Federal Budget and the Economy

Federal Budget
The federal deficit must be eliminated, not reduced. Otherwise, America is living on its credit cards and running up a debt we will never be able to repay. The first step to doing this is to reduce the bloated government bureaucracy -- that's where most of your money goes!

The Economy
President Bush's economic policy has failed to help anyone except those who are already wealthy. We should instead adopt an economic policy where government roadblocks to small business and personal entrepreneurship are removed, and Americans are again encouraged to innovate and explore.

Living Wage
I know it's counter-intuitive, but raising minimum wage actually hurts the working poor. Instead, we should cut taxes and combat inflation so the dollars people earn go farther.
(see full discussion)

Outsourcing
"Protectionism" will not be effective at preventing outsourcing. Instead, we must understand why it happens. Outsourcing happens because it's cost-effective, and it's only cost-effective because the cost of living is much lower elsewhere. The best way to stop outsourcing is to help other countries develop a standard of living equivalent with our own.

Oil Prices
As long as fossil fuels are our only source of energy, we'll be at the mercy of oil companies and foreign powers. I want to aggressively encourage alternative energy sources, especially biodiesel and other renewable energy sources that already exist.

Taxes
We have a very high tax burden in this country. We should not even be considering raising taxes. Instead, we must balance the budget by eliminating waste, and ultimately lower taxes so you can keep more of what you earn.