The Keep Idaho IDAHO Plan
www.keepidahoidahoplan.com
www.votebundy.com/about/keep-idaho-idaho-plan
I. Eliminating Immoral Taxes
1. Elimination of Property Tax
Property tax is the most immoral of all taxes because it is the state's way of deifying itself by claiming that it owns everything, while forcing you to pay an annual tax on property that is supposed to be yours. But if you have to pay a tax on it forever, or it is taken away from you, then how is it actually yours?
People everyday in Idaho are losing their homes to the state because they can't pay the property tax. Sadly, it is the elderly that lose their homes the most, but people that find themselves without a job for a period of time or who are disabled are losing their homes to the state, as well.
The right to own and control your own property without paying someone to keep it, is the American dream. Taxes based on ownership of property were used in ancient times by British and European kings or landlords who claimed that all the land belonged to them and the peasants had to pay them to use it. Property tax in Idaho is no different. We have to pay state officials until the day we die, or they will take our property.
The father of communism Karl Marx says in his Manifesto of the Communist Party "Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property." Marx also said, "Private property has already been abolished for nine-tenths of the population. In other words, as long as the economy is run by a few wealthy people in their own interest, the working class won't be able to achieve prosperity." In effect, the State of Idaho is forcing a part of Communism upon Idahoans—and they do it in the name of property tax.
What if there was a way to rid ourselves of this Communistic-type control on private property and still have a way to fund the legitimate purposes of government? I believe there is! Rather than abolishing private property, let's abolish property tax and replace it with a moral consumption tax.
Let me explain: The average home in Idaho is valued at around the $400,000 (I know its crazy, right? But that's what the average home costs in Idaho). Using that average cost (depending upon the county), a homeowner would pays $2,000 - $3,000 in property tax every year. That's $60,000 to $90,000 in a 30 year period. Remember that amount—$60,000 to $90,000.
That is a lot of money going to the state but the worst part of property tax is that you never own your home!
So let me show you how we can get rid of property tax by implementing my Keep Idaho IDAHO plan. Let's take that same $400,000 home. At the time of purchase the new owners would pay around 5% of the home value to the state (consumption tax). That amount can be rolled into the mortgage and the state would have no interest at that point in your property. Once the mortgage is paid off you own your home free and clear and it can never be taken from you by the State.
Now, if you have done the math at 5%, a $400,000 home would bring $20,000 to the state each time is sold. You may be saying, that's a long way away from $60,000 to $90,000 dollars compared to the property tax revenues over 30 years. However, you must calculate that the average home in Idaho sells 3 to 5 times in a 30 year period. That would bring $60,000 - $100,000 to the state in replacement of property tax. More than enough!
So, what's the main difference between the current property tax system and my Keep Idaho IDAHO plan? Both bring approximately the same amount to the state, but with my plan, you own your own home, and state officials can't take it from you for not paying them!
Questions and Answers
What about the people that currently have property in Idaho, would they keep paying property taxes? For a period of time (estimated 5-7 years) the state would graduate into the consumption tax system and completely eliminate property tax. During this period, those who own property, purchased before the period began, would continue to pay a property tax until the period ends.
Would the consumption tax for sure be 5%? No, the consumption tax may only need to be 2-4%, depending on the needs of the state determined by the state legislature.
Why is consumption taxes moral and property tax immoral? With consumption tax on property at the sale, the person only pays a tax one time when they purchase property. The person chooses to pay the tax by deciding to purchase property. With property tax, state officials force you to pay them to use the property forever and you never completely own it.
Other Benefits & Negatives
BENEFIT—With a consumption tax system, the country (state) will have funds up front to build roads, utilities, and infrastructure, rather than needing to take out large bonds and paying interest.
NEGATIVE—For those who choose to add the consumption tax to a mortgage, interest may be accrued.
2. Eliminating Personal Income Tax
Nine states in America have no personal income tax, ranging from highly populated states like Florida and Texas, to states with very little population like Wyoming and Alaska. Even our liberal neighbor Washington has no personal income tax.
Idaho's personal income tax rate of 6.925% ranks us as 29th amongst the 50 states, with higher income tax rates than even liberal states like Massachusetts, Colorado, New Mexico or even Illinois (where Obama came from).
The fact that this tax still exists in Idaho is simply a clear demonstration that Republican leadership in Idaho has not advanced a true conservative agenda in the last 4 decades. I'm running for governor to finally put an end to all of this liberalism coming from Idaho Republicans.
