Struggling economy a key issue 8th District congressional race

In the sprawling 8th Congressional District of Southeast Missouri where factories and businesses have shuttered, the need for jobs is a major campaign issue.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, and his opponents -- Democrat Dave Cowell of Farmington and Libertarian Jonathan Shell of Fredericktown -- all have talked about the economic woes and how to fix them.

Smith first was elected to the House in a special election in 2013 and won election to a full two-year term in 2014.

Smith said businesses in his 30-county district have been buried in federal regulations.

"There are over 175,000 pages of rules and regulations. I can tell you business after business in Southeast Missouri that has closed because of federal regulations," he said.

Dave Cowell

President Barack Obama and his administration have imposed numerous regulations, he said. Employers in the district want to invest and grow their businesses but are worried that the federal government will change the regulations and make them more burdensome, Smith said.

Taxes

The Republican congressman wants to cut taxes.

Cowell, who manages an electronics store, wants to close corporate tax loopholes and end "corporate welfare."

He also favors "raising taxes on the wealthiest among us."

Jonathan Shell

Shell, who manages a factory production line, wants to abolish the federal income tax or what he describes as "the theft that occurs from my weekly paycheck."

Shell said he is not concerned about how to fund the federal government without an income tax.

"That is not our problem as a taxpayer," he said. "I am on the ballot to make sure my grandchildren are not taxed to death."

Smith said he wants tax cuts for corporations and individuals.

"I believe we need to have a simpler, flatter tax code." People in Singapore "can fill out their taxes on a postcard."

Taxpayers in the United States should be able to do so as well, he said.

"We don't need a tax code of 75,000 pages," Smith said.

Government spending

Smith favors adding a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

"We have to completely change the budget and appropriation process," he said, adding much of the budget process gets bogged down in the U.S. Senate.

The Senate should change its rules to allow a simple majority to pass legislation, Smith said. It takes "60 votes to even take a vote to pass an appropriations bill. I am totally opposed to that rule," Smith said.

The congressman said implementing conservative principles and reducing the federal bureaucracy won't happen without more like-minded officeholders in the nation's capital.

"The best help we can get is the fact that we are going to have a new president in January, and hopefully that will be Donald Trump," he said.

"There is a movement and intensity out there that people are just fed up with business as usual in Washington," Smith said.

He added the public wants "someone to go in and rip up these unconstitutional executive orders and just clean out these agencies."

Cowell said he wants to cut "unnecessary" federal spending, including that involving the military.

"It is not hard to find plenty of military projects the last few years that we spent trillions of dollars on, boats that don't float or jets that don't fly," he said.

"We need more transparency for the American public as to where the military spending is going," Cowell said.

But he said he doesn't want to eliminate federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency or the Education Department.

The Democratic candidate said he would fight predatory trade agreements.

"I believe our jobs are going overseas due to bad trade agreements," he said. "We need to focus on exporting products, not jobs."

Shell, the Libertarian, said the United States is more than $20 trillion in debt. He said the federal government could cut costs by closing overseas military bases.

"We don't need to be fighting all these wars," he said.

Congress has not declared war when it comes to fighting terrorists in the Middle East, he said.

"We are fighting in a sense unconstitutional wars. That is not the way the country should be run," Shell said.

Cowell wants to raise the minimum wage.

"We need to increase our minimum wage to a living wage," he said.

Increasing wages will boost consumer spending, which will grow businesses, he said.

But Shell said raising the minimum wage is a "job-killer plan."

Smith said it should be up to the states to decide on minimum wages.

"You don't want Washington, D.C., telling people in Southeast Missouri what is appropriate pay," he said.

The congressman said a growing economy would boost wages.

"If you have more demand for jobs than you do employees, you will never have to worry about the minimum wage," Smith said.

Guns

All three candidates expressed support for the Second Amendment.

Cowell said he owns guns and supports the constitutional right to bear arms. But he said federal background checks on potential gun purchasers should be strengthened.

"I support no-fly, no-buy. If the FBI has deemed you a threat for air travel, you should not be able to buy a gun," Cowell said.

The fact individuals on the government's no-fly list can buy guns is "truly scary to me," he said.

Cowell said background checks should be required for the purchase of guns via the internet or at gun shows. Such checks are required only at gun stores, he said.

Shell objects to gun laws in general.

"I think we need less gun laws," said Shell, who has had a hunting license since he was a teenager.

He added his idea of gun control is "both hands on your gun." Shell said he would be "OK with teachers carrying guns in school."

Smith opposes more gun-control laws.

"There are enough laws and regulations on the books. We just need to fully enforce the ones that are there," Smith said.

Cowell and Shell are spending little on their campaigns. Cowell said he has spent only a few thousand dollars at most. Shell said he has only spent $150, and $100 of that was for the candidate filing fee.

Both said they offer a choice for voters on Election Day.

Cowell said, "Ultimately, it is about voters, not money."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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