UNCOMMON SENSE: WHERE I STAND
Crime and Homelessness
Californians demand safe streets, parks, and public places. A mother should be able to walk with her stroller or young children without fear of abuse or assault by criminals or the mentally ill who currently infest or parks and streets. Business owners should not have to worry about their life’s work being looted or destroyed by shoplifters or organized gangs. Today a criminal
may steal up to $900 without fear of felony. California law MUST be changed to again allow felonious prosecution for shoplifting, burglary of any kind, and damage to private property.
The recent experimentation in “reimagining” law enforcement has been a national failure. It has led to skyrocketing crime rates, and a deterioration of all of our standards of living. The first job of government is to protect the citizens of our country and state. I support refunding and supporting our men and women in blue, and removing District Attorneys who will not maintain the law and prosecute criminals.
The homeless crisis is a blight on our state. California has 10% of the nation’s population, but 53% of the homeless. Many of these are mentally ill. A large number are also drug addicted or alcoholic. Leaving them to live out their lives in degradation, and handing out free needles to addicts, is not a solution. It is neither humane nor beneficial to these unfortunates or society at large. I support changing the law to allow the homeless to be placed in treatment centers where they will get help. Job training and relocation to affordable housing throughout the state must also be made available. These people are homeless, but they are not hopeless. We can and should help them to reclaim their lives.
PARENTAL AUTHORITY AND SCHOOL CHOICE
Parents and not teachers or school boards are the ultimate arbiters of what their children should be taught. I will give parents the tools they need to fight the education establishment and bring sanity back to our schools. Elementary school children must be protected from those who would deprive them of their innocence, teaching of sexual practices and transgender propaganda to kids as young as kindergarten. Parents should have the right to take their children to a school that bests meets their needs, and their educational tax dollars should go with the child, not stay with their former school.
Taxes and a Balanced Budget
California is the highest taxed state in the country. It is becoming unaffordable for the average family to stay here and prosper. I believe Californians deserve to keep the fruits of their labor, and taxes should be no more than necessary to maintain the state’s infrastructure and meet its commitments. Like every person in their own life, the state
government should live within its means and not spend money it doesn’t have. I support a balanced budget amendment to the state constitution, which will force future governors and legislatures to live within their means.
Suspend Gas Tax
We Californians pay the highest gasoline taxes and fees in the country. These should be immediately suspended until the price of gas comes down at the pumps. We should also reassess these taxes and fees and permanently lower or eliminate such as are not absolutely needed for the purposes for which they are intended.