Let me be perfectly clear, when I'm governor of Idaho, we will get rid of personal income tax. This will put an average of over $3,000 back into the pockets of Idaho families each year.
Nine other states have already done it. It's a shame and a blight on the "conservative" State of Idaho to still be oppressing our citizens with punitive taxes on their personal income. As governor, I will see to it that we eliminate both property taxes and personal income taxes.
3. Eliminating Personal Property Tax
Believe it or not, in addition to property taxes on land, Idaho actually taxes its businesses for tangible property that the business owns and uses. This includes furniture, machinery, tools, equipment, signs, computers, office machines, medical equipment, and more! So, after a business owner has taken huge personal risks in order to grow and maintain his business, and purchased equipment and goods with the money left after paying all other taxes, he is then forced by the State of Idaho to report how much the tangible equipment (i.e. personal property) he has in his business is worth, and then pay a tax on it every year! And what happens if these taxes aren't paid? Well, according to the Ada County Tax assessor, "Taxes are delinquent if not paid by the due date. Delinquent taxes accrue interest and penalties, which are also a lien, against your property. At this point, the Ada County Sheriff can seize and sell your property."
So there you have it, our state government uses force to steal property from businesses. This is nothing more than legal plunder. As governor, I will see to it that we eliminate this unjust and oppressive tax.
4. Taxes Only Collected Through Consumption
Taxes, as a whole, are always punitive, as they take away from individuals productivity. Governments should not be charging any tax other than a consumption tax—meaning you do not pay a tax until you consume something. We typically call this a sales tax, as it is tax that is paid at the moment a product is taken by the consumer.
Idaho residents should not have to pay any other taxes than those which would be classified as consumption taxes. With a skyrocketing economy from my Economic Growth Plan, we can ensure that Idaho has more than enough tax revenue to fulfill its proper role without oppressing its citizens with additional punitive taxes.
II. Economic Growth Plan
5. Taking Back Idaho's Land
It's unbelievable, but the federal government currently has control of over 61% of Idaho's land. And you know what that land represents? It represents wealth. It represents jobs, financial peace, and security here in Idaho. It's untapped wealth that we can't take advantage of because the federal government controls it.
Imagine for a minute that you had a million dollars in the bank, but you were never allowed to have access to 61% of it. Think about how much real money you would lose every year in missed opportunities because of your inability to access your own wealth. The same thing goes for the people of Idaho.
Look, if it's our land, then it's our land. That land represents brand new cities, houses, businesses, mines, gold, silver, restaurants, resorts, telecom, roads, infrastructure, schools, churches, hospitals, non-profits, and all the jobs that go along with that. But right now, it sits mostly empty and useless. Every state in the country that has access to the largest portion of its own land is economically prosperous. Those that don't are economically stagnated. Idaho is included in that stagnant number. This is the main contributing factor to Idaho being a "welfare state," meaning we receive more money from the Federal Government than we send to them, which forces us into undue obedience to Washington D.C. in order to pay our own bills.
Think about the states right now that are prospering like North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and others…what is the source of their economic prosperity? It's oil and natural gas. In short—energy! And guess what? Idaho has a tremendous amount of natural gas available within its borders. But, we can't get to it because the federal government won't let us. We are quite literally sitting on a gold mine! And thanks to modern day technology and increased consumer awareness, we could easily tap into this source of energy safely and efficiently in an environmentally conscious way. In short—nobody loses and everybody wins. But, we have to control our own land first!
We even have the easternmost seaport connected to the west coast right here in Lewiston. With control of our land, we can expand this port and bring the manufacturing businesses back to Idaho, with an actual port in our own state that can export Idaho's products to the entire world! The economic expansion opportunities will be limitless for Idahoans when we reclaim our land. And all existing rights to the land will, of course, be protected as well.
As governor, I will see to it that the State of Idaho reclaims our own land that is rightfully ours. Idaho can manage its own land. We don't need the federal government bullying us around and telling us what we can and can't do with our own land. So, let's use our land properly and efficiently and watch our economy explode here in Idaho. And my record and history demonstrate that I am willing to fight the feds to the very end to ensure that land rights stay with those to whom they properly belong!
