James Vaughn for US Representative, 8th Congressional District
www.jimvaughnforcongress.com
(Serving most of King and Pierce Counties)
Veterans, angry over Iraq, run for Congress
Potentially an unprecedented number of ex-service members will be running for office. The fighting Democrats, as some call themselves, say their military experience could give them the credibility to criticize the war without being dismissed out of hand by the GOP as naive and weak on defense, as the Bush administration has often done.
New Fighting Dems site by DNC, Clark, Dean, Fowler, and Horne
Before our government commits our sons and daughters to harms way, all political avenues need to be exhausted. Unfortunately, this did not happen with our war in Iraq. My initial contention with the war was that United Nation inspectors had not found any weapons of mass destruction and were still investigation when we invaded.
I am angered at the way the Republican leaders have handled the war. We all know the current administration doesn't hesitate to stand in front of the troops when it comes to a photo-op, but never stands behind them when it comes to providing the armor necessary to fight in Iraq, or the benefits promised when they return home.
We all would like to see our troops come home. However, common sense tells us that this is not going to happen overnight. What we don’t want to see is the war drag on for several years. We have lost too many lives in this war and too much is at stake for us not to achieve stabilization and the proper reconstruction of Iraq. I feel a moral conviction to choose the right course of action not only for our country but for the Iraqi citizens.
Given our current deficit, rising gasoline prices, we need Iraq to help us financially in order to continue to help them restore their country. Iraq has the second largest oil deposits in the world and by receiving a portion of the oil we can correct our federal deficit. An option is for us to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government to sell us the oil at a reduced rate for a specified number of years. Iraq government gets paid, our gas prices drop and we pay down the budget deficit. Everyone wins. In addition, by using the oil revenues to reduce our federal deficit, our dollar will strengthen in the global market. As a result, the price of food, imports and other commodities will drop.
Now that we are mired in rebuilding Iraq, a responsible exit strategy is essential. Unfortunately, I hear candidates spouting anti-war rhetoric and an immediate reduction in troops. These comments do nothing but incite the terrorists and place our service members in greater danger. We need to remember the saying, “United We Stand, Divided We fall.”
How do we feel about our “American Way of Life and what do we say to our service members when:
· American corporations send jobs overseas.
· $130 Billion was invested in overseas emerging markets last year, rather than investing in the U.S. economy.
· $40 Billion military hardware contract was sent to France.
· They return home to poor employment prospects while our government is gutting our economy and playing E-Bay with our jobs.
· We have done nothing to provide affordable health care for their families.
· Our educational system is loosing ground to other nations.
· Our transportation systems are in disrepair.
· Individuals sit at home intentionally abusing L&I, welfare, and unemployment in order to draw a government check while we go to work each day.
· Our government does not provide adequate care for Veterans.
· Social Security is projected to be bankrupt in the year 2018 and our government spent $21 billion dollars on foreign aid last year and projects to spend $13.2 billion dollars on Pork Barrel Projects.
We need to say, “No More”. If elected my job is to represent the voters. My answer to every question listed below is “YES”. How would you answer the following questions?
Agriculture:
1. Should we protect our farm land?
2. Should we deregulate laws that hinder the cultivation of farm land?
3. Should we protect farmland from the eminent domain laws?
4. Do you see agriculture as a critical part of our Homeland Security and economic security?
Economy:
1. Do you believe it is wrong to let someone sit at home and draw a paycheck, while the rest of us go to work?
2. Should we stop investments in overseas emerging markets (last year $130 Billion) and invest in our country?
3. Should we stop earmarking funds (this year we have $13.2 Billion identified as Pork Barrel Projects)?
4. Should we run government like a business and cut out the waste? (For example a loophole that gives sexual predators money for college-has been used to buy clothes, CD players and other questionable items?)
5. Should we dramatically reduce the amount of foreign aid (last year $21 Billion)?
Education: The University of Washington has 2,884 international students and Washington State University has 1,430 international students. Nationwide the numbers of foreign students increased last year to 582,984. Since our tax dollars pay for public universities and community colleges do you believe our citizens should have priority for higher education before allowing admission to foreign students?
Exiting Iraq: We all want our service members home. Unfortunately many candidates are spouting anti-war rhetoric and calling for immediate troop withdrawal that incite the Islamic terrorists and place our service members in greater danger.
