David Rouzer - Issues

North Carolina has some of the highest taxes in the southeast. State spending has increased by 80 percent over the past decade, far exceeding population growth and inflation. At 30 cents per gallon, our gas tax is the second highest in the southeast. Put very simply, there are more taxes and fees levied on us than ever before and the government is spending our money like we never had to work for it. The result: Families are hurting and jobs are in decline.

What do we do to change it? First, we need to recognize that the government is the primary reason why we have these problems in the first place. So my campaign is focused on three central issues: lower gas prices, better schools and less government.

Lower Gas Prices:

Why are gas prices as high as they are? Because the government prohibits us from accessing the natural resources that we have available within our own country, from exploration of oil and natural gas to the vast oil shale reserves in the Rocky Mountains to wind, solar and the development of other alternatives. If the financial markets and the rest of the world thought we were really serious about tapping into all of our own natural resources, the futures price of oil would drop substantially – and so would our pain at the pump.

Better Schools:

How do we achieve better schools? We enable teachers to teach to the needs of their students – not to tests. We encourage the development of critical thinking, not the reciting of facts and figures that are forgotten the next day. We focus on the needs of the principals, teachers and parents who really know what is best for the children in their respective schools – not keep adding to the education bureaucracies at the federal, state and local level.

Less Government:

When you boil it all down, the government is a major part of the reason why we have high fuel prices, a national and state crisis in education, and so many regulations in health care that competition and transparency are significantly impeded, resulting in costs that continue to spiral out of control and insurance that is unaffordable for many.

In order to bring about these changes so that we can remain competitive as a state and nation, and become energy independent, we need a different mindset in Raleigh. We need less government, not more of it, in order to tap our fullest potential – both individually and collectively.

For those reasons and more, I will fight to protect the family budget – not the government budget.

Other Issues

Immigration:

Here are the fundamental principles that I believe immigration reform should center around:

1) Secure the border.

2) Identify and deport those who have a criminal record immediately.

3) Repeal the federal laws that allow citizenship via family ties and marriage and replace it with the option of a military service requirement or a work requirement. Additionally, a basic knowledge of US history and its origin, fluency in English, and documentation of community service should be required to earn citizenship.

4) The more than 12 to 15 million illegal immigrants that have come to this country over the past 30 years should not be eligible for citizenship or enjoy government benefits at any point in time.

The current system is so broken employers can follow the letter of the law and hire an illegal worker unknowingly. Often, we discover that these employees have been with their employer for more than 10 to 20 years and have demonstrated an excellent work ethic. Therefore, a system should be established that identifies the illegal worker and allows both the employee and the employer to come forward to get on track to a legal workforce without disrupting the economy.

5) Establish workable guest worker programs so that US employers can bring in the skilled and unskilled labor that meets the demands of the job. An economy cannot grow if it does not have an adequate labor supply. Employers that cannot find necessary labor in the US either go out of business or move their operations to another country where they have access to the labor they need. I believe it is important for our national security and our economic security to keep as much business based in this country as possible.

Wasteful spending:

Too often, when the government runs out of money it just taxes us more. In our households, when we need more money, we must work more than one job, find another higher paying job, and/or cut our personal budget.

Wasteful spending leads to higher interest rates and higher taxes; both slow the economy which affects our ability to provide for ourselves, our families and improve our quality of life. Therefore, it is incumbent on us to make sure that the government is a good steward of our tax dollars.

Taxes:

At the height of each great civilization, taxes were low and revenues were high. At the end of each great civilization, taxes were high and revenues low. I believe this history is instructive.

We need to lower all taxes in order to provide people more of their money in order to help re-invigorate the economy and generate more revenues for the state. Lower taxes encourage innovation and reward hard work necessary to create economic growth and new innovations that benefit all of society.

Education:

I believe that control of education needs to be in the hands of parents, teachers and principals at the local level. State government should provide the flexibility and resources local officials need to provide a quality education with more focus on classroom needs and a structure that rewards excellence in teaching.

From a personal standpoint, I believe we should return to the fundamentals of learning with a focus on critical thinking rather than the reciting of facts and figures that are forgotten soon after the test. If a student has learned how to learn and can think through issues and problems thoroughly, couple that with personal initiative and they will be able to achieve anything. Parental involvement is absolutely critical to success.

Energy Independence:

The state needs to develop a comprehensive energy policy encouraging energy independence by developing incentives to encourage conservation, to develop additional sources of oil and natural gas as well as to develop new alternative and renewable energy.

Transportation:

Good roads and bridges are fundamental to a good economy – from the manufacturing of goods and services to tourism. The Department of Transportation should be reformed to be an effective and efficient agency that is a good steward of our tax dollars.

Public Safety:

Nothing is more incumbent on the government than to enforce the laws and protect law-abiding citizens from criminals and others who seek to harm society and take away our freedoms. Law enforcement and the judiciary should be adequately funded to bring criminals to justice as quickly as possible.

Healthcare:

Healthcare costs continue to rise at an exponential rate; this is one of the primary threats to long-term economic growth in this country. Increased health care costs not only hurt working families, but it is putting a major pinch on all taxpayers in the form of the increasing cost of Medicare and Medicaid. The healthcare system needs to be reformed significantly and soon in order to bring down the cost of individual health care. The less costly health care, the less costly Medicare and Medicaid will become.

However, these two entitlement programs have systematic problems that must be addressed through reform as well. Otherwise, the cost of these two government-run programs will be unsustainable and will require a significant increase in taxes to pay for even fewer benefits than recipients of these programs currently receive today.

On the state level, Medicaid is a major concern and requires more and more of our state tax dollars for these reasons. We must also continue to find and eliminate the fraud and waste associated with the program at the state level.

	David Rouzer on the Issues
	Lower Gas Prices Better Schools Less Government Immigration Wasteful Spending Taxes Education Energy Independence Transportation Public Safety Healthcare

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