10th District rivals outline economic ideas

With the jobless rate up and talk of a recession more urgent, Democratic candidates in the 10th Congressional District say fixes from strategic investments to rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy can help the economy.

Increasing the government's investment in research and development of alternative fuels can create jobs and have other benefits, according to Jay Footlik and Dan Seals.

"Let's invest in ways to diminish our dependence on oil and investment in research and development," said Footlik, 42, of Buffalo Grove. Federal investment in that area dropped 60 percent from 1978 to 2004, he added.

With Argonne National Laboratory and other research universities, Illinois could lead the nation in clean technology from hydrogen cells to wind power, according to Footlik.

Such an investment would create jobs, increase national security and improve the environment, he said.

Seals, 36, of Wilmette, said the research and development tax credit has been renewed 13 times in 25 years.

"Make it permanent so that businesses can plan on it being there," he said. Seals advocated cutting tax credits and subsidies to oil companies and divert the money to alternative fuel research.

As for jobs, Seals said small business, which employs a majority of workers, faces a "ridiculous number of regulations."

"We need to streamline that process, make it easier for people in effect to start businesses so we can have more job growth." That in turn would result in a higher level of productivity, which would boost the economy.

There also is a need for more skilled workers, he said.

"We need to invest in education," Seals said. "There is a gap between the graduates we are turning out and the workers that we need."

Footlik said he favors free but fair trade.

"I have grave concerns," about some U.S. trade agreements, he said.

"It has made us less competitive. It has certainly hit the American worker in an unfair way."

Trade policies need to be corrected, according to Footlik, to help quell the exodus of high-paying jobs overseas.

He also said he would roll back most of the Bush tax cuts and use the revenues to reduce the federal deficit and possibly offer targeted relief to middle-class families.

He favors a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code that brings the 15 percent capital gains rate and the top income tax rate of 35 percent closer together.

Seals also wants to roll back tax cuts from the wealthiest Americans to support other priorities. Reducing the federal deficit would result in an improved investment environment, he said.

Consumers also need to be protected from subprime lending practices, the candidates said.

Seals said he favors safeguards on the "front end" of the lending process but is not ready to support a taxpayer-funded bail out.

Footlik suggested a "timeout" on rate adjustments for those at the lower end of the income scale.

He also called for a process to work with banks to refinance those loans into conventional 30-year loans at market rate.