MONROE - Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Chad Lee, R-Madison, want to take on the same issues of jobs and the economy, if elected to Wisconsin's Second Congressional District in the U. S. House of Representatives. But their approaches break down along party lines.
Pocan is seeking to create "a smarter economy for the middle class," by protecting small businesses and preserving social safety nets. Lee is looking to level taxing legislation that now advantage large businesses and foreign companies, and to bring federal spending back in line with a balanced budget.
Pocan said the lack of jobs and the economy needs to be fixed before Congress can fix the deficit problem. "We need to get people back to working," in an economy that is slow to rebound, he said.
He views tackling the problem as a process of working "from the middle (class) out, rather than top down," and said that he, as a small business owner of a union print shop for 24 years, knows what is needed to accomplish the task.
"Republicans say they need tax breaks for the uber-wealthy," he said. "I know it's capital access for small businesses."
To bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S., Pocan said he would work to "take away tax incentives for companies that send jobs overseas." Pocan authored the American Jobs Act in the Wisconsin State Assembly, which prohibits state government agencies from spending Wisconsin taxpayer dollars to contract with companies that will ship those jobs overseas.
In addition to jobs, Pocan wants to assure the provisions of the Affordable Care Act are put in place. "Health care is very important in many ways," he said. "And, unless the election goes badly on Nov. 6, the Affordable Care Act is here." The provisions create "affordability in health care," he added.
Pocan is also intent on protecting Medicare and Social Security.
"It's an earned benefit that people have paid into all their life," he said, adding that the Republican proposed approach of "risky privatization and vouchers will increase the cost to seniors."
In ways "to shore the programs up and strengthen them," Pocan pointed out Wisconsin's prescription drug assistance program, SeniorCare, as a model for the federal level.
Pocan was elected to represent the 78th Assembly District in 1998, when Rep. Tammy Baldwin left the seat to take the Second Congressional seat. Baldwin is running for U. S. Senate this November.
The rural aspect of Green and Lafayette counties, and much of the rest of the Second Congressional District, does not insulate it from ravages of the economy, according Lee.
"Rural or not, I'm looking at the jobs situation and economy, first and foremost," he said. "Congress hasn't passed a budget in three and half years - that's sad, but wrong. So many are relying on the budget, and they're not."
Without a budget, job creators have no certainties, Lee said. "They need the cash to invest back into their businesses, but with 'Taxmageddon' on the horizon, they are waiting to see what happens after the election." Taxmageddon refers to the impending tax hikes set to go into effect Jan. 1, without extensions or new legislation from Congress and President Obama.
Lee's concept to return the country to a stable economy starts with "a bare-bones budget."
"The budget is so far out of whack - with such a big deficit, too big of a cut to make all at once," he said. So Congress needs make "reasonable and responsible choices to make the cuts," he added.
To move forward, Lee favors a balanced budget amendment. "It'll take a few years to get there," he added.
When the "cost of food, cotton (to make clothes) and gasoline have all doubled" in the past few years, stability in the economy "comes back to jobs," in Lee's view.
Unemployment was "over 8 percent for 44 months, when the jobs report came out this month (Oct.)," he said, "but people know the real number was closer to 14 or 15 percent."
Lee would like to even the playing fields for, and among, U.S. businesses.
"Do away with the tax favors and loopholes that allow large companies to make huge profits but not pay taxes, because they have the resources (lobbyists) to send to Washington, D.C.," he said, "and so, small businesses get hit the hardest."
Lee balked at the Senate Finance Committee's $205 billion package of tax breaks passed in August, and noted it included a tax rebate for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands worth millions of dollars annually for rum distillers and an accelerated write-off for owners of NASCAR tracks.
"We need to take care of our smaller companies, our smaller cheese factories and small clothing companies," he said.
Lee also wants the import-export playing fields leveled. "We have the highest corporate tax rates in the world," which puts U.S. companies at a disadvantage, he said.
Companies "move to Canada, Mexico and China to stay in business," he said, and in order to keep companies at home, the U. S. needs to be more competitive on an international scale.
Founder and vice president of a research technology company, Lee also founded and later sold a successful residential and commercial cleaning firm that he built from the ground up.
"In order to stay in business, you have to live within your means," he said. That adage goes for government as well as businesses, he said and referenced China and the European Union as examples of not following the advice.
