Primaries: Bob Krause
June 2, 2010
Budget cuts: Krause wants to deal with the national deficit by creating more jobs. He said the high unemployment rate is contributing to the deficit due to the lost tax revenue and use of federal assistance services. To create more jobs, he proposed implementing a stimulus package, which would be paid for by pulling troups out of Afghanistan. He also wants to change trade policy to have more domestic manufacturing, and with new import levies to pay for the stimulus.
Health care: Krause was in favor of the health care overhaul that passed earlier this year. However, he still feels there needs to be more reform in regard to health care in America. For one, he thinks there needs to be more competition in the health care market, which he said could be achieved through a public option. In addition, he wants to look at the cost of prescription drugs, as well as provide more preventative care to curb the obesity epidemic.
Jobs and economic development: Krause thinks international trade policies has weakened the economy and job sector in regards to moving manufacturing jobs out of the country. He also thinks they have negatively affected wages, as well as environmental and safety standards. He proposed another stimulus to be paid for by the savings from a pull out of the war in Afghanistan.
Immigration: Krause believes there needs to be reform in regard to immigration policy and outlines a number of points he believes need to be included. He does not support any measure that would encourage racial profiling in regard to informing immigration policy. He also believes in order to decrease the cost for immigrating legally, to encourage more legal immigration. He also said to “bracket our immigration quotas to a measure of employment in the United States.”
He also wants to put more burden on employers of illegal immigrants and those who come illegally or who help people come illegally involved with drug trafficking. He wants to encourage immigrant entrepreneurship, as well as ensure those already here illegally pay taxes.
Civil Rights: Krause supports “secular marriages of gay couples,” he opposes the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” and supports legislation protecting against harassment due to “sex, race, religion, age or sexual preference.”