Thompson focused on reducing Wiscon's welface caseload while he was in office. Thompson advocates replacing welfare programs with self-sufficiency programs (work programs), similar to the “Wisconsin Works” program. Thompson supports increased tax cuts and wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. He wants to relax Canadian border crossing rules.

Taxes:

Thompson argues tax cuts are an investment in working families. As Wisconsin governor, he claims to have cut taxes 91 times saving the average Wisconsin family more than $8,400, and proposed a $339 million permanent income tax cut, the largest middle-class income tax cut in state history.

He believes President Bush’s tax cuts must be permanent to allow taxpayers to keep more of their earnings and to continue to build the economy.

Trade:

Thompson has advocated for loosening the Canadian border crossing rules. He signed resolution allowing state meat inspections (as opposed to fed only) to suffice for interstate trade. Under Thompson, Wisconsin significantly increased its spending or roads and mass transit.

Tancredo supports getting rid of the current tax structure and replacing it with either a flat tax or sales tax. He believes that tax cuts are the path to a stronger economy. He does also support less drastic changes including eliminating the tax on dividends, the estate tax and increasing the child tax credit. Tancradeo promises to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and wants to balance the budget.

Trade:

Tancredo supported increased trade with Australia but voted against implementing the Central America Free Trade agreement (CAFTA) in 2005 and opposed trade agreements with Chile and Singapore. While Tancredo praises the benefits of free trade agreements, he notes they can also be problems, noting the CAFTA agreement is bad for its clause permitting increased immigration.

Directly from the candidate:

The income tax system, as currently constituted, is a source of frustration for nearly everyone in America -- with the possible exception of the accountants we pay to help us file each year. I think most Americans, regardless of their political party affiliation or personal wealth can agree on one thing: The income tax system is in desperate need of reform. The system is inherently unfair, complex, and burdensome. It discourages investment, savings, and the accumulation of capital by taxing the three excessively. The income tax code has become so unruly and confiscatory that the average American family worked until almost May last year just to pay the tax bill required by the federal, state and local governments.

Brownback has a history of advocating lower taxes as well as reform of the existing tax system and has signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to oppose all tax increases. The Senator attributes the recent economic prosperity to the lower taxes enacted by recent Congresses. He supports a flax tax and requiring a super-majority for any tax increases passed by Congress. Brownbacks wants to repeal the estate tax. He has voted to remove trade barriers.

Flat tax:

Brownback believes America’s tax code is overly complex and burdensome, with Americans spend roughly $157 billion each year in tax preparation, to ensure they do not run afoul of the Internal Revenue Service. To solve this, he supports a flat tax concept that simplifies tax preparation, applies a low tax rate to all Americans.

Supermajority:

Brownback supported Senator Kyl (R-AZ) amendment in 1998 requiring a super-majority for raising taxes.

Tax cuts:

In 2006 Brownback voted to permanently repeal the estate tax.

In 2006 Brownback voted against $47B for the military by repealing capital gains tax cut. The funds would have been allocated as follows:

Brownback voted to extend the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends in 2005.

In 2003 he voted for the H.R. 2 Conference Report; Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, which included $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years.

He voted against reducing the marriage penalty instead of cutting top tax rates in 2001.

Minimum wage:

Brownback voted against raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25 in 2005.

In 2001 Brownback voted to repeal former President Clinton's ergonomic rules on repetitive stress. Specifically, Brownback supported a resolution to give no enforcement authority to ergonomics rules submitted by the Labor Department during the Clinton Administration. These rules would force businesses to take steps to prevent work-related repetitive stress disorders.

Trade:

Over the years, Brownback has voted to remove trade barriers.. This includes voting for the implementing CAFTA for Central America free trade agreement, as well as voting to open trade with dozens of other countries including Oman, Singapore, Chile, Vietnam, and China.

Directly from the candidate:

I have long championed both lower taxes and reform of the existing tax system, and recently signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to oppose all tax increases. Much of our recent economic prosperity is directly attributable to the lower taxes enacted by recent Congresses. I believe America’s tax code is overly complex and burdensome. Americans spend roughly $157 billion each year in tax preparation, to ensure they do not run afoul of the Internal Revenue Service. The system is desperately in need of reform. I support a flat tax concept that simplifies tax preparation, applies a low tax rate to all Americans, and respects the special financial burden carried by American families raising children.

