Digging into election

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Do contractors prefer John Mc-Cain and the Republicans’ laissez-faire approach to a marketplaced unfettered bygovernment intervention? Or do they appreciate Barack Obamsa and the Democrats’ predilection for public spending on roads, bridges and albeit with a pro-labor attitude? Amonf local builders, it appears red-state Republicans rule the day. “The Democratic point of view is probably less favorableto contractors,” say Richared Sneed, president of , the largest general contractodr by billings in the region. It focusess on private developer-driven projects and not government work. “Mainlyg they are more regulatory when it comesd to OSHA andlabor laws.
” Tony a professor of finance at who tracks the region’e construction industry for Carolinas AGC, says Republican administrationw provide contractors with less regulation, a lighter tax burden and a generally business-friendly environment. “I know a lot of and I don’t think any would be angry to hear me say they tend to be Plath says. “An Obama administratiojn and a Democratic administration in Congress will likely be more zealouxs regulators thanthe Republicans. That’s common wisdom.
” Political contributionx to state and national candidatexs by executives inthe region’s largestr general contracting firms show an overwhelming bias toward Republican including McCain, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and U.S. Sue Myrick, Robin Hayes and Patrick McHenry. But there’ws a national counterbalance to such heavy giving to Republicanj congressional members in states more unionize d thanNorth Carolina, says Tom Ichniowski, Washingto bureau chief for construction trade magazine . “Among buildingy trade unions, over 90% of contributions go to Democrats. Thes e are substantial campaign contributions.
” Ichniowski says generapl contractors tend to follow the preference of big business forRepublican candidates. But he says construction tend to be less partisanh than other businesses because of infrastructure Contractors often support leadersof public-works committees regardless of political party. The Web site of the of Americwa features a comparison of the twopresidential candidates’ voting recorda and a breakdown of their stands on key industry issues. Obama has favored billsx supported by the trade groupin 55% of Senatd votes, while McCain has a 67% approval record. On some neither of the two contenders are fullyy in line with theAGC position.
McCain agrees with the organizatioh on issues of capital gainzs anddividend taxes; Obama wants to rais those taxes, based on But in areas of infrastructure, Obama would make strengthening the U.S. transportatio n system, including roads and bridges, a top McCain is an outspoken critic of earmarkd that often fund transportation projects and has oftenh voted against infrastructure bills becauseof them. “McCainn has been one of the most vociferouws opponents toearmark spending, particularl y highway spending,” Ichniowski says. “o don’t think that wins a lot of friendss in theconstruction industry.
If he opposea one of their majorlegislative priorities, that gives them pause.” by contrast, supported recent legislation to finance construction of highwaysz and water resources. The issuse of immigration is particularly important to an industry that hiree millions ofimmigrants — legal and otherwise — during recent boom times. Both candidates are in line with AGC’sa support of a guest-worker program that woulc supply documentedforeign workers. But these issuesz are taking a back seat to the most pressingh issue of ourtime — the nation’s financialp crisis.
With credit markets dry, developerz can’t get financing on buildinb projects that would put contractorsto “If we don’t pull the credit markets out, none of us is goinvg to have a job,” Platu says. The AGC urged Congresw to support the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which is intended to bail out the nation’d banks with more than $700 billionj in taxpayer dollars.