Here is my second diary comparing the 3 Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional district, Mark McCracken, Bill Cahir, and Rick Vilello, by using their websites, blog entries, and press coverage. Earlier, I compared them on Iraq. Sadly, I think my poll in that diary must have been freep'd, or rather "Cahir'd." ;) I don't blame you, Cahir supporters. So I guess I'll leave out the poll this time.
My local paper, The Centre Daily Times, is sending questions to each of the 12 candidates vying for the seat, and features one set of answers weekly. This week's question was about the economy:
What would you do as a congressman to help provide for job-creating economic development in the 5th Congressional District? What are the key elements of your manufacturing policy?
I bet everyone can guess how the Republicans answered the CDT questions: Taxes bad!! Dem answers on the flip.
I'll cover each candidate's CDT answer individually, along with any other economic statements coming out lately. I'll emphasize the parts I like best.
First, Mark McCracken, Clearfield County Commissioner. (My condolences to Mr. McCracken and family on the loss of his father last week.) His answer to the CDT question was:
"I will do as congressman what I’ve had success with as a county commissioner, which is, work in cooperation with elected officials at all levels, community leaders and private business interests to bring economic development to the region. Elected officials and economic development entities must use every available means to bring new business to the region and help existing businesses survive and expand. This would include offering incentives from the local, state and federal levels.
"On manufacturing policies, I believe we must get back to manufacturing more products here in the United States. Our economy worked best when products were ‘Made in the USA.’ Our existing jobs base is essentially service oriented at one end of the scale and high-paid executives at the other leaving nothing in the middle. We need to get back to a strong middle class making a decent living wage with adequate benefits."
On his website, he has a secton on economic development that mostly highlights the successes he's had in Clearfield County:
As we've done in Clearfield County, counties throughout the 5th District must identify new industries that fit the region. Clearfield County has been fortunate that the alternative fuels and private energy production industries identified north central Pennsylvania as a place to locate and invest in. . . snip . .
Another area that we are utilizing in Clearfield County to help foster growth and interest in the region is the promotion of tourism. We were fortunate that Governor Ed Rendell and Representative John Peterson, working together in a bi-partisan effort, proposed the Pennsylvania Wilds as a regional tourism promotion initiative. . . snip . .
One area I will concentrate on is community and rural development. We have many wonderful and historical communities throughout the 5th District. I will work with local leaders as they identify projects that will restore and enhance the historical beauty of their communities. . . snip . .
We also must continue to address the need to bring infrastructure development, specifically public water and sewer, to the most rural areas of the district. . snip . . Our citizens, regardless of how far out of town they live, deserve to have a clean and reliable supply of water.
His website also has a short statement on trade:
The United States must start negotiating trade policies that protect our jobs and decrease the imbalance of trade with other nations. Free trade is a must in a balanced world economy but it must also include fair trade practices on an equal playing field.
Finally, McCracken has a campaign blog as well. In one of his posts, he spoke about that economic stimulus package that was pushed through Congress and signed a few weeks ago.
Bill Cahir, Iraq war vet and journalist, answered the CDT question posed above as follows:
"Congress should offer tax incentives to manufacturers and offer no-interest loans to those businesses investing in environmental upgrades. And I will work to attract high-wage employers — those in health care, alternative energy, high tech and nanotechnology, telecommunications, defense and rural tourism into the region."
Cahir also posted his second issue statment, on our economic future, this week. The first part is an accurate summation of the problems we face and the missteps that have exacerbated these problems in the last decade. He mentions trade, income inequality, job losses, inflation, etc. He ends up with what he would do to help change things:
However, the federal government can play a positive role in promoting economic growth and in providing a safety net to people who lose their jobs and their health and pension benefits due to the rapid-fire evolution of the economy into an Information Age hybrid.
The next congressman from Pennsylvania's Fifth District must see this mission clearly and partner with state and local officials, as well as private-sector leaders in agriculture, alternative energy, higher education, banking, health care, finance, telecommunications, and high-tech research to make Pennsylvania a better place to launch new businesses, retain human capital and reclaim older urban areas. And all of these changes must have a single focus: Creating good jobs. It can be done in Pennsylvania, and relatively quickly, if voters turn away from a discredited political theory, supply-side economics, that has done nothing but expand the deficit and further concentrate wealth in the hands of the nation's most privileged few.
