Alexi Giannoulias | Democrat for U.S. Senate

What's Wrong

Despite talk of an economic recovery, more of our neighbors are losing their jobs, quality health care is out of reach for millions of families, home foreclosures are increasing, and our children are falling behind their peers abroad. The large banks that caused the near-collapse of the global financial system were bailed out by taxpayers and have used the money on bonuses for their executives. Meanwhile, America's small businesses are responsible for the majority of new jobs but have been unable to access the credit they need to invest and grow.

In November 2010, voters of Illinois will be faced with a clear choice: go back to the reckless Bush-Cheney fiscal policies Mark Kirk supported that cost this state hundreds of thousands of jobs and created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, or move forward to fundamentally change our economy and create the next generation of good jobs here in Illinois.

Alexi's Plan To Make It Right

Alexi Giannoulias has the experience and bold ideas to move our nation forward and build a 21st Century economy based on principles of fairness and innovation. He is the only candidate to outline a comprehensive plan to get our economy moving again and rein in the corporate practices that got us into this mess. His Future Works America agenda addresses four key goals:

1. Put people back to work and stimulate the economy by cutting taxes for working Americans and small businesses, not wealthy corporations.
2. Rein in unfair, deceptive and dangerous practices of corporations, financial institutions and mortgage brokers.
3. Restore fiscal sanity to the U.S. budget and begin closing the deficit, a tax on our children and grandchildren.
4. Keep our children competitive in the global economy and help people move to more secure jobs by investing in education and access to universities and community colleges.
   

Part I: The Giannoulias Plan To Build The New American Economy

Part I of Alexi's Future Works plan focuses on jumpstarting America's economic engine. Alexi proposed an extension of the successful $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, a one-year payroll tax holiday for middle income workers, and a job creation payroll tax credit. He would offset the costs of these job-creating tax incentives by eliminating nearly $200 billion in tax loopholes used by corporations that ship American jobs overseas. Read more about Part I of Alexi's plan by clicking here.

Part II:  Reforming TARP To Support Main Street, Not Wall Street

The second part of Alexi's Future Works plan focuses on freeing up credit in our communities so that small businesses can create jobs for our families. He wants to make credit available to small businesses by rerouting bailout money from banks to the Small Business Administration. His plan would entice local banks and credit unions to boost sorely needed lending to small businesses by offering 90 and 100 percent loan guarantees, but it would come with far more rigid standards than the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds that originally went to Wall Street firms. Read more about Part II of Alexi's plan by clicking here.

Part III:  Empower Consumers and End "Too Big To Fail"

Part III of Alexi’s plan aims to prevent a future crisis by providing more oversight of “too big to fail” institutions, opening up the secretive derivatives market, and ending the cycle of consumer debt caused by hidden costs in financial service products.  His plan also empowers consumers to protect them against deceptive banking and lending practices. Read more about Part III of Alexi's plan by clicking here.

Part IV: Restoring Fiscal Sanity to the Federal Budget

Part IV of Alexi's plan focuses on fiscal discipline and long-term economic planning. This part of his plan includes mechanisms to erase annual budget deficits and begin paying down debt through pay-as-you-go budgeting, targeting tax cuts, cutting wasteful spending, and holding tax cheats accountable. Read more about Part IV of Alexi's plan by clicking here.

Part V: End Unfair Trade Agreements and Fight China's Anticompetitive Practices

Part V of the Alexi's Future Works plan focuses on ending unfair trade agreements and fighting China's anticompetitive practices. Alexi wants to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade pacts, ensuring that future agreements learn from out past mistakes. He also wants to close loopholes that give tax breaks to companies that ship overseas, raising nearly $200 billion by doing so. Read more about Part V of Alexi's plan by clicking here.

Part VI: Invest in Innovation to Keep America Competitive

Part VI of Alexi’s plan focuses on investing in innovation to help America grow. Alexi will invest in an army of well-trained STEM teachers to provide a better quality of education for our youth. He will create a $100 million federal Innovation Partnership Investment Fund to match private donations for research at American universities. He also plans also upgrade skills through apprenticeship programs by linking students with on-the-job training. Read more about Part VI of Alexi's plan by clicking here.