"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!" - Ronald Reagan
"Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders." - Ronald Reagan
"They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong." - Ronald Reagan
Click Here to read the survey. Dear Louisiana Justice Institute, I appreciate your interest in my candidacy. The raison d'être for the promulgation of this letter is to deliver my responses to your survey, and to (hopefully) allay any concerns that you may have about me, or my stance on these various topics. I have grouped my answers into both “Short” and concurrent “Long” categories. The “Short” version allows the reader an opportunity to briefly, yet fully, grasp my position on each pertinent issue. The “Long” version is congruent with its predecessor, but offers insight into my decision-making process. If you agree with my “Short” answer, feel free to skip or skim the “Long” version; conversely, if you disagree with my “Short” answer, I hope that you will take the time to read my reasoning. Thanks. Health Care:
“What will you do as a federally elected representative to insure our Louisiana citizens have adequate access to health-care?”
Short Answer:
Reduce the amount of stifling Government Regulation.
Long Answer:
America has the greatest healthcare system in the world. Many on the left are actively seeking its destruction (like they achieved in Canada, and England) through regulation and interference. Of the relatively few problems existing in our system, the majority can be fixed by expunging federal involvement. The following is a description of one of our few problems, followed by my solution:
Health Insurance (or lack thereof) – One of the main reasons why some individuals are uninsured or so-called “underinsured” is because of Government regulation of the insurance industry. “Guarantee-Issue” (and similar legislation) is one example of the fallacy of Government’s “Good Intentions”. “Guarantee-Issue” Laws prevent Insurance Companies from rejecting clients, which often forces companies to insure people with “pre-existing” conditions. As a result, in order to stay economically viable, the insurance companies must raise their rates, which exclude many people who could otherwise afford insurance.
Similarly, “Mandated Benefits” forces people to purchase coverage they don’t want, and causes insurance companies to raise their rates to offset the increase in assumed risk. Although I do not want a plan that covers “Drug Abuse Treatment”, if I buy insurance in Louisiana, I must purchase this coverage and seventeen other “benefits”.
The answer to this conundrum is simple – reduce the amount of government regulation, and allow free markets to work. To reduce regulation, we need only to examine and repeal many of the laws that are currently on the books. Concerning Capitalism, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) had a good idea; he encouraged free-market competition with the introduction of the Health Care Choice Act, which allows individuals living in States with high insurance costs (like Louisiana) to purchase insurance from cheaper, less-regulated States.
“Do you support H.R. 1410: Emergency Child Care for the Gulf Coast Region Act of 2007? Explain.”
Short Answer:
No.
Long Answer:
The reason I am against this bill is dichotomous yet simple; Capitalism Works and this bill is a waste of the taxpayer’s resources.
Too often, we allow ourselves to forget that the Free Market is responsible for the Greatness of America. It is not from the government, but from Capitalism that our Greatness stems. Every benefit, and comfort that we enjoy in America is a direct result of the Free Market. If a need truly exists, it will be satiated by the enterprising spirit of American Entrepreneurs, not the government.
While the Daycare Centers in Northeast Louisiana were not devastated by hurricanes, when a local Monroe church decided to end their childcare services, about 150 working families were unable to locate a replacement; enter the Free Market. My cousin Jeremy, his wife, and their child were one such affected family. They searched everywhere, only to discover that all the other Daycare Centers were full to capacity and retained waiting lists about three to four years long. Although he and his wife were already employed, their search for adequate daycare prompted them to start their own daycare center. Thanks to the Free Market, they have now achieved success, and the daycare void has been filled.
Concerning H.R. 1410, I oppose this type of legislation because it is simply wasteful. If a grant, or other government “giveaway” is needed for a business or product to exist – the applicable product/service should not exist (Obviously this Truism excludes unprofitable necessities such as utilities, infrastructure, etc.). If there truly is a need for daycare, and American Entrepreneur will establish this business.
I believe that it is the role of government to provide the opportunity for business to succeed, not the means. My solution to this problem would be to offer Low-Interest Loans and Tax Incentives to Louisiana Entrepreneurs. Grants would attract people to start Daycare centers, but it would do nothing to excise fraudulent and un-reputable individuals from attempted participation. Low-Interest Loans and Tax Incentives would encourage only those entrepreneurs who are legitimately interested in providing the requisite Daycares Service.
Yes – we need Daycare. Yes – Capitalism will provide it.
Public Education:
“What will you do to improve the quality of, and provide adequate funding for Louisiana’s public schools?”
