Steven Vasquez is one of two Republicans running for congress in New York State’s 21st Congressional District. The following is part three of a three part interview that Upstream conducted with Mr. Vasquez. In the portion of the interview we are publishing today, candidate Vasquez gives his views on windfall profits taxes on oil companies, education, universal health care, the Department of Homeland Security, the war on drugs and other social issues.
Note: Primary election day in New York State is September 9. Click here for other important dates concerning registering to vote and voting.
Upstream: Let me back up and ask another question about the energy crisis. Since the government has been subsidizing oil companies and ethanol production, would it then be proper for the government to create a temporary windfalls profit tax on oil companies, particularly since Exxon-Mobil just announced record breaking profits in the last quarter?
Mr. Vasquez: That is an interesting question. In a balanced ideal world, the American people should receive the billions of tax payers’ money spent on subsidizing the oil companies back, ideally with cheaper gas subsidized by the oil companies or at worse a temporary tax until every penny the government has given the oil companies are returned, and then stop taxing them. But the reality is that if we were to tax the oil companies, they would pass the cost to the consumer in higher gas prices, and again it would be Americans paying more taxes. Let us stop subsidizing the oil companies and move towards alternative energy such as hydrogen, solar, hydro, thermal, and wind, and get the government out of the business of interfering with choice and free markets.
Upstream: Many of the same conservatives who opposed the Department of Education when it was created in the 1970s, supported the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Do you think the Department of Homeland Security should be dismantled?
Mr. Vasquez: The Department of Homeland Security is the biggest, bloated, and most wasteful bureaucracy that ever existed. It is a statist organization and the antithesis of conservatism and Republican principles. We are no safer now than before DHS, as 98% of the containers coming in ports are still not checked and we have a wide open border. Yet there are now over 1,000,000 American names in the terrorist watch list, many of whom are peace activists and normal Americans. The CIA, FBI, and other intelligence agencies were too bloated and powerful before 9/11, but they had more than enough resources and authority to take care of any threat to the United States. It took an incompetent administration that completely ignored the intelligence given to them while they spent the first eight months of the presidency on vacation (”Osama bin Laden Set to Attack in US” given to Rice and the President), to seize even more unconstitutional powers and control away from the people and state. The DHS is an effort to turn the US into a police state similar to Communist China and the former Soviet Union. Yes, it should be dismantled. We still have more than enough resources to handle any threats to the United States. However, the government has no power or backbone to remove sheer incompetence to protect the American people. Should anyone forget, Osama bin Laden has never been captured, and the President in a speech on March 2002, 6 months after 9/11 stated that bin Laden is no longer a priority.
“I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.” White House Press Conference, March 13, 2002 (Transcript)
“I am truly not that concerned about him.”
Remarks to the Media from the White House, March 13, 2002 (Transcript)
Upstream: Speaking of education, school taxes continue to go up faster than the rate of inflation. Most politicians seem to think that we need to spend more to improve education. Do you agree that we need to spend more to improve education? If not, how can we improve education without spending more money?
Mr. Vasquez: The Department of Education more than doubled during this administration, at the same time, the US fell in the rankings of reading, science, and math to be last among all the industrialized nations. It seems the more we spend, the worse it gets. Money is not the answer, we need to do things smarter and the right way. The power of establishing a curriculum should not come from a bureaucrat in Washington DC, who is thousands of miles away from the school. They set the standards and makes it the same whether it is for Kansas or California, Mississippi or New York. No Child Left Behind has been a disaster and forces teachers to teach on how to take a test rather than learning the fundamentals that will make a child succeed in life.
The success in education in the past when the US was number one, was the power of the curriculum that was in the local hands of the parents and the teachers. They know what is best for the children. They know which textbooks are better than others, unlike the government which picks the worst textbooks possible. We need to dismantle the Department of Education and give the power back to the local community to restore America to the best in the world.
Upstream: Another major issue in our country is health care. Insurance premiums continue to rise and co-payments get bigger every year. Many of us don’t take medicines that we need or put off having dental work because we cannot afford them. In New York State, several hospitals have closed, giving people fewer alternatives and making emergency room waits of several hours quite common. There are still many uninsured and under-insured Americans, while in some parts of the country it is reported that illegal immigrants are getting free health care. What is the solution to this problem?