Of course, Idaho has a rich history of outdoors living and as a state, we want to maintain that for our posterity. That is why I propose taking a significant portion of Idaho's open acreage that we take back from the federal government and securing it as multiple use land to be used for hunting, hiking, camping, fishing, etc. And this land would then be under jurisdiction of the respective county in which it resides.
For FAQs regarding taking back Idaho's land from the federal government, CLICK HERE.
6. Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis
The historical American Dream was rooted in property ownership and in order for people to feel prosperous, secure, and happy, they have to have their own home. Idaho is a growing state, and as we grow, we want people in Idaho to participate in this dream.
So, Idaho must make a cultural decision—we can either build up or build out. That is to say, we can grow by spreading out or by creating densely populated areas. However, history and human nature demonstrate that if we go down the path we are on now and build up and create dense and congested cities with large populations, traffic, and pollution, we will lose our conservative, traditional values. It's just what happens.
If we are going to maintain our historic and traditional values, and ultimately Keep Idaho IDAHO, we must spread out and make Idaho's land available to the people while simultaneously ensuring that necessary land remains public land for multiple use purposes (under local jurisdiction). Then we can enjoy the fruits of prosperity and land ownership while maintaining our culturally conservative identity.
The current affordable housing crisis is caused by a number of complicated factors, many of which have been caused by the Federal Government. Nevertheless, at its core, this crisis is simply a supply-and-demand issue. To lower prices, we simply need more supply. And to have more supply, we need to take our land back.
7. Health Freedom and Body Autonomy
There is no greater form of oppression and authoritarianism than when government takes control over your own body. This is absolute tyranny at its highest level. Unfortunately, both the Federal Government and the Idaho State Government seem to think that they have power over your own body and can tell you what you can or cannot do with your body. They even believe they have the authority to FORCE you to do things with your body that you don't want to.
This is simply wrong and immoral. No government has authority over your body. Your body is yours and yours alone and no government can tell you to take a "medicine" or force a "treatment," and they likewise have no right to prevent you from taking a "medicine" or "treatment" that you want to take.
Our current system is totally corrupt. This is driving Americans to other countries like Mexico, Panama, Belize, and elsewhere, seeking life-saving treatments that are ILLEGAL in the United States of America. This should not be!
Other citizens are leaving their home states completely in order to avoid Medical tyranny, where governments are forcing medical treatments or vaccinations. This is likewise immoral and wrong.
As governor, I will make Idaho the very first Health Freedom and Body Autonomy State. This means that in Idaho you can legally take any treatment you want to take, and the state will permit it and protect you. You will have the right to try any treatment here in Idaho. And you will be autonomous over your body like God intended.
So let me be very clear—Idaho will never mandate vaccines nor any other medical treatment for any citizen at any time when I am governor.
When it comes to vaccines, if you want to take one, you are free to do so. If you don't want to take one, you will never be required to. Idaho will honor and protect your right to decide what to do with your body.
If you have cancer, and you want to take a treatment for your cancer that is not FDA approved, you will not have to leave the country anymore to save your life—you can do it right here in Idaho. Not only will this save lives in Idaho, but Idaho will become the HUB for technology and research in the health and medical fields, with people leaving the rest of the country to come here to save their lives. The economic benefit to Idaho will be beyond compare!
8. Making Idaho a Financial Freedom State
A huge problem with government overreach today is its unlawful intrusion into the financial lives of individuals. People just don't have financial privacy anymore, and no matter which way you try to spin it, our current system is a violation of the 4th Amendment. And to put it plainly, if you don't have financial privacy, then you can never be financially free!
There are a handful of states, like Nevada, Wyoming, and Delaware, who have introduced laws for individuals and corporations to maintain financial privacy for their own residents and for out of state entities as well. This has become a great source of revenue for some states as it allows the state to offer a genuine service to corporations and other foreign entities to bring capital into their states and to generate revenue through the necessary fees associated with state services.
Unfortunately, Idaho has no real beneficial business or personal privacy laws. As governor, I will advocate for a complete set of Constitutional rules to make Idaho the Gold Standard for financial privacy—even better than Switzerland. These laws will ensure that Idahoan's privacy is never breeched in alignment with the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. This will additionally bring in millions of dollars in out-of-state revenue into Idaho's treasury—effectively increasing Idaho's revenue base without costing Idahoan's a single penny.
Additionally, this will bring untold billions of dollars of capital into Idaho's financial sector, creating new jobs and increased economic output. Idaho will become synonymous with both financial privacy and prosperity—ultimately giving Idahoan's the greatest potential for Financial Freedom!
