Key Issues and Solutions
Pragmatic Solutions for Pressing Problems
Health Care: Basic Medical Care for All
Basic health care is a fundamental human right. A people that is not on the brink of bankruptcy due to unforeseen medical issues is a happier people, and I think the people of our great county deserve to be happier. Additionally, no one is served by removing over 15% of your pay for Social Security and Medicare plus the 10% of your 401k you hopefully set aside each paycheck to hope that you have enough to survive after retirement. Those are valuable resources that are best left for you to manage.
What Would be Covered?
Most standard medical needs would be covered (e.g. annual physicals, cancer screenings and treatment and emergency medical care), but nothing comes for free. While we would pay for this by consolidating Medicare and adjusting some of the Social Security allocations, there would also be some use fees for these services. Specifically, we would require a $15 copay for doctor visits and $5 copay for prescriptions.
Early Childhood
Children between 0 - 4 years of age are developmentally fragile and minor investments in their care can pay off in dividends when they become adults. To that end, there are two key initiatives that yield the highest dividends and they are:
Support Maternity and Paternity Leave. The first 3 months of a child's life are the most critical for healthy physical and brain development. To support this, we will extend the Federal Employee Paid Leave (FEPL) act signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2020 to cover one full year of Maternity leave for all US citizens and three months of Paternity leave.
Early Childhood Care is good for the economy. One of the largest opportunity costs of working families is the cost of a career versus the cost of childcare. To support our growing families, we will provide an optional low-cost childcare option. Spots will be managed by a website, and is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis where utilization dictates future expansion of the service. You will be billed a non-refundable amount of $2/day up-front for every child you enroll.
College Education
Affordable College Education at State Universities are good for the economy. Our industry-focused trade and technical schools train the backbone of the American workforce, and access to that education should always be free... always. Additionally, 4-yr public liberal arts colleges should be free provided you have completed one year of service your county.
Service is an American value. Providing access to quality education is paramount to the future success of our great county, and is defined as one year of service in the following:
Military Service (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines)
Teach for America
Revitalizing the Civilian Conservation Corps from FDR's New Deal, putting low-skilled people to work preserving our parks and public buildings.
Peace Corps