Special Interests:

The fact that  Republicans and Democrats are owned by special interests is reason in and of itself to vote Libertarian. The people have lost their voices due to the unholy alliances forged by campaign contributions made by businesses, unions, lawyers, etc. My Democratic opponent, for example, receives funding from the PSEA, which I believe places certain categories of individuals above the taxpayer to whom she should be indebted. On one hand she claims to be an advocate for the elderly, while with the other she assists in taxing them out of their homes with ever higher school taxes because the elderly are impacted disproportionately by this most regressive of taxes.

 

Many Republican lawmakers and candidates have received campaign donations from the gas drillers making a moratorium on Marcellus drilling a virtual impossibility. I receive all my campaign contributions from friends, family, and liberty loving individuals. No lawyers, corporations, unions, or special interests involved. As a result, I am beholden to no one other than the ones that pay the state's bills, and that is you, the taxpayer. Also to be included in this category are the special interests of the Republican and Democrat party establishment. Endorsements of one candidate over another in the primaries diminishes the voice of the people. Does the political establishment have such mistrust and/or disdain for the people that they have to funnel the unenlightened toward a "chosen one" ? This type of coronation would never be tolerated by the Libertarian Party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term Limits:

I will be an advocate of term limits. One of the greatest problems facing government are the politicians that make public service their career. Instead of serving the people and returning to the real world to live with the laws they have created, they become entrenched. They become detached from reality of what it takes to struggle daily for a living.  The stench of a privileged class fouls the Harrisburg air as evidenced by pay raises, perks, and pensions the rest of Pennsylvanians can only dream of. Re-election becomes a priority and the people are forgotten.

 

 

 

 

Expose Corruption in Harrisburg:

A grand jury report on the Bonusgate scandal describes the General Assembly in terms such as "a system so rife with corruption" and " left to its own devices, is utterly incapable of reforming itself'". The grand jury also reported that the "Democratic and Republican caucuses are irretrievably broken". This is why it is imperative to elect to Harrisburg an independent third party to be the eyes and ears of the taxpayer and to cast light on the "the den of thieves and vipers"

 

 

Eliminate Property Taxes:

Pennsylvania property owners are being crushed under the present system. Starting in 2012, they will bear a weight that will surely break the camel's back when the state pension time bomb goes off. My opponent claims to be an advocate for the elderly, while at the same time the elderly bear the brunt of this outrageously unfair tax and are increasingly taxed out of their homes, some of which they have lived in their entire lives. I would whole heartedly support HB 1275 sponsored by Rep. Sam Rohrer as a step in the right direction which shifts the burden from property owners to an expanded sales tax.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My plan:

I would sponsor a bill that would make most school funding a user type fee.  In other words, those that elect to have children would pay for their schooling. Those that choose not to, avoid the tax.  For example, it is unreasonable that an elderly widow who never had children be expected to pay for sending others' children to school.  This legislation would also break the back of the public school system, forcing them to compete with the private sector or go the way of the dinosaur. Of course, this is a long range plan that will gradually need to be phased in so as not to penalize those with present school age children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strike Free Education:

I would support legislation similar to that as proposed currently in HB 2092. This would bring the hammer down on the greed of the teachers and their union bosses. Legislation would levy fines for inciting a strike and provide for teachers  loss of two days pay for every day on strike. Pennsylvania leads the nation as the teacher strike capital  while supporting the 4th largest teachers' salaries. Spineless school boards cave in to pressure and threats, and consistently give in to demands. Taxpayers also have to foot the bill for child care during these strikes. In the end the biggest losers are the children, followed closely by the taxpayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legislative pay raises:

I oppose any type of legislative pay raise. As you may know, my Democratic opponent has a history of voting herself pay raises at two o'clock in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PA Pension Time Bomb:

It is beyond comprehension that taxpayers, who in some cases have lost a sizeable portion of their retirements in 401k plans, will be expected to pay for the bailout of the state's pension system. Contribution rates to state employees' and teachers' pension funds are expected to surge between 600%-700% starting in 2012. Like everyone else, government employees, with their more than generous plans, should not be exempt from the sacrifice necessary to bring this situation under control. I will support measures to increase minimum retirement ages and for larger employee contributions into their plans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Diems:

