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Lead Issues for the Campaign
TRADE
PROBLEM: Our trade deficit
with China has ballooned to over $260
Billion annually. The $120 Billion a year trade deficit with Mexico and Canada is
unacceptable.
SOLUTION: The House and Senate
must renegotiate the trade treaties to put
us on a level playing field.
IMMIGRATION PROBLEM: Illegal immigration is
costing America Billions annually. Illegal
immigrants are putting additional stress on
our social safety net. They are competing
for entry-level jobs and driving the entire
wage structure down.
SOLUTION: Initiate a
three-year moratorium on all immigration.
Severely limit education and work visas
unless conclusively proven to be in our best
interest. Effectively close our borders to
all illegal immigration.
HEALTH CARE PROBLEM: 47 million Americans have no
health insurance. While we are number one in
health care spending, we are 10th
in infant mortality and 24th in
longevity. More than one third of the cost
associated with American health care is
paperwork.
SOLUTION: It’s time to limit
medical liability lawsuits without limiting
the patient’s right to sue HMO’s and Managed
Care Organizations. It’s time to streamline
the health care paperwork nightmare and it’s
time to make prescription drugs safe and
affordable.
These ideas are provided as stimuli for
discussion. We must talk through these
subjects in a national debate and then take
positive action so that we can fix programs
that are failing and change misguided
philosophy. The United States has the
strongest military and the largest economy
in the world but, without attention to the
crucial issues discussed here, we risk
losing our global edge. We cannot and will
not let this happen, and for that reason, I
have chosen to run for the U.S. Senate.
Here are some of the issues that I believe
are the most important.
TRADE POLICY – (Economics 101)
All Americans
should be fearful of the “Fast Track
Authority” given to the president to negotiate
trade agreements. Fast Track Authority
requires Congress, the US Senate, in particular, to
vote to accept the agreement negotiated by
the President and Executive
Branch without
amendment (modification). Disastrous
consequences of not working as TEAM AMERICA
is self-evident as we look at the
negotiations of past agreements.
How many more
high paying American Manufacturing and
Engineering jobs will be sent
overseas? Politicians in power initially
tell us that this will create jobs. To the contrary,
since the passage of NAFTA and the China
Trade Treaty we have lost millions of good paying
manufacturing jobs. Flipping burgers at or
near minimum wage is not what most of
us have in mind when we think of job
creation. These jobs do not pay enough to
support families. We need jobs for
working families that provide a middle class
wage – not modern day indentured servitude!
When the
Senate passed Permanent Normalized Trade
Relations (PNTR) with China, The China
Trade Treaty, passed in 2000, we gave away
the cookie jar. Our trade deficit with China has
ballooned to over $ 260 Billion annually.
We, the American People, have a severe
case of buyer’s remorse. It’s time stand up
and demand that our leaders in Congress reformulate our trade policies so that they
will be a win-win for the American
People and our trading partners…not the
current one-sided unfavorable deals.
Providing a copy of Donald Trump’s book “The
Art of the Deal” or sending our
trade
representatives to negotiating seminars
might help.
Job losses
with NAFTA were large, but American job
losses due to the China Trade Deal have the
potential to depress our whole economy
(consider the effect of the loss of millions
manufacturing and engineering jobs). We
need to trade with China and all other
countries but in a fashion that benefits
America. Trading in a way that produces massive trade
deficits is not trade but is, in essence,
giving away the treasure, our national
wealth, built up by the back braking efforts
of our forefathers.
What we
need is not “free” trade but FAIR
trade.
A good deal is
a deal where both parties benefit at
equivalent rates, not where one party capitulates.
Stop capitulating, America!
China is a
strict authoritarian society and, with
incredibly brief exceptions, has been for 6000 years.
Trade is not going to change their type of
government. They have been a trading nation
for thousands of years.
To demonstrate
how little impact out trade with them has on
Chinese policies, consider this: two days
after The China Trade Treaty passed the U.S.
House, the Chinese Defense Minister said,
“War with the United States is inevitable,
we are preparing for that eventuality
and intend to win whether it takes one, two
or three years.”