9. Recognition and Acceptance of Prominent Cryptocurrencies by the State
In accordance with my plan to make Idaho the prominent state for Financial Freedom, Idaho must also be the most forward minded in technology and security. As such, as governor, I will advocate for the acceptance and recognition of the two most prominent cryptocurrencies on the market—both Bitcoin and Ethereum as accepted forms of payment to the state. This will allow consumers and business owners who collect consumption taxes (i.e. sales tax) maximum flexibility and security for accepting and making payments securely and with greater ease. Idaho will lead our country in the financial sector, particularly with the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
III. Exalting Justice
10. Restoration and Restitution Laws
Our current "justice" system for non-violent crimes is completely broken. It solves nothing, restores nothing, and ultimately, does not deliver justice. On the contrary, it actually exacerbates criminality, creates more victims, and expands the injuries against existing victims.
In short, our current justice system primarily serves to preserve and maintain the state-funded criminal justice system. So, while we are not restoring families, healing broken people, or restoring victims’ property or sense of security, we are expanding our police state, spending millions more on prosecutors and attorneys, and expanding and increasing the number of correctional officers needed to house and contain non-violent inmates in state prisons.
Currently, it costs approximately $36k per year to maintain an inmate in an Idaho prison. Yet, Idaho’s median individual income is only $27k per year—meaning we spend more on the average prisoner than the average Idaho citizen earns every year! We could literally pay these non-violent criminals to stay home and do nothing and save millions of dollars. That is just an example of how broken our system is.
If you have ever suffered as a victim in a crime, you know just how cruel the experience is. For example, if you have lost your property to a thief—there are no words to describe the sense of loss, fear, and violation. It is a sense of utter insecurity. But almost as bad, if your stolen property is ever found, you usually rarely get your property back because the "system" holds onto it as "evidence in a criminal investigation." Then to add insult to injury, the criminal who stole your property, when convicted, is kept in jail—at taxpayer’s expense—in other words, YOUR EXPENSE.
So if the police happens to find your property and the thief who stole it, you are rarely restored, and you are further injured by being forced to pay in order to keep the thief incarcerated. Does that make any sense?
I have a better plan. As governor, I will work with the legislature to implement a system of restoration and restitution for non-violent crimes. It is very simple, if you are the victim in a crime, the law will require the perpetrator to restore the full value of your loss or your property plus punitive damages. For example, if someone steals your $1,000 laptop, they must restore your laptop to you in the same condition, plus punitive damages. It’s that simple.
We will use the existing judgment and contractual enforcement laws to ensure the victims receive just restitution. Enforcing restitution laws will prevent crimes, motivate criminals to leave the state, and reduce overhead and expenses in law enforcement state-wide, while simultaneously minimizing the number of inmates we pay for in our prison system. It just makes sense.
Currently, Idaho houses approximately 8,600 inmates in our state prisons at a cost of approximately $313 million annually. It is estimated that 75% of those inmates are non-violent offenders. Most of them are there for simple drug possession charges. Imagine putting those 75% of non-violent prisoners back out into the workforce as productive members of society where they can restore the property to their victims and rehabilitate themselves, their families, and the community.
Idaho will be safer, and our expenses will be dropped by millions of dollars. I know this sounds like a wild idea to many—but think about it logically—it just makes sense. Plus, I got it from a very authoritative source (Leviticus 6:1-5).
11. Empowering Communities to End Drug Abuse
I am diametrically opposed to the use of mind altering drugs like marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, etc. I believe they are a bane to society and one of the tools of the devil to destroy the family unit. I abhor and despise drugs and the use of drugs—including many "legal" and approved pharmaceutical drugs, which oftentimes exceed the damage and psychotropic effects of "street" drugs, but are simply "approved" by our government.
That being said, the prevention of the use of drugs, as it is something that one does to their own body, should be left to the jurisdiction of families and churches. Preachers, churches, fathers, and families, should be those who prevent the use and abuse of drugs—not government. In other words, it is not the proper role of government to involve itself in what people do with their own bodies. If we’re against drugs, then we should let churches, preachers, and community leaders stand against it! We shouldn’t be taking non violent drug users and imprisoning them at great cost to their personal lives, their families, and at great cost to the taxpayer.
