The Issues

Tax Reform

This is a complicated subject with no clear answers, but it’s clear that the current tax system isn’t sustainable.  I’m currently looking into H.R.25, the Fair Tax, and so far it seems to be the best solution to the problem.

Energy

I keep hearing the refrain, “Drill here, Drill Now!”, but it doesn’t make sense. Why? Because we still have to send that crude oil overseas to be refined! We haven’t built a new refinery in over 30 years and many of the ones we have are coming to end-of-life. We need to short leash the EPA to allow for new refining capacity before we start drilling for more oil.  Once we have accomplished that, then we can start looking at opening new fields for exploration.

As far as renewable energy, I am all for it personally. But the idea that renewables will make us less dependent on foreign oil is a red-herring since only  3% of our electricity production is oil-fired. The other 97% are a mix of coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydro-electric.  With current technology renewable energy doesn’t scale well and is best suited for small communities or households. The cost to bring the national grid up to the level that wind power is feasible is over a trillion dollars. I am for tax-breaks for home renewable energy since that brings us back to a level of personal independence and responsibility.

Healthcare Reform

This one is tough, but I know that Socialized medicine is not the correct path for America! We need to look at Tort Reform and the way that the insurance industry is regulated to see if we can make a more equitable healthcare system in this country.

Gun Owner Rights

I feel the the 2nd Amendment is very clear, every law abiding American citizen has the right to own and bear arms.

Fiscal Responsibility

Around here they have a saying, if you find yourself in hole, stop digging! That’s where our great country is right now and the only answer is to STOP spending money and cut back spending. It’s what you and I have to do and the government should follow the same rules. There is no reason to raise taxes and spend more.

Education

I think that it’s safe to say that education in this country is broken. When government educated graduates don’t know where Canada or Egypt are on a globe or basic algebra or be able to write a basic sentence, it’s indicative of a failed system. We need to completely overhaul the education system from the top down. It’s not about money, it’s about teaching our children to succeed, about hard work and the desire to learn the things that will be make them successful in their lives. Once we start back down that road, America’s greatness can be assured.

Immigration Reform

Let’s face it, we’re all immigrates.  We all came from somewhere else, unless you are Native American.  I favor and support legal immigration. The problem we have is a broken immigration policy that makes people wait up to ten years to get into the country. That’s messed up and needs to be fixed.  What we really need is a two step policy, secure the borders and streamline the immigration process.

Limited Government

The US Constitution lays out the limits and responsibilities of the US Government in pretty clear terms. I say we take the government back to its Constitutionally mandated limits and hand the rest off to the States in a manner consistent with the Founding Fathers vision. Reducing the size of the government will save astronomical amounts of money and restore freedom across the land.