Principles:

I am running as an Independent but still subscribe to many of the traditional Republican or “classical liberal” values:

I follow the facts and, as you will see, end up sometimes in unexpected places, but start with the following:

• Preserve our free market/capitalist system that has allowed the U.S. to prosper and individuals to live the American Dream.

•  Preserve the limits of government and checks and balances in U.S. Constitution that have made the U.S. exceptional.

• Preserve the individual liberties envisioned by our Founding Fathers setting the U.S. as the example for the world.

But, more specifically and to elaborate:

Truth: Tell the truth. Without a reputation for telling the truth, trust is lost. Without trust, there is little hope for working together to find solutions for difficult issues or problems. It feels weird that I would even need to say this, but in today’s polities, telling the truth appears to be a novel concept.

Freedom: Freedom is a basic value American value. Individuals should be free from government interference in our lives, out of your pocketbook and out of your bedroom as much as possible.

Being free to run your own life is the basis of “personal responsibility”, something I would not wish to see weakened. I strongly believe in the huge potential of (almost) everybody but see us all far short of our potential, and unfortunately, some disastrously far short. Some of that might be attributable to "learned helplessness" due to racial injustice here in the U.S. while I see it a lot among the refugees I work with in the Uganda Refugee Settlements. The environments we experience matter. So, I acknowledge that we do not all have equal opportunity with which to maximize our potential. But, for us all to prosper as much as we can, as a country, we must not weaken the idea that people are primarily responsible for the results they achieve. See Racist? Guilty as Charged? for my views on “systemic racism” and “white supremacy.”

The civil liberties guaranteed us in the Constitution and its Bill of Rights must be maintained, including, but not limited to, the freedom of speech, religion(both to practice a religion or to refrain from one) and the freedom of the press. We must retain the rule of law, that no one is above the law and everyone is treated equally before the law. Now, admittedly the ideal of “all men are created equal” is not always lived up to as well as it should, but it should remain an ideal we continue to strive for.

Limited government: We must stop the erosion of the concept embedded in the Constitution that we are a limited government, i.e., a representative democracy with the power of the government limited by restrictions in the Constitution. The limitations on what the government can and should do have loosened to the point our Founding Fathers would probably not even recognize our government. The power of the President to issue Executive Orders has gotten completely out of hand, partly due to the failure of Congress to properly function.

I acknowledge that government must provide for the national defense, education, a transportation system, sanitation, law enforcement, a postal system, a set of commercial laws and other public services that are beyond the capacity of any private agency. But government must not replace individual initiative or try to do for the individual what he is able to do for himself. It should leave most decisions on personal matters, like how we live, reproduce, love and worship, to individuals without government interference. Governmental regulations should be minimized to encourage responsible business activity and a strong economy.

 Maintaining our form of Government: Today we are faced with numerous challenges to how we govern ourselves. Facts show that the former President and his supporters almost overturned the will of the people in the last election. We have gerrymandering being done on both sides, others discouraging voting. We have primaries and worse yet, endorsement conventions which incentivize extremist views and bomb-throwing in order to satisfy constituents, which leads inevitably to “ineffectual” governing. We have segments of our society that are immersed in “culture war” topics like vaccine effectiveness, mask mandates, transgender athletes, our changing demographics, etc. who are seeking to divide us into warring camps. We can’t let these forces win! We can be critical of our government, institutions or practices at times, but we should seek to improve them, not denigrate or assault them.

Government close to the people: If government has to do things, it should do them at the level closest to the people being governed where possible, so those people will have maximum input and the ability to try different approaches, either at the local or state level. Lincoln’s words of “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” mean that government should not be a separate entity that dominates its citizens. There’s a place for government, but fundamentally it is there to protect your rights, not to dictate what they are.

Strong national defense: We must retain a strong defense and preparedness, but must make cautious use of that power, coupled with sustained informed diplomacy. Strong defense does not mean wasting money on weapons systems which provide jobs in some powerful congressman or senator’s district, but intelligent investment that provides a military which can deter others from dangerous actions. 

If the supply chain issues that have occurred with Covid and now Ukraine, it must be obvious that our offshoring so much of our manufacturing has hazardous national security implications. We must take steps to “reshore” key segments of our economy here back home in our country.

Quality public education: Public education provides a common understanding for citizens of all backgrounds, so they would have common values and preparation to be good citizens. Regardless of class or wealth, this is a system to bind us together and not split us apart.

Limited taxes and balanced budgets: Taxes must be sufficient to pay for the things we together decide to do but should be kept as low as possible. We retain the ideal that people should be able to keep what they legitimately earn. “Property rights” matter and are the basis for a free enterprise system. We must realize that there is no such thing as “government money,” only taxpayer money. This means that we must have fiscally prudent balanced budgets, reduced national debt and prudent fiscal policies. We can keep government as small as possible to achieve the ends desired by effective and efficient administration.

We need to seriously seek more efficient ways to provide our public services. We should carefully analyze our complex, expensive welfare system to potentially replace it with a Guaranteed Basic Income. Could we reduce the 32% of all medical costs that are eaten up by administrative costs, primarily due to health insurance company complex billing down to the approximately 6% of the Medicare system? Could we reduce the complexity of our federal income tax code by replacing it with a flat tax? I don’t have the answer to all of these questions, but they must be seriously investigated, debated and solved.

Conserving the environment: Conserving the environment is good business and essential for maintaining our planet livable for future generations. Addressing climate change ASAP is essential.

Encouraging capitalism: Free enterprise is the best method to create wealth, a higher standard of living, competition and individual and group success. Capitalism has enabled more people to escape poverty than any other economic system. Socialism and communism have proven to be failures.

However, all of the assumptions that economists use to conclude that free enterprise results in the greatest productivity and the most efficient use of resources are not met in reality. There are numerous problems with capitalism discussed in Free Market Economics: Problems and Solutions. We need to control the technological monopolies of our time. We need to address the “externalities” of carbon emissions of those who burn fossil fuels (all of us). We need to efficiently provide “public goods”. We need to protect consumers from “asymmetric information”. And so on.

But the biggest and most noticeable problem of our free enterprise economy is the growing gaps in wealth and incomes between the top 10% and the bottom 10%, a problem endemic in capitalism. “Supply-side economics”, with the concept that “a rising tide lifts all boats”, has not proven to be totally satisfactory with regard to our growing inequality. Now, there is nothing morally wrong with inequality, as long as everyone enjoys a minimum quality of life (and the inequality is not caused by systemic racism). However, we need to avoid leaving people in destitution, especially when there are people who are so far from destitute who seem not to care about the plight of their fellow man. See Thoughts on Universal Basic Income.

Realistic foreign policy based on American leadership We need to face the facts that America is leading in the world because of our belief in freedom and justice deserved respect based on how we acted. This includes proper alliances, forging common ground and moral, principled leadership. This ideal has not always been achieved and America’s standing in many countries in the world has slipped. We need to walk our talk to preserve American power and influence in the world. We need free trade, and trade organizations with international allies, and an end to uncertainty about trade wars.