Short Answer:
Bring Capitalism into Public Education. (…Yes, Capitalism really is the answer to almost every problem)
Long Answer:
Under Title One, the dollar figure is attached to each student only as a percentage of representation in a district and proportionate to the poverty rates – not the individual student. Title One deals more with the allocation of funds/grants based on the number of students and per capita income of said students, with a focus on directing funds toward failing students. My suggestion is to use vouchers to directly link funding to all the individual students (The calculations to be based of area averages) – this is dissimilar to Title One in that all funding would be tied directly to the individual student.
I believe that the free flow of students and consequently money is the answer to many educational problems. I truly believe that nothing encourages growth and improvement like the fierce competition inherent to Capitalism. Now I admit, many changes (Fundamental Structural Changes, which will take some time) will have to be instituted before we reach this point, but I envision a day when Schools are all competing against one another to improve, grow, and educate better than their counterparts. I would love to see the successful schools and better teachers being paid more money for their talents/services just as successful companies reward their top sales-people with higher salaries.
Some people have suggested that the voucher system would destroy economically challenged areas/schools, and that because teachers have no control over their student’s poor behavior or detritus home life, vouchers would unfairly punish good educators. They are wrong. While I concur that teachers should not be punished for simply working in an area full of failing students, I believe that a reintroduction of strict discipline would help ameliorate the current situation. Before a voucher system can be successful, mechanisms must be in place for unruly students to be punished, and for failing students to either receive remediation, or to be removed.
It is truly sad, but many children come from broken homes where they are taught to disrespect teachers and other authority figures, but little else. Teachers are often required to not only attempt to proffer the normal curriculum, but to also teach basic social skills that were not demonstrated at home (I have several close friends who are teachers, and they tell me the horror stories). The teachers are often not allowed to discipline the children properly; consequently, disruptive behavior (inside and outside the class) continues unabated.
At the same time, many good students are trapped inside the same situation, often unable to leave because of mere economics. I do not believe that they should be held back either. Vouchers would provide the means necessary for good students to escape the system that they would otherwise be bound to.
Another step in the goal to improve education is the elimination of Tenure. Tenure tends to promote mediocrity amongst the bad educators inside our system, while providing little to no benefit to the good, hardworking teachers. Teachers that strive for excellence inside a capitalistic system are protected by virtue of their success. More often than not, Tenure is simply used a tool of the Left to protect lesser educators and radical college professors, while silencing conservatives and the free exchange of ideas.
In Summation: Institute Vouchers, Reintroduce Discipline (Yes, this includes Paddling), Eliminate Tenure, and Return to the basics by stressing Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (Stop indoctrinating children with Liberalism). Socialism Fails in every country and sector it is applied while Capitalism creates success universally; our educational system deserves the latter.
“Do you feel that spending should be focused upon increasing vouchers for private schools, increasing the number of chartered schools, or increasing funding for public schools?” Explain.
Short Answer:
Vouchers
Long Answer:
This answer was covered in the previous delineation.
Housing:
“Do you support S. 1668: Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act?” Explain.
Short Answer:
No.
Long Answer:
This bill is a waste of money and perpetuates people’s reliance on the federal government.
“What is your plan to ensure that adequate and affordable housing is available to all residents of our state?”
Short Answer:
Reduce government intervention. Capitalism still works, and this is still a free nation. It is not the government’s responsibility to provide for people's needs and wants.
Long Answer:
There is no long answer. It is not the government’s responsibility to provide housing. The government should step aside and let the free market work.
Voting Rights:
“How do you propose to ensure that all citizens of Louisiana, including those still displaced from the 2005 hurricanes, have the means and information necessary to exercise their right to vote?”
Short Answer:
I plan to do nothing. If they are still displaced after three years, they need to re-register in the district or state where they currently reside.
Long Answer:
There is no long answer. We are a free people living in a free society with free/instant access to news and information. My job is to speak/spread the truth in hopes of inoculating and elucidating the electorate concerning the obfuscations of the Left.
Criminal Justice:
“How do you propose to improve the public safety system so that all residents are equally protected from crime and violence?”
Short Answer:
Increase the number and length of mandatory jail sentences. Expand the death penalty to include Rape and Child Molestation. Reduce the number of comforts available in prison (including television, cigarettes, and non-educational reading material). Expand the utilization of prisoners as state labor. Force prisoners to provide their own sustenance (yes, they should be farming), clothing (yes, let them learn to sew), etc. Eliminate the Welfare State.
Long Answer:
In the prefatory statements, an insinuation was made, suggesting that the police protect the wealthy and brutalize the poor. Quote: “…poor communities continue to be left in fear of not only a lack of police protection, but also of police brutality. What is more, Louisiana residents who enter the state’s criminal justice system rarely break free of the cycle of violence, crime and incarceration.” This statement leads me to the conclusion that the author misunderstands some basic principles of human nature. In particular, the author seems to erroneously hold that crime is a derivative of poverty. This belief is incorrect; poverty and crime are both symptoms of a greater societal disease – apathy.
