State of Colorado Archives: on Budget & Economy

Michael Bennet: Stimulus bill avoided Depression; now we need infrastructure

BENNET: Absolutely not. In fact, what I was saying is true, because we have $13 trillion of debt on the balance sheet and nothing to show for it. We have not even had the decency to maintain the assets that our parents and grandparents built for us: our roads, our bridges, our wastewater systems, our sewer systems; by the way, those weren't Bolsheviks, those weren't socialists that built those things for us--much less build the infrastructure we need for the 21st century.

Q: But the president acknowledges that infrastructure spending has not been really dealt with in this stimulus bill.

BENNET: Transportation, transit and energy infrastructure as well. That stimulus package saved us from going into the second Great Depression. But that's hardly enough.

Ken Buck: We spent $787B on stimulus with nothing to show for it

Bennet said the stimulus bill hasn't been more effective because the U.S. recession was even worse than initially believed.

Michael Bennet: Stimulus bill limited because recession worse than expected

Bennet said the stimulus bill hasn't been more effective because the U.S. recession was even worse than initially believed. "But 37% of that legislation was in tax cuts," he argued, a claim that Buck's supporters scoffed at.

Jane Norton: Economic recovery depends on lower taxes & balanced budget

• Lower taxes
• A balanced budget
• Reduced national debt
• Fiscal restraint and smaller government
• Regulatory reform

Michael Bennet: Transparency on paying for tax cuts and spending programs

We still have more work to do. Both the House and Senate are now required to find a way to pay for most new spending programs or tax cuts. I believe that these rules could be stronger so that Congress, just like every Colorado family, is required to figure out how to pay for what it spends.

Transparency must be improved by every Member of Congress and throughout the system as a whole.

Bob Schaffer: $700B bailout is dead hand of government making things worse

SCHAFFER: There’s nothing to like about the notion that there is a $700 billion fix needed with respect to a collapse on Wall Street. That’s about $10,000 to $11,000 per American household. It’s essentially a tax. So you’re correct. For the Congress to suggest that there’s something to celebrate is exactly wrong.

Q: Chris Cox, the chairman of the SEC, said it’s not the dead hand of government, but the blind eye of government. He now apologizes for deregulating. So isn’t it time to reinstitute closer regulation of Wall Street?

SCHAFFER: In some areas, perhaps, with respect to transparency, & with respect to certain areas of accountability. But not in a way that slows or constrains the ability of the economy to grow.

Bob Schaffer: Congress’ 2007 laws made private sector pay for bailout

UDALL: What we can’t do, is return to the policies that Schaffer supported & supports today, which are tax breaks for CEOs & companies that offshore jobs.

SCHAFFER: That’s not true.

UDALL: That’s not going to get us to health in our financial system. Schaffer supported a lessening of regulation.

SCHAFFER: That’s not true either. You voted against several amendments. You voted against establishing minimum capital levels for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You voted in 2007 to further loosen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s credit limits. That leads directly to the crisis we’re seeing on Wall Street today.

UDALL: This is [the result of deregulation during] 10 years of the Bush administration, of the Reagan revolution coming to its logical conclusion.

SCHAFFER: Those of us who’ve been back home in the private sector working hard for the last 6 years are sick & tired of these kinds of votes that make all of the rest of us pay.

Bob Schaffer: $700 billion bailout is necessary but essentially a tax

Udall accused Schaffer of supporting the policies that have led to the economic crisis, while Schaffer responded that Udall has voted against having more oversight for companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Schaffer said the proposed $700 billion bailout is necessary but “essentially a tax.” Udall says the plan is not supported by his constituents.

Mark Udall: Financial bailout results from Reagan & Bush GOP policies

UDALL: What we can’t do, is return to the policies that Schaffer supported and supports today, which are tax breaks for CEOs, tax breaks for companies that offshore jobs, tax breaks for the wealthiest among us.

SCHAFFER: That’s not true.

UDALL: That’s not going to get us to health in our financial system. Schaffer supported a lessening of regulation.

SCHAFFER: That’s not true either. You voted against several amendments. You voted in 2007 to further loosen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s credit limits. That leads directly to the crisis we’re seeing on Wall Street today.

UDALL: This is [the result of deregulation during] 10 years of the Bush administration, of the Reagan revolution coming to its logical conclusion.

SCHAFFER: Those of us who’ve been back home in the private sector working hard for the last six years are sick and tired of these kinds of votes that make all of the rest of us pay.

Mark Udall: $700 billion bailout is not good for my constituents

Udall accused Schaffer of supporting the policies that have led to the economic crisis, while Schaffer responded that Udall has voted against having more oversight for companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Schaffer said the proposed $700 billion bailout is necessary but “essentially a tax.” Udall says the plan is not supported by his constituents.

Ken Salazar: Cut national debt and close tax loopholes