Equality For All
Equality For All
I envision living in a country where everyone has equal opportunities to succeed in life doing what they love to do. We can make it easy to start a new company, remove some of the obstacles that are holding small businesses back. I hope Minnesota can become the best place for startups, anyone willing to work hard, risk it all can become the next Bill Gate or Elon Musk, unleashing the endless possibilities created by the American ingenuity.
Term Limits
Term Limits
All elected officials including State Senate and State House members should have term limits. Career Politicians in government are often tied to special interest groups. They no longer represent the voters who elected them but to the elites pulling the strings from behind.
Without term limits politicians will become corrupt and will no longer serve their constituents. I want to see two terms for State Senate and four terms for State House members (eight years for each).
Transportation
Transportation
1) Reflective lanes
Minnesota used to have reflective lanes on our highways, helped drivers to see the roads better at night and/or in rainy weathers. We no longer have that now. Every time when it was raining, I couldn't see a thing when I was driving. I always felt that's a hazardous road condition.
2) Light Rail weather room
Have you ever waited for the light rail in Minnesota's winter when it was -15F? Those heating lamps were basically useless. Why can't we have some kind of doors or drapes to block the wind for the waiting rooms? I guess the policy makers in St Paul never had to wait for the Light Rails on a cold winter day. They should be reminded that it's the people they should be serving, not their special interest groups.
Reduce Unwanted Pregnancies
Reduce Unwanted Pregnancies
This is for the men out there, if you don't want to get your girl pregnant, take up some responsibilities and use proper protections. Proper use of protections and contraceptives can be very effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies. We just need to provide more education to our youths on taking responsibilities for their own actions.
One solution we should consider is to make adoption processes easier in Minnesota. It makes no sense to me that adopting a baby from China is easier than adopting a baby here in Minnesota. There should be conversations between adoption parents with some pregnant teens. Maybe one unwanted pregnancy will turn out to be a great blessing for another family.
Family Court Reform
Family Court Reform
Our modern consumer culture values more on materialist things, therefore more often than not the parent who can provide the most materialist things are likely to get favorable rulings. "Why do I have to pay $10,000 for my child's custody evaluation?" Shared by a young mom frustrated by the court process. I think anyone who had ever fought for their children's custody can name a few things that are broken in our family court system.
I believe that most of the rules in our books were created with good intentions, but how they were implemented is another story.
Often the court ruled cases based on evidences/testimonies presented to the judges in the court house. They are not often taken into considerations that family cases are often complicated and human factors play a big role in them.
We should take into consideration that raising children is more about values, ethics and world views, things that money can not buy.
Senior Issues
Senior Issues
Social Security
Social Security
Hard working Minnesotans, like you, have worked your entire life paying into social security. You paid taxes while you were working, and now the MN government wants to tax you again, that's not ok with me. I want to eliminate the state income taxes on Social Security so our senior citizens can enjoy their retirement with one less thing to worry about.
Property Taxes
Getting older does get more expensive as incomes are often reduced after retirement. Add inflation to the mix, and your fixed income becomes even more limiting. Even though you may be retired, Big Government would still try to take more of your money through property taxes. You worked hard all your life to earn a good living and make a cozy home. Your retirement years should be less stressful and more enjoyable. That's why I'm in favor of freezing property tax rates for seniors at age 65, and also for people who owned the same house for over 30 years.