The "War on Drugs" is a perfect example of a government program that began with good intentions but had unbelievable unintended consequences. Enforcement of drug laws has become the number one tool for the violation of basic civil rights in America for decades1.
It is the primary cause/excuse for civil asset forfeiture, which is a way that the government can steal your stuff without consequence, and it is the main reason why America has the highest incarceration rates in the world. Even though the United States only represents 4.4% of the world’s population, we have 22% of the world’s prisoners! We imprison more people here than anywhere, and guess what—Idaho leads the charge imprisoning more people for minor drug possession charges, even though they’ve never committed any other crime and most drug possession was non-violent and victimless. In other words, nobody got hurt, but they themselves. Of course, incarcerating them only takes non-violent criminals and turns them into hardened, potentially violent criminals, who then struggle to get a job or re-assimilate into society.
We already have solid proof about what would happen if we stopped incarcerating people for drug use since Portugal began doing so in 2001. We have, literally, 20 years of history and proof to know what positive results could be expected2.
In short, not incarcerating people for using drugs in Portugal changed nothing statistically. The same amount of people who used drugs before are still using drugs now. What did change was the number of imprisonments and drug-related deaths and the number of HIV infections. In other words, ending incarceration of drug users radically lowered the number of deaths, HIV infections, and crime.
Idaho can expect the same—to radically lower the number of imprisonments, and likewise to reduce the number of drug related deaths and the high level of recidivism we have with drug users in Idaho.
Finally, I will personally encourage our Pastors, Preachers, Bishops, and faith leaders to stand up with fathers and community leaders, to stand boldly against drug use. Because the solution to the drug use problem are fathers, families, and faith. It is not the government.
1 References:
2 References:
12. Empowering Police to Act According to their Conscience
Police officers who are executing their jobs according to the law, upholding the Constitution, and with the fear of God, deserve both our admiration and our respect. Unfortunately, corrupt bureaucrats have created an environment where police officers are torn between following their conscience and doing what’s right, or otherwise risking losing their job and their livelihood. It is just not right.
We ask our police officers to swear an oath to defend the Constitution and then bureaucrats threaten them with a loss of their livelihood if they don’t violate the Constitution and the very oath they made to defend it. I want to protect our righteous police officers and empower them to act according to their conscience.
While it is necessary for police officers to obey any lawful command from a superior, we must also allow police officers to reject unlawful orders that violate the Constitution or their own conscience, without the threat of losing their jobs or their livelihood.
As governor, I will advocate for new rules and statutes that both protect whistleblowers in police departments and that empower police officers to act according to their conscience without fear of losing their jobs.
13. Eliminating Civil Asset Forfeiture
Civil Asset Forfeiture is the legal means that gives police officers the license to steal your property during any routine interaction and gives the police department the ability to keep your property (including cash) for itself even if you are not charged or convicted of a crime.
Sure, this is supposed to only be done when the assets or property in question are directly related to drug trafficking, but do you believe that is how it's being used? Of course not. The list of abuses and outright theft using the claim of "civil asset forfeiture" is longer and more egregious than you could possibly imagine. Just search for it on the internet yourself.
Anything you own can be taken by a police officer in the name of civil asset forfeiture, and you will most likely never get it back.
It is so absurd, that once a police officer steals your property, the court case that follows literally names the stolen property as the defendant in the case. I'm serious. For example, if a cop steals your Corvette, then the case that follows will be "City of Boise vs Corvette." I'm not kidding. The cases would be humorous if they weren't so serious1.
Believe it or not, policing agents steal more money from the American people than all burglaries in the country combined! This is terrible and it must be stopped. As governor, I will simply put an end to Civil Asset Forfeiture in the State of Idaho. We cannot and will not allow legal plunder in our state. We will strictly follow the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which demands that "no person [shall] be deprived of…property without due process of law…nor shall property be taken without just compensation."
1 Examples of Civil Asset Forfeiture case names:
14. Ending Cronyism and Corruption
Cronyism is defined as "partiality to friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Politically, cronyism often includes corruption when the appointer and the beneficiary are not only in social contact, but they mutually benefit financially from the arrangement at the expense of the taxpayer."
As governor of Idaho, I will publicly expose all of the inner-workings of Idaho State Government and its entanglement with special interest groups who have been corruptly using the Idaho State Government for their own benefit and advantage. This is immoral and it must not only be exposed, but eliminated. I will never accept a penny of "special interest" money, nor will I allow them to have power, influence, or control over my administration.
