Solutions for America

require leadership, economic liberty and teamwork.

Curt Clawsonby Congressman Curt Clawson

America is a nation where solutions rest not in big government, but in personal liberties, free enterprise, and the opportunity for all to pursue their own American Dream; regardless of race, creed, or conditions of birth.

We should not burden the American economy with higher taxes or more unnecessary regulations on the private sector. These approaches are just plain wrong. Just as unsustainable entitlement programs, more debt, and more unfunded mandates are wrong.

As a culture, we have to get past the idea that Washington can solve all of our problems. We can only restore our nation to greatness by empowering the private sector and individual achievement.

Government programs should not be based on wealth redistribution, but on economic liberty and wealth creation that benefits everyone.

capital hillProtecting our freedoms in Washington also demands protecting all that makes life in Southwest Florida so special. We must preserve our water resources and precious eco-system, including the Everglades and the Caloosahatchee River.

These things are made difficult whenever our elected officials get bogged down in partisan bickering. As some focus on trying to score political points, they lose sight of what they are charged to do as representatives of “We the People.”

Of course we all don’t always see things the same way. But we can and must respect and listen to each other. And when we disagree, we’ve got to do this without insulting each other.

The divisiveness in Washington rests largely in the fact that too many government decisions are influenced by lobbyists and special interest groups, as they line their pockets at the expense of hard-working Americans – drowning out the voices of average citizens and enabling crony capitalism.

We need to get the lobbyists out and restore the voice of “We the People.” Then we need to unite behind the founding principles of our
great nation.

Today our economy continues sluggish growth, with millions of Americans still out of work. America’s labor-force participation rate is at its lowest level since the late 1970s. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 17.8 million people are unemployed or underemployed in the United States today.

The growth gap between President Obama’s economic policies and those of Ronald Reagan is now $2.4 trillion in lost GDP and 14.4 million in lost jobs. More than 500,000 jobs a month would be created if the economy were growing as it did under Reagan. Instead, we have a growth rate that creates approximately half of that number.

As described in my Economic Plan, we should target growing the economy by 5 percent annually. This would help businesses create millions of good-paying American jobs, while freeing millions from government dependency. I’ll be working with likeminded members in the 114th Congress to incorporate ideas from my plan – and to enable American companies to compete fairly in the global marketplace.

We should begin by cutting in half America’s small business and corporate tax rates, currently the highest in the developed world, to 17.5 percent – and taking out the loopholes!

To enable economic growth, the government must live within its means, just like we do in our business and personal lives. We must make the tough choices now, and stop kicking the can down the road. We’ve got to reform existing entitlements, secure them for future generations, and stop massive new entitlement programs. As one way to cut spending, I’ll promote the adoption of a viable version of Connie Mack’s Penny Plan.

America cannot get ahead by heaping higher taxes on achievement, or by the government printing or borrowing money and piling debt onto future generations.

Long-term sustainable solutions require an empowered private sector led by small businesses and American innovation. That must include energy independence, which is why I recently supported the completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

We also need to lift the economic shackles of ObamaCare. It makes us uncompetitive. And it doesn’t let us keep our plans, as we were promised.

We can do better. Congress must move quickly to repeal and replace it; and in February I voted to do this. A new healthcare system in America must be a fair, patient-focused, market-based system. And we must take care of those who truly cannot fend for themselves.

Success for our nation also means embracing diversity, including legal immigrants and the millions waiting in line legally to begin their
own American Dream.

Congress must strengthen our legal immigration policies, which have long been and remain a key to America’s greatness!

In the spirit of respecting and enforcing the immigration laws already on our books, I’ll also be supporting legislation which will assure fairness to the millions of Americans currently struggling to find good jobs. To be fair to them we need to end all executive decrees which provide amnesty and jobs to those here illegally. We must never put illegal migrants ahead of Americans – or ahead of those waiting in line, playing by the rules.

Securing our borders must be the top priority in any discussion on immigration reform.

Finally, we need to deal with U.S. foreign policies that have been disastrous. As a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I’m seeing this first hand.

The U.S. has lost respect in the world, and we are failing in our destiny to lead the world toward democracy, liberty, and freedom from oppression.

In the global struggle against Islamic extremists, political correctness has us denying the reality and dire nature of the threat. We should not commit our forces to battle unless there is a cohesive, long-term strategy. Our allies, most certainly the Muslim nations, must step up and bear their appropriate shares of the financial and military burdens in this generational struggle. We must put an end to America’s disproportionate sacrifice of blood and treasure.

Meanwhile we must stop getting into bad wars, and stop arming unreliable rebel forces – because these weapons might one day be used against us or against our ally Israel.

I was disappointed in America’s absence in Paris in January – when leaders from all over the world united to march against radical Islam. This was a missed opportunity to demonstrate our leadership in this global mission to protect freedom and liberty.

Since our beginnings, America has lit the torch of freedom for the entire world. With God and Liberty as our partners, we will succeed in
this mission in the years ahead.

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