(1) US Census Bureau, 2010 Census.
(2) The Living Income Standard (LIS) provides a conservative estimate of how much it truly costs a working family of four to make ends meet in the state. The LIS is an alternative to the federal poverty level due to its failure to capture the full range of factors contributing to economic hardship. Source: NC Budget and Tax Center. The Living Income for North Carolina is $48,814.

Jobs in the 5th District

Any discussion on jobs in our district needs to start with data that shows where we are right now. Here are the February 2012 county unemployment rates from the NC Employment Security Commission:

Alexander-10.6
Allegany- 14.1
Ashe- 14.2
Davidson- 11.3 Davie- 10.3
Forsyth- 9.7
Iredell- 11.1
Rowan- 11.5
Watauga- 9.3
Wilkes- 12.0
Yadkin- 10.0
5th District Average-11.28
NC Average- 9.90

Where does Virginia Foxx stand on jobs for North Carolinians? She wrote this on her congressional website in September of last year:

“This fall House Republicans plan to overrule needless federal government meddling that threatens the creation of 100’s of jobs planned for South Carolina by aircraft manufacturer Boeing.”

Why not focus on jobs in North Carolina? When Virginia Foxx entered Congress in 2005, the average unemployment rate for the 5th district was 5.1%. Instead of standing strong for working people in the district, Virginia Foxx continues to push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

When it comes to helping her hard working constituents pay their bills or find a job, Virginia Foxx cast a vote recently AGAINST the people of the 5th district:

2/17/12, H.R. 3630, Extension of the Payroll Tax Holiday and Unemployment Insurance Benefits.

Fiscal Responsibility

Our nation’s debt is one of the greatest challenges we face. We are facing a national security crisis if we do not get our government spending under control. I pledge to make debt reduction a number one priority upon entering Congress in January 2013.

The first step toward a balanced budget is adoption of pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, rules which require all new federal spending be offset by either spending cuts elsewhere or new revenue sources.  PAYGO, which has been largely ignored in recent years, is an effective fiscal tool that led Congress to a balanced budget in the early 1990s. We need a truly bipartisan approach to deficit reduction. ALL issues must be on the table, including tax reform, defense spending cuts, and reforms to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security and Medicare— as part of a larger deficit reduction plan.

Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection

Despite the hyperbole by Virginia Foxx and her republican colleagues, the reforms passed by the Congress in 2010 to make reforms to Wall Street AND protect consumers are starting to work as intended. I am thankful for efforts by Congressman Heath Shuler of Waynesville for his leadership. The bill, H.R. 4173, was a direct response to the financial meltdown of 2008. It passed with bipartisan support.

On the consumer protection side, the bill did three important things:

• Shields small businesses like grocers and other retailers from out-of-control credit card transaction fees that banks and credit and debit card issuers charge businesses for each debit or prepaid-card purchase. This measure is expected to save small businesses billions.
• Creates a new independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency that will protect consumers from the fine print “bait and switch” industry ruses that occurred during the frenzy of subprime lending. Whereas previously it was simply unscrupulous to give loans to those who could not afford to pay them back, now it is illegal.
• Protects small businesses and families by mandating that credit cards, bank loans, and mortgages are fair and comprehensible.

Unlike my opponent, I will proudly stand and fight for small business owners and American consumers. The Consumer Protection Act is a good piece of legislation worth fighting to not only save but improve upon.