Economic Recovery

An essential focus of our national government should be the economy and the creation of jobs. While there are mixed messages regarding the economy and its recovery, statistics show that we are a long way from economic health and stability. Small businesses, retirement security, and the financial markets must be addressed, and addressed quickly, with sound policies that focus on the middle-class, as well as establishing mechanisms for long-term growth and prosperity.

I supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The act is providing an inflow of funds that is necessary to help jumpstart our economy. I recognize that this alone is not enough to bring our economy to the state it needs to become stable, let alone prosper. However, it was a necessary first step in building back a solid foundation for us to rebuild our communities and neighborhoods, and move America forward to a more prosperous future.

For a more detailed economic plan, click here.

Healthcare Reform

I believe in a healthcare system that provides compassionate and essential coverage to all; that provides the efficient delivery of services without compromising quality of care; and that minimizes interference from the insurance industry or government in decisions that should be made between the patient and their care providers.

Reducing the rapidly rising cost of health care is a critical need, and it is separate from the question of how to provide healthcare coverage for all Americans. If the increase in health care costs is not constrained, it will cause serious long-term damage to our economy.

Greater use of technology, such as electronic medical records, has the potential to share information more efficiently, while reducing one of the current healthcare systems problems, overhead costs. Federal funding has been allocated to upgrade health care technology. This investment will not only lower costs, but will create a longer-term solution, while creating jobs, and making healthcare more affordable.

Education

For us to be competitive in the world, and to expand and strengthen our middle class, and provide the economic stability we all deserve, people must be given the proper tools. Affordable and quality education is essential. A college education and solid vocational training are important to individual advancement; a workforce of highly trained workers and college graduates is the key to giving America its competitive edge.

Over the next decade jobs that require associate degrees will grow at nearly double the national average and college degrees will become more valuable than ever. Community college graduates will grow even faster than those with bachelor’s degrees. One third of job growth will be in health care and education, jobs in energy and the environment could triple, and the highest paying jobs will be in Information and Technology. We can not ignore these statistics, and if we want to build back out economy, and provide jobs for our middle class, it is our responsibility to improve our educational system.

We have to be serious about Early Childhood Education programs; we must significantly reform No Child Left Behind, and math and science education must become a national priority.

We have to recruit, prepare, retain and reward our teachers. It is essential that we support efforts to make college an affordable option for all Americans. We can do this through tax credits, simplifying the financial aid process, and increasing our educational grants.

Energy & Environmental

Every investment we make into clean energy technology and green jobs positively impacts our economy. By creating green jobs, jobs that create, run, and support a clean energy economy, we can fight global warming and move towards energy independence. With significant investments in the ‘greening of our economy’ it is projected that we create 4 times more jobs than spending the same funds in the oil business.

I believe our nation’s energy policies and infrastructure need to be modernized. This is essential if we are to reduce our fossil-fuel dependence, and halt climate change. This modernization and development of clean-energy technology can revitalize our economy. We are slowly reinventing our carbon-based economy and changing the way we heat our homes, light our workplaces, and the way we propel our vehicles. Clean technology and its infrastructure will create new business activity, and millions of new jobs.

Technology & Innovation

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, whose stimulative effects we are seeing today, kept us from the brink of disaster. The consequences of our recession has taken its toll on one of the key mechanisms for long-term economic growth, and that is our inability to invest in research and development

When businesses are forced to tighten their belts, as is now the case, funding for R & D drops significantly. This makes it very difficult to formulate a solid recovery plan. Bouncing back from our recession depends on R & D, The United States lags behind much of the world, and for this to change we must prioritize investing in education, particularly in math and sciences and in the research needed to develop the next generation of medical, scientific and technological break-thrus.

The jobs of tomorrow will depend on our investment, today, in R & D. We must support science and technology research, and we must adopt e-commerce, a digital government, and information technologies. Tomorrow’s jobs will depend on it.