1)Clean House
Posted on Mon. Feb. 4th, 2008
We must “clean house” in Washington, D.C. We must take back our government from the two-party politicians who have collectively failed us miserably. I want to serve the residents of District 15, and all of the citizens of the United States, with fresh faces in the House and Senate; individuals who are committed to Tax Reform as the centerpiece of a program to boost our United States of America back into an orbit of peace, prosperity and freedom.
2)Fair Tax
Posted on Mon. Feb. 4th, 2008
I realize it is pure fantasy to expect Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain to take time from their presidential campaigns to do their present jobs in Congress and work for passage of H.R. 25 (and its companion S. 1025) described herein. Even if these candidates supported these bills, there are nowhere near enough total votes to have them passed. Hence, the need to “Clean House” as described in Objective 1. Consequently, I expect the first substantive order of business of a fresh-faced 111th Congress to be the elimination of all income-based taxes. This action will remove the fiscal drag on our economy. Income taxes, including payroll, estate and gift taxes, must be replaced by the Fair Tax, which is a national sales tax. Our present and previous congresses have been holding this consumption-based tax hostage. (H.R. 25 – “The Fair Tax Act” – in the House and S. 1025 in the Senate). I will aggressively work to motivate my fellow colleagues in the 111th Congress to pass these bills. I also expect to work within the 111th Congress to sponsor and motivate to passage the 28th Amendment needed to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment (Income Tax) so that the associated constitutional conventions among the states may take place within nine months of the passage of the Fair Tax Act. Upon ratification of the 28th Amendment, every penny of our hard-earned income, from whatever source we receive it, will be ours to consume, save or invest – our way. The federal government will shrink because the IRS will be abolished. We will have more control over government spending by having the choice of what taxable goods and services we ultimately consume. The national sales tax (approximately 23%, inclusive) will be a barometer to gauge our performance in Washington. I recognize what I perceive to be the only valid criticism of the Fair Tax – one-time double taxation of savings; however, since the savings rate in general has turned negative for the first time in U.S. history, I believe that the cost of implementing the Fair Tax is at an all-time low in this regard.
3)No Deficit / No Debt
Posted on Mon. Feb. 4th, 2008
Deficit spending must be eliminated and the associated national debt must be set onto a path that results in elimination. Fiscal discipline must set the tone for attacking all other issues. I will work within Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment so we can start paying down the debt that, if left unchecked at today’s pace, will fiscally bury our children and grandchildren. I expect passage of such an amendment and subsequent ratification by the States to run in parallel with the events related to implementing the Fair Tax.
4)Peace at Home / Peace in the World
Posted on Mon. Feb. 4th, 2008
A national security plan must be articulated in detail and then properly executed. We must establish peace at home so we are a beacon for peace throughout the world. This means we must first affirmatively identify everyone who is residing here in the United States and motivate them to be legal and productive members of our great nation. The Fair Tax, with its “prebate” component, can bring us a long way to achieving this objective. Our United States military should be deployed at home to bring us the rest of the way. We must then establish an energy plan that eliminates our dependence upon oil. The next logical step would be to minimize dependence upon fossil-based fuels. In this area, I expect to work within the 111th Congress and with our scientific and engineering communities. The 111th Congress should establish a National Energy Competition that will result in significant monetary bonuses to those who compete and win “EnerPrizes.” These awards will be based upon the achievement of precisely defined goals and objectives that can be measured with certainty. These goals and objectives will include components requiring a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions so our scientists may continue their studies of the global warming issue. Specifically within Florida’s District 15, I envision the development of solar cell-based and wind turbine-based energy generation facilities; and an alternative fuel-based motor vehicle production and assembly plant. I would also like to have the opportunity to work with my colleague in District 24 to transform the Kennedy Space Center into a commercial spaceport to make up for ground lost to the Virgin Galactic / New Mexico partnership. These are just a few of my ideas for maintaining District 15 at the forefront of technological development. High-skilled jobs are an important by-product of such an endeavor.
5)Honor Our Fathers and Mothers
Posted on Mon. Feb. 4th, 2008
The Medicare and Social Security programs must be properly funded to avoid bankruptcy in 2019 and 2041, respectively. We must neither breach these social contracts between generations nor steal from younger generations to deal with the problem. Yes, I mean “steal.” If you are my age, you are hopefully aware that, several years ago (during our W-2 wage-earning years), our government raised our retirement age from 65 to 70. This situation has resulted from, among other things, the fact that the ratio of W-2 wage earners to Social Security recipients has dropped from approximately 160 to 1, when the program was first established, to 3 to 1 today! Once again, the Fair Tax is the answer to properly fund Social Security and Medicare. The burden of funding these important programs will be shifted from the relatively smaller number of wage-earning citizens to the relatively larger number of consuming citizens. I am willing to explore the possibility of ultimately allowing younger generations to “opt-out” of the Social Security and/or Medicare programs.
It’s Your Turn. Please comment on Frank’s Five for the Folks. Share your thoughts with me at [email protected]. Together, we can be the change we want to see in ourselves, in our country and in our world.