{"id":40308,"date":"2012-05-24T22:28:25","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T04:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=40308"},"modified":"2012-05-25T06:30:58","modified_gmt":"2012-05-25T12:30:58","slug":"1st-district-candidates-talk-about-federal-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/05\/1st-district-candidates-talk-about-federal-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"1st District candidates talk about federal debt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Democrats\u2019 ideas for addressing the debt include ending tax cuts for the wealthy and U.S. involvement in Afghanistan; Republican Janice Arnold-Jones says the federal government must balance its budget.<\/h4>\n

This post continues a series on the\u00a0U.S. Senate<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a01st Congressional District<\/a>\u00a0candidates\u2019 stances on various policy issues.<\/em><\/em>\u00a0NMPolitics.net intended to run this post a month ago and only today discovered that we had dropped the ball completely. We apologize to our readers, the candidates and the voters for that.<\/em><\/p>\n

The three Democrats seeking New Mexico\u2019s 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House share many ideas for reducing the nation\u2019s debt, while the lone Republican in the race says the simple answer is balancing the nation\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

For example, Democrats Michelle Lujan Grisham<\/a>, Marty Ch\u00e1vez<\/a> and Eric Griego<\/a> all agree that tax cuts for the wealthy should end, and that the United States should conclude its involvement in the war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree that we need to cut the deficit, but we need to do it the right way,\u201d Grisham told NMPolitics.net. \u201cWe can cut the deficit without sacrificing our core beliefs or abandoning our commitment to our most vulnerable citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile everyone can agree we need to fix this deficit, I refuse to do it on the backs of New Mexico\u2019s working families and seniors who did nothing to create the problems we face today,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Congress is serious about reducing the national debt, they must stop coddling millionaires and Wall Street bankers,\u201d Griego said.<\/p>\n

Republican Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a>, meanwhile, said the federal government must stop spending more than it takes in using a \u201ccomprehensive plan that includes a combination of tax reform and simplification, entitlement reform, spending reductions and a commitment to a plan that will put our national debt on a clear path downward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Congress follows its own rules, our government will be forced to stop spending more money than our government has,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a simple concept!\u201d<\/p>\n

The questions<\/h3>\n

The 1st Congressional District candidates made their comments in response to questions from NMPolitics.net about the economy. NMPolitics.net gave them no word minimum or limit, telling them to say what they had to say. The only criterion was that they not engage in personal attacks.<\/p>\n

Here are the questions NMPolitics.net asked:<\/p>\n