Issues
Economy
Simply put, our economy is in serious trouble. Our nation’s unemployment rate is at 9.7 percent, and we are continuing to lose jobs each month. Home foreclosure filings are shattering all-time records. And the federal budget deficit is at an all-time high.
In order to turn our economy around, we need to recognize one simple fact: In order to have employees, you must have employers. The United States now competes in a global marketplace. Therefore, our goal must be for the United States to have the best business climate in the world. Most importantly, we must embrace tax and regulatory policies at the federal level that encourage businesses to locate, expand, and invest in the United States.
Unlike the Democratic leadership in Congress, I do not believe that the federal government can borrow and spend its way to prosperity. Rather, we must focus on creating incentives to spur investment and job growth in our country’s private sector. Here are my specific ideas for fostering economic growth:
1. Cut the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent – The United States currently has the second highest corporate income tax rate in the industrialized world. This high tax rate discourages investment in the United States and encourages companies to move overseas. While countries around the globe have been cutting corporate tax rates in order to improve their business climate, the United States has failed to do so, and this failure has made the United States less competitive in the global marketplace. I therefore favor reducing the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. Such a tax cut would lead to more investment and job growth in the United States. No longer would our corporate income tax rate be higher than countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Mexico. Moreover, experience in other countries demonstrates that that cutting the corporate tax rate would lead to more government revenues over the long run by increasing economic growth and investment in the United States. In Ireland, for example, corporate tax revenues increased significantly when the corporate tax rate was cut to 12.5%.
2. Stop the scheduled increase in capital gains and dividend taxes – Absent action by Congress and the President, at the end of 2010, the federal capital gains tax rate is scheduled to increase by one-third and the tax rate on dividends will more than double for many taxpayers. Given our current economic problems, it would be a terrible mistake to increase taxes on capital gains and dividends. We need to encourage more private investment, not discourage it by raising taxes on investment income.
3. Encourage broadband deployment – Just as the interstate highway system was key to economic growth in the latter half of the 20th century, the information superhighway will be key to economic growth in the 21st century. Partly due to deregulatory policies adopted by the federal government, broadband deployment in Virginia and United States has grown significantly in the last decade. We can, however, do better. First, we most modernize the federal Universal Service Fund by shifting its focus from expanding telephone access to expanding broadband access. Second, we must focus on improving broadband speeds, such as by encouraging the deployment of fiber technology. And third, we must continue to eliminate regulatory barriers that deter companies from deploying broadband lines.
4. Open foreign markets to American goods and services – Nearly one in five American jobs, including over fifteen percent of Virginia manufacturing jobs, rely on international trade, and more American exports mean more American jobs. We therefore must continue to work to open foreign markets to American goods and services. Too often, foreign countries impose tariffs and other unfair trade barriers on American products, and the removal of such trade barriers must be a priority of American foreign policy.
5. Defeat “card check” and other anti-business proposals – In order to maintain America’s competitiveness, we must preserve the proper balance of power between businesses and unions. Like voters in presidential elections, workers should have the chance to vote for or against unionization using a secret ballot. I therefore oppose the proposal known as card check, which would open the door to union organizers coercing and intimidating workers. I also oppose proposals to allow the federal government to impose a contract on an employer and a union through mandatory arbitration if the parties are unable to agree on a contract. Government imposition of contracts on private enterprise will significantly undermine the flexibility that businesses need to remain competitive. Unfortunately, Jim Moran does not agree and supports legislation that would both eliminate the secret ballot in unionization elections and empower the federal government to impose contracts on employers and employees through mandatory arbitration.
I also support maintaining Virginia’s status as a right-to-work state. Union membership should be voluntary rather than compulsory. If you want to join a union and pay dues, you should have the right to do so. But if you don’t want to join a union and pay dues, then you shouldn’t be required to do so.
