Candidate Questionnaires - March Primaries
Jim Falvey Q & A
1) What is the No. 1 issue in your district and how would you address it?
The most important issue in my district is jobs. We suffer from double digit unemployment thanks to a weak economy, a toxic environment for job creators thanks to state government, and stifling regulations thanks to the federal government.
Since the next question asks about this specific issue, I will detail there how I would address the need for jobs.
2) How would you promote job growth in your district?
Most importantly, we must reduce regulations which are overburdening small businesses and stifling economic growth at a time where our nation cannot afford it. We must streamline the regulatory process to ensure that those regulations which are important and necessary can be easily complied with, and those regulations that are onerous are either fixed or eliminated. This will have the largest impact on our economy, as estimates show that the annual cost of federal regulations in the United States nears two trillion dollars. Freeing this money up for investment in the economy would allow for a massive spurt in job creation.
Second, I believe we need to simplify the tax code. By eliminating loopholes, subsidies, and some deductions & credits we can ultimately reduce the overall tax level in a revenue-natural way. Currently small businesses are bearing an unequal amount of the tax burden because they cannot tax advantage of many of the tax loopholes that large corporations utilize to lower their overall tax burden. More than 2 out of every 3 jobs that is created in this country is created by a small business, and if the past is any indication nearly 80% of new jobs coming out of a recession are created by small businesses, so the best thing we can do to create jobs is support our small businesses.
Finally, I believe in fostering federal incentives for small business owners who reinvest in their companies. In the course of streamlining the tax code, the provisions that fit within this category ought to be the last ones removed.
3) Should the federal government cut spending and where?
The vast majority of the deficit/debt reduction should come from spending cuts, because we have a spending problem not a revenue problem. Whenever there is a revenue increase, Congress finds a way to spend that money on some new program and/or expanding an old program. Congress ought to do what every family in America is doing: tighten their belt.
In that vein, in tough economic times thanks to this recession, we should not be raising taxes on anyone: individuals or businesses. Such an increase would eliminate any positive momentum we might be currently seeing in the economy.
Everything but Social Security and Medicare should be on the table. That means cutting across the board to achieve budget reductions, as every aspect of government can be more efficient with taxpayer funds. It also means identifying specific departments and programs for elimination. Ultimately our goal must be to find as large of reductions as possible without eliminating the safety net that government must provide.
4) If Republican, which GOP presidential candidate do you support?
I believe they can all beat Obama thanks to a superior message of growth and individual liberty over taxes and oppressive government. I've personally met Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum and like them, but no matter which candidate wins I will be supporting them in November.
5) Give an example of something you’ve done that is bipartisanship in nature.
I have done a lot of pro bono criminal defense work, oftentimes for individuals of differing political views on areas of the law on which I may not totally agree. As a matter of fact, the Southern Center for Human Rights bestowed on me its prestigious Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award in 2007 for my pro bono work on behalf of a Guantanamo Bay detainee.
6) Name one good policy idea that comes from the opposing party.
I believe Democrats do a much better job articulating policy solutions for those in lower-income households and neighborhoods, which is unfortunate. I believe in Jack Kemp’s “hand up not a hand out” philosophy, and wish my Party would do a better job reaching out to low income individuals to not only share our message but also learn more about the struggles they face on a daily basis. I will do what I can in my district to correct this.
7) How do you define family values?
Family values stems from families treating each and every member with love and respect. The family is the basic building block of society, and we must do more to strengthen the family in America. But this will come not from government interference or intervention, but rather from parents getting more involved in their children’s education and spending more time focused on their kids instead of the television. This is vital to ensure the continuing greatness of America.
8) What are your thoughts on the healthcare law?
This is an easy answer: we must repeal Obamacare. Some aspects of this law were good, such as no longer allowing rejections of coverage because of pre-existing conditions, the rating of providers, and the additional coverage afforded to children. However, the individual mandate and the pricetag means that we must repeal this legislation and look to accomplish those worthy goals through much more targeted legislation.
I have worked in the private sector for most of my life, including running my own small business, and I have seen firsthand the negative effects Obamacare will have on businesses. One small business owner recently told me that his future projections include layoffs of 10% of his workforce in 2014 in order to offset the cost of the new aspects of the law going into effect.
9) Who is your political role model?
Abe Lincoln is my political role model. He kept our country together during its darkest hours. He was a man of strength and courage who sought out all views (i.e., by picking advisors who often disagreed with him and/or hated him) in order to reach the best answer to issues of the day.
For a more recent role model I would have to say David Stockman, Reagan's Director of Office of Management and Budget. He fought a six-year battle to reverse the stagflation of '73-'82, eliminated many of the programs from the failed LBJ "Great Society," and slashed federal regulations as much as possible. He was the impetus behind my interest in politics as I met him when he was a congressman in 1976. [Note - Stockman did seek to raise taxes and currently believes that is the proper thing to do, and I do not agree with him on that.]
10) What’s on your iPod?
Lots of jazz trumpeters: Miles, Chuck Mangione, Maynard Ferguson, and Blue Mitchell, as well as groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beatles, the Stones, Earth Wind & Fire...
