Tom Guild is a retired Professor of Business from the University of Central Oklahoma.He is currently running for United States Congress in Oklahoma's 5th district against Congressman James Lankford. He is running for the Democratic nomination of this office.
You can view more information about him at his website here.
Below is an interview that I conducted with Tom via e-mail this past week.
First question, in a nutshell, why are you running for Congress?
The middle class is being squeezed. The right wing has tried to engage in right wing social engineering and kill Medicare in the Republican U.S. House in April 2011. Medicare has lowered the poverty rate for seniors since 1966 from 30% to 7.5% and has increased the percentage of seniors with health care from 49% to virtually 100%. Ending Medicare would devastate the middle class and impoverish millions of American seniors.
The right wing also wants to privatize Social Security. Prior to the passage of Social Security in 1935, middle class Americans had virtually no savings to rely on in their retirement years and lived by and large in difficult circumstances in their golden years. Today, when approximately 20% of Americans retire, their only income each month is their Social Security checks. Privatizing Social Security would destabilize and destroy the program. Social Security is financed independently through employer and employee contributions and is sound and 100% solvent through 2036. It earned 4.6% on its investments in 2010 and has $2.6 Trillion in assets. Privatization would allow Wall Street to get its hands on trillions of additional dollars in middle class assets, and as we have learned in the recent economic meltdown, we can?t always count on Wall Street to do the right thing with their investors? money.
Most of the Republicans in Congress oppose having the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of taxes. House Republicans oppose repeal of the George W. Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, singles with annual incomes over $200,000 and couples with annual incomes over $250,000. Repealing these tax cuts, and going back to the rates that were in effect during the Clinton Presidency, would cut the national budget deficit approximately $800 Billion over the next ten years.
Why should the voters choose you over your opponent, James Lankford?
I support preserving Medicare. We need to mend it not end it. Lankford voted for the Ryan Plan in April 2011 which passed the Republican House. The Ryan Plan ends Medicare for those who are 54 and under. They would no longer have basic health coverage when they reach age 65, would not have doctor and hospital stays covered, would not be entitled to stay in skilled nursing facilities, nor be entitled to home health care, and they would lose the right to go to the doctor/hospital of their choice who/that accept Medicare. It would cost the average 54-year old an additional $180,000 for health care coverage at age 65 and the average 44-year old an additional $287,000 at age 65 if the Ryan Plan becomes law. Medicare would be replaced with a voucher and affected Americans would be forced to go into the market and attempt to purchase health care insurance that they can afford. We would go back to the system which existed prior to 1966 with a huge poverty rate for seniors, and more than 50% of seniors lacking health care coverage. This would be devastating to the middle class.
Lankford has said on multiple occasions that he wants to privatize Social Security. Social Security has kept millions of American seniors out of poverty since 1935. Social Security can pay 100% of anticipated benefits through 2036 and after 2036 can pay 77% of anticipated benefits from non interest income. The Social Security Trust Funds earned 4.6% interest in 2010 and had a very low .9% administration cost in 2010. Privatizing Social Security would destabilize and destroy the program and devastate many Americans in the middle class. It is another case of right wing social engineering that must be stopped.
Lankford opposed repealing don?t ask, don?t tell in the military. I strongly favored repeal.
Lankford opposes requiring groups that run political ads form disclosing their donors. I strongly favor transparency and legally requiring such donors to be disclosed.
What do you think are the 3 most pressing problems facing the United States and how would you address those problems?
1) We need to protect Medicare and mend it not end it.
2) We need to preserve Social Security and not privatize the most popular and effective program in U.S. history.
3) We need to adequately fund public education which will lead to the creation of good paying jobs and careers. There is a conscious effort by some on the right to defund public education, which will ultimately destroy public education. Public education is the great equalizer. Public schools are a great democratic institution. It gives all children the opportunity to work hard and realistically expect to achieve the American dream. Destroying the public schools by design or by neglect would be the greatest mistake our country could make. We need a well educated people to have a strong democracy and to compete in the world marketplace for the best and highest paying careers for our citizens.
Public education is the gateway to a well educated workforce and attracting good paying jobs and careers. As we strengthen our education system, we strengthen our country and secure our place in the world economy. Support for public education will do more to create good careers for our citizens than any single thing we can do.
What is your stance on public broadcasting?
I fully support PBS and federal funding for PBS and favor state support for OETA. Public broadcasting tends to be less partisan and ideological, and is a rich source of information and entertainment.
What is your preferred source of news?
I read several newspapers and several blogs on a regular basis. I also enjoy books on American history, which give me perspective on current events and possible approaches and solutions to today?s problems.
What do you think is the best way to create more jobs in the United States?
Public education is the gateway to a well educated workforce and attracting good paying jobs and careers. As we strengthen our education system, we strengthen our country and secure our place in the world economy. Support for public education will do more to create good careers for our citizens than any single thing we can do.
We also need to rebuild our infrastructure?roads, bridges, highways, interstates, airports and schools. This is an investment in our future and will attract business from all over the world. This will afford businesses the opportunity to operate in a progressive environment, with well educated and motivated and well trained employees.
How do you feel about the voting and election laws in the United States, and more specifically the state of Oklahoma?
Our democracy is strengthened when the largest number of our citizens vote and participate in the political process. Recent efforts to make it more difficult to register and vote are moves in the wrong direction. The problem in our state and nation is that too few vote and participate in the electoral process, rather than the other way around.
What is your stance on term limits and salary caps for elected officials?
I favor term limits for all politicians, including members of Congress. As to members of Congress, I think no one should serve more than 12 years total in Congress. For example, if someone serves 6 years in the U.S. House, they should be limited to no more than an additional 6 years in the U.S. Senate or a total of 12 years in Congress.
Congressmen should take a pay cut and be paid no more than $100,000 a year. We need citizen legislators, not those who want to get rich on the public dole.
What sort of ideas do you support for tax reform?
The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy should be repealed. The cap for the amount of income subject to payroll taxes should be raised gradually. This would strengthen programs dependent on payroll taxes as their main or sole source of funding. It would also reduce the enormous burden now placed squarely on Americans in the middle class.
What are your thoughts on the Fair Tax?
I oppose the ?fair tax? in the versions I have read about because it shifts the tax burden from the wealthiest Americans to the middle class and working poor. In other words, the ?fair tax? is regrettably unfair!
In regards to the federal budget, where would you make cuts first and why?
We could reduce the budget deficit by approximately $800 Billion over ten years by simply repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. We can reduce spending by hundreds of billions of dollars by winding down our involvement in Afghanistan. Already the projections are that the budget deficit will be under $1 Trillion for the next fiscal year. We need to make targeted investments in infrastructure and public education to create a strong environment for job growth, which will lead to additional revenues and lower the deficit. Until we escape the current great recession, begun during the Bush Administration, we need to be careful that we don?t cut federal spending too precipitously, and make the economy and the deficit worse. We seem to be moving slowly in the right direction and slowly regaining our economic footing in the last few months. We need to be careful not to pursue strategies that reverse our recent gains.
Any final thoughts?
If you favor preserving Medicare, protecting Social Security, promoting transparency in campaign finance, promoting public education and pushing our state and country in the direction of becoming more diverse and welcoming to people from all backgrounds and walks of life, I?m your guy!
Source: http://otterlimits.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-tom-guild.html
No comments:
Post a Comment