OnTheIssues interviews with presidential candidates: on Budget & Economy

Paul Adams: Stimulus to benefit people; break up 6 biggest banks

A: I believe that drastic times take drastic measures. America is in the Critical Care Unit. That means a recovery is best stimulated by implementing a two-pronged approach. First, capital must be made available at the grassroots level to stimulate the start-up of small businesses. That means lowering the capital requirements for community banks, and lowering the interest rates on business loans - that would allow for a market-led recovery. It also means the need to break up the big 6 banks. We can't have another too-big-to fail crash, although as we look towards the horizon, as the QE gravy-train comes to a halt we will see much pain again, If the economy tanks completely, we need to nullify the odious debt that was incurred without the People's approval - a debt which never benefitted the People. Then, we need to stimulate the economy by creating jobs that come from overhauling our infrastructure

Marc Allan Feldman: Increasing government spending doesn't improves the economy

A: Oppose. There is no good evidence that increases in government spending improves the economy overall. Government does not make a profit, so any increase in spending is directly tied to current increases in taxation, future increases in taxation because of borrowing, or sales of government assets. Each of these represents a loss of property to the American citizens. Government spending is already nearly 30% of total economic productivity. A growing and healthy economy will require a smaller less intrusive government and a larger, more productive and successful middle class.

Marc Allan Feldman: Balance our budget by cutting spending

A: Oppose. We need to balance our budget by cutting spending. We can do it by slashing funds going to Democratic and Republican special interests. The wealthy will pay their fair share when we end corporate welfare and political cronyism.

Mark Stewart: Federal intervention causes longer recessions

After the 1907 recession (another short one), progressives decided that we could use the federal government to try to prevent recessions. The created the Federal Reserve. And after progressives gained more power, in the 1930s they use Big government to try to steer projects, create "investment" and directly employ more people. The result: the three longest recessions that we've ever had.

In the 1930s the Federal Reserve tightened the money supply when it should have loosened it, and the New Deal legislation moved people around, but gave no permanent recovery. We pulled out of recession a full 11 years later.

In the 1970s, the Fed did not prevent a recession, and it did not combat it well. And currently, we are in the ninth year of recession, despite Obama's engineering and Bernanke's and Yellin's Fed policies, many Americans are out of work.

Mark Stewart: Market-led recovery bertter than stimulus

A: God no. A market-led recovery is the best kind. When the economy falters in the Free Market and talented people are out of work, employers at some point offer them work, because they are available relatively cheaply (some work is better than no work, unless the welfare benefits are high). That's what gets people back to work.

Jim Hedges: Market-led recovery avoids deficit spending

A: moderately oppose, because of deficit spending

David Walker: Annual limit on most major categories of spending & revenues

A: Place an annual limit on all major categories of spending other than interest (because we can't) and Social Security (because we can reform the program and make it solvent, secure, affordable and sustainable). Limit how much federal revenues as a percentage of the economy the federal government can take absent a formal declaration of war by the Congress.

Robert Steele: Moratorium on all foreclosures and evictions

• Our biggest problem is a corrupt Congress and the corrupt two-party bi-opoly
• Holding banks accountable for speculation and fraud is essential
• Moratorium on all foreclosures and evictions--insure America from the bottom up
• Full year of paid training for every unemployed person, instead of bailing out banks
• FULL EMPLOYMENT is our primary objective, INFLATION our primary enemy

JL Mealer: Replace usurious Fed currency with precious metals

Scott Keller: Return to sovereign money

Scott Keller: Federal Reserve is a foreign owned, private bank

A: Let's define progressive first and truly understand what taxes are. Taxes are NOT revenue for the government but rather a return to the government of money that was put into circulation by the government in the first place. In today's economic situation we also need to understand that we do not have monetary sovereignty, meaning that rather than print our own money we borrow every dollar from someone else--a foreign owned, private bank called the Federal Reserve. There are much better ways to handle government funding and at the same time get money into circulation more efficiently if we end the debt economy and replace it with a usury free, non-profit leaning, grant economy.

Brian Moore: Socialize all financial & insurance institutions