Joe Dehn

Education

Get the federal government out of the business of financing and subsidizing schools at all levels. "Free" money is never free – it just encourages state and local educational bureaucracies to spend money less efficiently than if they were responsible for raising it. And, more important for the long term, subsidizing failure makes it harder for alternative providers who could produce better results to develop and grow. Learn more

Abolish the Department of Education. This bureaucracy educates nobody, and just makes it more difficult for meaningful changes to be accomplished at the state or local level. Learn more

Get the federal government out of the business of providing or guaranteeing student loans. Through these programs the federal government has, very much in the manner of a drug pusher, gotten both college students and colleges hooked on borrowing that leads to poor choices. Learn more

Foreign Policy

It is not the job of the U.S. military to serve as "world policeman". People in other parts of the world have the responsibilty for maintaining and paying for the defensive capabilities that are appropriate to their own circumstances. The president should not be permitted to send troops, ships, bombers, missiles, drones, or other forces, or otherwise engage in acts of war on behalf of other countries, unless specifically authorized by an act of Congress or a formal treaty for mutual defense ratified by the Senate. Learn more

Healthcare

Introduce real competition in the pharmaceutical industry too, by repealing laws that limit the ability of patients to purchase drugs across state lines and from other countries. Learn more

Increase supply of services by cutting back limits imposed or enabled by government policy. More doctors, more nurses, allowing medical services to be offered by new classes of providers enabled by new technology, eliminating "certificates of need" that limit competition among hospitals -- these and other steps will create a competitive environment that will drive down costs. Learn more

De-couple health insurance from employment by eliminating the special tax treatment of health insurance, while at the same time increasing the standard deduction by a similar amount. This will enable consumer choice, make the market for insurance more competitive, and eliminate the need to switch providers when switching jobs. Employers will be happier too, not having to worry about any of this! Learn more

Immigration

Privatize "refugee" and "asylum" immigration. Americans are generous people, and many want to help save people suffering from war and other troubles in other countries. But there are hundreds of millions of people all around the world who might be deserving of such help, and it's not the business of the U.S. government to decide which of them should be saved and which not. It's also not right to force taxpayers to pay for bringing such people here and supporting them once they get here. Instead, let's allow private charities, other organizations, and individual Americans to make those choices and to support those choices voluntarily with their own funds. Learn more

Eliminate all caps on "H-1B" and similar visas. People with the education and skills to be attractive to employers are exactly the sort of people we should be happy to have come here and stay here – it's crazy to keep them out. Learn more

Allow anyone who has been living in the U.S. for at least five years, and who hasn't committed a serious crime against some actual victim, to become a citizen. The current system that forces millions of people who are just trying to live peaceful lives to stay in hiding for decades and without the prospect of becoming full members of our political and economic community is an outrage to the very idea of a democratic society. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

I will support any proposal to reduce income tax rates across the board, or to "flatten" them by reducing the higher rates, as long as it doesn't increase taxes for any other group. Learn more

I will not vote for any tax increases, tax rate increases, or "surcharges". Taxes are already too high. That's true for personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, "payroll" taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs. Learn more

I will not vote for any new taxes – including any National Sales Tax or Value Added Tax (VAT). Learn more