Government Over-Regulation
The federal government functions to provide those services which we the people have deemed necessary, namely to: "establish Justice, insure Domestic Tranquility, Provide for the Common Defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity." Unfortunately, our legislatures have ignored these straightforward tasks, which they have been sworn to uphold, and instead excessively creep more and more into the daily lives of Americans.
Government Over-Regulation has been an unfortunate trend for the last 30 years. Rather than meeting to talk about what aspect of the private sector they can regulate next, our representatives should be fighting to protect our liberties and encouraging innovation. Both political parties are to blame for this trend, from giving more power to the FDA, EPA and OSHA, right down to the recent housing crisis. Our representatives need to get back to doing their jobs and adhering to the 10th Amendment, which limits their powers.
Financial Sector:
In the last 18 months the federal government has authorized $700 Billion in the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and $1.2 Trillion for Federal Stimulus Programs. Only about half of this money has been spent to date, and we are still in a financial crisis. Shortly after the immediate fallout from the crisis, Democrats on Capitol Hill were clamoring for more federal regulation and more federal involvement in the private sector. It is this consistent cycle of failed policies and big government that I am going to Washington to fight.
Bills like H.R. 4173, Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, are malign efforts by this Congress to mislead our country and take over the private sector. Disguising their actions as protections to the consumer, they in fact place further restrictions and complicate the financial sector even more. Our country can do better; I promise to do better and only support bills which create lasting jobs and utilize my vote as your voice in Washington responsibly. It is time the Democrats in Washington recognize that no problem has been solved by creating more bureaucracy.
I promise to reduce federal involvement in the dispersion of loans and financial assets. Reducing government involvement in telling credit card companies what interest rates they can charge and forcing banks to loan to unqualified individuals will stop on my watch. I will also support any bill which audits the Federal Reserve so that we can find out where our hard-earned taxpayer dollars are going.
Taking a serious look at Government Agencies:
As a small business owner, I know firsthand the level of government regulation that an individual entrepreneur will face when seeking to start their own business. From dealing with OSHA visits to adhering to FDA regulations, the madness needs to stop. The agencies were originally created to provide standards across the board so that certain expectations could be provided in each state. Today these agencies stand as examples of over-regulation and involvement causing more problems than they resolve.
Agencies like the EPA have been given the power to place a fine on any individual, organization, business, or government office that they find to be in contempt of one of their standards. I believe that this is wrong and unconstitutional. I will work to reduce the power of agencies like OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency, along with their ability to arbitrarily levy fines on American businesses.
Insurance Industry:
President Obama campaigned on the promise of reforming the healthcare system in the United States and making it more accessible and affordable to all Americans. This honorable attempt was bogged down by the greater desire to increase regulation on the insurance sector of our economy. The Democrats in Washington have disguised their efforts to destroy the health insurance industry in the United States as much-needed healthcare reform, serving to increase regulation drastically on two private sectors with one 2,000-page bill. Disguising one action to justify another has been business as usual in Washington, I plan to change that.
