The Economy
Anyone who thinks the economy should not be number one on our country's list is either rich and retired or doesn't live here. With a robust economy everything else is doable. Without it, talking about things like health care is just a waste of time.
I am pro-business and I am pro-labor. One does not exist without the other. The problem is getting everyone to think of it as a team effort instead of one against the other. Wealth envy is a waste of time, and after all isn't wealth what the American dream is all about? From it comes our ability to be generous, militarily strong, charitable and fun loving. How do you create a strong economy? It is not that complicated. You must create an environment from which business can flourish with as few government restrictions as possible. This country is the embodiment of entreprenurialship, it is what has made us the greatest country in the history of earth. I am 100% for the fair tax, or replacing the income tax with a consumption tax. The income tax is so incredibly burdensome to the economy, unfair, full of loopholes and rife with tax cheats and unenforceable rules. Just this alone would give our economy an unimaginable boost, get rid of countless hours wasted on tax preparation, keeping receipts, not to mention the IRS having to try and enforce this tax code. If it takes an attorney to prepare our taxes, then something needs to change. Stop illegal immigration. The cost is hugh and cost control is part of a healthy economy.I would work on restructuring the credit reporting system. The current system is keeping a lot of good borrowers from getting the credit they need to expand their businesses. It is a one size fits all system, and this is simply not workable. Another thing that would help is shrinking the size of our government and quit spending what we don't have. I would immediately call for a 5% reduction in the size of government each year for all the years I would be in office, and I would request that state and local governments do the same. This can be achieved easily. When someone retires or quits, they are not replaced. Departments would be combined or eliminated and hiring up would be done from within. No government contracts would be awarded to foreign companies, especially military contracts. This is a time for America first, period. Next, repeal NAFTA. It's one thing to have open markets, as long as the playing field is level, it is not. We cannot compete against countries whose base labor rates are one quarter ours or less, let alone their labor practices. Cap and Trade is a suicide mission for this country. Who ever came up with this one really doesn't like America. Bring back our base industries. I'm sorry, but this country cannot survive on building just wind turbines and solar panels. We need our steel mills and lumber, we need to build boats and planes. We have the technology to make these industries cleaner and it can be done. Did I say,quit the spending! Get government out of the way and let Americans do what they do best, create! These are just some starting points.
" The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else"
Immigration
My wife is a legally naturalized citizen. An immigrant. There is no reason for someone living and working here that is not. I can't think of one good reason to keep our southern border open, yet it is!
With that said, I would close the border and build the fence starting my first day in office. It is because I do care, about our country and about all the lives that are affected so negatively by an open border. I would also cancel the anchor baby program this country has. I just don't understand why having a baby qualifies you for citizenship. This would take a constitutional amendment but it needs to be done. If someone could give me one good reason to keep a porous border I would like to hear it. We all know the down sides to the issue. I will stop illegal immigration!
What I don't understand, with all the lives lost both Mexican and American, why that itself is not enough. For me, one American life lost when it is preventable is too much. The drug flow also by itself should be enough to close the border. I am all for Latino immigrants, but only legal ones. I am not for amnesty. This would be an affront to those who have chose to come here legally and have spent the time and effort it takes to do so. It would legitimize breaking the law. We either have laws we enforce or we don't, but lets not continue to make a mockery of the legal immigrants in this land. When the politicians say they are only taking jobs away that Americans won't do, tell that to the roofers, concrete workers, landscapers, framing contractors, drywall installers, painters, siding installers, these all used to be good paying jobs, I know, I was a framing contractor at one time. This needs to end, I will end it. That should tell you where I stand. Once this has been accomplished then we would be able to streamline the legal process. We need to know who is coming into this country, that's why we do background checks on legal immigrants. Overstayed visas represent about 30% of illegal aliens in this country. These are folks from all different countries. They come here on a student visa or tourist visa and just don't go home when they are supposed to. This too shall end.I would look long and hard at our policies here, work with congress and come up with some better ideas. Our open border policy is not a viable immigration policy. I've had my ID stolen by an illegal and it cost us money to fix and it also shatters your sense of security and confidence in our government and our laws, not to mention the billions it is costing every year in identity theft. The only plausible reason that this government has not closed our border and curtailed the onslot is votes, pure and simple votes. If we keep electing politicians nothing will change. I will stop illegal immigration, whether they come from Mexico or anywhere else, this cannot continue.
