Economy and Job Creation
Posted by: | CommentsThe three counties comprising our legislative district (Lane, Coos, and Douglas) have seen their share of hard times in the past two decades. With the shutting down of multiple timber mills and the countless regulations aimed at our local fishing fleets there continues to be obstacles placed before our hard-working members of these industries preventing them from growing and prospering.
SPENDING: Our legislature, including our representative, Arnie Roblan, has not helped their situation here with their fiscal irresponsibility in government spending. Increasing the budget greater than 9% in the last legislative session does not seem to make common sense. Citizens here are tightening their belts, adhering more closely to a rational family budget, and not spending money that they don’t have.
UNEMPLOYMENT: As unemployment rises on the Coast, around the state, and nationally, we need different leadership to facilitate an environment allowing small businesses to develop, innovate, and grow their companies. The goal is to foster business growth allowing expansion and increased employment opportunities for residents here on the beautiful coast of Oregon. My experiences generated over eleven years involving my private Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery practice serving communities from four counties ranging geographically from Brookings to Newport, are invaluable and greatly needed in our current recessionary economic environment.
Commitment to Education and School Choice
Posted by: | CommentsAs a Dad of three children and a son of a Junior High Biology teacher and a registered nurse who believed strongly in encouraging their kids in school, those that know me understand my firm commitment to not only my children’s education but also for student’s in our communities on the Southern Coast. I feel the importance of education being funded responsibly so that these valuable dollars are kept directly in the classroom benefiting the individual student. I believe in the freedom in allowing and promoting education and the ability of families to choose their children’s education. These options can include public schools, private schools, charter schools, and home-schooling.
It is imperative that we aim for smaller class sizes, maintaining and recruiting quality teachers, improving teacher’s continuing education, providing basic training in the trades for students not pursuing advanced education after K-12, and equipping the classrooms with advanced technology allowing student’s to thrive in today’s ever demanding computer-driven world.
Economic growth, advancement, and prosperity will only be available to our children as it was for us, if we give them access to education in multiple ways. Tuition tax credits and vouchers have been shown to advance student achievement, facilitate integration, increase parental satisfaction, and save taxpayers money. Ultimately, my goal is a solid education for my children and yours.
Accessible Health Care
Posted by: | CommentsAs our population ages, it is increasingly becoming apparent that health care accessibility and funding Medicare programs is important to Senior residents on the South Coast. Having two loving parents who are now members of the ever-expanding Baby Boomer generation, I intimately understand their needs, along with their worries and fears regarding health care.
I am unique in my profession in that I have been educated and trained in various disciplines of both Dentistry and Medicine. It is important to have leadership within our Oregon Legislature of individuals that are experts and have direct knowledge of the medical profession. Along with providing adequate and accessible health care to the elderly, it is important to continue serving those in our community who are needy.
Marketplace reforms and policies that are important for our area include making prescription drugs more affordable via expanding access to the Oregon Prescription Drug Program, looking closely at the waste and inefficiency identified in our hospitals, government programs, and private insurance markets, expanding the ability allowing people to pay for medical and dental expenses from tax-sheltered Health Savings Accounts, and eliminating any unwarranted intrusions by government and insurers into the doctor-patient relationship.
As a local Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon to our region, I have seen increased regulation and intrusion into my practice by both our Federal and State government. The doubling of paperwork imposed upon my practice this last decade is a clear example of government’s intrusion into the sacred doctor-patient relationship.
