I don't always agree with John Mccain but he has always gotten back to me.
My Congressman, Trent Franks? Ive hand written him a letter twice and emailed 3 times. Never receieved a response. I won't be voting for him again.
I was curious who was running against Jan Brewer this fall and remembered hearing about Buz Mills. So I checked out his website. http://www.buz4gov.com/home.php
I liked that he isnt a career politician and has been sucessful as a businessman, but his issues section was a little lacking. I was curious where he stood on education, states rights and sb1070. So I sent him an email. He responded to me in under 2 hours. Even if it was a staff member who wrote back, I am still impressed with the speed and how they responded.
My question
From: Chris Brewer
Email: offroadaz@yahoo.com
Hi, I would like to know what your thoughts are on states rights, including SB1070 and other federal taxes imposed on states business.
Also, what do you propose we do about our current education system? Most school districts are in the red and class sizes are exploding.
Thanks
and his response
Dear Mr. Brewer,
I’m a strong defender of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which in basic terms says that the powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the States. Unfortunately, over time, states have allowed many of the powers reserved to them to be usurped by the federal government. There is perhaps no more blatant example than the recently-passed health care reform bill (also known as Obamacare).
States have fallen into this trap in part through the allure of federal dollars that get doled out to states (along with their many strings attached). Just this year, for example, the Democrats in Congress (and all five House members in Arizona) are demanding that Arizona policymakers increase state spending on Arizona’s health care program for the poor in order to qualify for federal dollars in 2014.
The federal government has no business in telling Arizona lawmakers how to balance the state’s budget, but this is the effect of an overactive and overzealous federal government.
There are examples where we’ve successfully defended our ability to self-govern. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Arizona’s English Immersion program—passed by voters in 2000—was constitutional after a lawsuit charging that it violated federal law.
As governor, I won’t be afraid to challenge the federal government on 10th Amendment grounds. I support the Health Care Freedom Act–on the ballot this November—that protects the rights of individuals to be free from mandated, government-run health care. It also protects the citizens of Arizona to purchase medical services outside a government-run health care system. I also strongly support the Save our Secret Ballot Act, which is also on the ballot this November. This Act protects the rights to a secret ballot in union elections.
I support SB 1070. ​I do not, however, support efforts by local governments including Phoenix and Tucson to file lawsuits over SB1070. Their actions, along with their heated rhetoric, continue to encourage out of state activists and liberal groups to protest and boycott Arizona. This doesn't help anyone.
The only way to measure an effective education system is to measure student achievement. For too long, however, the debate about education in Arizona has centered on money, and not whether students are improving over time. This is unfortunate.
First, let’s examine resources. Notwithstanding the rhetoric from many in the education establishment, Arizona spends billions on education – about $5 billion per year, or half of the state budget. All revenue sources (federal, state, and local) add up to about $10,000 per child, per class. In a classroom of 25 students, that’s an available sum of $250,000 per classroom. Only two other states have spent more money on K-12 over the last 20 years than Arizona. None of this seems to matter, however, because student achievement in Arizona has remained flat over that same 20-year period, and the hue and cry from teacher’s union is that we just don’t spend enough money.
The problem is that we spend far too much money outside of the classroom. Arizona’s percentage of dollars spent in the classroom is 56.9%, which is the lowest statewide number in 9 years, since we started keeping track of that figure. So, start with the $250,000 figure above. At our current spending levels, we’re already down to $142,000 in the classroom. Where does the money go? Bureaucrats.
Today, we have 55,000 teachers statewide. We now also have 55,000 non-teachers, the highest level of non-teachers drawing salaries and pensions in state history. There is absolutely no reason to have one non-teacher on the payroll for every teacher in the classroom. This diverts valuable resources from the mission of our schools: high student achievement.
Charter schools, which receive less state funding, and private schools, which receive none, spend a far greater percentage in the classroom than do district schools. Their test scores are routinely better. This isn’t because we don’t have quality teachers in the district schools, it’s because we don’t spend the resources wisely.
These are just some of the ideas I have about tackling our education problem, improving student performance, and getting the most out of our tax dollars.
Thanks again for writing me. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Buz