U.S. House of RepresentativesCandidate for District 24

The game is rigged.  It's rigged because the rules that we live by are being written by the wealthiest among us.  Everyone acknowledges that.  These policies are not just hammering the poorest among us either.  These policies that favor the wealthy actually hurt America's economy as a whole as evidenced in a report by Standard and Poor's that shows that income inequality is drag on the economy as a whole. (www.globalcreditportal.com)

However, it's not just about money, it's more insidious and cruel than that.  It's the conceit that there is ONLY one version of the American Dream - accumulation of great financial wealth.  It's not just that those with concentrated wealth have their way with certain policy decisions that only they can afford to influence, or that the wealth is disproportionately redistributed to the top.  It's that the rest of America's version of "the American Dream" is being dismissed and disrespected along the way.  We are being remanded to accept the conceit that our simple dreams of being a teacher, a cook, a farmer, a mechanic, a social worker, my dreams, your dreams, our dreams, the variety of American Dreams, the simple dreams that make up the real fabric of society as a whole, our lives are dismissed as irrelevant, unimportant and replaceable.  That if we are struggling financially it's OUR FAULT for choosing to contribute our talents to our communities as a plumber or nurse rather than one of the hedge fund managers that took home over a billion dollars in pay last year.  That if your choice in life is a personally rewarding job that you're uniquely talented for but won't make you rich, your life will be harder.  That if you are a maintenance man or restaurant employee you don't deserve a pension that helps you live out your last days with dignity.  A conceit that argues that it doesn't matter if you are born into poverty or wealth, that access to the American Dream is equal when it unequivocally is not.  That if your vocation calls out to teach children, that you don't deserve a pay raise in the last ten years because it doesn't return any measurable shareholder value.  As an employee who earns $1 for every $373 that their CEO earns, you are not entitled to any meaningful compensation for your contribution to the companies success. 

The American Dream, "the pursuit of happiness", "domestic tranquility" for most people, is about having a meaningful job that provides a decent measure of security, a place to live that is contenting, the time to spend nurturing our children, a positive synergistic relationship with our communities, and compassion for our health and well being as we get old.  Our country has tremendous natural resources that can provide for all of us.  We don't mind that the American dream for some is to spend their time chasing money, but don't take away my dignity or my ability to participate in our community and provide for my family for choosing differently.  Please don't tell me my pursuit of happiness is unworthy or should be discriminated against.  Don't tell me that my contributions to my community are insignificant.  Don't tell me I'm not a patriot because I don't agree with you.  Don't tell me that you need multiple homes and cars and that an apartment in a run down neighborhood is good enough for me and my kids.  Don't tell me that you can do what you want with the air that I breathe.  Don't tell me that our public lands are your personal business opportunity. Don't tell me that your sons and daughters deserve a good education, healthy, nutritious food, and career options and my children must navigate the hurdles of poverty and a misplaced sense of dignity found in crime and incarceration. 

The "American Dream" is not measured in the single metric of money.  The American Dream, our constitutionally proclaimed right to "domestic tranquility", is much broader than that.  That codified freedom, the chance to truly live our lives of our own choosing is threatened.  Most people aren't concerned with making millions of dollars.  We want the true sense of "freedom" to pursue the happiness we were promised in our constitution.  The "American Dream" is plural and we need to make sure it is accessible to all.

The existing campaign financing system encourages enormous amounts of money to be spent in our elections. Every election since 1998 has been more expensive than the one before, with the average cost of a House campaign of more than $1.2 million. That money is corruptive to our democratic process and perverts our political discourse. We as candidates can choose to do better.

It is expected that wealthy Individuals, corporations, SuperPACs, 501(c)(4) non-profit organizations and national and state party committees will spend millions of dollars on advertisements in the upcoming race for the 24th Congressional District. These groups function as independent expenditure organizations and are outside the direct control of the candidates. Independent organizations spent $219 million in 2014, the majority of which were negative advertisements.

The candidates recognize that campaigns for public office have devolved into attacks, smears and outright lies and desire to provide the citizens of 24th Congressional District with an election free of third party independent expenditure advertisements.

The candidates agree that they do not approve of such independent expenditure advertisements and do not want such advertisements to be undertaken by these organizations during the race for the 24th Congressional District. If the candidates are serious about excluding negative advertising in the upcoming campaign, they must be willing to include an enforcement mechanism that runs not only to the third party organizations but to the candidates’ own campaigns.

Therefore, the candidates, on behalf of their respective campaigns, hereby agree to the following:

    In the event that a third party organization airs any independent expenditure broadcast, including radio, cable, satellite or online advertising, in support of a named, referenced (including by title) or otherwise identified candidate, that Candidate’s campaign shall, within three (3) days of discovery of the advertisement buy’s total cost, duration and source, pay 50% of the cost of that advertising buy to a charity of the opposing candidate’s choice.

    In the event that a third party organization airs any independent expenditure broadcast, including radio, cable, satellite or online advertising, in opposition to a named, referenced (including by title) or otherwise identified candidate, that candidate’s campaign shall, within three (3) days of discovery of the advertisement buy’s total cost, duration and source, pay 50% of the cost of that advertising buy to a charity of the opposed Candidate’s choice.

