Policies

Criminal Justice System
  1. Repeal Mandatory Minimum Sentences
    “The most dangerous person in the world is the one who has nothing to lose”
  2. Focus on Restorative Justice. End incarceration for non-violent offenses. If incarceration is the answer, then we must prepare prisoners for their eventual release and reintegration into society so that we can reduce recidivism rates. Basic education, anger management, parenting skills, alcohol and other drug treatment, and job skills training.
  3. Juvenile Courts should work to identify the root causes of criminal behavior so at-risk families can be addressed and head off future issues.
  4. Family Drug Courts —Weekly check-in which results in participants completing their treatments at a rate of 20 to 30% higher than traditional court and family reunification rates are 20-40% higher as well (2012 research National Association of Drug Court Professionals)
  5. We need large-scale mental health facilities to address needs of patients, therapeutic communities, farmsteads, recovery campus settings, and a range of hospital settings. A “Patient Voucher” could be used to treat a patient in a variety of settings, moving from hospital to involuntary outpatient treatment and back to their own apartments in “supportive housing”. A combination of public and private ventures can address these options.
The Economy (Job Creation)
  1. $1billion in government spending creates 11,200 military, 16,800 clean energy, 17,200 health care and 26,700 educational services. Military materials come from all over the world and military hardware does not create additional economic growth. A tank or jet fighter have little utility in creating economic growth versus a crane for buildings, bulldozer to clear land, etc.
  2. Reform Earned-income-tax credit (EIC) and make more generous for childless workers
  3. Promote apprenticeships and vocational training.
  4. Catalyst Fund The Catalyst Fund is a $20 million fund-of-funds created to increase seed and early-stage investment in New Mexico.
  5. Innovation Vouchers New Mexico Innovation Vouchers are small competitive grants which enable early stage science or technology companies to overcome discrete barriers to reaching market potential.
  6. JTIP The Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) funds classroom and on-the-job training for newly-created jobs in expanding or relocating businesses for up to 6 months. The program reimburses 50-75% of employee wages.
  7. LEDA (Local Economic Development Act (LEDA). Through passing LEDA, a community adopts an ordinance creating an economic development organization and a strategic plan) expand New Mexico’s competitiveness.
  8. Talent ABQ evaluates people on their current skill sets and then matched them with 100 employers who historically required college degrees and were willing to hire based on skills-based criteria. Test takers who needed skill refreshers, “skill-up” centers opened at CNMCC, libraries and other public facilities to involve community.
  9. Legalization of Cannabis will provide many jobs and tax revenue.
Education
  1. Programs like Head Start support children & their families, providing parents with training in job and parenting skills, educational classes and social services. These programs encourage school involvement and parenting group participation.
  2. Competition makes better schools-System of vouchers
  3. Encourage home schooling for K- 12, vocational training and apprenticeship programs.
  4. Prosper (Promoting Real Opportunity, Success & Prosperity through Education Reform) Pending bill that 1) consolidates 6 student aid programs in one, Federal One Loan Program with one 10-year repayment plan, 2) simplifies the application process 3) increases funding for private-sector apprenticeships and 4) mandates free-speech for students on federally funded campuses and 5) limits dept of EDU ability to do make new regulations without Congressional approval.
  5. Or eliminate federal guarantees of student loans. Over 2.5 million people with loans $100k +, over 4 million with $50k+ and not
  6. Offer a non-college track for high school students that promotes work skills and a career.
  7. Children’s Scholarship Fund requires parents to contribute as well, believing the commitment provides incentive for active engagement in children’s school life, “parent-driven performance”. This is done through public charter-school system which has benefited from CSF, 166,000 students funded over 20 years.
  8. Daniels Fund in NM offers Boundless Opportunity Scholarships to students who are motivated to create a better life for themselves and their families and who demonstrate financial need, used for college, certificate, or training for high-demand career.
  9. The Sequence: For vast majority of young adults in Asia, the path to success clearly runs through education, work and marriage—in that order. Families, schools, media and society at large all reinforce that message.
  10. Catholic schools that teach self-discipline have less disruptive behavior from students, Black & Latino students in urban areas show higher achievement levels.
    1. Schools with focus on self-discipline will likely do better at fostering it in children.
    2. Other schools might benefit from modeling the “Catholic School Effect”.
    3. Don’t underestimate the power of religion to positively influence a child’s behavior.
Energy
  1. Wind power too expensive, unreliable:
    1. Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) more than 25 years old and crafted to help the industry attain “maturity”. Time to sunset.