"You see what happens when you don't get your fiscal house in order," he added. "That's the difference between me and my opponent. Life-long politicians are more concerned about the next election."
Pocan is seeking to create "a smarter economy for the middle class," by protecting small businesses and preserving social safety nets. Lee is looking to level taxing legislation that now advantage large businesses and foreign companies, and to bring federal spending back in line with a balanced budget.
Pocan said the lack of jobs and the economy needs to be fixed before Congress can fix the deficit problem. "We need to get people back to working," in an economy that is slow to rebound, he said.
He views tackling the problem as a process of working "from the middle (class) out, rather than top down," and said that he, as a small business owner of a union print shop for 24 years, knows what is needed to accomplish the task.
"Republicans say they need tax breaks for the uber-wealthy," he said. "I know it's capital access for small businesses."
To bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S., Pocan said he would work to "take away tax incentives for companies that send jobs overseas." Pocan authored the American Jobs Act in the Wisconsin State Assembly, which prohibits state government agencies from spending Wisconsin taxpayer dollars to contract with companies that will ship those jobs overseas.
In addition to jobs, Pocan wants to assure the provisions of the Affordable Care Act are put in place. "Health care is very important in many ways," he said. "And, unless the election goes badly on Nov. 6, the Affordable Care Act is here." The provisions create "affordability in health care," he added.
Pocan is also intent on protecting Medicare and Social Security.
"It's an earned benefit that people have paid into all their life," he said, adding that the Republican proposed approach of "risky privatization and vouchers will increase the cost to seniors."
In ways "to shore the programs up and strengthen them," Pocan pointed out Wisconsin's prescription drug assistance program, SeniorCare, as a model for the federal level.
Pocan was elected to represent the 78th Assembly District in 1998, when Rep. Tammy Baldwin left the seat to take the Second Congressional seat. Baldwin is running for U. S. Senate this November.
The rural aspect of Green and Lafayette counties, and much of the rest of the Second Congressional District, does not insulate it from ravages of the economy, according Lee.
"Rural or not, I'm looking at the jobs situation and economy, first and foremost," he said. "Congress hasn't passed a budget in three and half years - that's sad, but wrong. So many are relying on the budget, and they're not."
Without a budget, job creators have no certainties, Lee said. "They need the cash to invest back into their businesses, but with 'Taxmageddon' on the horizon, they are waiting to see what happens after the election." Taxmageddon refers to the impending tax hikes set to go into effect Jan. 1, without extensions or new legislation from Congress and President Obama.
Lee's concept to return the country to a stable economy starts with "a bare-bones budget."
"The budget is so far out of whack - with such a big deficit, too big of a cut to make all at once," he said. So Congress needs make "reasonable and responsible choices to make the cuts," he added.
To move forward, Lee favors a balanced budget amendment. "It'll take a few years to get there," he added.
When the "cost of food, cotton (to make clothes) and gasoline have all doubled" in the past few years, stability in the economy "comes back to jobs," in Lee's view.
Unemployment was "over 8 percent for 44 months, when the jobs report came out this month (Oct.)," he said, "but people know the real number was closer to 14 or 15 percent."
Lee would like to even the playing fields for, and among, U.S. businesses.
"Do away with the tax favors and loopholes that allow large companies to make huge profits but not pay taxes, because they have the resources (lobbyists) to send to Washington, D.C.," he said, "and so, small businesses get hit the hardest."
Lee balked at the Senate Finance Committee's $205 billion package of tax breaks passed in August, and noted it included a tax rebate for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands worth millions of dollars annually for rum distillers and an accelerated write-off for owners of NASCAR tracks.
"We need to take care of our smaller companies, our smaller cheese factories and small clothing companies," he said.
Lee also wants the import-export playing fields leveled. "We have the highest corporate tax rates in the world," which puts U.S. companies at a disadvantage, he said.
Companies "move to Canada, Mexico and China to stay in business," he said, and in order to keep companies at home, the U. S. needs to be more competitive on an international scale.
Founder and vice president of a research technology company, Lee also founded and later sold a successful residential and commercial cleaning firm that he built from the ground up.
"In order to stay in business, you have to live within your means," he said. That adage goes for government as well as businesses, he said and referenced China and the European Union as examples of not following the advice.
"You see what happens when you don't get your fiscal house in order," he added. "That's the difference between me and my opponent. Life-long politicians are more concerned about the next election."