Hudak advocates less government

LYNN – Congressional candidate Bill Hudak says the path to national economic stability is paved with increased private investment and less government intervention.Hudak, 52, a Boxford attorney who has challenged incumbent U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, shared his views Wednesday during a wide-ranging editorial board meeting at the Daily Item.According to Hudak, President Barack Obama’s stimulus act dollars will do little to revive the soured economy because the effect of job-growth programs is only temporary. The candidate said national unemployment was at 8 percent when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was created and has been at 9-10 percent ever since.Hudak was adamant that the tax cuts allowed by former President George Bush be extended. “Absolutely and across the board. You can’t take money from the job creators and expect them to create jobs,” he said. “We need to reduce tax rates, reduce regulatory burdens on business and reduce the size of government.”Not specifically against government regulation, Hudak nonetheless railed against what he described as laws that impede business.”The government is too big,” he said, advocating a merger of the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Commerce, a wage freeze for government employees and a reduction of military presence in areas not torn by war, such as Germany and Okinawa, Japan. He also asserted that the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture be downsized.As Hudak put it, giving raises to government employees sets them outside the pressure of economic recession, while private-sector workers have no such safeguards.Hudak said government spending is out of control, although he supports production of the astronomically expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and a policy that would allow both GE and Pratt & Whitney to manufacture the warplane’s engine.On education, Hudak said he has been misquoted and does not advocate abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. “I would change the focus,” he said, adding that successful educational models already exist in Massachusetts.The candidate has not supported the healthcare plan pushed through Congress by President Obama.”It will become an unsustainable government program,” he said.To bring down healthcare costs, Hudak said he would cap medical malpractice lawsuit awards and encourage transparency among pharmaceutical companies and the makers of medical devices. He noted that Massachusetts imposed a 2 percent tax on medical devices, enough of a profit shaving for companies doing business along Route 128 to relocate overseas.Addressing issues on the North Shore, the candidate vowed to rescue small commercial fishermen from what he described as unjust government regulations based on less than credible science. “I believe in the small fisherman,” he said.Hudak also said he would work to provide erosion control measures for residents of Plum Island and Newburyport plagued by the ocean’s advancements.Asked if he is a Tea Party member, Hudak said the organization in Massachusetts lacks the structure it has formed elsewhere. He described the Tea Party movement as “a good reawakening” among mostly Republicans who previously were not actively part of the political process.When the Tea Party was formed, the galvanizing force was fear, which later turned to anger, he said, opining that members have since become more focused.The product of a Catholic upbringing, Hudak said he personally supports the pro-life movement but respects the federal law permitting abortion. He offered a similar explanation for his opposition to same-sex marriage, which is allowed by Massachusetts law.Hudak’s most animated moments arose when talking about the transformation over the past 200 years of what Americans expect of their government.”The federal government should not be the be all and end all for every problem,” he said. “We have become too reliant on the government providing the solutions.”Rather, he praised the nation’s for