Why do we to
continue to arm our enemy with the latest
technological advances and funding? Why
do the Chinese need aircraft carriers,
nuclear submarines, and missiles to aim at our
satellites? Why are they selling or
transferring technology to rogue nations and terrorist
organizations?
Furthermore
the $ 60-100 Billion a year trade deficit
with Mexico and the $ 60-100 Billion a year
trade deficit with Canada are unacceptable.
When we negotiate trade treaties such
as NAFTA, GATT and The China Trade Treaty,
we must get the best deal for all
the citizens of the United States, protect
American Jobs and secure the livelihood of
American Working Families. The House and
Senate must reopen debate and
alter these treaties so that they benefit
America.
Also, we
should withdraw from treaties with the WTO
(World Trade Organization). Do you want a
foreign country or foreign-owned corporation
suing your government or you with impunity,
as Bill Moyers’ Report, aired on PBS 2/5/02,
explains can happen? Do you want a
country or transnational corporation
dictating what we can do with our land, or how we
should manage our water supply, our
environment, and our other American
birthrights?
We have to maintain the sovereignty that so
many Americans died for.
The WTO has
not been established fairly. Although we
have the world’s largest economy, we
have only one vote. While someone must help
limit trade wars, tariffs, and illegal
smuggling, we, along with other governments,
must review the current
situation and
decide how to constitute a new organization
with limitation of scope and purpose in
mind. Vote weight in this organization must
be in proportion to the gross domestic
product of each member and the major members
must have limited veto power.
Most Americans
do not understand the full complexity of the
trade issues. Largely because of
this ignorance, we face a crisis – our jobs
are being exported, our wealth is being
transferred, and our sovereignty is being
chipped away. The solution is standing up for
American Rights instead of kneeling to the
corporate powers that don’t care where products
are made so long as their stock price goes
up and their stock options prosper.
As your representative in the Senate, I will
work tirelessly to ensure that the trade
issue takes prominence and positive reform
is not ignored.
HEALTH CARE-
Our nation is
the world leader in many areas, but we lag
in health care coverage. While we are number
one in health care spending, a recent
World Health Organization survey put us 10th
in infant mortality, 24th in
longevity and rated 37th in the
world in delivering health care to
all. In a country with so much wealth and
knowledge, THIS IS INTOLERABLE
AND A CRYING SHAME.
It is
ridiculous, that in this day and age, so
many children and working families go
without health insurance. It’s time to take
the bull by the horns and face the
situation.
There are
at least 45 Million plus Americans without
health care coverage.
This is unacceptable.
Years
ago, the system of county, city and
charitable hospitals provided a safety net
for these individuals. That safety net is
gone, since major corporations and the insurance
industry now run health care. It has become
a big business—one-seventh of our
economy. You are not the prime customer as
an individual. The insurance company is the
prime customer. The time has come to
develop a better system.
It’s time
to streamline the paperwork. One third of
the cost is paperwork and
administration by insurance firms or
government agencies, both of questionable need.
It’s time
to review the profit margins of insurance
firms and HMO’s.
It’s time
to get the bureaucrats out of the system.
It’s time
to limit medical liability lawsuits but
permit suits of HMO’s and managed-care
organizations.
It’s time to
get reasonable pricing on prescription drugs
and affordable Medicare. Why can the same
drug made by the same manufacturer in the
same potency be purchased in Mexico for
half the price or less? The current full
price Medicare Prescription Drug Plan gives the
health care and insurance industries direct
access to our hard earned dollars.
Why are we not
getting a quantity discount as is the case
in Canada?
It’s time to
streamline the FDA approval procedures to
permit time-tested European prescription
drugs to be made available in the US,
especially specialized drugs for rare diseases. Its
time to adequately fund the FDA testing labs
and eliminate all industry sponsored
testing.
It’s
time to take health care out of the
political arena and put it into the public arena.
The above
ideas require discussion and amplification
by all parties involved. Congress must charter a
group representing all parties involved.
One thing the group should be required to do
is to submit, no later than six months after
its formulation, a proposal for pilot
testing. Legislation will follow pilot
testing and changes, with subsequent
retrials, as deemed
appropriate.
As with
trade, the way our government handles health
care must be reformed.
As your man
in the Senate, I will be at the forefront of
this issue.