Gun Control
Start by closing our southern border. A massive amount of weapons go into Mexico every year and end up in the hands of the drug cartels. These weapons are then used to facilitate drug smuggling across our border coming into the U.S. I am 100% for the second amendment and protecting this right. But we absolutely need to stop all illegal activity involving weapons. Stopping illegal immigration with a closed border would go a long way to getting guns away from bad boys.
I have seen crime up close and personal. My ex-wife was held at gun point and the assailant pulled the trigger. Fortunately, the chamber was empty. It was not the gun that was the criminal here. It was the person who pulled the trigger. I believe in our basic right to protect ourselves and that right needs to be protected.
I am not a gun fanatic. I own 2 pistols and one 22 cal. rifle. I have a conceal weapons permit in Oregon and will be obtaning one in Ohio as well. I own these weapons for protection. My hope is that I will never have to use a gun on another human being. However, I believe it is my constitutional right to protect my family and my property if the need arises. Guns are not the issue. It is the corrupt individuals who make the choice to use guns in a harmful way that is the problem. Protect the second amendment. I will, it protects all of us.
I am a firm believer in getting tough on criminals. I will not allow young girls like Chelsea King or Polly Klaas to die at the hands of repeat offenders. Who should we be protecting; the criminal or the victim? The answer seems clear, yet every day another innocent life is taken. The revolving door policy we have in place now is not working. It's costly both monetarily and in human life. Some of these crimes can be prevented! Our police officers should not have to arrest the same person over and over, sometimes several times a month. What a waste of their time and our money.
It is truly one of my passions in life to improve upon the justice system so that the word 'justice' can start to mean something again. The time to get serious has long since passed!
Terrorism
I believe like some that an open border is more of a threat than Iraq or Afghanistan. We need to close our southern border and stop, once and for all, illegal immigration. Overstayed visas account for nearly 30% of our illegal immigration problem. This needs to be addressed at the same time and with the same sense of urgency. I don't care what nationality you are, you need to be here legally, period.
Our military is by far one of this countries finest attributes. No matter where we've been or for what reason, our men and women in uniform have always made us proud to be Americans. I was not for going into Iraq. I was for going into Afghanistan although I believe that effort should have been on a much larger scale. I am not for nation building. We squander our nations wealth and lives on nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan thinking that we will change their hearts and minds and they will love us for it. We haven't learned much from history. These people in these places will never be like us, think like us or convert to democratic forms of government because we spent billions if not trillions of our dollars building their countries infrastructure. They only see us as invaders who stay way too long. Their customs and religious beliefs are centuries old. Once we leave Iraq and we shall, it will become what it was before, or some variant thereof, ruled by mullahs and will be full of sectarian violence. This is their way of life. When they decide for themselves that they need to change only then will something truly get done. I believe that if we need to use our military it should be for the soul purpose of destroying a threat to our nation completely and overwhelmingly devastating. I would pull our troops back out of most of the locations we are in now and concentrate on making our military the strongest its ever been and also lean and mean. I think we can fight the terrorist of the world much better using our brains more than our brute force. Don't get me wrong, brute force works, but is not always the best solution. I don't believe in the U.S. being the worlds police force. I would also, never train 3rd world countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan in our military tactics nor would I ever give them our weapons. History has shown us that these weapons and training will eventually be used against us and cost American lives. Case in point, Iran and Osama Bin Laden. Our military tactics and weaponry should be as closely guarded secrets as we can make them. Watching the show how it's made and seeing our latest fighter the YF-22 Raptor explained on national television is beyond me. It might be way too expensive to build for most countries to even think about, but it should be as big a mystery as we can make it for as long as we can make it. The world knows the United States does not use its military to gain territory, but the world should also respect our forces and fear them at the same time. I have never been in the service, I was too young for Vietnam and too old for the Gulf War. I do respect and honor those that serve this country in Uniform, they are truly our nations heroes. A good friend of mine just recently passed away, his name was Harold Welborn. He was a navigator in bombers in WWII. He flew 50+ missions including Ploesti, for those of you who know. Upon his death, there were no parades, no national news, only friends that knew him and knew what a contribution he made to this country. Yet if an entertainer dies, we hear about it for weeks if not months. This needs to change. We have gone so far away from what is truly important, real Americans who have sacrificed for our freedoms. They are there today as well, but we no longer hear about them, we only see a number on the bottom of the TV screen that 3 were killed in a roadside bomb. They do this for us, yet where are our celebrations of their lives, where is the thanks, just where are our hearts America? Don't ever forget who pays for our freedom! AMERICASMIGHTYWORRIORS.ORG
Abortion
This is a sensitive issue and one that I believe has no good answer. That said, I believe in a womens right to do with her body what she believes is in her best interest and safety. You can't legislate morality. I don't like the idea of abortion, I wish there were a miracle answer for this question that would make all happy, there isn't. If you simply make it illegal you end up pushing it underground. The horror stories in this case are well documented. It should not be done without a great deal of counseling with all the alternatives such as adoption being completely exhausted. It should not be easy, like going to the dentist and it should involve the father and parents if that's the case. I don't like it, but like I said, there is no good answer. Perhaps smarter people than I will come up with a better solution.