1. Do you feel it is wrong for politicians and candidates exploit the service members for their own political gain?
2. Do you believe we should use the oil in Iraq to pay for the cost of the war and to rebuild the country?
Healthcare Issues:
Why are we paying for three types of medical coverage: 1.Medicare-Medicaid 2.Worker’s Compensation and 3.Private or personal medical insurance.
Let’s Do The Math and see what happens when we combine the three programs together. American Health Insurance Plans’ Center for Policy and Research shows that the average cost for an individual plan in the year 2006 was $2,015 per year.
Consider that the insurance companies are making 40% in commissions and profits the actual amount that goes towards medical coverage is $1,209 .
Census Bureau shows that 53 % of our citizens are employed. 47% are under 18 over 65 or unemployed for various reasons. If every working person pays one non-working citizen we more than cover the costs for universal medical coverage.
If medical costs for one individual costs $1,209, we need to double that cost to cover a second person or come up with $2,418.
1. The average American family spends $702 on Medicare each year.
2. There are 2,080 work hours in a year x $1 per hour paid to L&I = $2,080
3. $2080 paid into L&I plus $702 paid into medicare = $2,782 dollars and we only needed $2,418.
It appears that we are already paying enough into L&I and Medicare to pay for the medical costs for everyone.
With a single pay scenario, people continue to choose their physicians, doctors’ clinics and hospitals as they always have. We the citizens of Washington State insure ourselves (24 hours a day) by deducting a set amount from every employee’s pay check. Would you be in favor of this concept?
Ask yourself, why this has not been previously addressed.1. Could the reason be that, this concept will eliminate government agencies and politicians do not want to loose potential votes? 2. Could it be that the insurance companies are one of the largest contributors to political campaigns?
3. Could it be due to insurance lobbyists?
Social Security:
1. Do you believe it is wrong for individuals to be taxed when they receive Social Security benefits?
2. Do you believe citizens receiving Social Security and who continue to work on a temporary or full time basis they should be exempt from paying into the system?
3. Should we get rid of the Pork, Foreign Aid and other programs and put the money back into Social Security where it belongs?
Tax Reform: History of the B&O Tax: At the economic low point of the depression in 1933, Washington enacted the Gross Tax Receipt, now known as the B&O Tax. During this time property and income taxes plummeted and The State Department of Revenue described the tax as “temporary, emergency revenue”.
Business and Occupation Tax (B&O): Otherwise know as a Gross Receipt Tax (GRT)
· GRT is a tax on all gross revenues incurred by a business not just the profits.
· GRT is a stealth tax which is hidden from the consumer.
· GRT is a tax on a business whether they make a profit or not.
· GRT is imposed on each stage of the service or product and creates a pyramid effect which is in turn passed on to the consumer.
B&O Tax is politically popular because this pyramid tax is embedded in the cost of the product at each step and so is almost entirely hidden from consumers. Note: Washington State Legislature passed a law banning pyramid schemes and yet the B&O Tax is a pyramid scheme.
This is one of the most biased taxes and undemocratic taxes that I know. For example, the state cut the B&O Tax for Boeing from .004235 to .002956 Boeing use to pay $2,117 and now pays $1,478. Small companies that provide a service pay $7,500. This is not a fair or logical formula for equitable taxation and small business is crippled by this tax.
Rather than going through the costs of conducting an Initiative to eliminate the B&O Tax, would you favor legislation at the national level that bans pyramid taxes? In this scenario our state would have to replace the B&O Tax with a fair corporate tax?
Veteran Issues: Our country created the disaster in Iraq that has cost thousands of lives and crippled many more thousands. We are spending billions to rebuild Iraq and at the same time shuffling the disabled veterans to the bottom of the deck. Currently, we have over 700 seriously disabled service members at Fort Lewis.
With today’s technology and the internet, would you support a program that assists our disabled Veterans with a home office and the training so they can work from home in a meaningful profession?
Veterans Families: The service members that leave the military are entitled to medical through the VA Hospitals. However, there is no coverage for the family members. Until the service member can obtain employment and work the required number of days to be eligible for medical coverage, the family members are at risk. Would you support legislation that provides family members one year of medical care from the date the service member was discharged?
Veterans –PTSD: I believe that we need to connect our Veterans returning from Iraq, with Vietnam Veterans and other Veterans that have served in combat. Specifically, we need model Veterans - Citizens in a functional family that have over come the adversity of war that are active and successful in the community. At the very least, we need to listen to them and let them educate us.
Would you support an organization that would create a link between the two generations of Veterans on the lines of the Big Brother concept?
