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News: Primary Election 2008 Preview
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Primary 2008Return to the list of candidates. Joe McLaughlinAge: 53 Residence: Jacksonville Occupation: Financial advisor, retired U.S. Army major Q: How can Congress help make health care for all Americans more affordable? A: One of the biggest factors in rising health care costs are the outrageous premiums for malpractice insurance that our health care professional must pay. Common sense tort reform that would protect the health care industry from frivolous lawsuits while still allowing patients to seek compensation for legitimate claims would drastically improve the situation. I am not in favor of universal health care run by the government. As with most problems we face, the private sector is much more efficient at solving our problems than government bureaucracy. Q: Will there be immigration reform and if so, how will it balance compassion with rule of law with business interests? A: I am a firm believer that we must first secure and control our borders, as real reform will not occur until the flow of illegal aliens is halted. There must be immigration reform to prevent our nation from being overrun by illegal aliens. There are already laws in place that must be enforced and it is the judicial branch of government, not the legislative, which will determine the balance of compassion. We must provide legal avenues for businesses that truly need workers but those workers must be documented and their flow in and out of the country controlled. Q: What is your suggestion for dealing with Iraq? A: We must listen to the military leaders, especially those on the ground, and trust their wisdom as to what resources they need to do their jobs. The time for debating the reasons for entering Iraq is over. We must deal with the situation at hand and there is but one acceptable outcome and that is victory. Q: How can alternative energy/renewable energy be encouraged without competing with our food sources? A: It is not the government’s place to encourage alternative energy. Gas prices approaching $4 a gallon are encouragement enough. The laws of basic economics will always prevail when not hindered by government intervention. However the federal government should consider looking at some of the untapped resources within our control to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. I would also support relinquishing a portion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to put more oil on the market. Q: What role should Congress and the federal government be playing in helping stabilize the economy and in particularly, the housing market? A: The greatest role the government can play in any economy is to interfere as little as possible. I do not support the government’s involvement in mortgage bailouts for the housing market, as it sets a dangerous precedent. If the federal government bails out homeowners who made poor economic decisions on a mortgage, what is next? Car payments? Credit card debt? The natural laws of economics and the business cycle will take care of the problem and not reinforce bad spending habits of consumers. Q: What message can you take to Washington D.C. about the needs of rural areas like Eastern North Carolina? A: Eastern North Carolina is full of proud people who believe in traditional, conservative values. Most of our needs can be met by keeping government out of our lives as much as possible. Allowing citizens to keep more of their money in their pockets where they can make their own decisions will go further than any government program. |
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