Welfare Reform
There is always a lot of talk about reforming welfare. Again, nothing seems to change. Having lived in the east where I have for the past two years, I've seen a lot. But as a landlord, I really see what is happening to several of our entitlement programs, it's simple abuse. I can tell you there are solutions, but there is a huge establishment that doesn't want any changes. I think in a period of 4 years, through changing a cross section of government programs, we could reduce welfare claims by 35%. This would involve open discussion with all parties agreeing to the same goal. How we get there will be the result of that effort. One must always remember that someone has to work and get paid usually doing something they don't love in order for someone else not to work and get part of that working persons pay check. Being compassionate is one thing, being foolishly benevolent is another. Sometimes helping means doing the things that are tough but, in the long run better for all. I guarantee I will work tirelessly with our Congress to come up with that way that is better for all.
Not allowing an illegal alien to receive any social benefits would make all of our social care systems far more solvent. But not allowing illegal aliens in our country in the first place would be even a greater benefit to these systems. It is amazing to me that we have veterans in this country that receive fewer benefits than many illegals.
Health Care Reform
Now that health care reform( and I use that term lightly) has been passed, I need to readdress the approach to the still burdensome problem. Unfortunately, the bill is huge and complex and was achieved with many back door deals being made. An issue like this is way too important to have been passed like this. Breaking down some of the key points to what has been done makes it obvious that this is going to cost all of us dearly. I was all for health care reform, but not like this. There is going to be a heavy burden placed on small business which will reflect in the job market. I will need time to read the entire bill, to really get a grasp of what's coming. I'm sure there are some good things in there, but at over 2000 pages I am also sure that there is probably not one member of congress who has read the entire thing. Why did no one address illegals recieving health benefits. You should have to be a legal resident and you should have to pass a drug test in order to receive any benefits from this country.
Overall Philosophy
I am 54 and have seen a lot and been in a lot of places. I have had my successes and my failures. The one thing that has always remained constant is my passion for being an American. Having traveled a good part of the world, I know how fortunate we are to live in this country. Sometimes when I have become disappointed with our government, and this includes the previous Republican Administration as well as the current one, I have thought I should just move to another country and that would make things better. Well, there aren't any better, despite all of our flaws. The one trend I see as a real threat to our way of life is the size of our government. It is paramount that the government be as small as possible as to provide the basic services we need as a whole and to allow the individual spirit to flourish. I run my life and my business this way as do most people. I know with the right President in office with a focus on economy we could eliminate so much of the waste and fraud. As a builder in the past, I remember when a building permit used to cost just a couple hundred dollars and would only take a few days to process. Now, in Oregon at least, that same permit is now eighteen thousand dollars and can take weeks to process. I don't know how one could consider this progress.This is just but one example where government is overstepping its original purpose at the expense of all of us. These things I would work diligently to change. A conceal carry permit for a handgun is usually not good in all states. So when I travel across country I am not allowed to carry that same handgun across state lines. This is just pure foolishness. Are we all Americans or aren't we? Again, government for the sake of revenue, not keeping us safe. A central data file and the same rules would certainly make it easier for police to track weapons, and would not get some citizens in trouble that are good folks for just trying to keep themselves safe. I love efficiency, I hate waste. Unlike George Bush who claimed to be a conservative, who grew the government incredibly so, it would be one of my main focuses to size down. We need health care reform, but what was just voted on will be incredibly wasteful. I have no political debts to repay, nor do I love power. I do love empowering people to help themselves. As president, make no mistake about it, I would close the border. If the government were honest about the true cost of illegal immigration, there would be real outrage in this country. The cost is not only monetary but human as well, not just for Americans but for Mexican nationals also. Overall it's a big task, but one I would love to take on. I want to work with all of us to Restore America.