I will then work diligently with our justice department to prosecute any and all illegal, corrupt, and immoral actions that have occurred in our state government and see to it that bad actors and illegal criminals in our state government and their cronies in special interest groups are finally exposed for the criminals that they are, prosecuted according to the law, and ultimately brought to justice!
IV. Social Prosperity
15. Executive Order to End Abortion
Human life is sacred. Our Republic was primarily founded on the principle of protecting and preserving human life. In fact, our Declaration of Independence firmly states:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The right to life is the FIRST RIGHT claimed by our Founding Fathers in our founding document. Abortion steals that right from the most vulnerable in our society—unborn, innocent babies.
However, I firmly believe that we must also do what we can in society and in our government to protect our women from needless emotional and physical harm. The abortion industry preys on women who find themselves with an unexpected pregnancy and who are often confused, misinformed, and fearful. In some cases, they are even coerced into their abortions.
Our society and culture should reflect an attitude of grace towards women and recognize that in some cases, the mother, along with the baby can both be victims when an abortion takes place.
Also, I am a strong believer in our systems of checks and balances and do not believe that Executive Orders should be used by the Executive Branch as a means to create law without the need for the legislative branch.
However, Executive Orders can and should be used when someone’s life, liberty, or property is in jeopardy and there is not sufficient time for the legislature to convene to prevent it.
Every moment of every day in Idaho, the lives of our precious unborn babies lie in jeopardy of being terminated by the cruel and barbaric process known as abortion, which is nothing less than murder and actual infanticide. As Governor, my very first action on Day 1 of my term will be to sign an executive order recognizing life as beginning at conception, and giving the full force and measure of Idaho law to protect such life from that moment forward. Simply put—I will end all abortions by executive order on day one of my Governorship.
I will then work diligently with the legislature to enshrine the protection of the lives of our babies while honoring the glory of motherhood and protecting our mothers at the same time, by amending our state constitution with clear laws and plain language forever prohibiting this heinous crime.
16. Education Freedom
After researching the issue and consulting with stakeholders in regards to public education, I learned that the biggest problem for school administrators is the ridiculous amount of burdens put on teachers and schools by the state and federal government regulations and "standards". It's time to eliminate those regulations and empower our schools and teachers to make their own decisions about how they run their schools.
Think about it—if you trust your schools enough to send your own children to them to instruct them, supervise them, and essentially raise them without your oversight, then why wouldn't you trust them concerning how to get their jobs done. It makes no sense for legislators and bureaucrats, most of whom aren’t even educators themselves, to put unnecessary burdens and regulations on our teachers.
How would you like to be treated that way? What if in your job, which you are trained to do as a professional, you had other people who had never done your job, and never been trained to do to your job, telling you how to do your job? Would you like that? Would you or could you be effective if people who didn’t even know how to do what you do put standards and regulations on you and your work? Of course not. It's senseless.
It's time to empower our educators. Let our local school districts and schools determine their own course of action without needless intrusion by state and federal bureaucracies. In short, here’s my plan—let's allow teachers and educators to tell us what they need to successfully educate our children and then let's let them do it. They are the professionals, so let them work.
Teachers, I support you. I want to empower you to teach in the way that you know will work best without intrusion from senseless bureaucratic meddling into the classroom.
My explanation above describes my position regarding education. As such, I strongly oppose forced curricula or education "standards" such as "Common Core." As governor, I will ensure we prevent and eliminate (where necessary) all "standards" which are detrimental to schools, families, educators, and most importantly—to Idaho's children. And I will also advocate any legislation that offers parents a choice for where to send their children to school.
17. Gun Rights and Defense of the 2nd Amendment
The right to keep and bear arms doesn’t just exist so we can go hunting, nor does it exist so we can defend ourselves. True admirers of the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment recognize that the right to bear arms is actually necessary for the "security of a Free State."
Here's the bottom line with guns—every other freedom in the Constitution rests upon the people’s right to bear arms.
If the 2nd Amendment fails, so does our Republic. I will defend the 2nd amendment with all of my energy for I firmly believe it is most central to defending all of our freedoms—even more than the 1st amendment. Think about it, if the people can't defend themselves against our government, then none of us can be assured of our right to worship, to free speech, or any other right.
