Keller @ Large: Elizabeth Warren On Jobs, Tax Cuts, Economy
BOSTON (CBS) - Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren, one of the Democrats running for Scott Brown's U.S. Senate seat, recently sat down for a one-on-one interview with WBZ's Jon Keller.
What would she do in the U.S. Senate to stimulate the economy ?
"We do need to put people back to work. And that's possible with the Jobs Bill. You know, over the last month, there have been three jobs bills that have been voted down in Congress: One that would have put 22,000 people, supported 22,000 jobs here in Massachusetts, across the board, one that would have supported teachers, firefighters and police officers, one that would have been for 11,000 jobs, mostly in construction and transportation infrastructure," said Warren.
Part 1:
Most of those are public sector jobs. How about the private sector?
"When you've got people at work, they have paychecks. And when they have paychecks, they go out and buy things. And when they go out and buy things, that helps stimulate the private side as well," said Warren.
"So, it's not as if we're producing public jobs and it doesn't have an effect on the economy. Indeed, it's just the reverse: it's one of the ways to get the economy up and moving," Warren continued.
What is her stance on tax cuts?
"The question is right now, anything that puts more money into the economy of those who are going to spend it is the right place we need to be looking. What I think it means is people without a paycheck need paychecks," said Warren.
As for the long term solutions, Warren sees important decisions about future investments.
"We really make decisions about investing in our future, and that really is for me, it's about education, it's about transportation, roads and bridges, it's about mass transit, and it's about renewable energy," said Warren.
That means more government spending.
Part 2:
"What it's also about is investing in our future, and it's that all of us do that. If we don't have the right conditions in place, we can't build the future. We can't build jobs in the future," said Warren.
In Part 2 of the interview, Warren went on to discuss a now-famous viral video, taxes for businesses, and her thoughts about the state's predominately Democratic delegation in a potential Republican-controlled Congress in 2012.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
