Candidate Responses for NC-1
Comparing responses to Innovation & the Elections 2008 for:
Innovation
Science and technology have been responsible for half of the growth of the American economy since World War II. But several recent reports question America’s continued leadership in these vital areas. What policies would you support to ensure that America remains the world leader in innovation?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
There is little focus on science and engineering for Americans, and a lot of focus on helping students from foreign countries fill the science and engineering schools in our nation. We think it is perfectly okay to allow students who want to be social workers compete for scholarships. After all, we want to be "fair"! During the great NASA program to go to the moon back in the 60s,there was special money for science and engineering students. We need that focus again. We ahve too many social workers already. We also need to assure that tax breaks for companies that offshore their engineering and science are eliminated.Climate Change
The Earth’s climate is changing and there is concern about the potentially adverse effects of these changes on life on the planet. What is your position on the following measures that have been proposed to address global climate change—a cap-and-trade system, a carbon tax, increased fuel-economy standards, and research? Are there other policies you would support?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
Cap and trade. Rampant idiocy that will destroy our economy. Carbon tax. Why? There is no credible evidence that carbon dioxide is the cause of temp increases. How is man causing the temp increases on Jupiter and Mars? So what that some people think it is true. If I think being a liberal causes brain tumors is that illusion enough that we should tax being a Democrat? What if I got the majority of Americans to share that delusion? Does that make it just? increased fuel-economy standards. It will help reduce the transfer of wealth to other nations in the short run, so it is worth some effort as long as it does not cause serious economic disruption. Research. A steady stable research focus has always paid dividends. The race to the moon NASA program was a tremendous boon to our nation. Again, it must not cause serious economic disruption, but is otherwise an intelligent goal and worthwhile effort.Other policies. Encourage drilling for oil Temporarily end the need for environmental impact studies that are used to delay any efforts needlessly. Restructure the bidding process for drilling requests so the bid process is shortened dramatically. Increase tax breaks for test wells only if done domestically. Increase tax breaks for wells going in to production in a short time frame, say 3 years from awarding the bid process. Block law suits from being allowed to delay efforts.
We could double domestic production in 4 years if we fix the current stupid, no call them insane, restrictions currently in place.
Energy
Many scientists and policymakers say energy security and sustainability are major problems facing the United States this century. What policies would you support to meet the demand for energy while ensuring an economically and environmentally sustainable future?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
I don't accept your premise. Scientists? I think not. Policy makers. Sure, it they are liberals and environmental extremists. We did a great job of cleaning up the air because we accepted cost effective restrictions on cars polluting. There is always a fairly cost effective way to protect the environment as long as the extremists are kept in check. The extremists were never happy with the restrictions because they wanted cars banned. They love anything that makes cars unattractive and beyond the price of the common man.There is plenty of energy in the world. Get government out of the way. That is the solution. It is ironic that environmentalists claim they are only interested in banning oil, because it is the cheapest most practical source of energy. In a few thousand years, when we run out of oil, some of the other energy sources proposed will be developed, and they will become dominant as they prove they are the least expensive replacement for oil. At the instant some other energy source becomes the cheapest, environmentalists will immediately start attacking that energy source. Environmentalists are like the founder of PETA, haters of mankind. It is critical that we reach a point at which environmentalists are hated by the man in the street with the same extremist mentality that environmentalists hate mankind.
The problems with energy security and sustainability are caused by government response to the environmentalists. Without them neither would be a problem.
Education
A comparison of 15-year-olds in 30 wealthy nations found that average science scores among U.S. students ranked 17th, while average U.S. math scores ranked 24th. What role do you think the federal government should play in preparing K-12 students for the science and technology driven 21st Century?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
Get the federal government, and even the State governments, out of education. There is a clear correlation between increased federal and state interference and the failure of our public school system. Education is not as complicated as the educrats and their education unions claim. We used to provide the best education in the world, back when parents and local officials were not regulated by tyrants with an agenda. They used to focus on the kids and our system worked well. Just see how impressive the results were during WWII and during the 50s.We have been doing a "study" in how to destroy education for the last 3 generations. The study is complete. Federal and State involvement in education is a disaster. Look at the results.
I repeat. Let parents and local school officials focus on the kids. Get the federal government, and even the State governments, out of K-12 education.
Water
Thirty-nine states expect some level of water shortage over the next decade, and scientific studies suggest that a majority of our water resources are at risk. What policies would you support to meet demand for water resources?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
We repeatedly allow a distrust for technology to encourage rules that are insane. Two cities who share the same river are required to process the water 4 times. Once for the first city as drinking water, and then to clean up the sewage to drinking water standards only to dump it back in to the river. Then the second city repeats the process. Neither will allow anything but drinking water purity. Neither is allowed to sell some of its water as industrial grade. Neither is allowed to permit anyone to opt out of the system and provide water for themselves. It is about totalitarian control more than effective use of water. As the population increases, there is a focus on keeping the price low, even when it prohibits proper expansion of the system. Intelligent efforts to recycle water several times within a single system to maximize utilization are blocked by votes about "not drinking my own sewage". Yet we are perfectly willing to drink the sewage of the previous city upstream. There is no shortage of water resources. Just look at the ocean and check the price per gallon to desalinate it. There is a shortage of intelligence in the process.Research
For many years, Congress has recognized the importance of science and engineering research to realizing our national goals. Given that the next Congress will likely face spending constraints, what priority would you give to investment in basic research in upcoming budgets?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
Basic research should be right behind military expenditures in priority for federal spending. However as long as we have liberals redistributing wealth to the poor it will not happen. To see how out of control the process has gotten, just review the following facts. Of the people that our government claims as poor and worthy of handout programs, 50% own their homes, 75% own their cars, 95% own color TVs and microwaves. In no other country in the world would these people be considered poor. However good luck if you think you will find the political will to cut back on this welfare for some of the worlds wealthiest citizens.Even worse, much of our money is spent on entitlement programs that even the rich qualify for. The middle income use them and depend on them and vote for them and will not allow them to be taken for use on basic research.
Health
Americans are increasingly concerned with the cost, quality, and availability of health care. How do you see science, research, and technology contributing to improved health and quality of life?
George Butterfield
It is our goal to send the questionnaire to every candidate through email and post. However, we do not currently have an e-mail address for George Butterfield. Please contact us if you can provide this so that we can invite him to respond to the Innovation & the Elections 2008 questionnaire on science and technology policy.Dean Stephens
Our current health system has too many lawyers and bureaucrats getting too much of the money. It also has too many illegal aliens getting a free ride. However the worst defect is the insistence that everyone get everything free. The useless waste of trivial demand for scarce services drives costs up beyond control for all and saturates the system.We need to restructure all health insurance so it pays a percentage of health costs, but never ever pays 100% for anyone. Everyone must find some way to pay a portion or they must do without.
We also bias health care to the oldest people in society, even allowing extremely expensive operations for people who have already lived a full life while denying equal health care to deserving kids who die young.
The attempt to assure these problems are fixed are all insurance and administrative issues. I do not see the biggest problems as being in science, research and technology.
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