Giuliani has been an advocate of lower taxes, fiscal discipline and smaller government. He supports "adjusting" the ATM, eliminating the estate tax and making the Bush tax cuts permanent.

Directly from the candidate:

Cutting Taxes

Rudy is the real fiscal conservative in the race. He cut taxes 23 times in New York and turned a $2.3 billion budget deficit into a multi-billion dollar surplus, while balancing the city’s budget. Because he turned his conservative principles into action, New York City taxpayers saved more than $9 billion in taxes and enjoyed their lowest tax burden in decades, while the economy grew and city government saw its revenues increase from the lower tax rates. Rudy Giuliani believes in supply-side economics, because he did it and he saw it work.

Despite his fiscally conservative rhetoric, in 2001 Giuliani wanted New York city taxpayer’s to foot half of the $1.6 billion new stadium for the Yankees and Mets, generating widespread criticism.

Giuliani on reducing spending and taxes:

Paul believes minimizing government regulation of the economy will foster econo mic growth. He also supported the 2004 bankruptcy reform act and in 2000 supported the Balanced Budget Amendment.

Directly from the candidate:

Working Americans like lower taxes. So do I. Lower taxes benefit all of us, creating jobs and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives.

Whether a tax cut reduces a single mother’s payroll taxes by $40 a month or allows a business owner to save thousands in capital gains taxes and hire more employees, that tax cut is a good thing. Lower taxes allow more spending, saving, and investing which helps the economy – that means all of us.

Real conservatives have always supported low taxes and low spending.

Ron Paul on Federal Reserve, Banking and the Economy

Romney vows that as President he will pursue a conservative, pro-growth economic agenda. He says his main focus will be to grow the economy - helping to create good jobs, raise incomes and preserve American strength. He has a long record of opposing unions and supports a number of anti-labor practices.

Other priorities include:

• reducing excessive government spending and reform entitlements.


• further reducing taxes on several fronts.


• promoting trade


• utilizing market forces to bear in health
• care


• pursuing national tort and liability reform


• eliminating excessive regulations

Trade

Romney sees the Asian countries as models because they are on the move economically and technologically. Specifically he notes they’re a family oriented, educated, hard-working, and mercantile people.

To compete with Asia, Romney argues, we need to: ensure our children are educated; make trade laws fair and balanced; ensure our economy and tax laws welcome new investment (including technology); reform our immigration laws to bring in more of the brains from around the world; eliminate the waste in our government; and we have to use a lot less oil.

Romney believes if we act wisely, the emergence of Asia can be an opportunity - trade and commerce with these huge new economies can further strengthen our economy and propel our growth.

Protectionism may look good, but Romney argues it will kill the economy in the long run. What you have to do in order to compete on a global basis long term is invest in education, invest in technology, reform our immigration laws to bring in more of the brains from around the world, eliminate the waste in our government. We have to use a lot less oil.

Taxes

During the presidential campaign, Romney has sounded staunchly anti-tax.

• He vowed to fight to cut taxes for all Americans.


• He called on congress to re-impose a three-fifths (60%) supermajority requirement to raise taxes.


• Was the first 2008 presidential candidate to sign the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge."


• Vows to make The Bush tax cuts permanent.

Says he’ll lower tax rates for all Americans.

• Will make savings tax free for middle-class Americans.


• Will make reduce corporate tax rates.


• Will Fight To Abolish the estate tax.

Labor

Romney has taken an anti-labor position on several issues.

• He opposes requiring non-union workers to contribute to union dues


• Opposes secret ballots - He also opposes legislation permitting labor unions to organize businesses by taking away workers' rights to a secret ballot election to determine unionization.


• Opposes automatic paycheck deduction - As President, Romney vows to work to overturn existing federal policy that permits automatic paycheck deduction for federal employees' union dues.


• Favors “Right to Work” laws - Saying it “will never pass” at the federal level, Romney says right to work laws need to be implemented at the state level and encourages state to pass such laws, arguing they foster economic growth.


• Challenged unions’ political activities - In 2003 Romney challenged the voluntary payroll deduction program in which union members contribute 50 cents per week to a union PACs. Many of the PACs opposed Romney in the 2002 gubernatorial election.

Mike Huckabee supports the flat tax, globalization and line item veto power.