Of note: In areas of the country
Medicare C is available through Blue Cross
Affiliates. In most instances you do not
need to purchase any supplemental insurance and you get better coverage.
We have proved it can be done.
Why not go national with the Not For
Profit Blue Cross Blue Shield Companies
and get the rest of the insurance
industry out of the game?
IMMIGRATION
POLICY-
Our
country currently does not have a clear,
concise and well-defined immigration policy that
protects our best interests and provides for
the security of our country.
IT IS
TIME FOR A THREE YEAR MORATIORIUM ON ALL
IMMIGRATION AND TO
SEVERELY LIMIT EDUCATION AND WORK VISAS
UNLESS IT CAN BE
CONCLUSIVELY PROVEN THAT THEY ARE IN OUR
NATIONAL INTEREST.
DURING THIS MORATORIUM WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE A
HEALTHY
DEBATE AND
DEVISE AN IMMIGRATION POLICY THAT MAKES
SENSE TO PROMOTE THE
HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF AMERICA.
THE BORDERS HAVE TO BE SEALED,
WHATEVER THE COST.
What do we not understand about the
definition of the word ILLEGAL?
EDUCATION -
It’s time
to rethink elementary, intermediate and
secondary education.
Test scores indicate that
there is much work to be done. Graduation
rates are meaningless if our children are
not learning. The fact that some students
graduate high school and are functionally
illiterate is a crying shame. We have
diminished the knowledge content of our education
system, elementary all the way through high
school. Our system is rated 17th
in the world.
When sixteen countries have better
educational systems than America
we are on a downward slope heading toward
disaster.
How do we
solve this problem? First, we must insist
that all high schools, nationally, adopt a core
course program, similar to or equivalent to
Troy’s Program, and that parental
involvement becomes the norm. If a parent
wants to have their child
afforded the
privilege of a free education, they must
participate in the PTA and commit to
assisting the student with encouragement and
homework. It is when parents and
the local community control schools that
schools can best promote
sustained
positive change.
Second, we
must consider a program similar to the New
York State Regents Exams, which test a
student’s subject matter knowledge each
semester in high school and has a comprehensive
exam for graduation. These tests change
each semester and are impossible to
“teach to,” meaning that the scores reflect
real student ability and not rote
knowledge. A
failing grade on the test and you fail for
the semester, no matter what the student’s
other grades are. These exams, and the
core course requirements, should be used on
a state-by-state basis to provide a local,
state and national continuity, yet
maintain a modicum of local control. And
yes, make up classes during the
summer
should be re-instituted.
Third, we
must find a way to utilize retired subject
matter experts as teachers. Current law
makes it almost impossible to become a
teacher without going through a four-year
teacher’s college. As currently
constituted, a doctor or nurse cannot teach
a health course,
an engineer a math course, a journalist a
writing course. Twelve credit hours of
education courses over a two-year period
should be sufficient to enable someone
with a BA or BS to be accredited to teach.
This would allow our students to learn from
people who have real experience in job
fields, not just a paper education degree.
Fourth, we
must provide a suitable environment for
learning.
It’s time for the states and the
federal government to take over the
maintenance and upkeep of all public schools.
Over time, and with adequate maintenance
and building programs, we should be able to
bring all schools up to standard. This
should eliminate most of the corruption and
cronyism with regard to facilities and
supplies. School buildings must be made suitable
for year round teaching and wired for the
Net and future needs.
Fifth, we
must provide a safe environment.
It’s time for a closed campus at all schools with
proper security measures consistent with
past experiences and present conditions.
Sixth, we
must test teachers as to subject matter
knowledge in classes that they teach.
If they fail they must take remedial classes
within twelve months and cease
teaching these subjects.
Seventh, we
must revise the ratio of administrative
positions to full-time teacher positions and
bring this in line with perceived value
added. The primary purpose of school
is the dissemination of knowledge, not
social services.
The above is
not all-inclusive but should provide the
basis for discussion. We must stop the
procrastination and take action. America
must be able to compete globally and we must
give our children the education they need to
be successful in today’s
technological
economy.
SOCIAL SECURITY—
It’s time
to admit that the social security system was
designed as a safety net.
The American
people must be provided with additional ways
to invest for their retirement.
