Pat Toomey's Economic Policies

This article is based on an interview Pat Toomey had with the Citizens' Voice newspaper of Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. The interview was conducted on Thursday, October 7, 2010. In the interview, Toomey outlined his economic program to stimulate the economy and put the American People back to work.

The Election

Economics is the key to the election and Republican Pat Toomey has consistently led Democrat Joe Sestak in the race for the U.S, Senate. He took the lead as a majority of voters believe a conservative like Pat Toomey can do a better job stimulating the economy and putting Pennsylvanians back to work. Let us take a look at his stance on the issues to see exactly how he plans to do this.

Checks and Balances

Toomey believes we need checks and balances in government and one party rule by the Democrats in Washington is not working. With Democrats controlling the White House and Congress, there are no effective checks and balances and this has led to disastrous public policy. We have a sluggish economic recovery, stagnant job development, and millions of Pennsylvanians are concerned about the deficit which has exploded after the health care reform and other legislative proposals passed in Congress. With one party rule there is always the danger that the party in power will go too far in one direction, and lose contact with the American People. That is exactly what happened in the last eighteen months, and Toomey believes he can bring some balance to Washington.

Government Spending

As a conservative, he wants to radically reduce government spending. He wants to bring fiscal discipline to government spending and eliminate bailouts. He is against the bailouts for Wall Street, the automobile industry, and private corporations.

Tax Cuts

Toomey supports tax cuts as he believes they stimulate the economy and develop jobs for people. He wants to extend the tax cuts passed during the presidency of George W. Bush. He would like to extent tax cuts into corporate America. Currently, the U.S. corporate tax rate is the second highest in the world, as Japan has the highest. Toomey's proposal is to cut the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35 percent to a maximum of 25 percent. He also wants to cut the capital gains tax.

Health Care

Toomey favors the repeal of the health care reform package that was passed in March 2010, but only if it is replaced with a new package. Toomey has some novel ideas about health care. His brand of health care reform would include giving individuals rather than employers control over health insurance. He would do this by ensuring portability and a reduction in coverage denials based on pre-existing conditions. He supports the development of special programs to provide health insurance for people who are out of work or simply cannot afford health insurance, and for those with chronic illnesses.

Social Security

Toomey favors allowing younger workers the option of taking a portion of their Social Security payroll tax and developing private, personal accounts. He does not favor the wholesale investment of the Social Security Trust Fund into the market place.

Source: 1. Michael Sisak, Toomey strikes careful balance, The Citizens' Voice, October 8, 2010.
2. Michael Sisak, Sestak bashes Toomey on Social Security, The Citizens' Voice, October 6, 2010.