    In the event that a third party organization airs any broadcast, including radio, cable or satellite advertising, that promotes or supports a named, referenced (including by title) or otherwise identified candidate, that candidate’s campaign shall, within three (3) days of discovery of the advertisement buy’s total cost, duration and source, pay 50% of the cost of that advertising buy to a charity of the opposing candidate’s choice.

    In the event that a third party organization airs any broadcast, including radio, cable or satellite advertising, that attacks or opposes a named, referenced (including by title) or otherwise identified candidate, the opposing Candidate’s campaign shall, within three (3) days of discovery of the advertisement buy’s total cost, duration and source, pay 50% of the cost of that advertising buy to a charity of the opposing candidate’s choice.

    The candidates and their campaigns agree to continue to work together to limit the influence of third party advertisements and to close any loopholes (including coverage of sham ads and websites) that arise in this agreement during the course of the campaign.

America’s educational advantage began to disappear as other countries invested in higher learning. Countries like Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Scotland, Brazil and Germany offer free secondary education while we shifted ever more of the financial burden onto our students. With states and federal government cutting back, the private sector rushed in to finance students with college loans, many of which were backed by our government. Student debt climbed dramatically.


State university systems across the country were forced to raise tuitions to make up for lost revenue from mandated budget cuts, providing the opportunity for private, for-profit colleges to insert themselves into the education marketplace and become a multi-billion dollar industry. Unfortunately, many for profit colleges have questionable recruitment practices, high costs and even higher student loan interest rates. Today, for-profit colleges constitute the highest percentage of student loan delinquencies.

Moreover, universities have had to seek money from private sources which at times, has prejudiced the curriculum or research done at universities so as not to offend corporate donors.  Research that is meant to benefit the public is sometimes skewed in the interest of a corporate agenda. President Lincoln would be dismayed to know that in 2009, Industry funding for sponsored agricultural research outspent the United State Department of Agriculture $822 million to $645 million.  The problem with this is that industry funded research is more likely to find favorable conclusion for the sponsor and this research often guides policy and regulations.  And our universities, for lack of funding, are less able to conduct research on alternative ideas and limits curriculum.

The class of 2015 will graduate with $35,051 in student debt on average. In total, American students are more $1.2 trillion in debt for their time in college, with more than 7 million debtors in default.

Student debt isn’t solely a problem for students and their parents. The massive debt, most of which is owed to our federal government (which makes a “profit” of approximately $12 BILLION a year!), drags our economy down. Young adults struggling with student debt are postponing marriage, childbearing and home purchases. The decline of entrepreneurs trying to start a business correlates with the increase in student debt. Moreover, high tuition costs and student debt is perpetuating and even worsening economic inequality and undercutting the opportunity for upward social mobility, one of the key benefits higher education promises.

Student debt affects career paths, with important social implications. The burden of paying off large college debt tends to discourage students away from needed professions with lower pay scales like social work and health care in lieu of higher-paying jobs in tech and financial services.  A healthy community needs a well rounded workforce.  Before we commit our students exclusively to math and sciences let’s remember that our country was founded on an education that was based solidly on the Liberal Arts.

It makes no sense to place economic barriers to higher education, whether it’s professional or vocational. Clearly, higher education is the key to success in the new world economy for individuals and our country as a whole. A study conducted by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service found that, for every $1 the State of Virginia invests in higher education, $13 is generated in economic output. That’s a very good investment.

I believe that helping students’ access higher education by taking down financial barriers is a prudent investment in our own future. In addition, I believe that young adults should have some “skin in the game.” To meet both of those needs I propose a coordinated national civil service program.

A National Civil Service Program

Presently, there exists a number of national service programs to assist young men and women with access to higher education as reward for their commitments. Many are federal programs like the AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, National Health Service Corps, and, of course, the military.

This list could easily be expanded to encompass existing qualifying non-profits that range from mentoring programs (I’m still a Big Brother after 35 years), environmental clean up and rescue, social services (from helping the homeless or caring for the elderly, tutoring, and assisting in medical treatment centers) and other fields.

Volunteer programs should be an integral part of our citizenship regardless of one’s socioeconomic background. It fosters the understanding of individual responsibility to our communal well being. Service work is performed primarily by young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Serving our communities and our country is a profound time for young adults, which, for many, can serve as a “threshold experience” that helps in the transition from youth to contributing member of our society, while exposing volunteers to unique experiences they might not have found on their own.

Twenty six million young Americans working for a minimum period of 500 hours would be an enormous boost toward improving the quality of life across our country, while developing compassion for the least fortunate among us  – something sorely missing in too many of our politicians.

Estimates cite that “making college tuition free” would cost $70 billion. We have the money. It’s a question of priorities. Consolidating federal, state, and local programs that already have significant budgets would be a start. A small tax on stock, bond and derivative transactions could raise as much as $300 billion a year. While some investors may complain, there would most certainly be a good return on investment from a more educated work force and greater general affluence as America rebuilds it’s middle class and achieves further innovation across the business and manufacturing sector.

History is clear: we MUST substantially reinvest in our human resources by publicly investing in higher education.  Tuition reform in conjunction with a new national service program will give our youth and leaders of tomorrow the opportunity for advanced education while learning to invest in their inherited country.  That’s a win/win for all of us.