The next federal lawmaker representing the Fifth Congressional District must make investments aimed at creating the next generation of well-paying jobs in Pennsylvania. That strategy must:
Encourage public investment in alternative energy, including solar, wind, and other renewable fuels;
Fund vital infrastructure projects, including the repair of bridges and highways and the construction of new public schools;
Allow people on farms, small businesses and the self-employed to pool their power to buy health insurance at affordable rates;
Offer grants and no-interest loans that will help conserve agricultural lands and keep family-owned farms in business;
Fund scientific research, as well as math and science education, to spark the spin-off of new businesses from colleges and universities;
Reclaim abandoned mines, reduce the acidic pollution of streams and ensure that Pennsylvania fisheries can be revived;
Offer tax incentives to those manufacturing businesses that keep and create jobs at home.
Fund the environmental reclamation of brown-fields and the redevelopment of cities and boroughs;
Promote the deployment of broadband Internet access to rural areas so that small businesses in Pennsylvania can compete against anyone in the world; and
Invest in human capital, including higher education, new job-training programs and vocational education initiatives targeted at people who do not go to college.
Lock Haven Mayor Rick Vilello answered the CDT question as follows:
"Economic development and community development go hand in hand. The federal government must work with state and local governments to identify needs and develop comprehensive packages that address those needs. This could mean installing the proper infrastructure or it could mean putting a financial package together with a private developer.
"Speed and cooperation are important. Industry moves quickly, and decisions have to be made the same way. I would work closely with state and local government to respond quickly when opportunity knocks.
"As mayor, I already have a track record of accomplishments on the local level and know the frustration that arises when an urgent request dies on a bureaucrat’s desk. My manufacturing policy is simple: In a global market, trade needs to be fair, not free. We can do better."
Mayor Rick's issues page isn't very in depth. Here are his statements on jobs and economic development:
Jobs:
We need to quit shipping jobs overseas. Free trade is good but fair trade is better. Trade agreements need to be reciprocal and shouldn’t give an unfair advantage to either trade partner. Industries shouldn’t need incentives to stay here, and policy shouldn’t make it profitable to send jobs overseas. We can do better.
Economic Development and Rural Development:
We need to focus on family sustaining jobs. Our communities rely on jobs; jobs are the foundation Community Development is built on. Jobs keep people from leaving. Our children can’t continue to leave the 5th district for employment elsewhere. Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters should be able to stay in the communities of their choosing and not travel halfway across the country or the world to support themselves. It’s important for kids to see their grandparents. We can do better.
Mayor Rick has liveblogged here at DKos twice so far. Some of his comments elaborate on his successes as mayor:
My accomplishments
I have worked with redeveloping an old industrial site into a 1.5 million square foot manufacturing plant that is now providing 500 new family-sustaining jobs in the area.
In addition, as mayor of a small town, I have still managed to cultivate contacts with statewide and federal impact that have helped Lock Haven to grow and prosper.
Lock Haven is a city of 10,000 people and we have started a free summer concert series which runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day with concerts on the Susquehanna River that is the envy of Pennsylvania.
Central Pennsylvania's economy
We're keeping our head above water. Things are definitely better than they were ten years ago in Lock Haven. Lock Haven was home to Piper Aircraft and an International Paper site, both of which picked up stakes and moved on. We were devastated and unemployment rates were as high as 16%.
Currently, our unemployment rate is now at 5.5%. Our largest employers are now personal paper products manufacturers and Lock Haven University, both of which are growing. The keys to the Fifth District's success are using its natural resources innovatively and continuing to grow in an envrionmentally responsible manner.
Wood products and the forest industry can be key to our energy independence. The Fifth District also sits on some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. We are also home to world class universities, such as Lock Haven University, Clarion University, Penn State University, and more. If we combine the research abilities of these institutions with the workforce here in the Fifth District, Pennsylvania can be a leader in the world economy again.
I think that's long enough!