Texas Congressional candidates have different visions for economy

(The Center Square) – The economy is a complicated issue with many moving parts. Consequently, Texas' 15th Congressional District candidates have different views about how to manage it.

Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, offers four bullets on her campaign website regarding her plans for the economy:

Cut wasteful Washington spending that is driving inflationLower taxes on working families and small businessesMaking energy affordable and “Made in the USA”Hold Communist China accountable for undermining American workers

The De La Cruz campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Economists have found that stimulus payments under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden caused inflationary pressures. The large increase in inflation from 1.4% in January 2021, when Biden first took office, to 9.1% in June 2022 was caused increased government spending and printing of money, federal government bowrrowing, oil and gas disruption following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and lingering supply chain issues following COVID’s disruptions.

Democratic challenger Michelle Vallejo supports addressing supply chain issues by creating new manufacturing jobs in the United States. Her campaign website states:

“In addition, Michelle knows we need to strengthen our supply chain by bringing manufacturing jobs back to America. We can lower costs and put Americans to work by keeping those jobs here instead of in other countries. Wages must also keep up with inflation. Therefore, Michelle supports raising the minimum wage and tying it to inflation so Americans' incomes aren't slashed by inflation.”

Vallejo’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

De La Cruz’ position on China is tied to her position on synthetic drug smuggling across the U.S./Mexico border.

The precursors of fentanyl are produced in China and shipped to Mexican ports, where Mexican cartels manufacture fake prescription pills to look like real ones and lace them and other drugs with fentanyl, The Center Square has reported . Mexican cartels, their operatives and gang affiliates then smuggle the illicit drugs across the US-Mexico border, fueling the opioid crisis.

In a February 2023 hearing , De La Cruz questioned Treasury Department officials about the ties between Mexican drug cartels and Chinese money laundering. A June 2024 indictment accused the Sinola Cartel in Mexico and Chinese money launderers of exchanging over $50 million in drug proceeds.

Additionally, the Biden administration raised tariffs on Chinese goods in response to unfair trade practices in May 2024. The unfair practices included China’s theft of American companies’ intellectual property and “flooding the global markets with artificially low-priced exports,” according to the White House.

Vallejo is focused on unfair trade agreements that she says resulted in jobs moving from her South Texas district to Mexico, as she states on her campaign website:

“Unfair trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) shifted good paying, union jobs south of the border for sweatshop wages, including South Texas and the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone. We will fight for trade deals that protect workers, the environment, and human rights while ensuring bad actors are held accountable when violating labor and environmental laws.”

Both candidates have supported lowering taxes on small businesses. De La Cruz made it one of the bullets on her campaign site. In an interview with KRGV, Vallejo said she supported lowering taxes on small business and property owners. To make up the shortfall, she would support tax increases on the wealthiest 1% of earners in the United States. Her campaign website states:

“Michelle strongly opposes Republican budget cuts to our schools, veterans’ health care and Medicare and Social Security, and believes that we shouldn’t reduce the deficit on the backs of working families when the most privileged in our society aren’t pulling their weight.”