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Perspective on Six Years in the
Legislature
America is the greatest and the most
prosperous nation the world has ever seen. No other people have had
greater freedom. No other economic system has ever created more wealth
and a higher standard of living than the American capitalistic free
enterprise system.
No system of government has ever offered
more opportunity and choice. However, very few elected officials on the
federal and state level have an understanding of the constitutions and
economic systems over which they preside. The founders never intended
for our system to become the bloated beaurecratic structure that
currently hampers our competitiveness, and impedes as well as intrudes
on the lives of American citizens.
Political goals and a political mind set
have replaced good policy focus and the good of the people. Government
only deals with symptoms; they put a band-aid on problems, but they
never deal with the root cause. I only wish I could have done more to
stop the growth of government, increased taxation and regulation of
businesses and citizens, but unfortunately the only thing that has grown
in Michigan over the last six years is the government bureaucracy.
Thomas Jefferson said, “A government big enough to give you
everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”
After three
terms in the Legislature I have concluded like President Reagan, that
Government is not the answer to our problems, it is the problem. The
answers to the serious problems we are experiencing will not come from
Lansing or the Legislative process; it will have to come from the people
in the form of statewide ballot proposals. Lansing is too busy with its
political agenda and too worried about getting re-elected to seriously
grapple with the decisions which must be made. Michigan needs
fundamental structural changes in the way they budget, regulate, and tax
their businesses and citizenry. I would offer three proposals to fix
Michigan, which can be made into three resolutions, which the
legislature could place on the ballot. The people of Michigan are fully
capable of making the decisions which must be made.
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