2014 SC Senate debate: on Budget & Economy

Tim Scott: Free enterprise is the key to national prosperity

Scott: Agree

Thomas Ravenel: Federal spending is headed for a doomsday scenario

Now that he has been "emancipated" from the party label, the more libertarian Ravenel gladly holds forth on just about any issue that comes up. On federal spending he warns that the nation is headed for "a doomsday scenario."

"The federal government is making all these promises, but at some point, we're not going to be able to fulfill those promises," he says. "We're going to end up like dogs fighting for scraps."

Lee Bright: Free enterprise is the key to national prosperity

Bright: Strongly Agree

Rick Wade: AdWatch: 5 years in Washington on failed $787B stimulus

State Republican party leaders called Wade a "political insider." The GOP chairman said, "He spent the last five years in Washington authoring President Obama's failed $787 billion stimulus bill and sending taxpayer dollars to his political cronies. We look forward to Rick Wade explaining that record to regular South Carolinians. They won't be too impressed."

The Wade campaign responded, "When it comes to choosing between what's best for South Carolina and America and what's best for his tea party friends, Senator Tim Scott will always choose the tea party".

Nancy Mace: Restore some accountability in the budgeting process

Specifically, Mace plans to attack the federal spending fiasco in her first term. She wants to see "significant movement" on measures to "restore some accountability in the budgeting process." Mace supports a "cut, cap, and balance approach" that will promote economic growth. Additionally, Mace supports eliminating the income tax and would like to see America move toward a consumption based tax.

Lindsey Graham: Dollar-for-dollar offset: cut spending to raise debt ceiling

GRAHAM: I believe we need to raise the debt ceiling, but if we don't raise it without a plan to get out of debt, all of us should be fired. Every American owes $52,000 in terms of their share of the national debt. I want to raise the debt ceiling, but I will not do it without a plan to get out of debt. If you raise the debt ceiling by a dollar, you should cut spending by a dollar. That is the way to go forward. So a dollar for dollar offset and a budget I think are two conditions to raising the debt ceiling.

Q: And you would not raise them unless you've got cuts certain in spending. You will not raise the debt ceiling?

GRAHAM: I'm not going to borrow trillions more dollars without a plan to get out of debt.

Tim Scott: Address fiscal cliff with sequestration & tax cut extension

SCOTT: The House has acted already. The House passed sequestration on four occasions. We've extended all the tax cuts. And now we wait for a response from the other side. We stand prepared to be here in Washington whenever the president or the Senate has a proposal that we can take and act on.

Q: It seems like both sides seem to be, "Well, we're waiting for them." But the fact is nothing ever gets done. Do you think that this Congress will let us go over this so-called fiscal cliff?

SCOTT: That's a really good question. And that's one of the reasons why I'm pretty excited about the fact that we have already acted. We acted several months ago to extend the tax cuts for all Americans. We don't have to go over the cliff. There is a piece of legislation that has passed the House, which is good news.What we haven't seen come out of the Senate yet is a single piece of legislation that addresses the crisis.