OGDEN, Utah — The economy was top of mind for Republican Rep. Blake Moore and his Democratic challenger, Rick Jones, during their debate on Monday.
Although both candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District agreed that the economy is one of the foremost issues on voters’ minds, they disagreed on what is causing economic instability and what to do about it.
Moore said the blame lies with the “enormous amount” of spending by the federal government in recent months, and that he plans to cut back on the deficit and mandatory spending in Congress. Jones, on the other hand, points to the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the lack of enforcement of antitrust laws in the U.S. as the primary drivers of inflation.
The economy, inflation and gas prices
Economic concerns dominated more than half of the hour-long debate, which was held at Weber State University. Moore seemed eager to talk about the economy and inflation, and used the issue to attack Democratic leaders in Washington.
“I would love to talk about it continually,” he said.
Moore said there’s “absolutely a reason to be upset” about the current state of the economy in the U.S., adding that government spending — the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act in particular – is to blame.
“This is a tax on every single American,” he said, speaking of the high levels of inflation. “I don’t care how much you make, whatever your income status is — this is an enormous tax. And so yes, people are frustrated. They’re seeing it play out in their daily lives, and we have to be willing to come in and address this.”
As for addressing inflation, Moore said Congress needs to rein in the national debt, which surpassed $31 trillion last week.
Jones disagreed and argued that nearly all presidents in the past 40 years — both Republican and Democrat — have overseen “astronomical deficits,” without facing the same levels of inflation.
“The truth is a lot of the inflation is due to COVID,” Jones said. “It killed a million people and then slowed down another 4 or 5 million with long-haul COVID. There’s the Ukrainian war, and it’s been years since the United States has aggressively enforced antitrust. This has tended to create more companies with monopoly power that exercise that power to the disadvantage of so many people.”
When asked about gas prices, in particular, Moore stressed the importance of American energy independence to insulate the nation from decisions made by OPEC+, the group of major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia. He criticized the Biden administration for halting the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline last year.
“Regarding gas prices, we can’t forget that a little over a decade ago, a barrel of oil was in the vicinity of $150,” Jones said in response. “And more recently, it’s been in the vicinity of $100.”
Health care costs
There was some agreement between the candidates on how to address rising health care costs. Moore said he wants more competition in health care, and to allow patients to compare prices and services — just like they would when grocery shopping or selecting car insurance.
“Have you ever done that with your X-rays?” he asked. “No, you’ve never done that because we don’t allow — we don’t encourage — transparency and competition enough in our health care markets.”
“I would completely agree with that,” Jones said, “and I can’t applaud the Biden administration strong enough for reducing drug prices, and I think it should be that way for…
Read More: Inflation, economy get top billing during Utah’s 1st Congressional District debate