STEPHEN FINCHER ON THE ISSUES
Constitutional Governance
One of the first things I did when considering running for Congress was to read the constitution. It's the owner's manual for governing our country. The decisions I make will be based on it. But beyond that, we are a unique and revolutionary nation. Here, we do not bow or swear allegiance to king or crown, but to our constitution. Article VI, Clause 3 has a simple requirement for Members of Congress as well as other elected officials: "to support this Constitution." Many of our elected officials have forgotten this crucial element of governing and I believe this is the fundamental cause of the significant losses of our freedoms and self-governance.
The purpose of the constitution is to limit government - to chain it down and protect the people and not the other way around. Washington has it backwards.
I will fight to restore constitutional government - a limited federal government, to return power and money to state governments, and remember the constitutional republic left to us by our founders.
We must fight further government encroachment in our lives, on our Bill of Rights, our rights as gun owners and property owners. The decisions I make as a Member of Congress will be based on constitutional concerns, not the opinions of a day or what's best "politically."
Restoring prosperity and creating jobs
Cutting spending and taxes is crucial to restoring economic prosperity
There is no more important priority than creating jobs for Tennessee families. To do that, to restore prosperity, we have to change the way things are done in Washington. Stimulus bills, bailouts, sweetheart deals for Wall Street and big banks, spending, deficits and debt - this must change.
Our budget deficit doubled in 2008 and again in 2009. We raised the debt ceiling to nearly $2 TRILLION dollars just this year. Our national debt stands at over $12 TRILLION, but that's not the whole story. The unfunded debt is closer to $70 TRILLION. Our children, our grandchildren and their children will be paying the price for our failures.
By 2052, entitlements alone will require more than 100% of our tax revenue.
So what can we do? First, when you're in a hole, stop digging. We're in a hole, and we need to stop spending. We should use repaid TARP funds and unspent stimulus funds to pay down the national debt.
Second, tax cuts are a better jobs bill than more government spending. We need to cut tax rates, make permanent the Republican tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, work toward abolishing the capital gains tax and business tax. Even China has a cap gains tax of zero. These tax cuts will ignite our economy and create new jobs for our people without saddling us with any more debt.
Third, we need earmark reform. We need transparency. We need to change the culture in Washington. When a Tennessee family has to make tough decisions, they sit down and prioritize spending. Government just spends and borrows and taxes. We're going to have to make some tough decisions, cut spending and get our country back on the right track.
There are plenty of specific examples of wasteful government spending that we can cut, but mainly, it will take the discipline and will to do the right thing.
The bottom line: if we want to get our economy growing again and create jobs, we need to follow President Reagan's example and cut taxes dramatically and across the board. We should work toward a flatter, fairer tax system that does not penalize work, wealth creation and savings.
Protecting our health care from a government takeover
I will oppose any attempt to increase government intervention in our health care and medical decisions. We need less government interference, not more. Patients and doctors should make health care decisions, not government bureaucrats.
We need a consumer oriented and patient friendly health care system. Reform should include better choice among health plans and more competition among providers. We need tort reform to bring down costs and reduce frivolous lawsuits. We can use free market principles to bring about portability and treat pre-existing conditions fairly. We need to help small businesses and individuals afford health care through tax credits and cuts.
I believe letting free enterprise work is the best answer to developing the kind of health care that's best for all our families.
I will not support any plan or program that balances the budget or funds health care by raiding Social Security and Medicare. Social Security and Medicare are a commitment we made to older Americans - a commitment I intend to keep.
A salesman for the Eighth District
Recruit jobs and businesses that will thrive in rural and small town Tennessee
Tax cuts and free markets will create more jobs, but the Eighth District needs a salesman. We have a terrific geographic location, a strong right to work law, and some of the best workers in the world. I want my children and your children to be able to stay here, work here and raise their families here. No one will work harder to sell our district to industry so we have the jobs we need.
A strong and free America
President Reagan proved that a strong and free America is a deterrent to aggression and the true promise for peace. Meeting with officers and men at Fort Campbell, I am very concerned about our state of readiness. We have the best military in the world, but our resources are stretched too thin and we lack clear military objectives. I will make supporting our military and veterans a top priority, especially a top budget priority.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to listen to our generals on the ground. Military advisors tell me that our objectives should be clearer, that we need to achieve those objectives and get our troops home.
My position on military matters, as all others, will be based on the basic principle of a strong America being the best hope for peace. And that listening to our military officers and generals on the ground is the surest path to victory and bringing our troops home.
Homeland Security - securing our American homeland - remains a top national priority and I will work to protect our country through every means available. I oppose giving terrorists civilian trials, and closing Guantanamo Bay. This further endangers America, rather than strengthening it. National defense and Homeland Security should be the top priorities of the federal government.
Develop a comprehensive energy policy
Some politicians in Washington want us to think that energy policy is too complicated for us to understand. It's not. We need to drill, drill, drill here at home. We have new finds and promising reserves that could supply our energy needs for decades or more. We should already be drilling in ANWR. We should be making the most of the oil discoveries of the last few years.
