While it is likely that that my position will change somewhat with time as I interact with others and seek common ground, here are a few of my ideas and thoughts:
Let’s have any bill, law, or referendum written in language that any high school Sophomore student can read and understand.
Let's deal with one issue with each bill. Rather than 1 bill with 100 issues, let's create 100 bills with one issue. Along the same line, let's make any referendum simple to understand about a single issue.
Let's educate children by teaching them how to think rather than what to think. Let's intiate learning based in common sense with practical application... how to use and balance a check book, basic gardening, how a toilet works and simple repair, how to change a car tire, etc, etc
Let’s combine child care and elderly care. Let’s organize community centers, elderly housing and nursing homes in combination with child daycare centers while providing adequately trained supervision. Children need the patience, gentleness, wisdom, and nurturing that the elderly can give. The elderly need the life-giving energy of children.
Let's convert one of our prisons to drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Current annual cost per prisoner in Maine is approximately $50,000. Let's put this money to much better use. Anyone revived from narcotic stupor with Naloxone would have the choice of going to jail or rehab, rather than simply enabling them to repeat their dance with death.
Maine's most important asset is its environment and natural beauty. We need to manage it wisely and carefully while preserving and protecting it.
I support lowering the tax for businesses and corporations in exchange for increased worker salaries and benefits.
Let’s decrease real estate taxes on primary homes and homesteads by significantly increasing the homestead exemption, based on each town’s valuation while increasing the mill rate on secondary and seasonal houses. Let's ask our seasonal guests to increase support for our infrastructures, frontline workers who serve them and their housing needs, and stewardship of our natural environment.
Let’s consider an increase in tax on gasoline and fuel from May 15 to November 15 during which time we have approximately 8,000,000 visitors to our state. Let's ask them to help fund our roads and infrastructure which allow them to enjoy our natural beauty and environment. We could then decrease our fuel tax the other six months to help us heat our homes.
Let's work to create fishing guidelines that make sense using input mostly from the fishermen themselves who know their environment, while managing future stock
of marine resources for generations to come.
As an adult, I am the authority of me. The state should have no ability to usurp that authority when it comes to my body, mind, heart, or spirit. However, the state needs to be able to protect children (and others who are unable to protect themselves) from trauma, abuse and neglect.
Original source can be found here.