    2. Institute for Energy Research notes PTC is so large relative to economics of industry.
    3. Consumers are mandated to buy the energy.
    4. Wind is intermittent and unreliable.
    5. Transmission is costly due to locations.
    6. Number of jobs created varies from 4,390 (BLS) to 9,800 (AWEA)
  2. All sources of energy should constantly strive towards greater efficiency and increased environmental standards with the least amount of regulation and subsidy.
  3. Need to upgrade National Electric Grid from A/C to D/C. $500B, 30 year project, estimated 650k to 930k jobs annually across entire energy sector to build and maintain necessary infrastructure. President can cut through red tape and streamline grid-permitting process, instruct Energy Department and other Executive Agencies to develop plans for interregional transmission. Majority of funding to be federal with State participation.
  4. Natural Gas is a boon for New Mexico and it emits 20-30% less CO2 then oil and up to 50% less then coal.
Foreign Affairs
  1. Congress should maintain authority over declaring war and when possible, such declaration should be put to a vote of the American people first. One of the problems is that our terrorist prevention exercises are folded into Authorization of Use of Force post 9/11 to go into Afghanistan and using in Syria and just calling it “terrorism”. An exception is immediate/urgent matters where the President doesn’t have time to consult with Congress.
  2. Free trade is healthy for our country and open markets stimulate more growth and prosperity. Tariffs, while they may appear to protect an industry, ultimately cause harm to another with another industry less obviously. It is also good for foreign affairs since countries who do business together are less likely to go to war with each other. As for New Mexico, our traditional trading partner is Mexico and having unlimited ability to freely trade just makes sense. NAFTA contributes to $39 billion in agricultural exports to Mexico & Canada versus the $9 billion in 1993.
  3. Foreign Aid provides a steady flow of money to US companies that sell goods to the foreign aid system who in turn keep a steady flow of money to politicians.
Government Accountability
  1. Sugar subsidies are corporate welfare keeping prices artificially high for the producers
    1. Ripple effect across supply chain sending jobs overseas where sugar inputs are cheaper.
    2. Marketing allotments restrict sales.
    3. Agriculture department buys surplus sugar and sells it to ethanol companies at a loss.
  2. DACA—it’s the responsibility of Congress, not the President, to resolve.
  3. Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, not the President.
  4. Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
  5. Allow earmarks in which lawmakers can require funding be directed to specific projects important to their districts in order to reach compromise.
  6. End gerrymandering, provide leadership and political courage.
  7. Courts should rule on whether various agencies are acting with Congressional approval on specific rules issued by an agency, as a matter of statutory interpretation and upholding the power of Congress. If this does not start to happen, we are leaving power in the hands of unelected officials, diminishing governments legitimacy.
  8. MDL’s (Multidistrict litigation cases) provide alternative to class action lawsuits in that multiple suits can be combined and resolved on pretrial issues only, and judges are not bound by special rules and defendants can often reach “global” settlements. Fast because MDL’s don’t aim toward trial, then cases return to their home courts with a solution in place. Maybe sue Congress for failure to execute its duties?
  9. Term limits should provide for two-term limits on any position in government.
Guns
  1. Compliance issue: (NICS) National Instant Criminal Background System is only as good as the information that is provided by local police, sheriff’s, military, federal & state courts, Indian tribes, hospitals and treatment providers whose responsibility it is to send criminal and mental health records to the agency.
  2. Gun safety needs to be taught to children. In particular, sons need to repopulate the “manhood middle ground”. Teaching them firearms skills might help do that. It isn’t only about danger and power, which boys instinctively love, but also control, which they must be taught.
  3. Deterrence remains the best defense against school shooters. Properly trained and motivated armed adults will make the schools less appealing targets.
  4. Anyone intent on breaking the law will not be stopped by laws because, by definition, they are lawbreakers.
  5. Owners must be responsible for every gun in possession and new guns should all be licensed.
    1. New Guns should have titles of ownership.
    2. Ballistic fingerprints
    3. Licensed guns which are lost or stolen must be reported.
    4. States can decide concealed carry laws.
Healthcare
  1. Direct Primary Care Payments for everyday issues.
    1. Normal healthcare expenses should be treated like maintenance & repair for your vehicle, something which is not insured.
    2. Medicare dictates what it will and will not pay for and physicians do like signing up to service program recipients
    3. Serious talk about government controlled “Universal Health coverage” or a “one-payer system” etc., That is exactly the wrong direction to be going.
    4. “One size fits all” and it doesn’t, we pay more for less.
  2. Insurance should be free to sell across state lines, government should be entirely separate from the management of healthcare. People should have the power to purchase what they need, no dictates from bureaucrats.
