On Jobs and Prosperity

I have been entrusted by some of the world’s most respected corporations to provide strategic business consultation and management of large, complex enterprise wide projects.  I understand the economy, job creation and prosperity.  Countries have to be tax competitive to attract and retain companies and industries. It is not a coincidence that Qatar, who has the fastest growing economy in the world, also is one of the two least-taxed sovereign countries in the world. To make our country globally competitive and provide for commercial advantage, I am a strong proponent of a free-market economic strategy that relies on the reduction of regulation and cost to stimulate corporate investment thereby reviving the economy. I support the implementation of the FairTax or a simplified flat tax system.  My plan relies on cutting the lowest individual tax rates from 15 percent to 10 percent and from 10 percent to five percent, tax deductions for small businesses, and a ban on tax increases to pay for new spending which should be paid for by cutting spending in other areas. I would make unemployment benefits tax free, support home-buyer and condo tax credits and proposes a federal credit freeze until the deficit is brought under control. I would propose a Congressional commitment to reducing and then holding the federal business tax rate to the lowest ten percentile in the world for the next ten years to send the signal that America is the most attractive place to invest over the next decade.

In addition, I would fight to increase the take home pay of working Americans by decreasing their federal tax burden which would provide significant stimulus to families but also buttress States ability to care for the unique challenges they face. Committing to the extension of the tax cuts created by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003; cutting or significantly reducing the capital gains tax, and revisiting those market rules that have slowed or halted lending and spending are all free market, alternatives to an active government presence in our marketplace.  Far from imposing itself more into the market, stimulating the economy will require the Government to remove itself to a greater extent from the market.

On National Security 

A strong, principled national security policy is the foundation of America's strength.   The primary constitutional function of the federal government is to provide for the common defense.  My efforts and focus will be to ensure that national security is our governing priority.  Protecting our national security will require a full court press from the United States including:

Strong Defense

We must end terrorism world-wide. Period. This requires that we defend America and our allies from those who would destroy us including moving forward with a global missile-defense system, securing our borders, winning the cyber war, modernizing our transportation and port security and standing by our soldiers at every turn including rewarding our veterans with a golden parachute after service.

Strong Diplomacy

We must also lead on the great challenges of our day like ending genocide everywhere and fighting global poverty and diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis to build working relationships and promote democracy around the world particularly in regions that strategically nurture terrorist networks.

On Immigration

The challenge that we face with this immigration issue is how we secure our borders – which by the way is the primary function of the federal government – while continuing to encourage LEGAL immigration – a national legacy – not offending our friendly relationship with our neighbors and dealing with the current population of illegal immigrants in a manner that makes sense.  I propose that we focus on securing the borders first – start with building a physical fence along the borders where that is geographically possible and an advanced, technological fence elsewhere that will provide alerts to the border patrol when there is a breach and create a database and stat system that will provide border patrol with the data necessary to proactively secure those areas that are most often breached.  I support the Giuliani’s proposal for a tamper-proof ID card for every foreigner in the country with bio-metric data providing our government with comprehensive access control meaning we know who is here, why they are here, for how long and when they leave.  I also propose a national, centralized, robust program designed to protect the identity of every American citizen.  When the borders are secure and a tamper-proof ID card is assigned to every foreigner who is here legally, the next challenge will be protecting the identity of American citizens from those who would conspire to steal our identities and sale them to illegal immigrants – a phenomenon that is already happening.

On Health Reform

What is lost in this debate is the stated awareness that this debate is not primarily about health care but rather the broader matter of the role of government in American life.  The question is not whether we should cover the poor and vulnerable with healthcare, rather, whether the federal government is the most appropriate and most efficient means by which to do so. And the particular dilemma our country faces in seeking to ensure that all Americans have access to healthcare is to extend the benefit of healthcare to all Americans without losing the superior quality of the healthcare currently enjoyed by the larger portion of the population and to do so without interfering unduly in the lives of private citizens.  While the federal government has the task of ensuring that all her citizens are insured with health care, she does not have the task of providing that health care. Also, what we know about today is that change is not merely inevitable it is rapid.  The challenge of rapid change to business is not only to make profit, but to redefine how business is done.  The focus is on streamlining, consolidation of infrastructure, and maintaining efficiency.  Government should operate no differently. As needs are defined and redefined so to must the Government infrastructure. Government must be future forward, that is to say, government must create solutions that are adaptable and scalable.  The problem with the current health care solutions being bandied about in Congress is that they are old world solutions built on a large, expensive, inadaptable, unscalable bureaucratic infrastructure that will require the same such reform only decades from today.

This is why I propose that the federal government encourage states to develop health care systems of their own – uniquely designed to care for the health concerns of their citizens. The seniors in Florida are not best cared for with the same health care plan as the coal miners of West Virginia. Or, states can decide to rely on a free market solution for health care that lowers cost and increases consumer choices by allowing consumers to purchase health insurance nationwide, across state lines.  Also that the federal government introduce smart legislation that reduces unnecessary impediments to access to health care, provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance and slow the growth of health care costs.  And finally capitalize the modernization of the health care system for greater efficiency and cost savings.

On Education

In the coming decades Americans will compete against talent from around the world for local jobs as internet job-posting and telecommuting increases; anything short of an education reform that empowers Americans to compete in a knowledge-based, internet-connected, globally-competitive world threatens the future of this country, more concretely, the economic viability of our community and more gravely, the future of our children!  This requires we have the most modern and qualified schools in the world. Period.  I support unlimited charter schools, I support the ability of parents to pick the school that is best for their children and to the extent that we have traditional public schools I support local control; the application of the best practices and latest technology; integrating real-world professionals into the teaching staff; and partnering with corporate America to develop school curriculums designed to meet the needs of today’s fastest-growing industries.