Mr. Vasquez: There are 47 million uninsured Americans, but it seems we are in a rush to find a solution without first asking why we are where we are today. Why do Americans pay 2.5 times more in health care than every other industrialized nation? Why do health care payments grow at 6.7% above inflation a year, yet doctor’s salaries have dropped in the last 10 years? Why does the federal government create regulations that discriminate against those who can not get healthcare from their employers? Why do Americans not have a choice of providers, other than government sponsored monopolies called HMOs that were created by the Nixon Administration? Why can’t Americans keep their insurance if they change jobs? Why can’t Americans buy prescription drugs from Canada that are 1/10th the cost of the American equivalents?
However many are rushing to create a Universal Health Care that is an extension of Medicare. Not only will it make all the above worse, but how will we pay for it? Medicare will be bankrupt in 10 years according to the Government Accounting Office. If we were to implement single payer healthcare, the government will be insolvent much faster, and the number of uninsured Americans can rise to over 100 million.
There is a solution that solves all these issues. It is HR 6110 proposed by Wisconsin Congressman, Paul Ryan. It is an alternative to Universal Health Care that will cover ever American and at the same time overt our entitlement crisis. The program is to give every American a $5,000 tax credit at the beginning of every year to allow them to choose and pay for their health care insurance. They can choose to continue with their employer’s plan, or choose among competitive rates from less expensive states, similar to how Americans buy life, homeowner’s, and automobile insurance. They can choose to buy prescription drugs from competing sources, including Canada. By using free market principles, people can pick a plan that is under $5,000 and pocket the cash, or pick a premium plan and pay the difference. The plan eliminates the need for government administration or HMOs, where the majority of waste and corruption occurs, and it will eliminate the middle man that separates the patient from their doctors.
According to the Treasury, this plan will save the American taxpayers 100’s of billions a year, while providing a higher level of care compared to today. The entitlement programs currently are over 60% of the budget, while income taxes are under 40% of the revenue. The program will replace SCHIP, Medicaid, and eventually Medicare, which will all but eliminate payroll tax. In the case of NY state, property taxes are all but eliminated, where 90% of property taxes are used to fund Medicaid.
The key question we have to ask ourselves as Americans is: should we give up our freedom of choice and place our trust in a government that has stolen from the Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds for the last 40 years or government sponsored HMOs that according to a GAO employee of over 10 years is the source of the majority of waste and fraud in Medicare today? When these groups control trillions of dollars, it is guaranteed that they will commit waste and fraud. What if instead we take the power and control of the money away from these organizations and give it to the people who will make the best decisions for you and your family… you?
Upstream: Social issues like abortion, gay marriage and the war on drugs have receded into the background lately due to the high cost of energy occupying everyone’s minds. Where do you stand on these issues?
Mr. Vasquez: Well the economy is the highest priority that is challenging our nation today, and that is where I plan to focus my energies to make sure the standard of living for all Americans gets better rather than worse. On these issues, the Constitution has made it very clear under the 10th Amendment. Any authority or power not specifically authorized to the federal government is reserved to the states or the people. The federal government is REQUIRED not to have any say on these issues, so the local states and communities can make the decision as to what is best for the people.
As we can see, the federal government does interfere with these issues causing major rifts and resentment across the country. The War on Drugs has made the US worse than ever, with crime and drug use only going up. 1 in 99 Americans are now in prison, most for non-violent drug related crimes. There are more people in prison in the US than China, which is a Communist police state with four times our population. Outside of China, we have more people in prison than the rest of the world combined. In the earlier part of the 20th century, we legally prohibited alcohol by amending the Constitution. It was such a mistake due to the rise in crime and alcohol use, that the amendment was legally repealed. With the War on Drugs, the nation is breaking the Constitution by not amending it, and we are stuck with the same crime wave, increased drug use, and the loss of billions of taxpayers money as we did with Prohibition.
Simply put, if we follow the Constitution, the country would have been socially and economically prosperous compared to where we are today.
Upstream: I really appreciate your taking the time to answer these questions. I know it was a lot of work on your part, but you have provided the kind of information that voters need and want.
Mr. Vasquez: My pleasure. Thank you for having me, Dan.
Click here to go to part one of this interview.
Click here to go to part two of this interview.
Visit Steven Vasquez’s website to learn more about him.
