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The Economy Our middle class is being squeezed by higher costs across the board. Health care costs, fuel costs, food, taxes, and inflation are all driving the middle class down. Minnesota is clean, safe, provides great education opportunities, and an overall great place to raise a family. It does, however, rank as one of the worst states for business climate. We need to change the latter if we wish to improve the economy and maintain the former. Being raised in the middle class and now owning a small business myself I believe we can best help our economy and middle class by keeping spending low, balancing the budget, and promoting a business climate that brings high paying jobs to Minnesota. A tax code that keeps taxes fair, low, and evenly applied will promote investment in our communities and bring good jobs to Minnesota. Health Care Rochester has some of the finest health care in the world. At my restaurant and near my home downtown I meet people daily that come to Rochester for their health care needs from all over the world, many from countries that have socialized medicine, universal insurance, or single payer coverage that my opponent promotes. The problem many of us face is continued rising out of pocket costs and insurance rates. Again I believe we need short term relief, long term solutions. In the short term we can open up the insurance marketplace to allow people to customize their plans to their individual needs by reducing coverage mandates. We can also encourage more competition for private insurance by allowing out of state companies to sell health coverage here in Minnesota. In the long term streamlining paperwork and records will help to bring costs down. Tort reform will also reduce hospital and doctors costs. Shifting away from employer based insurance to a more portable system utilizing HSA’s when necessary will move us towards a value based system. Ultimately the most effective way to bring costs down is moving towards preventative medicine. Education I will work for more balanced funding for K-12 education. Currently the formulas provide Minneapolis/St. Paul schools almost twice as many dollars per student than Rochester receives. I believe firmly in providing parents options and resources when deciding how their children should be educated. I am also a strong believer in leaving parents and local communities in charge of their education decisions. Energy We need an “all of the above” approach to energy policy. No one solution will solve our energy issues. We have several options available to us here in Minnesota and we should embrace all of them. Clean renewable resources, nuclear power, clean coal, and conservation should all be part a short term relief, long term solution approach. It is time for our government at all levels to get serious about energy policy by getting out of the way of the market. While politicians were doing nothing regarding energy policy the American market drove down gasoline prices by 10% just by conserving a small amount. Think of what prices would do if we had a greater supply in conjunction with this conservation. |