UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE:

It is a moral imperative that all citizens receive healthcare coverage and at the same time this will benefit the economy. Businesses will be better able to compete because they will be relieved of paying healthcare costs, and employees will have the mobility to pursue work which best suits their talents and interests best instead of being hostage to less desirable jobs because they happen to supply health insurance. A single-payer plan is the ideal in that it eliminates wasteful spending on insurance companies to process claims.

FIGHTING GLOBAL WARMING AND ENDING OIL DEPENDENCY:

Fighting global warming and reversing environmental destruction are imperative for the sake of future generations. Ending oil dependency is a matter of national security. It is quite clear that fossil fuel dependency has had a toxic effect on our foreign policy. But it’s not enough to reduce dependency on foreign oil – making oil less valuable and less sought-after across the globe is the key, because oil-rich regimes tend to grow more anti-Western and more-anti-democratic as their wealth increases. We need to take steps to make oil less valuable so that alternatives will be more appealing not just to us but to other nations whose demand for energy is growing.

California can take the leadership role in technological innovation in fighting global warming and environmental destruction by fostering R and D and application in a number of areas: sustainable alternative energy sources; greater energy efficiency; and conservation.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL:

In the Information Age, we are competing as never before with increasingly educated populations across the globe. Therefore, the better-educated the population, the more successful will be the state (and national) economy. Maintaining and expanding quality education for all Californians is a priority goal. Clearly it is needed at the K-12 level, but it should be emphasized for adults as well, including those who have been laid off, whose jobs have been outsourced or rendered obsolete through technological change, and/or those who missed the opportunity to receive higher education for whatever reason and now seek it. Education is the key to economic well-being in the 21st century and should be a priority.

A JUST IMMIGRATION POLICY:

We need a fair and humane solution for all parties concerned, not one which exploits racism and xenophobia. Legislating immigration policy is a Federal issue. However, California needs to resist the vindictive tone with which the undocumented immigrant issue is being played in the media and among Republican and other right-wing politicians. Whatever policies are developed must reflect a humane and win-win approach to dealing with the issue of undocumented immigrants.

ECONOMIC GROWTH WITH COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIC VALUES:

Economic health and Democratic values are NOT contradictory. For years the fiscal right-wing has sold the public a bill of goods that what is good for the top .05% is good for the nation; that government-supported healthcare will have catastrophic results; that privatization and lowering taxes are always the answer; and that government regulation is responsible for our problems. In the meantime, millions in this state go without healthcare, middle class incomes have stagnated over the past decade, and escalating gas prices and the home mortgage meltdown brought on by irresponsible foreign and domestic policies threaten the middle class.

In the current economic downturn, California is facing a budget crisis. My aim is to use objective analysis and critical thinking in seeking practical solutions to our problems which will not shortchange the middle class and decimate programs for the needy-- in other words, to seek remedies for the budget crisis on behalf of all Californians.