ON THE ISSUES

I am running for Congress because I want to change the way we relate to our government. My plan is to phase out all of our current welfare and entitlement programs and return this money (over $4 trillion per year) to the American people in the form of a universal basic income of $16,000 per year for life for every citizen 21 years of age and older. Whether or not you agree with all the details of this plan, we need to engage in this discussion. The current system is unsustainable. You can find more details about my plan below.

In our current welfare programs, people lose benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, and housing vouchers when they start to earn money on their own or begin to build up assets. This system discourages people from working and saving because working people receive few benefits. At the same time, the large bureaucracy is expensive and difficult to navigate. It would be better to provide a universal basic income to everyone with no strings attached. Such a system would reward work while providing freedom from government, allowing everyone to take responsibility for their own lives.

We all know that the Social Security Administration is headed for insolvency, but few politicians are willing to address the problem. Moreover, the current solutions on offer to either raise taxes or reduce benefits are not very appealing. What if we were to rethink the entire system in a way that would help everyone and reduce costs?

Under this plan, people could invest the universal basic income into their own private retirement accounts and earn a much higher retirement income than what the current Social Security system provides. The federal government would have some transition costs because we would grandfather in those who are already retired or within 30 years of retirement and would prefer to stay with the existing system. The new system would save over $1 trillion per year over the existing system on a steady state basis.

Healthcare costs in the U.S. have spiraled out of control. The basic problem is that the people receiving health benefits have no incentive to consider the costs. This situation leads to the dominance in the healthcare sector of health insurance companies and government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, rather than the doctors and nurses providing care. We need to bring back the centrality of the doctor-to-patient relationship, without the corporate and government bureaucracies getting in the way.

My proposal is to provide a health insurance voucher of $4000 per year to all Americans to purchase health insurance on the private market, replacing the current tax deduction for employer-paid health insurance. Health insurers would be required to accept all comers at a single price for everyone. $4000 per year would be enough to provide catastrophic health insurance including preventive care, though individuals would be able to pay more for more comprehensive plans. Medicaid and Medicare could be privatized and offered alongside other health insurance plans at a market price. A basic catastrophic plan would cover preventive care and have an $8000 annual deductible for other care. With the high deductible for unexpected but routine care, this system would create a large private market for care in which doctors and patients relate to each other directly without the interference of insurers or government. Instead of funding a bureaucracy, we will be paying our medical professionals directly for routine care.

The universal basic income would treat everyone equally. I support a Constitutional amendment to prohibit government agencies from providing benefits to some people and not to others. With this change, we will take the wind out of the entire lobbying process. With no special benefits for the government to hand out, there would be no point to having lobbyists for special interests. Ordinary Americans would be in control of their government again.

-All welfare and entitlement programs would be phased out to fund a universal basic income of $16,000 per year, of which $12,000 per year would consist of a monthly payment of $1000 directly into the bank account of every citizen 21 years of age and older. There would be no new taxes because this new system would cost less than the existing one.

-In addition to the $1000 per month, all individuals would receive $4000 per year as healthcare vouchers to pay for private health insurance. We would have universal health coverage in a privately run system.

-When an individual’s earned income goes from $35,000 to $75,000 per year, the universal basic income would gradually go from $16,000 down to $8000 per year.

-Those who are within 30 years of retirement when the transition begins may choose to stay with the existing system of Social Security and Medicare according to the current rules of those programs. They could also choose to switch to the new system.

-This plan is inspired by Charles Murray’s book, In Our Hands.

Rising crime is endangering our families and neighborhoods. To make our streets safe again, we need to recruit more police and enforce our laws.

Our schools are not always preparing our children to really advance in life. Parents should have the information they need to make decisions about their children’s education, and they should have access to all the educational options in their community.

Rising prices for housing, food, and gas are making life difficult for working families. Reducing the size and reach of government will put money back in the hands of families and create jobs.

Our open borders have allowed in drugs, criminals, and terrorists and prevented us from having a serious discussion about immigration. To regain control over our future, we need to secure our border so that we can develop a consistent immigration policy.

Small businesses struggle with high costs. Reducing taxes and regulations on small businesses will create jobs and renew our communities.

The United States has a debt problem. In 2000, our national debt was 54% of our GDP. Today it is twice that much and rising, primarily due to the steadily increasing costs of our welfare and entitlement programs. We cannot solve our debt problem without reforming those programs, and my plan to do this will lead to long-term financial stability.