18. Idaho State Healthcare Exchange (Obamacare)
The Idaho State Healthcare Exchange is a disaster beyond measure. Idaho legislators teamed up with then Governor Otter and rammed Obamacare down our throats. They claim it was done for "states rights" and because it was "better for the state of Idaho to handle the exchange instead of the federal government," but that is pure sophistry, and Republican leaders who voted for it, know it!
Obamacare is not only illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral—it’s downright evil. It gives the government control of your life and your body in ways that only dictators fantasize about.
I support the full repeal of our State Healthcare Exchange, and I will also support Idaho standing on its 10th Amendment rights and rejecting the mandates of Obamacare in our state.
19. Parental Rights
God has given parents the duty and responsibility of rearing their own children. No government has the right to usurp a parent’s authority over the lives of their minor children. Parents have the right to determine how they choose to raise their children, teach their children, feed their children, and all other decisions related to their children shall not be infringed upon!
As governor of the State of Idaho, I will work diligently with our legislature to make sure Parental Rights are properly ensconced in our state Constitution and statutes. In particular, this will preserve religious liberties, homeschooling, and a parent’s right to refuse medical "treatment," vaccines, and the like, for their children.
I also am a supporter of the Parental Rights Amendment.
20. Ending Welfare
Welfare in Idaho and in America is nothing more than the redistribution of wealth through government theft. By design, welfare requires that the government forcefully steal money from one person in order to give it to another—but only after taking a portion for themselves. Beyond the fact that it is pure theft, time has proven that welfare is a means of causing class division and warfare in our society and a means by which the government can create an entire class of dependent people whom they can control. It also wreaks havoc on our society by destroying people’s innate desire to work and to be productive. Welfare is a failed socialist program that must be eliminated in order to ensure prosperity in the great State of Idaho.
When someone is in need of financial support, it is the family’s responsibility first, then the Church, and never the state.
V. Maximizing Government Efficiency
21. Elimination of State Licensure
It is not the proper role of government to get involved between the trade of individuals. Furthermore, nobody should need a license, which is simply a permission slip, from the government in order to engage in trade with other free citizens. God gave us the right and prerogative to trade with each other.
All trade licenses are inhibiting and destructive, but in Idaho, our state licensing requirements are quite ridiculous. We actually require beauticians to have more training hours than police officers!
It is absolutely ridiculous for us to require business owners to prove to some government bureaucrat that they are competent in their trade. That’s what the FREE MARKET is for. You and I don’t need a nanny state to tell us who we can do business with safely.
For example, if an Idaho state licensed dentist or a non-Idaho state licensed dentist damages your jaw, what is your recourse? In both instances you appeal to the court. So, if recourse is found in both instances in the court, then what is even the purpose of the license in the first place? It is completely superfluous and unnecessary. All state licensure actually does is create another expensive bureaucracy with immense power and restrictive control over an industry.
You should be the one who decides who is best qualified, not some bureaucrat. You know, how the free market is actually supposed to work.
As governor, I will work to eliminate all unnecessary state licensure so hairdressers, therapists, cooks, cleaners, and more, can all work and even own their own businesses without government bureaucrats controlling them.
22. Changing the Culture of Government
It is no mystery that the Idaho State Government, like nearly all government entities, functions inefficiently and with general "bad customer service." If you’ve ever dealt with a government agency, then you know how frustrating and annoying it can be. Generally speaking, our government operates inefficiently because it is a monopoly—it has no competition, so citizens can’t go elsewhere. We’re stuck with what we’ve got.
Additionally, government employees have no incentive to serve the citizens since they can treat you terribly and never face any consequences. As a result, the culture of government employees has become toxic for citizens.
As governor, I will see to it that we change the culture of government so that government employees realize that they work for the people and not against them. They are the servants of the citizenry and not their rulers, and if they don’t properly serve the people with good intentions, good customer service, and general competence, then they can and will be terminated. In other words, we will introduce negative consequences for bad service from government employees.
We will make the Idaho government the most customer service oriented and most efficient government operation in the country—and hopefully, the world!
23. Using Blockchain Technology for State Interactions
Blockchain technology offers maximum efficiency and security for corporations and individuals’ interactions with the state. From state contracts to the various government interactions with Idaho residents, I will advocate moving much of our outdated processes to using blockchain technology. This will maximize efficiency and give our interactions with residents and businesses the ultimate security, while nearly eliminating potential for human error or corruption.