We need a comprehensive approach as well. One that includes nuclear energy, wind and solar, and conservation. But this should be a market-based process, not one based on caps and taxes. Energy taxes and more regulation are not the answer to providing for our energy needs. I strongly oppose the cap and trade bill (cap and tax).
Promoting legal immigration; cracking down on illegal immigration
America is a nation of immigrants. Legal immigration strengthens America. But illegal immigration undermines our law, our labor force, and it is a national security threat. We must secure our borders and insist that our immigration laws be enforced.
Making education work for children, parents and a 21st century marketplace
Our children deserve the very best education we can give them. It is ultimately the way out of poverty and the best chance we can give our children to succeed.
We need our education decisions made closer to home - by parents, teachers, administrators and local boards of education. Washington cannot possibly know what's best for Jackson, or Atoka, or Huntingdon, or Dickson. Eighth District parents will make better decisions for their children than politicians and bureaucrats in Washington will.
I will work for a smaller federal role, taking federal dollars and returning them to the states. We need more opportunities for parents like school choice and charter schools.
Faith based initiatives
Our churches do a better job of helping the needy than government does. For every dollar a private church or charity spends, government has to spend at least three dollars to achieve the same result. Everyone will be better off when communities are caring for the needy, churches are carrying out their mission, and government's role is reduced.
Promoting judges who will adhere to the Constitution
I will support judges who are strict constructionists and who respect and revere the constitution. Activist judges reach beyond the constitution to enact their own liberal agenda and that undermines our system of constitutional government. I will encourage my senate colleagues to confirm those judges who are strict constructionists and who will not seek to promote their own agenda through the courts. New federal judgeships should be created on the basis of need, not politics.
Standing up for Tennessee seniors
Some have suggested balancing the books on the backs of our seniors. I won't stand for it. Social Security and Medicare are contracts made with our seniors - we must keep our promises and commitments to older Americans.
Preserving our Tennessee values
I am blessed to come from a family that has lived in the same place for seven generations. Frog Jump is a special place, like the hundreds of Eighth District communities that are great places to live. Preserving these special places, protecting our families and our values, protecting the unborn and traditional marriage are all things close to my heart. I will work every day to preserve our special Tennessee values.
Free and Fair Trade
Most historians agree that the Smoot Hawley tariff, passed in 1930, was the main cause of the misery known as the Great Depression. It was a massive set of tariffs on imported goods, and was followed by the stock market crash and depression. We should learn from this example. Free and fair trade is essential to continued economic growth. When we buy goods from the rest of the world, they have money to buy our goods. Free trade creates jobs and lowers prices. Legitimate concerns exist about free trade being fair, but the rules governing trade with our global partners should protect American interests while expanding free trade.
Making every vote count: Fair elections
Recent developments in America's election process are disturbing. Laws passed in the 1990's make us more vulnerable to fraud. These laws, combined with the many close elections of late, require us to take steps to restore faith in our elections process and in the integrity of our ballots. The most effective way to do this is to require a government issued photo ID at the time of voting, and a copy of this ID when voting absentee. Photo ID is widely required for check and credit card acceptance. Surely the integrity of the ballot is even more important.
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ("Motor Voter") added provisions to the election code that also increase the possibility of fraud, mainly the provision eliminating the purging of voters who have not voted in recent elections. We should return to the policy of requiring voters who do not regularly vote (2-4 elections) be purged from the voter rolls.
The one area where voting should be made easier is for overseas members of the military. Requiring earlier mailing of absentee ballots and requiring the use of express mail return should guarantee that the votes of our soldiers are counted.
Returning free market principles to the financial services industry
Ending taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street and giant banks
Taxpayers, through the TARP program, have bailed out AIG at $70 billion, Bank of America at $45 billion, and Citigroup at $45 billion. The Treasury Department admits that it will take years to recoup the tax dollars used to bail out these and other companies. There's a better solution - the free market.
We need to get the government out of the financial services industry and return control of the financial markets to free enterprise. Banks that are able should repay taxpayer money, and future bailouts should be prohibited. We should not create additional regulatory agencies, as proposed by the Obama administration, or create a larger federal role in the industry. There were certainly several causes for the 2008 financial crisis, but nearly all analysts agree that one major factor was irresponsible federal housing policies at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Further federal intervention isn't the answer.
Ending the power of Big Labor
Real empowerment for American workers
Big Labor is nothing more than a giant political and financial arm of the ultra liberal elements of the Democrat Party. As their officers sit on some of the priciest real estate in America and ride in chauffeured limousines, their policies actually hurt American workers.
"The Employee Free Choice Act", better known as card check, is the opposite of its name. It would replace secret ballot elections with a public vote on a union card. It would end collective bargaining and mandate arbitration. We should instead promote real choice in the workplace. Instead of the Big Labor supported system of caps, "time-served" payments and the flawed Davis Bacon Act, we should promote merit and performance-based pay, remove federal caps on the wages of our workers, and allow the free market to naturally raise the wages of Americans and Tennesseans as our small businesses and companies benefit from pro-growth policies.
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