El-Sayed, Rogers pitch competing economic visions at Detroit Economic Club forum
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, the U.S. Senate candidates in Michigan, laid out competing economic visions before Detroit-area business leaders at a Detroit Economic Club forum on Tuesday, Bridge Michigan reported on October 20.
Both candidates advocated a shift in approach to Canadian tariffs. Rogers, who earlier this month called for an end to the "tariff war" with Canada, said the move on Canada was "not the right direction," mainly because it did not account for how integrated the two countries are in the automotive business. El-Sayed said: "I'm not against tariffs per se, I'm just against dumb tariffs," calling the Trump administration's tariff policy "chaotic," "hamfisted" and "self-serving" and pitched producing and subsidizing a low-cost electric vehicle to compete with Chinese and Korean models while maintaining gas-engine production.
El-Sayed billed himself as a capitalist who believes the United States is trapped in an oligopoly, arguing that platforms like Medicare for All, additional taxes on the wealthy and pro-labor policies would make the market more competitive. Rogers pointed to Michigan's lackluster rankings on education and economic opportunity and pitched a framework of boosting skilled trades, keeping taxes low and prioritizing U.S. energy sources.
On artificial intelligence, El-Sayed said AI companies "are about to open Pandora's box" and reiterated calls for requiring a public ownership stake in AI companies, a regulatory agency to oversee AI model development and an expanded list of banned AI activity. Rogers said AI platforms "definitely need guardrails," said a national framework for AI regulation would be a top priority, and said he supports a "narrowly crafted" antitrust exemption to let AI companies collaborate on safety measures.
Both agreed that impediments to affordable housing are hampering economic growth. El-Sayed called for down payment assistance programs and building "competitive hubs" of housing around small businesses. Rogers proposed loosening regulations, using land banks for vacant lots, tax-free construction zones and tax-free savings accounts for first-time homebuyers, calling skilled trades "a job China can't steal, and … a job AI can't replace." El-Sayed also called for pro-labor legislation to "enable union organizing in every sector of American life" and said he supports cutting the payroll tax and investing more in small business growth.
On taxes, Rogers said he supports a lower tax rate for businesses and tax credits for research and development, and argued the Green New Deal, which El-Sayed previously supported, would have required "the largest tax increase in the history of the country." El-Sayed argued that taxing the wealthiest could help tackle the national debt: "I don't know. Maybe stop fighting wars we shouldn't be fighting, and maybe we should tax the richest people."
The two candidates were given separate platforms at the Tuesday event and did not share the stage. They will face off Wednesday in the second and final debate of the general election cycle.