Candidates' Economic Stands

With the extraordinary shakeup in the financial markets, Americans are worried more than ever about the economy. They are trying to cope with the loss of value in their homes, rising health, food and energy costs, and concerns about holding on to their jobs.

Here are some of the ideas candidates in the most significant congressional races in South Jersey have about giving voters some economic relief.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s staff says he has long supported making cars and trucks more fuel efficient and funding mass transit. He supports reducing tax breaks for oil companies, forcing oil companies to drill in areas where they already have leases, and reining in price gouging at the pump and oil speculation on Wall Street. He says lower gasoline prices would result in lower food prices. And, Lautenberg supports cellulosic ethanol instead of corn ethanol. He supported recent legislation to give more families food stamps and provide funds to emergency feeding organizations.

Former U.S. Rep. Richard Zimmer would streamline building standards for refineries and study gasoline formulas which vary from state to state with an eye toward saving money and increasing production, something he said would rapidly reduce gasoline prices. He would police oil speculation, advocate for higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and support nuclear power and alternative energy research and development. Zimmer supports wider usage of cellulosic ethanol, which can be produced from corn husks and wood chips. He opposes price supports for corn used in corn ethanol and says it takes acreage that could be used for food production. And, Zimmer would eliminate the tariff on Brazilian sugar cane ethanol.

State Sen. John Adler said he would target oil speculation, cut oil company subsidies and tax breaks and invest in alternative and environmentally safe energies. Cutting gas prices would lower food transportation costs, he said. And, Adler would “end this disastrous experiment with ethanol” and cut the subsidies.

Medford Mayor Myers would increase domestic oil supplies by immediately culling known shale oil deposits in Colorado and Utah, expand nuclear power usage and provide tax incentives for alternative energy development. Lower fuel prices would lower food costs, he said. He would drop ethanol subsidies and push for other bio fuel development.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews would stop price fixing at refineries to cut their monopolies on regional gasoline prices and force competition. He would shine a brighter light on oil trading and have the Attorney General go after unscrupulous speculators and vendors. With lower gasoline prices, food prices could come down. Additionally, he would repeal the ethanol subsidy, and foster more competition among food processors and distributors

First-time candidate, prison minister Dale Glading would increase domestic energy production but before endorsing off shore oil drilling, he would want referenda. He  would encourage alternative energy development through tax incentives for research and development, emphasize conservation with lower speed limits and higher miles per gallon requirements for vehicles, and support education programs aimed at telling people to turn off the lights and save water. He would scrap ethanol incentives.

Lautenberg’s staff said he supports paid family and medical leave for workers and is a cosponsor of a bill requiring companies with 15 or more employees to provide seven paid sick days a year. He opposes outsourcing jobs and would create incentives to keep good-paying jobs in the U.S. with improvements to highways and bridges.

Zimmer said he would reduce corporate income taxes to make American companies more competitive in the global market, and divert funds from corporate welfare into private sector research and development to create more jobs. For individuals he would target education to close the growing gap between rich and poor. He would do that through a combination of upgrading public education and using community colleges for training and retraining workers.

Adler would support tax cuts to encourage new and existing businesses with an emphasis on small businesses. He would allow start ups to write off initial costs and encourage home businesses. He would support infrastructure improvements in America.

Myers would attack a variety of taxes, including corporate business taxes, to make American companies more competitive in a global economy. He would stop taxing unemployment benefits and increase income tax deductions for children. For worker training, he would increase college grants and curtail taxes on college saving accounts.

Andrews would spark job growth with defense and other federal contractors in the region and work on a new port in Paulsboro. He would support a balanced federal budget to free up lower priced capital for entrepreneurs who create jobs and invest in trade and infrastructure.

Glading would encourage employers to cross train employees targeted for layoffs and provide ongoing training so workers to take on new careers.

Lautenberg’s staff said he opposes privatizing Social Security and he supported the recent Pension Protection Act, which mandated tougher controls on pension funding and encouraged investments in personal retirement plans. He supported legislation aimed at helping homeowners refinance their homes at more affordable rates as well as helping communities experiencing high foreclosure rates.

Zimmer said he opposes taxing Social Security checks and wants to expand recent pension protections to make sure pensions are adequately funded; he supports more transparency in personal retirement accounts like 401(k)s. He would support regulation of the lending industry. Congress, he said, “has to make sure that those who originate the loan can’t just sell the mortgage and be done with it and pocket the fees. They have to have some skin in the game to make them act like a real bank.”

Adler opposes privatizing Social Security. For those worried about pensions and other retirement investments, he said he would look at the “entire securities regulatory system,” including putting retirement fund administrators “personally on the hook.” He supports more transparency in the marketplace. And he would “seriously consider” exempting some savings from taxes for middle class citizens. Adler said he would shore up home values by expanding the home improvement tax credit to encourage owners to invest in their properties.

Myers said he would cut taxes on Social Security income. For other retirement incomes like pensions and personal retirement accounts, he would streamline regulations in the markets to catch the full spectrum of financial instruments, call for more transparency and prevent executives of failed financial institutions from taking big payouts. He would help homeowners renegotiate bad mortgages and educate future homebuyers so they wouldn’t fall prey to unscrupulous mortgage lenders.

Andrews said he would protect Social Security from privatization. On other types of retirement savings, he would support regulations to protect investors from wild market swings as well as require full disclosure of the fees investment firms get from servicing retirement savings accounts and pensions, “so people can become better shoppers.” Andrews would make mortgage lenders and brokers responsible for making sure the loans could be repaid.

Glading supports privatizing a small portion of current workers’ Social Security funds and would provide a safety net for people whose retirement savings were wiped out by recent collapses in the financial markets. Through educational programs, he would dissuade consumers from borrowing more than they could afford to pay back, and change the loan formulas to account for sudden downturns in a borrower’s finances.  He would help foreclosure victims renegotiate loans.