Date Published: October 2, 2006   

Spratt, Norman have 1st debate outside York County

By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press Writer

Democratic incumbent congressman John Spratt and his GOP challenger, Ralph Norman, sparred Monday over a range of issues including Social Security, abortion, the minimum wage and the so-called death tax.

Norman, a Rock Hill developer and freshman state legislator, is seeking to oust Spratt, who voters first elected in 1982 to represent South Carolina's Fifth District, which includes 14 counties across the northern part of the state.

The debate at the Newberry Opera House was their third since June and first outside of Republican-leaning York County, the district's most populous county and where both men are from.

The atmosphere was in stark contrast to the debate last month in Rock Hill, where supporters frequently cheered and jeered. One of the only audience interruptions Monday came after Norman accused Spratt's party of supporting ideals that "take Christ out of Christmas," and Spratt shot back, to applause, "That's crazy. That's so out of left field."

To save Social Security from insolvency, Norman said workers ought to have the right to invest part of their Social Security savings into private accounts. Spratt, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said the idea would send Social Security "sinking to the bottom" and worsen the program's funding problem. He said the idea would add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years.

"How do you balance the budget if you take money out of a trust fund that's already short of funds?" he asked Norman.

Norman said government could cut spending and advocated alternative forms of taxation.

"We've got to have open discussions on things like the fair tax," Norman said.

"Fair tax" proposals would abolish federal income taxes and other federal taxes and replace them with a national sales tax.

Spratt said he supported increasing the minimum wage by $2. It hasn't changed in nine years, and most firms pay more than the hourly minimum anyway, he said.

Norman was adamantly against the idea. "You should absolutely not raise the minimum wage," he said, because businesses already are struggling with health insurance and workers compensation costs.

Norman pounced on Spratt for not supporting elimination of the so-called death tax, which Norman called "one of the most insidious taxes known to man."

There should be "no taxation without respiration," he said. People pay taxes all their life, so their estate should not be taxed once they die, he said.

Spratt countered that he voted repeatedly for alternatives other than total repeal of the estate tax. He supports a plan that would provide a couple up to a $7 million shelter. "That means a total repeal for 99.7 percent of all people dying," he said. "That's a good deal for most Americans."

He said he doesn't support complete repeal because the "tax consequences are enormous. ... It would result in a birth tax on a lot of people because they would inherit debt."

Norman said Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions, should be overturned. "The life of an unborn infant is sacred in this country," he said. Norman believes abortion should be an option only if the mother's life is threatened. He wants to eliminate the option even in cases of rape or incest.

Spratt responded that he supports a woman's right to choose in the first trimester - a stance he said should be considered conservative because it keeps government out of a personal decision. He said the right to an abortion should be restricted and regulated after the first three months.

"It's not an easy decision," Spratt said. "I wouldn't want to make that decision for myself."