Privatization entails too much risk, and
would benefit primarily Wall Street
brokerage firms. Also, privatization would
limit the fund’s ability to service its
customers- the American people.
These funds
should never be put at risk, but the current
1-1.5% interest paid by the treasury on
Social Security funds is too low. These
funds should pay interest at the same rate
as treasury bonds and bills do.
The government borrows money from us through Social
Security much in the same way it borrows
money from individual investor or
other nations by selling Treasury Bills and
Bonds. It’s time our money pays full
interest. This
additional money earned in interest would
help provide a secure and safe
investment for all Americans- without the
risk of privatization. (Let’s stop the
game of paying short term interest on long
term borrowing).
ENVIRONMENT--
Let’s get off
the back of the auto, oil and petro-chemical
industries. I would like to point out that
one major volcanic eruption spews more
particulate, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide then all
the auto emissions, ever. Major volcanic
eruptions occur frequently. Meanwhile, a
far more serious and potentially greater
consequence to us and to the environment is
the issue safeguarding our fresh water supply.
It is not getting proper attention
Potable water
will be the gold of this century. We must
guard our Great Lakes from external and
internal pressures for use and realize the
incredible value of this water for future
generations
The above are
not the only important environmental issues,
but they indicate that we must redirect
our focus to the environmental issues that
really matter. We all breathe the same
air and drink the same water.
To put stringent environmental
controls in
place in the United States and then not
demand that every other nation have the
same level of environmental safety is the
height of hypocrisy.
The public at large,
not special-interest groups must ultimately
make the decisions.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY—
It’s time to
stop balancing the budget on the backs of
future generations. The Social Security Trust
Fund must be made off limits to Congress.
Government must be self- financing.
Congress has shown a disturbing lack of
fortitude by cutting taxes and
increasing debt during a war on terror.
Deficit spending must only be allowed in times
when the survival of the Republic is at
stake. The Congressional habit of making
everything an emergency expenditure must be
stopped.
We must
actively look for ways to reduce government
and existing programs even though the
public has, and always will have, an
insatiable appetite for new federal programs.
Every new spending program or increase must
have a sunset clause.
Under
normal conditions, twenty to thirty percent
of the budget is now eaten up by interest
payments.
Are we robbing our children’s future? If
nothing changes over the next ten
years financing the debt will become a
nightmare. Debt, deficits and interest
payments will put us in a financial
straightjacket. How can we look to the future with
hope if our leaders throw that future away
for temporary political gain?
The financial incompetence of Congress
threatens the fabric of our society.
Any surplus
must be targeted solely for debt reduction.
New program funding must come from cost
reductions in existing programs or
elimination of existing programs.
IT’S
TIME FOR CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT TO
TIGHTEN THE BELT
AND EXERCISE TRUE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.
GLOBAL TERROR
The following paragraphs are excerpts from
an article in the Detroit News. I could not
say it any better.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Nolan Finley
Don't let terror slip from radar screen
While American voters and their presidential
candidates are singularly focused on the
national economy, Pete Hoekstra still has
his eyes on global Islamic jihad.
And
sometimes the congressman from Holland feels
like he's the only one watching.
"Global jihad is alive and well," says
Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the
House Intelligence Committee. "I am not
taking my eye off that ball." Hoekstra says
the presidential candidates, as well as
President Bush in last week's State of the
Union address, do the nation a disservice by
not keeping the spotlight tightly on the
terrorism threat. "We are as much at danger
today as we were on 9-11," he says. "When
the politicians ignore or downplay the
threat, it just makes us all more complacent
about our security."
"They're using our values against us,"
Hoekstra says. "We want to be tolerant of
other religions and sensitive to people's
feelings, but in doing so we toss out our
commitment to free speech."
Hoekstra says the reason presidential
politics are now so preoccupied with the
economy is that it's something real to
voters, while terrorism, as the distance
from Sept. 11 grows, is becoming more
concept than reality. The economy will go
up and down. And obviously a president
unschooled in economic matters can cause a
lot of damage.
But global jihad is not a cyclical threat. A
president unprepared or unwilling to deal
with it could move America closer to the
European model of suppressing its own
traditions to keep the jihadists from
erupting.
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