Union Leader - We Need New Vision for U.S. Economy

Op-Ed

Union Leader - We Need New Vision for U.S. Economy

By: Jeanne Shaheen

With the party primaries behind us and Election Day just around the corner, I am hearing more and more urgently from voters across New Hampshire that we need a new economic direction in this country.

Middle-class families and small businesses are struggling, and recently we received more discouraging news -- unemployment has jumped to 6.1 percent, the highest it has been in five years. The United States has lost roughly 600,000 jobs since January. Wages are stagnant. This economy isn't working for middle-class families.

We need a new economic direction, one where working families' interests -- not the special interests -- come first.

I have no doubt that Americans can rise to meet this challenge, as we always have in the past. We are a nation that tackles challenges head on. But to do that will take a new direction, and that means we need a new senator.

Our current senator -- John Sununu -- votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time, and New Hampshire families pay 100 percent of the consequences. One of the biggest broken promises of the Bush-Sununu era has been the reckless, irresponsible spending that has doubled our national debt to more than $9 trillion and exploded the deficit. Today, the average New Hampshire family owes $86,288.59 toward the debt increase of the Bush-Sununu years.

In the Senate, I will demand real accountability and a return to balanced budgets through pay-as-you-go budgeting. I will fight to put an end to the no-bid contracts that shower billions of dollars on companies that fail to perform. And I will work to ensure the Iraqis pay their own bills with the billions they earn in oil revenue rather than relying on billions of our taxpayer dollars.

Even as we pay $10 billion a year on Iraqi reconstruction, Iraq holds $80 billion in oil revenues. That makes no sense. Meanwhile, the increased price of oil is putting an overwhelming financial strain on families here at home.

We need a Manhattan-style project that brings together the public and private sectors to move us toward energy independence and addresses both the short-term high prices and our long-term energy needs.

In the short term, we can bring some relief at the gas pump by cracking down on the reckless speculation by billion dollar hedge funds and Wall Street traders that is driving up the cost of oil. And we should increase domestic oil production in a way that benefits American families and small businesses. We should drill on the 68 million acres that the oil companies already lease but don't drill. Seventy-nine percent of offshore reserves are already open to drilling.

But drilling alone won't solve our problems. In the long term, the answer is to end the massive, needless subsidies to big oil companies and instead make a serious commitment to energy efficiency and clean, alternative energy.

In the Senate, I will fight to end the billions in tax breaks to Big Oil and use that money to make an unwavering commitment to the development of alternative and renewable energy sources. New energy investment will not only end our dependence on foreign oil, but it will create 21st century jobs that will help us continue to be a leader in the global economy. I want those jobs here in the United States and here in New Hampshire.

Among all the economic concerns I hear from voters in our state, second only to energy costs are health-care costs. But if we are willing to stand up to the insurance companies and drug companies, we can ease health care costs. It's something I did as governor, when I stood up to HMOs to prevent them from denying New Hampshire families the medical care they need, and it's something I'm not afraid to do in the Senate.

In 2006, during a discussion about health care, John Sununu told a group of small business owners to "stop complaining about health-care costs." That's not the kind of leadership that New Hampshire needs.

Finally, to keep our work force competitive in the global economy, we must help open the door to college for more middle-class families by increasing student loan opportunities, expanding Pell Grants and providing loan forgiveness for students who dedicate themselves to national service.

When I was governor, I worked hard to strengthen our economy, and during those years more than 66,000 new jobs were created in New Hampshire. My economic agenda put the needs of families and small businesses first -- while keeping New Hampshire's tax burden the lowest in the nation. I will take that kind of common sense leadership to Washington.

The stakes this November could not be higher. In just under two months, we have the opportunity to set an entirely new economic course, one that recognizes that small businesses and working families are the backbone of this economy.

But if we want a new direction, we need a new senator. I hope you'll come out on Nov. 4 and cast your vote for change.

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