  3. FDA needs to expedite approval of generic drugs which will lower costs for patients by up to 85% from brand names.
    1. Price controls on Rx will diminish R&D.
  4. GPO’s (group purchasing groups) are exempted, by Congress, from taking kickbacks from suppliers and thus, we have higher costs as consumers.
  5. Contraception:
    1. New Mexico allows pharmacists to prescribe birth control and non-hormonal contraception (normally over the counter) such as condom, enhancing affordability to those in need.
    2. Insurance should cover OTC contraception and vasectomies so that women are not the only ones responsible for family planning.
  6. SNAP—studies show recipients have worse diets than nonparticipants. The poor at 70% more likely to develop diabetes because of the sugar in their diets. The program needs reform to focus on cheap, healthy foods like beans, vegetables, fruit and whole grains.
    1. Fresh Food Farmacy—prescribing fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, and providing them free to patients and families who need assistance, along with diabetes education, cooking tools and recipes.
  7. Independent, Not-for-Profit health care company formed by Major corporations may force down the cost of medical care through efficiencies, minimizing need for traditional insurance and increasing affordability and accessibility.
  8. EHR’s (Electronic Health Record) needs to be deregulated. $37 billion wasted and doesn’t work, failed at main goal of interoperability, sharing records across providers and systems.
  9. Health Saving Accounts should be encouraged and decoupled from specific employers.
Immigration
  1. Immigrants start twice as many businesses as non-immigrants and studies suggest that they do not contribute anymore to crime than citizens. In fact, they aid many of our industries with a steady workforce that is necessary for American prosperity. I think we should have a liberal Work Visa program and reform our immigration policy to be similar to Canada’s Merit-based system which takes skills, education, adaptability, language proficiency and overall human capital into consideration. For those that don’t qualify, we can offer a bond-based system with a deposit of $2500 which is held to make sure applicants comply with US laws and the terms of their stay.
  2. Employers will have a more reliable source of workers. Less legal uncertainty about hiring them.
  3. Recognize the inequity of having people who came or stayed here illegally "jump the line" in front of large numbers of others from all over the world who have applied for entry or citizenship under our laws and waited their turn.
  4. Some account should be made for people who have been here for 15 to 20 years, who almost literally have no country to go back to.
Occupational Licensing
  1. Licensing laws often act as a barrier to the poor people attempting to make a living and better their lives.
  2. Occupational Board Reform Act which would require the use of the least restrictive regulation to protect a consumer (like periodic inspections versus license)
    1. 20% of existing licensing requirements to be reviewed annually.
      1. Review to happen when legislature not in session to minimizing lobbying efforts.
      2. Bundle various committee recommendations for up or down vote to minimize pressure from rent-seeking guilds.
    2. See if less expensive & time consuming to obtain license in neighboring states.
    3. People with criminal records can request binding decision before investing in obtaining license.
      1. Recidivism is lower where former criminals can obtain work.
    4. Bill is supported by Rep, Dem, Lib and ACLU.
  3. Federal law to support State Act and States rules.
Personal Responsibility
  1. Frederick Douglass believed in the American creed of personal responsibility and self-reliance. By asking citizens to commit to the individualist creed of self-improvement, the nation made an implicit promise to accord them equal dignity regardless of their origins, color or means.
  2. Rise of America’s Irish:
    1. Charitable organizations, such as the Irish Emigrant Society, emerged.
    2. Temperance societies formed to address alcoholism.
    3. Catholic Church took leading role in tackling poverty, illiteracy and other social problems through the creation of orphanages and hospitals and schools. For millions of Irish, the church was not simply a place to worship, it was a focal point of the community.
  3. “Self-driven Child” books stipulates that child and teen anxiety and depression epidemics are largely due to parental over involvement and micromanagement. Let children enjoy more control over their time and activities.
    1. Let them organize their own sport teams and play the games themselves.
    2. When parents organize their lives around their kids, those kids expect everyone else to as well, and that leads to entitlement.
    3. When children are raised to feel entitled to everything, they are left feeling grateful for nothing.
Politics
  1. Identity politics puts demands on the collective before the sovereignty of the individual. In doing so, identity politics conditions us to define ourselves and each other by the groups to which we belong. Soon, we lose sight of the myriad values that unite us.
    1. Where identity politics reigns, so, too, do its regents: polarization, gridlock and groupthink
    2. Ideas—not identity—should be the driving force of our politics By restoring the primacy of ideas to public discourse, we can foster an environment that will allow democracy to thrive, with free thought and open deliberation unconstrained by excesses of political correctness.
