The Economy
Traveling around the 2nd Congressional District, I hear more and more people speak of their nervousness about their economic future. Rising expenses for mortgages, health care, gas, and educational expenses are increasing the burden on every family. People are working harder and longer for less. Our economic priorities must change.
To be clear: The war in Iraq has dragged the American economy down.
The biggest jumpstart to our economy will be to get the military budget under control and bring our troops home. For what we spend in Iraq in 40 days we could fund coverage of health insurance for 10 million additional children for a whole year. Republicans in the U.S. Congress and the administration have stymied every attempt to constrain military spending.
The Bush administration has run up massive deficits to pay for this ill-conceived war. In the Colorado legislature we had to balance the budget every year. We should bring that same fiscal discipline to Washington.
The war has stripped Colorado of funding for roads and children’s health care. Coloradans paid $7 billion for the war last year that could have otherwise gone back into the economy. Instead it flows to the Middle East and to global private contractors.
The Cost of War to Colorado
• 530 Colorado soldiers wounded or dead
• 110,900 Coloradans unemployed
• 175,501 Colorado children without health insurance
To restore our economy, our nation must change our spending priorities. If elected to Congress, I would vote to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of this country—33 percent of the country owns one percent of the wealth and the disparity grows deeper each year—all fueled by tax cuts and a tax policy that is detrimental to working people.
Fiscal sanity is needed now more than ever to bring about economic change to Washington. As Senate President, I helped to craft Referendum C—the landmark budget compromise to change TABOR and rescue Colorado from financial ruin.
Mortgage lending crisis: Colorado sits at the frontlines of the mortgage lending crisis. When homes are foreclosed the value of a whole neighborhood can suffer and bring down market values for everyone. Congress should address abuses across the mortgage industry with a plan to give families the support they need to avoid foreclosure. We must hold brokers and lenders accountable, curb unfair lending practices and increase the supply of affordable housing. Homeownership is the cornerstone of the American Dream.
When Congress convenes in 2009, every oar must be in the water to restore America to the economic powerhouse it should be. There is no time to waste.