Issue Position: Strengthening Our Economy

Issue Position

We are out of time.

Washington is broke. Our federal debt now exceeds $18,000,000,000,000 and continues to rise with no end in sight. Our nation's debt presents a crisis that cannot be ignored. For too long, Congress has led our country down a path of runaway deficits--jeopardizing our future by creating a public-finances equivalent to the subprime mortgage meltdown. Our financial crisis is real, and it's here now.

Dr. Larry DiChiara's top priority is to restore economic sanity to Washington and get our nation's fiscal house in order.

Balancing our Federal Budget

With a national debt that is more than $18 trillion and growing, Washington continues to demonstrate its inability to reign in unnecessary spending. All the while, our children and grandchildren are becoming progressively shackled in bondage to China and foreign oil exporters.
Here in Alabama, our families and businesses have been forced to make tough decisions--decisions about how to pay the mortgage, send their children to college or meet the payroll. Through the values of individual accountability and fiscal responsibility, Alabama has demonstrated that even in tough times, you can balance a budget.
Together, we have proven it can be done at home. With your support, Larry will prove it can be done in Washington.
Larry is proud to support cutting, capping and balancing our federal budget.

CUT: In order to reduce the tax burden on families and businesses, the federal government MUST cut spending.

CAP: Enforceable, permanent spending caps are necessary to end the out-of-control deficit spending that is siphoning wealth from the private sector and bankrupting our children and grandchildren.

BALANCE: Washington has failed us. The only way to ensure economic prosperity and stability is to amend the United States Constitution to require the federal government to balance its revenue and expenditures--and require a two-thirds vote for any tax increase.

Fostering Opportunities for Private-Sector Job Creation
Representing more than 99 percent of all businesses and employing half of all private sector employees, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Rather than focusing on Wall Street bailouts, we must do everything we can to foster opportunities that allow Main Street to succeed.

Private-sector jobs are created when government gets out of the way and allows small businesses to thrive in a free market. We must cut taxes permanently, eliminate excessive government regulation and adopt a disciplined monetary policy. The resulting environment will support more real jobs and allow Americans to come back to the workforce.

Decreasing Burdensome Government Regulations
While liberals in Washington continue to discuss the "failure of modern capitalism," the true failure exists in the heavy regulatory burden businesses face. Larry still believes in the American Dream and is not willing to surrender it to government bureaucrats who are simply attempting to justify their next taxpayer-funded paycheck. The market is not broken, government is.

Eliminating Taxes and Simplifying the System
Larry supports a fair tax and pledges to become a co-signer of the Fair Tax Act on his first day in Congress. Not only does the current system of taxation redistribute wealth, but it also levies a heavy burden of time and expense on families and businesses. Right now, it takes an average of more than 37 hours for a family of four to complete federal income taxes--costing Americans billions of hours and billions of dollars each year.

Providing Access to a Skilled Workforce
For many of our students, the connection between their high school education and their future is unclear. This often leads them to drop out of school. It is our responsibility to prepare students not only for continued academic excellence but also for entrance into the workforce. Larry supports working with local school systems to offer a path to technical schools that encourages graduation from high school. In order to attract new, quality jobs we must offer businesses a quality workforce.

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