Taxes

Huckabee supports a flat tax, and has supported eliminating the poorest for the tax roll to help ensure fairness the plan.

Huckabee told Tim Russert that he wouldn’t support or propose any new taxes but rather try to reduce federal spending. However, he refused to make the “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge, arguing if we enter a new level of war where there are no other options, raising taxes should be available.

He vows to make he Bush tax cuts permanent.

Spending

Huckabee the President should have the line-item veto to help control spending

Trade

Huckabee supports free trade and globalization.

Directly from the candidate:

I believe in free trade, but it has to be fair trade. We are losing jobs because of an unlevel, unfair trading arena that has to be fixed. Behind the statistics, there are real families and real lives and real pain. I’m running for President because I don’t want people who have worked loyally for a company for twenty or thirty years to walk in one morning and be handed a pink slip and be told, “I’m sorry, but everything you spent your life working for is no longer here.”

I believe that globalization, done right, done fairly, can be a blessing for our society. As the Industrial Revolution raised living standards by allowing ordinary people to buy mass-produced goods that previously only the rich could afford, so globalization gives all of us the equivalent of a big pay raise by letting us buy all kinds of things from clothing to computers to TVs much more inexpensively.

Taxes

McCain has emphasized deficit reduction over tax cutting. The contrast with George Bush's preference for tax cuts was prominent during the 2000 presidential campaign, and after Bush became president McCain opposed his tax cut proposals. McCain has been a strong supporter of Private Social Security accounts and is against “socialized” health care.

McCain has been one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of pork barrel spending.

Directly from the candidate:

Congress spends money like a drunken sailor:

We lost the election in 2006 because we lost our way. We began to value principle over power, and spending got out of control. Spending lurched completely out of control. Ronald Reagan used to say, we spend money like a drunken sailor. I never knew a sailor, drunk or sober, with the imagination of the Congress. I received an e-mail recently from a guy who said, "As a former drunken sailor, I resent being compared to members of Congress." (2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007)

On how he differs from Bush on “pork-barrel” spending:

I would have vetoed spending bill after spending bill after pork-barrel project after pork-barrel project, in the tradition of President Reagan. The first pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk, I'm going to veto it and make the authors of those pork-barrel items famous all over America. We're going to stop it. (2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007)

McCain on economic development:

Taxes

Reducing taxes is a centerpiece of Gilmore’s economic policy agenda. He supports efforts to reduce taxes including making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Jim Gilmore believes high taxes are too great a burden on the nation's economy and on working families. As President, he wants to close tax loopholes, reduce runaway spending and create jobs and opportunity to help end the nation's culture of dependence.

Directly from the candidate:

As Governor of Virginia, Jim Gilmore, cut 16 different taxes totaling $1.5 billion, created more than 250,000 new jobs and gave the state its lowest unemployment in 40 years. As Chairman of The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, Jim Gilmore led the national fight to block taxation on the internet and helped repeal federal communications taxes in place since 1898. As a candidate for President, Jim Gilmore supports efforts to reduce taxes including making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Jim Gilmore believes high taxes are too great a burden on the nation's economy and on working families. As President, he will work to close tax loopholes, reduce runaway spending and create jobs and opportunity to help end the nation's culture of dependence.

Fred Thompson historically has supported tax cuts.

More to come when he officially declares.

Balanced Budget

Hunter sees a balanced federal budget is a priority for our national economic health and long-term prosperity. Hunter vows to fight for increased federal spending to provide for our national and homeland security.

Budget savings, he says, must be identified through efficiency reforms throughout the federal government and vows to reduce funding of duplicative federal programs, many of which he says don’t perform but cost taxpayers millions.

Trade

Hunter wants to pass new trade policies to protect workers against unfair practices in other countries like China.

Directly from the candidate

“American workers are the most productive and innovative labor force in the world. Unfortunately, they are asked to compete in an unfair environment against other workers who make only a fraction of a living wage and are employed by companies that face few, if any, responsibilities to the environment or the long-term prospects of their employees. Our domestic manufacturers are forced to compete against foreign companies that benefit from their country’s currency and regulatory regimes. Ominously, China is cheating on trade and using billions of American trade dollars to build ships, planes and missiles at an alarming rate while, at the same time, taking millions of American jobs. I will reverse this “one-way street” with a new policy of fair trade for the American worker.