Shaban Wants To Cut Taxes, Attract Light Manufacturing and Fuel Cell Jobs

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Written By Scott Benjamin: John Shaban says the key to making America more vibrant is for the federal government to get out of the way and let state and local officials make a majority of the decisions and control a greater share of the money.

To underscore his commitment, Shaban, the Republican candidate in the Fourth Congressional District, said any taxpayer that makes a private donation to an in-state education, transportation or urban development program would get a federal tax deduction of 200 percent of that amount. He said, if elected, it would be the first bill that he would introduce in Congress.

Shaban of Redding, who is in his third term in the state House of Representatives, said he supports the call by the two major-party presidential candidates – Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton – for major infrastructure improvements, and those to the interstate highway system can be largely controlled by the federal government. But everything else should have substantial local input

He faces four-term Democrat Jim Himes of Greenwich, a former Wall Street executive, in the November 8 election in the sprawling district, which extends from Greenwich to Ridgefield with a mixture of large cities – Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk – leafy suburbs – New Canaan and Darien – and rural towns - such as Redding and Easton.

Himes initially won the seat in 2008 over 11-term Republican Chris Shays of Bridgeport, who served longer in the U.S. House than all but three of the representatives that Connecticut has ever sent to Washington. It had been 42 years since a Democrat had won in the district, which is home to a large number of Connecticut’s financial services and hedge fund companies.

Himes only captured the three large cities – Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk – among the 17 municipalities in 2008, but has added some of the suburbs since then.

Shaban, a former semi-pro football player who works in Greenwich as an environmental attorney, insisted in a phone interview that he appeals to a broad spectrum of voters since he doesn’t “care what color hat they wear.”

Regarding the economy, which has been the top concern voiced by voters, he said he supports an across the board tax cut similar to the one that television commentator Larry Kudlow of Redding outlined in his recent co-authored book on the packages offered by former presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

Shaban said that probably the length of the tax cut should be shorter than the 10-year plan that former President George W. Bush signed in 2001, and which eventually was extended an additional two years as the country climbed out of the recession. The Reagan tax cut was for only three years and therefore the projections were more predictable. Former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin, who served under former President Bill Clinton, and Paul O’Neill, who served under former President W. Bush, have said 10-year tax cuts are highly inaccurate.

Greenwich resident David Stockman, the former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under Reagan, has said Congress has never shown the discipline to make the necessary spending reductions to accompany an across-the-board tax cut. Kudlow has stated that the Kennedy tax cut, which former President Lyndon Johnson signed about three months following the assassination, would have been successful if it had not been for the missteps of Johnson and his three immediate successors – Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

Shaban said he also could support a proposal by U.S. Senate candidate Dan Carter (R-Bethel) for a long-term capital gains reduction as long as revenue forecasts ensure that its “do-able.”

In Connecticut, where the unemployment rate has increased by .3 percent over the last year, he believes the state could expand its light manufacturing and fuel-cell sectors. Connecticut has been a leader in fuel cell technology for decades.

Shaban opposes the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) - which includes the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico and eight other countries - largely because foreign governments could make court decisions based on their standards on activities by U.S. corporations, which would surrender America’s “sovereignty.” He also said the TPP doesn’t do enough to address the currency manipulation by some of the countries in the pact.

He said he supports free trade, including many of provisions in the TPP, but would rather that it be renegotiated. He also is against the fast-track trade authority that Congress approved in 2014, which only allows the lawmakers to vote up or down on the proposed pacts with no option for amendments.

After the economy, Shaban said the Affordable Care Act has generated the most comment among voters, as some have seen “astronomical increases in their rates” from Obama’s signature program, which he signed six years ago.

On another topic, he said before supporting it, he said he wants to see all of the provisions of the Stop Act in which congressmen would not be able to solicit campaign contributions by phone. They could still speak to potential donors in person at fund-raisers. It is sponsored by U.S. Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.), who contends that congressmen spend too much time calling potential contributors at the expense of legislating and constituent service. CBS’ 60 Minutes did a profile on the legislation earlier this year.

Regarding the concept, Shaban said, “It does seem to make common sense.”

Photo via YouTube screen grab.