  2. Centrist Manifesto:
    1. No such things as bad dogs, just bad owners! We own this government, we need to reign it in!
    2. The process of making communal decisions for 330 million is incredibly difficult about war, social policy, taxes, and scores of other issues where there are deep-seated ideological differences of opinion.
    3. Deficit spending is like eating an elaborate meal and then leaving the check for the next guests.
    4. Social Inequality—problem is not necessarily the widening gap between the 99% and 1%, but the growing belief that the 1% have pulled the ladder up behind them. American ideal will end if citizens across income spectrum no longer believe that people at top have earned it and that every citizen has a shot at doing so as well.
    5. Democrats believe that implementing a program solves a problem without having measurable results to prove it. (Republicans pretend the problem doesn’t exist)
    6. Republicans believe that environmental problems are “market failures”, meaning that producers and consumers fail to take cost of pollution into account when making private decisions.
    7. Government should offer help to those who genuinely need it, but not be the social service provider of first resort.
    8. Individuals should do what government cannot (or should not) do: we must apply the same economic logic to determine what gov does not need to do.
      1. Do not subsidize mortgages of middle and upper class.
      2. Pay farmers to turn corn into ethanol.
      3. Protect informed consumers from themselves.
    9. A social contract, like every contract, must ask something of both parties.
      1. Students should have school choice.
      2. Government should collaborate with private sector to build and operate infrastructure.
      3. Public programs should use private contractors when more efficient.
      4. Eliminate war on drugs.
    10. Education—job training, community colleges, specialized apprenticeships, and retraining for workers made redundant.
      1. It is perfectly reasonable to expect most Americans to invest in their futures.
    11. President should Veto pet projects of legislators.
    12. Tax activities we want (Working, saving and investing do not fall into this category).
      1. Green tax=carbon taxes= good!
    13. Labor and management should collaborate to create additional wealth
      1. Organized labor must adapt to economy with jobs having diverse task which face relentless demands on efficiency.
    14. Social security—raise the retirement age since Americans are living longer and we must pay into the system what we plan on taking out, encourage private savings and increasing the amount of savings.
    15. Curtail gerrymandering, promote open primaries.
    16. Centrist Strategy is political innovation that uses the fulcrum of power to make changes in government.
Right to Work
  1. Job Creation since 2001:
    1. Right to Work states added a net 1.7 million jobs
    2. Non Right to Work states lost 2.1 million jobs
  2. Real disposable incomes: (U.S. Commerce Department)
    1. Right to Work states in 2017 was $42,857
    2. Non Right to Work nearly $2,250 lower
  3. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
    1. Non RTW average of 6 per 1,000 residents
    2. RTW an average of just 9 per 1,000 residents
    3. **New Mexico – 3rd in the nation for TANF
  4. The Real Manufacturing GDP (2011- 2016): (U.S. Commerce Dept.)
    1. Right to Work states 5.9%
    2. Non Right to Work states 3.0%
  5. States’ Population 2000 – 2009: (IRS Statistical Information Service)
    1. Non Right to Work states net out-migration of nearly FIVE MILLION people to states that are Right to Work.
  6. NM Ranks as state most dependent on Federal Government
    1. 3rd for return on taxes paid to the fed
    2. 5th for fed funding as a share of state revenue
    3. 5th for its share of federal jobs
    4. NM receives the most fed contracts and grants per dollars paid in taxes.
    5. Only Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama are behind us.
Seniors
  1. Senior Citizens maintaining independence at home:
    1. Transportation: Many counties have senior taxis run by volunteers.
    2. Food: Meals on Wheels, administered by local communities and delivers reasonably priced prepared meals to those unable to cook for themselves.
    3. Support: Agency on Aging and other groups of lists of services run by volunteers for household chores and caregiving.
    4. Social Network: faith-based and other community organizations often have networks of people to help and to engage with.
Veterans
  1. VA Mission Act:
    1. Funds Veterans Choice Program
    2. Veterans Community Care Program would allow veterans access to tools and information to compare care provided at the VA and the private sector.
    3. Establish VA Center for Innovation for Care & Payment to explore pilot programs to test new payment and delivery models.
      1. Allow value-based models in payment structures for private providers to promote better care.
      2. Mandate VA education program on care options and how to access them.
      3. Authorize walk-in care for many veterans at community providers and federally qualified health centers.
  2. Medical Foster Home program allows Veterans to pay registered caregivers directly for their room and board, costing $1500-3000/mn versus $10,000k/mn in nursing home.
  3. Develop transportation sites/opportunities throughout the smaller rural communities that will service, not only veterans but all members of those communities, to get them into Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and Metropolitan Service Areas (MSA) of Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe and Farmington are where the majority of veterans reside, when needed.