Government programs like welfare create dependency and destroy the family by removing the father. This lack of social structure leads to a whole host of problems, chief amongst these, crime and recidivism. Crime has always existed and will always exist, but a large portion of criminal behavior would be eradicated if we could eliminate the welfare state.
If crime was a derivative of poverty, The Great Depression should have the highest crime rates – it had one of the lowest crime rates in our history. The reason is because the prevalent widespread poverty during The Great Depression forced families to stay together for survival. The welfare state and those on the left encourage the destruction of the family by rewarding negligent behavior. If we restore the family, crime will be reduced.
Concerning Police Brutality, if it exists (which in a few rare cases it does), the criminal justice system has the mechanisms to remedy these problems, and they should quickly be utilized. Corrupt officers should be found and removed. The Constitution and our criminal laws provide the protection you seek; however, one does not reduce crime by punishing or attacking the whole police force.
“How do you propose to make the criminal justice system accountable to the citizens that it is supposed to protect and serve?”
Short Answer:
The Constitution provides the remedy you seek.
Long Answer:
Yep…the Constitution still has the answers.
Worker Rights/Economic Development
“Do you support the H.R. 4048: Gulf Coast Civic Works Act? Explain.”
Short Answer:
You guessed it…No.
Long Answer:
This is a waste of money that would only increase dependency and create more bureaucracy. This bill actually allocates money to create a corporation, to pay employees, to give away our tax dollars. I think it would actually be cheaper for the government to buy a bulldozer to push piles of cash into a bonfire.
“Will you work to raise the minimum threshold for income tax liability to relieve poor families of overbearing tax obligations?”
Short Answer:
No, I will not adjust the threshold, but I will lower their tax burden, non-the less.
Long Answer:
Taxes are simply too high. One of my main goals is the reduction a taxes across the board. I want to greatly lessen the tax burden on both corporations and individuals, on rich and poor alike.
Let it be know - Corporations do not now, nor have they ever, nor will they ever pay taxes. A corporate tax is a tax on consumers. The taxes paid by the “Evil Oil Companies” for their “Obscene Profits” comes directly from the pocket of the American Consumer. Advocates for higher cooperate taxes are proponents for stifling America’s economy and her people.
Individuals are also carrying too heavy of a burden. I want to cut their taxes also. The Rich deserve a Tax Break. The Poor deserve a Tax Break. Heck…even Trial Lawyers deserve a Tax Break.
Reducing Taxes not only strengthens the economy, but it also increases the government’s revenues. And for the Proponents of a graduated tax scale – the Rich pay more as a percent in taxes when the rates are reduced. Obama and McCain are both wrong about Bush’s so-called “Tax Cut for the Rich”.
“Will you advocate for access to mainstream lending and reasonable restrictions on predatory lending and payday loan practices?”
Short Answer:
Nope.
Long Answer:
Want to know why we have a so-called “Housing Crisis” (When oddly enough 99.5% of Mortgages are sill being paid)? The reason is because the Government forced banks to make loans to individuals who were not qualified. And now the government wants to cause further damage by bailing out the housing industry and by investigating the bank’s lending practices. I always thought that this level of stupidity was the domain of “The Gong Show”.
Bailing out the housing industry will only hurt the honest borrowers (who are dutifully paying back their loans) by encouraging more dubious loans and by mitigating the consequence of poor fiscal decisions. A lesson will be learned, but it shall not be one of personal responsibility. People will learn that there is no consequence for their actions, and the taxpayer will pay the ferryman, as he always does.
Concerning Predatory Loans – there is no such thing. Predatory loans are a lie, created to reduce the strength of contractual law, while strengthening government dependency. If a person hits his thumb with a hammer, yet does not learn a lesson about hammer safety, it is not the responsibility of the government to regulate the hammer manufacturer. The same goes for payday loans.
The main reason I am running for elected office is because our party is moving toward the left. The Republican Party is the last bastion of Conservatism, and our Presidential Candidate would have it razed.
Please don’t misconstrue my anger with the current Republican Leadership; I understand that we must defeat Obama and elect McCain. However, regardless of the outcome, America will have a Liberal President who must be opposed from the House and Senate. I hope to be given an opportunity to represent Conservatives, and to fight against liberalism wherever it exists – even if it is within our own party.
I thank you for your time, and I hope that I answered your questions with a satisfactory level of explanation. If you have any questions about where I stand on a particular issue, feel free to contact me at Andrew@andrewclack.com or visit my website, www.andrewclack.com. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Andrew Clack
Republican Candidate for U.S. Representative
District 5
