News Sentinel On-line Questionair
I was very disappointed in the News Sentinel's Decision 2008 insert in Wednesday's Paper. All three candidates received a survey to fill out. Only Souder and myself did while Montagano declined. What I am upset with is that the News Sentinel presented Souder's issues while informing the reader to click on Election 2008 under Online Specials. Many people do not have internet which now makes it impossible for them to read my response while they printed Souder's response. A fairer reporting would have had either responses from all candidates who responded printed or to refer the readers to the Election 2008 under Online Specials for everyone.
Below is my response:
| Name: | William R Larsen |  |
| E-mail: | larsenforcongress@gmail.com | |
| Web URL: | www.justsayno.50megs.com | |
| Age: | ||
| Office: | United States Representative, District 3 | |
| Party: | Libertarian | |
| Education: | Paul Harding High School - Graduated Purdue University - BS Degree | |
| Work: | Mechanical Engineer | |
| Years lived in NE Ind: | 29 | |
| Issue #1: | ECONOMY: The last surplus was in 1956. Congress has added $9.3 trillion to the national debt with nearly $700 billion in 2008. This devalues the dollar, resulting in $145 barrel oil; ethanol has increased grain prices, resulting in higher beef, pork, poultry and dairy prices; social security/Medicare taxes were a maximum of $30 in 1937 and now are $7,803; 20 million have stopped looking for work; 6.1% are unemployed. There is no energy policy. U.S. savings rate is nearly zero, Americans are overtaxed and have nothing to save while the congress continues spending billions we do not have. | |
| Issue #2: | SOCIAL SECURITY: There is no painless solution. Those born after 1985 can expect to receive 29 cents in benefits for each dollar paid plus interest. Raising taxes, retirement age or cutting benefits will not change this! Those born earlier don't fair much better. I propose the 10.6% old-age tax paid by employee/employer be directly deposited into a self-directed IRA-type account; use the current $2.02 trillion trust fund to pay a means-tested benefit based on assets of $1,214 per month to each senior in need. Taking care of those in need is not just a worker's responsibility, but everyone's. | |
| Issue #3: | SECURITY: Those who serve our country need to be trained and be provided the equipment necessary to carry out the tasks assigned to them. We need to secure our borders. I support immigration, not illegal immigration. Those who are in this country illegally are breaking our laws and taking jobs from Americans. They need to be found, identified, processed and removed from our country. We need to secure our personal data by eliminating the use of the SSN by all nongovernment entities and put further restrictions on which agencies can use it. | |
| Previous political experience: | I have no previous political experience. I am an engineer, not a politician. | |
| Qualifications for this office: | I am a mechanical engineer who has solved numerous complex problems. I deal with details every day. I understand economics very well. I have been budgeting and tracking budgets since I was very young. I listen to what people say and use their input to find the root cause of problems. I am not a politician, but a husband and father of five children. I have a dream that my children will do better than I; the same dream my parents had for me and I am sure the same dream every parent has for their children. I am a U.S. Navy veteran and understand military life and duty. I am a disabled veteran who has experienced the VA medical system firsthand. | |
| Hope to accomplish: | I want to restore the American Dream, where in a land of opportunity an individual can work hard and prosper. Every worker has within their grasp the ability for a secure retirement. A secure retirement leads to a secure economy that creates and supports jobs. To accomplish my goal, the worker must be given the opportunity and ability to save. We must face the fact social security has failed economically. We must reform the federal tax code and make it fair. We must face the fact that the U.S. is not the wealthiest country in the world and that politicians have squandered the wealth of generations. We must balance the budget not in five years, but now! We need to cut out every earmark, all pork and some programs. It isn’t painless, but the longer we delay, the more pain our children and grandchildren will have to endure because of our failure to act now. | |
| Effect of property tax reform: | This is a state issue with some impact at the federal level. Local property-tax reduction will reduce the Schedule "A" itemized deduction, resulting potentially in a higher federal income tax liability. To balance the budget, we need to first cut spending to the bone and, if necessary, raise general revenue taxes to pay for those programs we want. I will not vote to increase social security or Medicare taxes -- period! | |
| How to increase public's confidence: | Make government open and transparent by being honest with the taxpayers. Be honest about the size of the deficit and not mask its size using social security and/or Medicare, as is now done using the Unified Budget. Identify all bills on a Web site, their purpose and their cost so that the constituents of the 3rd District are kept abreast of what is happening. I know how to say no, unlike many others. I will be as frugal with your money as I am with my own. | |
posted by William Larsen @ 7:06 PM
3 Comments:
Bill,
I read your position statements on the 50megs website. I agree with just about everything and will enthusiastically cast my vote for you. In terms of our energy crisis, I believe this is a matter of national security. We simply cannot stand for sending hundreds of billions of dollars to the likes of Chavez, Putin, Ahmadenijad (sp?) et al. China is already drilling off the coast of Florida and is propping the Sudanese regime up in exchange for its oil. We are fighting a new Cold War that has replaced the Arms Race with an Energy Race. I believe we can become energy independent in 10 years, but it will tak an All of the Above approach. Wind, offshore and ANWAR drilling, nuclear, clean coal. All of the Above and we can kick our addiction to foreign oil.
Secondly, I agree totally with your desire to simplify federal income taxes. There are so many unnecessary loopholes and nick nacks that give the govt. the ability to choose winners and losers through the tax code. I think you can find real traction on this issue by supporting the Fair Tax like Huckabee did in the Republican Primary.
Good Luck Tuesday. I'll be voting for you.
Anonymous,
I do not like importing oil anymore than you. Nuclear and coal do not help to reduce oil imports. Each barrel of oil we bring up out the US is one less barrel we import. It reduced the trade imbalance and will help stabilize the dollar.
I believe the ultimate goal is to be 100% energy independent. We can move in that direction today! It does not have exotic energy sources like cold fusion, beamed energy from space, a nuclear kettle to boil water (17th century conversion with a 21st century source) or burn coal. Windmills produce electricity by mechanical means, the same as hydro electric dams. Nuclear submarines use electricity to break the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen has four times the energy content as gasoline. An electric motor is over three times as efficient as a gasoline engine. A fuel cell uses hydrogen to make electricity when combined with air. Hydrogen is a compact energy source for vehicles. It uses the same source of energy as our homes do now. We need to upgrade our electrical grid, but that has been on the back burner for way too long. In fact the cost of oil imports in a year is more than that upgrade alone.
I will cast my vote for Larsen, a problem SOLVING Engineer. I watched you today and was so glad to hear someone just state their logical (but tough) ideas based on research. No political slamming, just solutions!
Thank you for giving me another option!
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