with his family’s roofing business, Ribble Group Inc., in 1976 and became president in 1981 before transitioning out of the business in 2009

On the Economy:

Rep. Reid Ribble believes President Obama’s stimulus package only provided the economy with short-term fixes that citizens will end up paying for later.

“If shoving money into the economy was the answer, we’d probably be out of the recession by now,” said Ribble in an interview with the Pulse. “We had some improvement in 2010 and 2011, and now we’ve slowed down to under two percent of growth each year.”

Ribble believes decreasing the amount of regulations put on businesses is one of the best ways to stimulate America’s economy. Ribble has previously introduced two regulatory moratorium bills to prevent the federal government from enacting new regulations for a set amount of time.

“We need to create an environment of regulatory certainty, so businesses aren’t sitting on their hands,” said Ribble. “When I was running my roofing company, we were spending hundreds of hours just on compliance.”

Ribble supports extending the Bush-era tax cuts at every level for one more year and believes the government should be focused on reforming the tax code itself.

“The entire code has to be re-done,” said Ribble. “We have to clean it out and reduce the rates.”

Ribble would seek to cut out loopholes and deductions in the code, specifically naming deductions for corporate expenditures in his interview with the Pulse, and instead pursue tax rates that are lower overall.

Ribble supports both a federal balanced budget amendment and a cap on federal spending similar to the one proposed in vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s federal budget.

On Education:  Ribble believes the federal government should stay out of public education, leaving it to state and local governments. Instead of looking for ways to subsidize college costs, he believes students should be encouraged to seek out alternatives to four-year degrees. He supports building partnerships between schools and private enterprises to train students for skilled positions.

On Healthcare:  Ribble would vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and work to create a more market-based solution to healthcare reform, possibly including some of the more popular provisions of the PPACA. He supports the Medicare reform proposals in Ryan’s federal budget.