MS-01: Greg Davis and the economy, same old song and dance

The Commercial Dispatch has an article about the recession and the forth-coming stimulus checks. Towards the end of the article the two candidates in the MS-01 congressional race offer their opinions on how to best fix the economy. Their response tells you all you need to know on who to vote for on Tuesday.

“We face tough times,” said Travis Childers, the Democratic candidate in the 1st Congressional District race...

...Both Davis and Childers have specific ideas on how to ease the economic woes.

“I am strongly in favor of extending and making permanent the Bush tax cuts,” said Davis, referring to the 2001 measures that President Bush and Republicans passed through Congress when they were in control of the House and Senate. The various tax reductions expire in 2010.

Davis also said, as Southaven’s mayor, he oversaw the only city tax rebate ever distributed in Mississippi history.

“We should continue to ... reduce the tax burden on our families and small-business owners to ensure our economy continues to grow,” he said.

Now that Democrats are in charge of Congress, they’re resisting the renewal of the Bush tax cuts, which they say mostly favor upper-class taxpayers and have contributed to a bigger federal budget deficit.

“Balanced budgets, fair trade deals and broad middle-class tax reform are the right prescription for this economy,” Childers said.

Childers said the U.S. has made bad free-trade agreements that allow cheaper products to be imported and cause unfair competition that force U.S. manufacturers to lay off workers and go out of business.

Greg Davis thinks that the Bush tax cuts, which shifted the tax burden from the top 1% to the middle class, are good for America. Never mind that we can't sustain two wars, a rotting infrastructure, and a hollow government unable to respond when needed (see Katrina), without paying for it with tax revenue or borrowing money from China, which in turn further weakens the shrinking dollar.
Greg Davis is for more of the same old garbage that we have been trying for eight years. I am sorry but that does not pass the sniff test. Greg Davis, when did you become an elitest, out of touch with real working Mississippians? Surely you know your politics benefit only the haves? Mississippians are hurting and know they have been sold a bill of goods, hence we are having this discussion in an R+10 district.

Travis Childers gets it. We need to balance the budget like we did in the Clinton years (remember those, they were horrible compared to now - snark). We need to reform our trade laws so that it does not make sense to send productive, good paying, American jobs overseas for an extra percentage point of profit for some globalized corporation. Childers understands we need economic answers that work for Mississippi families.