Running to Win: Why Me, Not Moran (Part 4)

On matters of policy, we can do better.  This blog posting is fourth in a series of policy comparisons between Mr. Moran and me.   Part 1 of this series was on Traffic, part 2 was on Regulation and part 3 was on Immigration.

Like his legislative colleagues who share in the all-time low approval rating, Mr. Moran has T.R.I.E.D. on - Traffic, Regulation, Immigration, Economy and Debt – critical issues but unfortunately failed.  Passionate partisanship has painted many politicians into a political corner.  As a country we are better when we embrace ideas and innovation rather than ideology and dogma.  I am running as an Independent to take responsibility for our biggest challenges.  Helping grow the economy is one important challenge I will tackle during my first term. 

THE ECONOMY

If you are a federal worker, Mr. Moran has been unable to secure the most important part of your personal economy –your job.  Sequestration has put your job at risk and though you should receive a job loss warning next week, you won’t.  Even your pay freeze has been extended until April and unfortunately Mr. Moran could do little about that decision.  Mr. Moran and the rest of Congress have also done little about creating an environment for private sector jobs.  We can do better.

In Congress, I will be a good steward of our responsibility to manage fiscal policy.  The better we are in Congress with fiscal policy – spending and taxing – the better managed our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be.  GDP is a measure of consumption, investment, government spending and net exports.  The faster our GDP growth, the more jobs are created in our economy.  To stimulate our economy I will leverage my finance background to help lead in three areas: taxes, housing and trade.

Taxes

Our U.S. tax policy is a mess.  Specifically our corporate tax policy prevents companies from investing more domestically.  If we reduce our “world leading” corporate tax rate from 35% to something closer to 25%, we will encourage more of our corporations to invest trillions of dollars into the U.S. economy.  A rate reduction like this could be paid for the way a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School describes: reducing the corporate interest deduction (loophole).  By removing the incentive for corporations to finance themselves through debt we accomplish two things:

1. Discourage companies from overleveraging themselves and risking bankruptcy
2. Encourage companies to finance through the equity markets creating added available cash

A 25% corporate tax rate is not the lowest in the world but it would be a significant enough reduction from 35%.  A newly competitive tax rate will allow us to leverage our domestic advantages and encourage multi-national corporations to invest their “trillions” in American jobs.  More jobs means the “consumption” portion of GDP will increase and our economy will grow. 

Housing

The health of our housing industry is directly related to the “investment” portion of GDP.  In 2010 Mr. Moran voted for the Dodd-Frank Act including section 1413 of this act.  There is bipartisan agreement that section 1413 unduly concentrates the mortgage market, nearly eliminating smaller loan originators.  This creates “too bigger to fail” and restricts our ability to get a mortgage through relationship banks and other small lenders.  I will work with my colleagues to reverse parts of this provision so we can continue to invest, increase our GDP and economic growth. 

Trade

Our U.S. trade deficit may have more to do with our stagnant economy than any other issue.  Our trade imbalance has directly led to jobs being created in foreign countries.  Unfortunately, Mr. Moran has rarely made a mention of this issue; one that is driving the record gap between the rich and the poor.  If anyone needs a better economy it is the poor.  Even in Arlington and Alexandria the Falls Church News Press reported that children living below the poverty level are 13.9% and 13.7% respectively.  We can do better. 

Former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) co-authored the Balanced Trade Restoration Act of 2006 which quickly “died” in the Senate.  This bill would begin to equalize the trade goods deficit that was $737.1 billion in 2011.  The Balanced Trade Act is one that I will rewrite and revive in the U.S. House.  Equalized trade would mean less job loss to new trade partners like Panama, Korea and Colombia.  When “net exports” are higher, GDP grows and our economy will grow.

Most of us know that new businesses create jobs.  Government has an important role in creating the economic environment for those jobs. Northern Virginia needs a Congressman who has an understanding of what truly drives economic growth.  I have that understanding of our economy and during my first term we will do better. 

For more information about our campaign, please visit VoteJasonHowell.com