MassLive Politics Coverage

The U.S. Senate Race in Massachusetts

The Race for the White House 2012

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The biggest issue for Massachusetts voters come November will be jobs, and both Republican U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown and his likely Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, know it, their campaigns know it and voters are going to know they know it.



"I'm not a social crusader, I'm a jobs crusader," Brown said in a recent telephone interview. He said that his Senate office is putting together job fairs, the third of which is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Drive in Chicopee.



In an email, Warren wrote: "To create more jobs in the longer run, we need to stop subsidizing oil companies, hedge fund managers, and others who have already made it big, and instead make investments in education, infrastructure, clean energy, and research. We need to work together to create the conditions so everyone who works hard and plays by the rules has a real chance to succeed."



Massachusetts had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in January, the same number it posted in December. That's better than the national average of 8.3 percent.



There were 12,200 new jobs created in the state last year. The private sector created 15,900 jobs, a number offset by lost government jobs.



Locally, the jobs picture looks worse, with Springfield's unemployment rate rising to 12.5 percent in January. That is, however, lower than the 13.8 percent unemployment rate recorded in January 2011.



Regionally, Springfield and its surrounding Hampden County communities lost 3,300 jobs in 2011, according to statistics released last week.



But how to fix that jobs picture?



Warren and Brown agree about some things. They both pledge to save Massachusetts' military bases, including Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, from cuts. The Air Force alone is talking about cutting more than 300 jobs in the state.



Both talk about the importance of infrastructure and highway, road, bridge and rail improvements. In his phone interview, Brown said his first vote in the Senate in 2010 was to break the filibuster and move a transportation bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.



Brown said he's eager to work with Senate Democrats on getting a new transportation bill passed soon.



They both talk about easing regulations. Warren focuses on small business and small community lenders. "One example comes from the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that I worked to create," she wrote in a position paper. "Complicated mortgage forms push up costs for community banks and credit unions, but they don't help borrowers understand the terms of the deal. We created a short, streamlined form that will soon replace the old forms – a win for business and a win for consumers."



Brown said executives tell him they yearn for a sense of consistency and fairness in the federal regulatory and tax structure. Simply not knowing what that tax code will look like from budget to budget keeps businesses from investing, growing and hiring.



"They don't know what is next," Brown said. "It throws a wet blanket."



Brown also voted in favor of allowing the Keystone Pipeline project, a plan to move oil from Canada to the U.S., to move forward. It's opposed by some environmental groups, but Brown said it's an important jobs creator and can help move America away from Middle Eastern oil. He called it part of an "all of the above" energy policy that includes both expanded supplies and increased green energy and conservation.



Warren said the federal government needs to spend more to encourage renewables in the place of fossil fuels.



"Right now, renewable energy is forced to compete with old, dirty energy sources like oil and coal that get billions in special breaks from Washington," Warren wrote. "Massachusetts can lead the world in using green technology and increasing energy efficiency, and the benefits will help make our products competitive around the world. Again, we could do this right here, right now – and create jobs here in Massachusetts."



Warren said she would have voted for President Barack Obama's bill that she said would have supported thousands of jobs in Massachusetts, paid for entirely by a small increase in taxes on those making more than $1 million per year.



But Brown said the President's bill would have been paid for with borrowed money instead. He voted for the filibuster that blocked the bill, but he also promised and promises to vote for portions of that bill, like an extension of the payroll tax cut, where both Democrats and Republicans agree.



Brown said his "Hire a Hero" legislation encouraging people to hire veterans has also become law.



He's still working to pass laws supporting the New England fishing industry, legalizing "crowdfunding," or small investments in tech start-ups, and paper currency instead of dollar coins. Crane & Co. in Dalton manufactures all the paper for the nation's currency.



In her email Warren talked about the need for to make it easier for workers who want to organize together to have that chance. She also wants to strengthen trade laws.



"And we need to back up those laws with meaningful enforcement," she wrote. "We need to make sure that the countries we compete with also respect workers' rights and environmental rules so that U.S. companies are playing on a level playing field. And we need to get tough on intellectual property theft and knockoffs."

