The Economy
With the global economy in turmoil, there are many issues concerning the people of South Jersey. The economic downturn has made it more difficult for South Jersey families to make ends meet in a state with the country's highest property taxes and a rising cost of living.
We are presented with new challenges, and those challenges require new thinking, new solutions, and new leadership in Washington to achieve those solutions. The potential cost of inaction at this time is too great to risk.
In reforming our financial system, we must insist on three key principles: first, those who were responsible for getting us into this mess should be held legally and financially accountable. Second, we must implement strict oversight and regulations to ensure that this never happens again. Third, we must require that any taxpayer money used to rescue or bail out financial firms should be a loan, not a gift, that must be repaid to the American people.
We must also resist the banking industry lobbyists and their influence. In 1999, when the Financial Modernization Act came before Congress that was directly responsible for much of the deregulation that led to the current financial crisis, Rob Andrews cast his vote in favor of the bill. In exchange, he received more than $1.3 million in campaign contributions from the financial industry.
Lean times are the wrong times to raise taxes, especially on small businesses, which are the engine of the American economy. In order to remain competitive with other countries around the world, we must do as they have done and lower our corporate tax rates so that businesses can continue to create jobs even in the current economic climate.
Energy Independence
We must move immediately towards a 21st century energy program that relies on alternative, renewable, cleaner fuels like solar, wind, geothermal, and natural gas. We must also follow the lead of progressive countries like France and move towards using nuclear power again in the United States.
However, we cannot switch to alternative fuels overnight, as the infrastructure is not yet available. We need a bridge to the future, and that means responsible domestic oil production. I have proposed allowing the voters of coastal states like New Jersey to decide via ballot referendum whether they would like to pursue offshore drilling in their portion of the Outer Continental Shelf (50 to 100 miles offshore).
This proposal would take the decision out of the hands of politicians, who will be wined and dined by high-powered lobbyists from the environmental groups as well as the oil industry. The decision is instead placed in the hands of the people of each state, where it belongs.
Energy independence is not only an economic issue, in that it will allow us to create millions of good jobs here at home, but it is also a national security issue. We cannot continue to send billions of dollars to oil-producing countries that simultaneously fund terrorists and those who wish to do the United States harm.
The War in Iraq
We need to bring our troops home from Iraq as soon as possible. Two of my dearest friends, whom I have known for decades, have just very recently returned from Iraq. I have met with their wives, their children, and their families. I want them home for good as soon as possible.
While Rob Andrews was a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, claiming its weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat to American national security, I believe it is counterproductive to debate whether we should have invaded Iraq in the first place. Today we must focus on how to bring our troops home.
One of the unfortunate side effects of invading Iraq and removing the Saddam Hussein regime is that we destabilized the country. It would be immoral for us to leave Iraq before we have re-stabilized the country to the best of our ability. Furthermore, to leave prematurely would create an even greater national security risk to the United States if the democratic Iraqi government should fail. We cannot allow those who have been wounded in service or given their lives on our behalf in Iraq to have done so in vain.
Immigration
It's time for comprehensive immigration reform in the United States. We must acknowledge that open borders in a post-9/11 world is a grave national security risk that we can no longer afford to take. We must immediately take steps to close not only the southern border with Mexico, but out of basic fairness and good policy, the northern border with Canada.
We must also acknowledge the impossibility of deporting the 12 to 14 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States. Instead, we must work to bring them out of the shadows and become responsible members of our society.
I have proposed a program where illegal immigrants, either self-identified or discovered by law enforcement, will be compelled to pay a reasonable fine. The funds from these fines, in their entirety, will go to fund an education program to teach illegal immigrants English, U.S. History, and Civics.
After passing a basic proficiency exam in these three areas, illegal immigrants will be permitted to apply for permanent legal resident status. This program is fair, equitable, and understanding of the realities of our immigration system in America today.
Education
Our children are our most precious natural resource in America. We must not allow failing schools to threaten the future of our children and our country. Competition breeds excellence in every aspect of life, and it is time we brought competition into the education system in a productive and positive way.
In New Jersey today, parochial schools are responsible for educating about 200,000 students at a cost of about $2 billion per year. Unfortunately, tough economic times and New Jersey's high cost of living have made it more and more difficult for parents to make the decision to send their children to parochial schools.
Without significant reform, parents will be forced to take their children out of parochial schools and send them instead to the local public schools. We must ask ourselves: are our public schools, which are already largely overcrowded, prepared to absorb 200,000 more students? Is our government prepared to absorb $2 billion more in annual expenditures for public schools? Are New Jerseyans prepared to pay even higher property taxes?
The answer to all three questions is clear: no, we are not prepared for this scenario. For this reason, we must create a tax credit program that allows families that send their children to parochial and private schools to save some of their hard-earned money and put that towards paying for their children's tuition.
Social Security
Social Security is rapidly approaching a crisis stage. Experts project that by 2017, the Social Security Trust Fund will begin to run a deficit, with more money being spent on expenditures than is coming in from current payroll taxes. By 2038, those same experts believe the Trust Fund will be completely bankrupt, leading to an immediate 25 percent drop in benefits that will get worse each year.
Unfortunately, some career politicians, like Rob Andrews, have tried to balance the budget by taxing more of the Social Security benefits that America's seniors receive. This is not only immoral, but it is also ineffective.
I have proposed a comprehensive Social Security reform solution that I believe is a step in the right direction. Without impacting current retirees or those approaching retirement (those 50 years of age or older), we must incrementally raise the age at which citizens are entitled to receive full benefits. When President Roosevelt proposed Social Security in the mid-1930s, the average life expectancy of an American male was 57 years of age. Today it is more than 20 years higher. The Social Security retirement age must begin to reflect this reality of improved American longevity and health.
Second, we must raise the threshold for payroll taxation from its current level of around $102,000. Finally, we must allow younger workers (such as those under 30 years of age) to begin placing a small fraction of their payroll taxes into personal retirement savings accounts. The funding will be offset by the raising of the payroll tax threshold.
The Social Security system typically gives a 2 percent rate of return, whereas a personal retirement savings account is likely to provide a much better rate of return for workers as they approach retirement. Furthermore, because that savings account is under the control of the individual, he or she can pass that money on to his or her children.
Traditional Values
I am strongly pro-life and believe abortion should be legal only in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk. I also support traditional marriage between one man and one woman.