As a former member of the military, I know that per diems are in most instances quite generous. As such I had no option to claim actual expenses, thus saving the taxpayer money. My estimate of the savings to the taxpayer by expensing vs. per diems would be in the neighborhood of 25-30%. My Democratic opponent has chosen not to take actual expenses. As your legislator I would only claim actual expenses and would sponsor legislation to make actual expenses the norm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tolling the I-80 Corridor:

Unlike my Democratic opponent, I will not support the creation of another state bureaucracy modeled after the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, whose former alumni read like a Graterford roll call. This plan will only benefit the politically connected and be a business killer. This idea is DOA in my book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcellus Gas Drilling

 As a Libertarian and believer in free markets, I am very much pro business. I believe that natural gas should only be taxed to the extent to maintain sufficient funds to remediate problems after these companies have left our area. This is to prevent or clean up damage to our environment such as that which occurred during our coal mining era. Of course drillers would be responsible for any problems that would occur during the start-up and production phase of natural gas extraction.

 

The natural gas industry should not become a cash cow for the state to milk to expand or maintain its dependency breeding social programs. The natural gas industry can spend and / or reinvest its profits far more efficiently and wisely than any amount the state can skim off and redistribute to whom it deems worthy. I am, however, extremely concerned at the frightening pace at which all this drilling activity will occur with almost no long term environmental impact studies done.

 

Unfortunately, many landowners view this as their financial salvation. That being the case, I feel that many are going to be easily exploited by the drillers. Mark my words that there will be much "drilling regret". Once thousands of wells are in place across the state, with many in our back yard, you will not be able to turn the clock back. Being pro business does not mean that I am anti- environment.

 

Hundreds of chemicals contained within the fracking fluid, many of them harmful if not toxic, being used in the fracking process will be buried beneath our water aquifers with no guarantees that they will ever leach out. In addition roads will need to be built and maintained, many within currently pristine areas. There will be additional truck traffic, noise pollution, and waste water will need treating and disposal. Although I would probably not consider a full moratorium on all drilling activities statewide so as not to stop economic development and energy production, I absolutely would propose a limited number of wells to come on line annually, preferably starting with our least environmentally sensitive areas first (i.e. areas away from drinking water sources).

 

Since I know a little about commodities and free markets, this I believe will help stabilize the price of natural gas. The way we are going headlong into this thing right now, we may very well flood the market at some point with cheap natural gas, which in turn can create nasty boom/bust cycles. In summary my proposal would ensure sustainable economic development and energy production without rushing headlong into what could possibly be a future environmental disaster accompanied with an economic bust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Amendment:

This is sacred. I will not compromise on any issue that restricts the rights of law abiding citizens of PA the right to bear arms. My Republican challenger may need to re- read the second amendment to the Constitution and especially the words "shall not be infringed". He has joined the group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns which according to the NRA is nothing but a front group set up by rabid anti-gunner Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real ID, National ID:

I strongly oppose this Orwellian fantasy of government. In addition to the costs involved, identity theft is a concern, as well as the overreaching data collection of "Big Brother".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taxes:

I am beholden to no one except the PA taxpayer. I am a champion of smaller government. As the size of government decreases, so will the tax burden. I will not court favor with any politically expedient group that stands to benefit from tax increases. Unlike both of my opponents, I will not only advocate to stop the growth of state government, but I will seek measures to cut state government drastically. Some of the measures that I have outlined on this site include reducing the size of the state legislature, keeping legislative salaries in check, bringing teachers' salaries / benefits in line with constituents' salaries / benefits, safely reducing the size of the prison industry by focusing on violent offenders, not victimless crimes.There will be no more free rides on the back of the taxpayers for anyone capable of helping themselves. I would trim government in the most humane way possible, leaving benefits for none but the most vulnerable of Pennsylvanians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Veterans Issues:

I will be a strong advocate for veterans. One of the constitutional duties
of government is to provide for the defense of its people. When the defenders return home,
the government's responsibility should not end there. This is perhaps the only area of government that I feel spending should be maintained in the least, if not increased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reduction in the size of the legislative body:

Taxpayers should not be funding the 2nd largest state body and second highest paid body to enact 2nd grade results.