Kreitlow touts ideas for economic growth in visit to Hudson

• Pat Kreitlow

Pat Kreitlow, the Democratic candidate for the Wisconsin 7th District U.S. House seat

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Pat Kreitlow, the Democratic candidate for the Wisconsin 7th District U.S. House seat now occupied by Sean Duffy, came to Hudson last week to talk about his ideas for growing the economy.

His plan, Kreitlow said, includes cutting wasteful spending, reforming the regulatory system, supporting small-business job growth and technical colleges, educating the workforce of the future, reforming the tax code, investing in rural communities and getting Congress to address the nation’s problems.

“Everybody, Democrat and Republican, thinks we should be doing things to create a climate that allows for job growth,” the former TV news anchor and state senator said during his Oct. 3 visit to the St. Croix County Democrats’ campaign office at 901 Fourth St.

Kreitlow emphasized that tax credits should be targeted to small businesses that hire workers and veterans, provide health care for their employees, or cooperate with technical colleges on research and development projects.

“It’s not enough to think that trickle-down economics will work with another round of tax cuts for millionaires,” he said.

Kreitlow accused the Republican-controlled House of Representatives of failing to advance a jobs agenda during the past two years.

He alleged that Congressman Duffy talks about some 30 jobs bills that the House sent to the Senate, but they were really “more tax cuts for the top 1 percent.”

Duffy voted to keep the Bush tax cuts for the top 1 percent, Kreitlow said, and to eliminate the earned-income tax credit and deductions for college tuition payments and child care expenses.

He charged that under the Republicans’ budget proposals, millionaires would get a $265,000 a year tax cut, while many middle class families would see their taxes go up by about $1,500 a year.

Kreitlow also accused Duffy of voting for a federal budget proposal drafted by Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate for vice president, that maintained tax credits for corporations that move jobs out of the country.

And he faults Duffy for repeating claims that President Barack Obama took $716 billion out of Medicare to pay for the Affordable Health Care law.

“It’s like Bill Clinton said, it takes a lot of brass to criticize someone for something you did,” Kreitlow said, referring to the former president’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Kreitlow said Duffy voted for $710 billion in Medicare savings, “and it’s one of the few things he got right.” According to Kreitlow, the savings come from stopping overpayments to providers and other entities.

He said the savings make Medicare more solvent and don’t affect patient care.

Kreitlow said he is willing to work across the aisle with Republicans and accused Duffy of being part of the hyper-partisan atmosphere in Congress.

“We need to once again elect people who are dedicated to working together, who understand that nobody gets everything they want, but that we need to be moving forward and working on things that help as many Americans as possible,” he said.

Kreitlow said people in the 7th District are connecting with his story of growing up in a poor family and succeeding through hard work and some government assistance.

“They couldn’t give me anything except a work ethic. They worked multiple jobs to make ends meet,” he said of his parents. “My mom worked third shift at a truck stop once I was old enough to watch my siblings overnight, because she didn’t want to be on welfare.”

Kreitlow said he was able to attend UW-Eau Claire, in part, because of federal Pell grants, which Congressman Ryan would slash in his budget plan.

Kreitlow, 48, met his wife, Sharry, at UW-Eau Claire. She grew up on a dairy farm near Manitowoc and went on to become an OB/GYN physician.

The Kreitlows reside in Chippewa Falls. They have two adult daughters and a grandson. His campaign website can be found at www.kreitlowforcongress.com.

Tags: news, politics, wisconsin