Young, Axne back trade, but have different views on economy

U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne and her rematch opponent, former Congressman David Young, both see the need for better trade, but they differ on basic ideas of how to improve the economy.

Young, a Republican, said it’s critical that Congress delivers promised tax cuts and pushes economic recovery.

“The tax that is currently in the law, we need to make it perfect, especially as we’re coming out of a pandemic,” Young said. “We don’t need to be raising taxes. People are just trying to get back to work.”

On his website, Young writes about the need for a “robust and free trade agenda” and an end to “onerous, burdensome, one-size-fits-all federal rules and regulations.”

Democrat Axne’s website speaks of supporting Main Street over Wall Street and outlines her proposals to raise wages and protect labor unions. 

In an interview, Axne said the economy needs to be pumped up to get out of the COVID-fueled recession. But after that recovery, the nation needs to reform tax policies that favor the rich over middle- and low-income families, she said.

“The (current) tax policy supports corporations and the wealthy over hard-working middle class families,” Axne said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we’re changing that. David Young supported a tax bill that gave 83% of its benefits to the wealthiest 1% of Americans.’

Axne added that Congress needs to support small businesses and working families, including tax credits, but without increasing the deficit at the current rate. 

The current Social Security system should be be preserved, perhaps with a requirement that those who make more than a million dollars a year pay more into it, Axne added.