Press on!

Know what you believe, and WHY you believe it.

Growing Up Politically Neutral

I had an a-political upbringing. There were no politically active people in my family. No one espoused any political views of any kind whatsoever. Worldview was not a known concept among the members of my clan, though the lifestyles of most of them were quite liberal, fiscally and socially. The nuclear family was all but nonexistent. Welfare dependence, teen pregnancy, single motherhood, drug and alcohol abuse were all commonplace in my family. Only my great-grandfather was involved in politics. He was a Mason, a member of a United Methodist Church (theologically moderate back then), and once ran for Tax Assessor in Clark County, Indiana. He was defeated because Republicans didn’t get elected in his county back then. The closest thing to a political statement I ever heard him make was that Walter Cronkite was a communist. Grandpa Jackson was an anachronism. It was the 1970s.

My First Look at Capitalism

My first political views began to form when I became a businessman in the mid-1980s. I had worked various small jobs as a high school and college student (paint store clerk, car wash attendant, fast-food cook, waiter, printing press operator, oil rig roustabout), but once I started a business, I saw the differences in attitudes between the people who work for other people and the people who employ them. I learned that there was a natural distrust that developed between the two groups. Employers expected their employees’ best, and were willing to reward them, but their employees delivered their least, doing just enough to get by. Not to overgeneralize, there were certainly the stand outs who worked hard and sought their employer’s best because it was the make-up of their character, but then, those usually made their way into management because they shared the employer’s values. But, for most employees, the day ended at 5:00pm sharp. It seemed to me that employees (labor) were content to exist, resist, and subsist rather than lead, exceed, and succeed. Capitalism, I reckoned, was the best system for producing the best and broadest economic benefit, because it rewarded those who worked the hardest and showed the most industry. Capitalism frowned on those who saw themselves as victims and expected others to make up for their shortcomings.

A Christian Worldview

From these early beginnings, I developed fiscally conservative economic and political views. Then, in 1991, I became a born-again Christian. At this point in my life, I became alive politically. I suddenly saw moral decisions through a biblical lens. The social issues that were once blurry and transient became clear and concrete. The overriding principles which seemed to drive my economic and political views were personal responsibility, diligence, freedom to pursue economic gain, defense of the defenseless, biblical truth, and the rule of law. Homosexuality, abortion, single parenthood, abuse of women and children, prostitution, pornography, criminal leniency, gun control, substance abuse, earth worship, voluntary poverty, high taxes, and dependence on government were all things which, in one manner or other, liberalism condoned, defended, or promoted. Thus, I became a conservative.

Political Activism

I am a life member of both the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). I have served as precinct chairman, delegate to the district convention, and delegate to the state convention of the Republican Party. But, I am reconsidering my membership in the Republican Party. Since George Bush, Jr. took up residence in the White House, I have seen the Republicans move to the political center and abandon some of their conservative roots. The Tea Party may be a more comfortable and natural place for me now. In the meantime, this video is a winner: (click here) If you liked that one, here’s another: (click here)

If I Were King for a Day:

The following would require acts of Congress, ratification by the states, a ground swell of support by the evangelical Christian community, and political leaders whose concern is for the people and the nation, rather than their own political fortunes. To build my utopia, I would implement the following measures:

On The Economy

A Balanced Budget Amendment – The Congress should be required by an amendment to the Constitution to submit to the President a balanced budget each year. This means that the Congress, who alone has the authority to spend money, could not submit a budget to the President wherein spending exceeds the expected federal tax revenue for the year. Over time, this would eliminate the national debt, which is rapidly approaching $20 Trillion. The only exception to a balanced budget would be during wartime, when the Congress could spend funds in excess of the expected tax revenue for the year, but excess spending would be limited to the Department of Defense.

A Line Item Veto – The president should have the right to strike from any budget submitted by the Congress any spending item the President deems is not in our national interests. This would eliminate pork barrel spending on items that only serve a few, and it would strip politicians of their power to win votes at the expense of the people through unnecessary spending.

A National Sales Tax – The federal tax burden should be shifted from income to spending. Great Britain and most of Europe have national sales taxes, known as Value Added Tax (VAT), or Ad Valorem tax. The problem is, these countries have national sales taxes in addition to income taxes. A U.S. national sales tax would eliminate the federal income tax. The states would be responsible for collection of the national sales tax, since they are already collecting state sales taxes. The federal government would reimburse the states for their expenses related to their tax collection efforts. The states already administer federal Health and Human Services programs like (). Tax evasion would become non-existent under a national sales tax because hiding income, filing fraudulent tax returns, and failing to file tax returns would become moot. Moreover, a national sales tax would bring into the treasury tax dollars it does not currently receive from the proceeds of crime. Groceries, medicines, utilities, and other items necessary to protect the poor could be excluded from taxation. Under a national sales tax system, the Internal Revenue Service would be abolished and replaced with a vastly smaller agency to interface between the states and the federal treasury.

On Entitlements

Balance the Social Security Budget – The population is aging because people born during the Baby-Boom are starting to retire, and the U.S. birth rate has dropped significantly in the past 50 years. We are healthier and living longer thanks to advances in medicine and the expanded availability of healthcare. Two measures should be implemented: means testing and an increase in the normal retirement age to 70. Currently, millionaires receive Social Security benefits. A constitutional amendment is warranted.

On Education

Eliminate the Department of Education – It exists to administer the federal education budget. Tax dollars from normal, everyday taxpayers (approximately $70B each year and rising) are used to fund the massive Department of Education. This costs the states billions of dollars that could otherwise have been spent on educating their own young people. Money from the states, through federal income taxes collected from the residents of each state, is sent to the federal government, which uses the money to pay for its own bureaucratic existence (buildings, employees, travel, executive perks, etc.) and then redistributes the rest as it sees fit. Tax dollars from one state end up funding federal education initiatives in other states. The federal government also takes money from the states and then holds it over their heads to force them to honor federal mandates, which shift to-and-fro with each presidential election. The nation survived until 1953 without an education department. It can do so again and save billions of dollars for local education.

Vouchers – All the arguments against which fail. If we want to improve our education system, we need to adopt a capitalistic approach. Competition will lower costs and improve quality. Some say that money would leave the public system, which is already underfunded. Nonsense. It’s over-funded and still broken. I propose that each school district in the nation publish its total tax revenue divided by the number of students served = revenue per student. Offer 50% or 75% of that number to students who want to leave the district for a private education. When the student leaves for a private school, the district benefits because a portion (25% to 50%) of the amount of money raised through taxes to educate the child remains in the district, but the district no longer has to teach the child. This would actually drive the revenue per student up and the student/teacher ratio down. The more students exercise their voucher options, the more the public system is improved. Districts can experiment with 50% and 75% vouchers to find the “sweet spot”, which would be the level of optimum benefit to the district. Fewer students burdening the public system, higher revenues per student, smaller classrooms, better educated students (both public and private attenders). Everyone wins!

On Transportation

Common Sense Toll Roads – Never allow a public road to become a toll road. Tolls should only be used for construction of new roads and to cover related expenses such as eminent domain compensation to land owners, etc. Once a road is paid for through tolls, that’s it. Never allow tolls to continue after the costs of a new road have been recovered.

Repair Bridges – Establish a toll for bridges that require significant rehabilitation or replacement.

National Toll System –  Implement a nationwide integrated toll system that allows travelers to install a single toll tag on their vehicles that is accepted by all toll road authorities in all states and political subdivisions. Administer the program through a national cooperative rather than by the federal government.