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.
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.
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.
"My first priority as treasurer will be to make sure state funds are invested, managed and spent wisely and that we give taxpayers more information about how their money is being used," said Kennedy.
Kennedy worked in Governor Romer's administration as a budget officer in the Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Kennedy grew up in Colorado and has a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.
A: Many people say we need to raise taxes, we need to have more resources. And as I've studied this, Colorado spends more per capita than almost all of our surrounding states. Wyoming is an exception, because of their small population and their industries and so forth. But to me, it's not that our state budget isn't big enough. It's looking at how we're spending it.
"I understand all the pressures that come with it: community services, schools, roads, economic development," he said. "My administration will focus in on alternative corridors." That means more roads and more development, the ingredients of urban sprawl.
I will not be a blank check in Washington like Michael Bennet. I will not support increasing the debt ceiling without a long-term plan to lower the debt. Washington needs to look at borrowing money the same way a business does and the same way a family does. We can't say yes to everything. We have to prioritize and only borrow when we know how we're going to pay it back. Otherwise we're just raising taxes on our kids.
Bennet said the stimulus bill hasn't been more effective because the U.S. recession was even worse than initially believed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We can be better, we can do better, and the road forward is to reignite the American spirit. Our very livelihoods depend on it.
Our way is through each of us doing our part by climbing past life's difficulties with opportunity to make a life for our families and ourselves. You know best how to live your life; I know best how to live mine. Our government's role is to uphold our constitution, and provide equal protections and access to opportunity under the law.
I'm pro-job growth, pro-balanced budget, and pro-worker. Common sense and a straightforward approach is part of the fabric of America's progress. It's well overdue for real fiscal responsibility and accountability all while having a balanced budget that stops the run-away federal debt that exceeds $19 trillion
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D): I believe that the bill that we passed kept 30,000 Coloradans from being evicted. I think that it has funded law enforcement all over the state, mental health services that we desperately need. It cut childhood poverty in half last year because of a bill that I wrote.
"His answer for everything is fossil fuels, fossil fuels, fuels," he said.
O'Dea's argument about energy--from the price of diesel to the issuance of drilling permits under Biden--was that energy policy was helping to drive inflation. Natural gas policy could also addressed foreign policy issues like, he argued, the war in Ukraine and concerns about global emissions. "Even a carpenter like myself can figure out once we move the energy cost down," he said, "inflation will subside."
Bennet, unsurprisingly, disagreed. Inflation is a global problem caused by supply chain issues, he said, not one confined to the United States.
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D): I believe that the bill that we passed kept 30,000 Coloradans from being evicted. I think that it has funded law enforcement all over the state, mental health services that we desperately need. It cut childhood poverty in half last year because of a bill that I wrote.
"His answer for everything is fossil fuels, fossil fuels, fuels," he said.
O'Dea's argument about energy--from the price of diesel to the issuance of drilling permits under Biden--was that energy policy was helping to drive inflation. Natural gas policy could also addressed foreign policy issues like, he argued, the war in Ukraine and concerns about global emissions. "Even a carpenter like myself can figure out once we move the energy cost down," he said, "inflation will subside."
Bennet, unsurprisingly, disagreed. Inflation is a global problem caused by supply chain issues, he said, not one confined to the United States.
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| 2016 Presidential contenders on Budget & Economy: | |||
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Republicans:
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX) Carly Fiorina(CA) Gov.John Kasich(OH) Sen.Marco Rubio(FL) Donald Trump(NY) |
Democrats:
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY) Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT) 2016 Third Party Candidates: Roseanne Barr(PF-HI) Robert Steele(L-NY) Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA) | ||
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