While Northern Virginia sports a lower unemployment rate lower the the average for the rest of the commonwealth and country, job creation is still the top topic in the 10th congressional district race.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R) and retired Air Force veteran and author Jeff Barnett (D) approach the subject differently. During an interview conducted Saturday, Wolf focused heavily on a bill he's introduced that incentivizes international companies based in the United States to bring jobs back home. He also decried bills passed by Congress aimed toward economic stabilization for featuring spending he considered wasteful that also added to the deficit.

The next day, Barnett criticized Wolf's vote against a $30 billion small business lending fund signed into law. He also singled out Wolf's votes for war funding, Medicare Part D and the Bush tax cuts that he said cost money but were not paid for by the Congress.

Spending

Explaining his vote on the lending fund, Wolf said it will cost too much.

"We're at a deficit in the country. The stimulus package failed," said Wolf.

Barnett countered that "Government has got to step in and provide some stabilization funding. And if it doesn’t, then you risk a Great Depression."

Wolf backed up his claim about the stimulus, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, by mentioning the country's unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, adding that the "real" unemployment is considerable higher.

But to Barnett, "Right now, I am far more focused on helping small business than a rather small addition to the national debt. There are times when it is appropriate for the government to go into debt."

Each candidate can claim to be correct in one way while omitting details. While Obama administration officials incorrectly predicted that the stimulus would lower unemployment rate would to around 8 percent, the Congressional Budget Office reported in August that the stimulus raised the gross domestic product (GDP) while lowering the unemployment rate "between 0.7 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points" and increasing "the number of people employed." The local area is in pretty good shape compared to the rest of the country regarding unemployment, Barnett noted.

"Our unemployment rate is the envy of the nation. As bad as it is, it would be much worse without stimulus spending," said Barnett. "All through the district, we would have larger class sizes because teachers would have been laid off."

Local officials arguing against taking some of that money came from what they said were tie-ins and that they did not want one-time spending increases to be used for recurring expenses when they would rather spend that money on improving infrastructure.

According to Wolf, "businesses are not hiring because this administration wants to raise their taxes."

Agriculture

Wolf touted his record on local farm in a manner similar to the way he discusses transportation by ticking off a number of completed projects he oversaw in some form or another. He highlighted a recent meeting with Fauquier County Supervisor Holder Trumbo, Jr. (R-Scott) and area farmers to help rebuild the Fauquier Livestock Exchange following a fire. He specifically mentioned that there are a number of federal loans available from the Department of Agriculture which "they're eligible for" to assist in the effort.

The 15-term representative repeatedly referenced his Journey Through Hallowed Ground legislation signed into law that promotes the U.S. 15 corridor as historically significant. Locally, that road runs through Fauquier, western Prince William and Loudoun counties. Wolf also mentioned working with farmers in Loudoun and Fauquier counties to develop a co-op for local food production and potentially a cannery to go with it.

Under the banner, "Buy Fresh, Buy Local," Wolf said area farmers may be able to sell their produce to local schools too. He said his job in this is to help secure USDA loans for farmers and keep the estate tax away from them too.

He said given that the Bush tax cuts are due to expire at the end of the year, keeping them even for those making above $250,000 is necessary to help family-run farms.

"If they allow these things to expire, a lot of Virginia families and a lot of the farms are going to be hurt," Wolf said. He later added, "I don't think the farmers are looking for more of an agricultural spending program. I think they're looking for incentives."

Barnett challenged the premise of Wolf's claim.

"As Mr. Wolf well knows, there are already specific special provisions on the estate tax for small farms," he said. "We’ve had an estate tax since 1916. Almost a century. And it is a necessary part of our overall tax structure. Simply doing away with it is not in anyone’s interest aside from the mega-wealthy."

A 2005 report by the Congressional Budget Office backs up Barnett's statement about special provisions. It also states, "Little direct evidence exists about the effects of the estate tax on entrepreneurial effort. However, like the income tax, the estate tax may reduce business investment and hiring by farmers and business owners to some degree and thus slow the rate of growth of their enterprises."

Barnett said he wanted to make sure tax distribution would be "equitable" so it helps small businesses.

"Family farms have a special place in our society and we need to protect family farms and that’s why I support special exemptions for family farms in the estate tax," he said.