Issues

Economy

Our economy is suffocating from decades of massive deficit spending on programs which do more harm than good.

We need to stop wasting tax dollars on foreign military intervention, corporate bailouts and failed programs like the war on drugs.

America has spent trillions of dollars on policies that make us less safe and on policies that compete with domestic businesses for capital necessary for job growth and prosperity.

Deficit spending on these programs erodes the value of the dollar and reduces the standard of living for all Americans.

The surprising fact is not that our economy has not rebounded, but that we have done as well as we have considering the circumstances.

Only through American ingenuity, tremendous work ethic and spending of accumulated wealth has America been able to achieve any progress concurrent with massive deficit spending.

I support policies that facilitate free enterprise with limited taxation and regulation.

I oppose policies that waste tax dollars on the seemingly unlimited needs of the military industrial complex, prison industrial complex and Wall Street. We need to end government subsidies to businesses and end government selection of winners and losers in the economy.

Bringing troops home will strengthen our real defense and boost the domestic economy by shifting spending of military wages out of foreign lands and back into America.

Taxation

I am a Certified Public Accountant with a Masters in Business Taxation. I have spent a career helping people and businesses minimize their tax liabilities.

Our federal tax system is exceedingly complex, burdensome to calculate and excessive in amount. It has resulted in increased disparity between the rich and the less affluent.

I support low tax rates to encourage economic growth and restrain government spending.

I support tax simplification and oppose tax subsidies which enrich special interests and add complexity to the tax laws.

Tax reform needs to be fair and needs to encourage growth at all income levels.

Defense & Foreign Policy

History teaches that there is no substitute for military strength in maintaining a strong defense. Our economic strength and way of life requires a military second to none.

That having been said, America has 5% of the world’s population but spends 43% of total world defense dollars.

We have two oceans and friendly neighbors on both borders. We spend seven times more than the next largest world defense budget (China) and we have been outspending the rest of the world on that scale for decades.

Our military interventionist policies not only consume an astronomical $700 billion per year, but make us less safe, by imposing our will throughout the world, currying favor with dictators and creating enemies of people who should be our friends.

In desperation against our comparably unlimited power, we have created a fertile climate for terrorism by people who resent our presence on their land.

We maintain hundreds of thousands of troops throughout the world, in some 900 bases, most of whom are left over from cold war threats in places like Germany and Japan.

The cold war is over. We cannot afford these astronomical costs.

Our continued presence in many places makes us less safe. We can keep important bases but we need to reduce our foreign troop strength dramatically and let our military come home.

We can let forces shrink through attrition and maintain the strongest defense inside our borders.

I support a foreign policy based on trade, not war. I support efforts to open dialog and trade with even the most oppressive regimes, including Cuba, North Korea and Iran.

By talking and trading with these countries, we learn each other’s perspective and create a mutual interest in the people and economy with whom we trade.

When we exclude foreign military activities from the calculation, foreign aid makes up only about 2% of our total budget, including costs to maintain our embassies throughout the world.

I oppose foreign aid to the extent dollars are transferred to foreign governments to prop up supposedly friendly leaders, especially to the extent those dollars go to foreign military spending.

I support foreign aid to the extent it is used by Americans to help nations like Japan and Haiti in the event of natural disasters.

Americans are uniquely equipped to help other nations in an emergency and such experience will improve our skills in responding to our own emergencies.

Drug Policy Reform

America has 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prisoners.

Drug prohibition has created illicit markets, empowered gangs, terrorists and drug cartels, resulted in widespread violations of our rights against search and seizure, resulted in massive corruption, overburdened our criminal justice system and contributed to the highest incarceration rate on earth.

Our drug war has cost an estimated $1 trillion dollars in the 40 years since it was declared in 1971.

There is no policy in the United States that is more discriminatory against minorities or the less affluent. Our policy is the cause of widespread violence and death in Mexico and many other countries. Meanwhile, drug use has flourished. Law enforcement is faced with the impossible task of fighting against the law of supply and demand. They might as well be trying to defy the law of gravity.

I support the position of the Global Commission on Drug Policy that we need to end the criminalization of drugs and focus on harm reduction.

I am Treasurer for and support California’s initiative to Regulate Marijuana Like Wine. This initiative saves tax dollars, helps farmers, reduces prison overcrowding, relieves burdens on the courts, generates revenues for the state, and frees up police to work on real crimes.

Civil Liberties

As a Libertarian, I support civil liberties including minority rights, gay rights and gay marriage, women’s rights, immigrant rights, prisoner rights, civil rights and the bill of rights.

I oppose torture, oppose illegal imprisonment and oppose extraordinary renditions.

I support separation of church and state. I oppose the erosion of rights against search and seizure and asset forfeitures that have accompanied the war on drugs.

I support freedom of information and I oppose the deceptively titled Patriot Act.

Energy & Environment

I support development of traditional and alternative sources of energy, consistent with maintaining safety and a clean environment.

I oppose subsidies which favor one type of energy over another, result in unfair advantages to special interests, add complexity to our tax code, and allow certain producers to escape taxes altogether.

The best way to encourage energy self-sufficiency is to let the market determine the winners and losers, subject to reasonable regulations to protect public safety and our environment.

California’s 33rd Congressional District includes some of the most beautiful beaches and land in the world. Protecting our environment is a most important function of government.

I support policies which provide incentives to improve our environment while maintaining a fair playing field for all competitors.

I support efforts to maximize air quality, water quality and the natural beauty of our district, the nation and the world.