WAUSAU – While questions at Wisconsin’s second United States Senate debate ranged from health care reform to analysis and application of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, the topic both candidates kept coming back to was the economy.

Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson said as someone working in the private business sector for more than 30 years, he has a different perspective on job creation. He said the stimulus bill, which he categorized as Feingold’s answer to the problems facing the economy, has been unsuccessful.

Johnson pointed to estimates the bill would create 4.5 million jobs, saying unemployment has actually gone up.

Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, rejected Johnson’s claim that the bill has done nothing to encourage economic growth. He said the bill was only a first step – and an emergency step – in boosting the economy, and added that step has created somewhere between 1.5 and three million jobs.

Another criticism of Johnson’s was the rate the national deficit has been growing under Democratic leadership.

Feingold agreed balancing the budget is a priority for the federal government, and he highlighted the fact that Johnson has never published or announced any specific plan to do so. He said Johnson’s support for tax cuts for wealthy businesses shows he is not on the right track towards economic stability.

While Johnson said there are 750,000 businesses in Wisconsin that would be paying too much in taxes if these cuts were repealed, Feingold said 95 percent of businesses in Wisconsin would not receive any tax increase.

“These policies that you support are making it impossible for hardworking Wisconsinites to make a living,” Feingold said.

He added Johnson has previously supported cutting unemployment and the minimum wage, as well as promoting legislation that encourages companies to ship jobs overseas.

Johnson denied he would support cutting unemployment and the minimum wage, saying he wanted Wisconsinites to be able to work.

The war in Afghanistan, which Feingold said costs around $100 billion per year, was a topic the candidates came to some small agreement on – they both agreed the troops need support from home. However, they deviated when it came to the topic of how to give it.

Johnson said Afghanistan was once a stronghold for al-Qaida and should be closely monitored with U.S. troops. Feingold disagreed, saying our war is not with the country but with the organization.

“It isn’t about invading one country after another,” Feingold said.

Recent Supreme Court decision Citizens United – which allows corporations to spend as much money as they want on political ads without certain levels of transparency – also came under fire at the debate.

Feingold characterized the decision as “the destruction of our political process,” saying he does not want these attack ads on his behalf.

Johnson agreed there should be total transparency in campaign finance, but added Republicans may be benefiting from this decision because people are fed up with Democratic policies.

Feingold said Johnson was benefiting from the decision because big companies want to stop the real reform he said he will continue to bring, and called on Johnson to admonish groups that produce attack ads on his behalf.

“You say you don’t want them? Will you call on them to stop”? Feingold said.

While Johnson said he does not like the ads, he argued they are protected speech. Feingold countered, saying if the ads were free speech Johnson could at least ask them to disclose where the funding comes from.

After some back and forth on the issue, Johnson abruptly said, “Disclose.”