Bob Reader on the Issues
While my political platform is more fully described below, I am basically a small government, low tax, limited regulation, pro-life, traditional marriage candidate committed to faithful adherence to the U.S. and Kansas constitutions.
My role as Senator will be to passionately advocate for good and just laws, the foundation of any sound government. Good and just laws include social issues like faith, life and family, but they also require good stewardship of tax revenues. Government officials have been entrusted to act in a good and just manner when taxing their citizens and to only raise such tax revenues as are necessary and adequate to operate appropriate government programs.
Our forefathers in America and specifically in Kansas fought and sacrificed so that we could have life, liberty and property. But the inalienable rights with which we were endowed by our Creator have slowly eroded away. We have lost our direction and need new leadership to retake the ground that has been lost over the past few decades.
I invite you to consider me, my values and my passions. If you like what you see, then come join the many who are supporting this campaign and mark your calendars to vote for Bob Reader for Kansas Senate in this Fall's election.
Click each heading below for more information
Taxes, Spending, Debt, KPERS
Taxes
Kansas sales, income and property taxes are all mostly higher than our neighboring states. While there is much debate on which tax is the most fair to a society, my own preference is to focus on how much our citizens are taxed as a whole. For example, a decrease in a particular kind of tax, whether income, sales or property, is not as important to me as whether all taxes are decreased over time and that our total taxes are mostly lower than our neighbors.
Spending
You might be shocked to learn that our former Governor and Senate Leadership, with an annual state budget of about $5.9 billion, drove our General Fund balance to the abyss at $867.05 in 2010, less than a vapor of cash to fund all government operations! We must begin to control our State spending. One way to do this is to implement zero-based budgeting for all government programs rather than using last year's budget as the basis for continued funding.
Debt
Out-of-control spending for the past 20 years has led us to incur debts or IOUs of more than $10 billion, almost twice our annual tax receipts. There is a better way. It is called spending less than we bring in and paying off our debt - two priorities currently lacking in the Kansas Senate.
KPERS
KPERS is facing an escalating funding crisis. The mandated retirement plan for state employees, including school teachers, police and fire, is underfunded by as much as $9.3 Billion! Years of neglect by elected officials for those who have faithfully served our communities must end. We need to look for solutions, not just speeches or gimmicks. We must fulfill our promises.
K12 Education, Higher Education, Creating Jobs, High Paying Jobs
K-12 Education
Having dedicated much of my life to education, I will be a passionate advocate for education. My wife and I currently homeschool our children, because we believe it is the right choice for our family. I will advocate for school choice, but am equally committed to the time-proven principle that a civilized society must provide an excellent public education to all of its children in order to prosper. Local school boards, administrators, teachers and parents must be empowered to create an innovative and academically competitive-spirit that fits with their local culture and desires. This can only be done when the State and the Feds stop trying to control everything and start providing fewer unfunded mandates and more no-strings-attached funding.
Higher Education - Go Cats!
My education includes three post-secondary degrees in chemistry, law and business. I have taught numerous undergrad and graduate level classes, like professional speaking, business strategy and patent law. My professional career has allowed me to build strong relationships with many faculty, staff and administrators at K-State. As their representative in the Senate, I will work hard with them toward making K-State a Top 50 public university by 2025.
Creating Jobs
The best way to create jobs is to shrink the size of government, decrease taxes and eliminate burdensome regulations. Small businesses and entrepreneurship will always be the critical element to job creation and should be encouraged.
High-Paying Jobs
My career has been focused on taking new technologies to the marketplace. Local technology companies can provide competitive salaries for K-State grads and alumni, who would love to stay in or return to our community. Lower taxes, fewer regulations, excellent schools and a strong K-State will attract private capital to invest in local businesses. To be clear, I do not support direct government investment in the marketplace. Investment only works when the decision-maker is at risk. Government employees trying to pick winners and losers by investing tax dollars is a broken model.
Freedom, Balance of Powers, Healthcare, 2nd Amendment, Illegal Immigrants, Tort Reform
Freedom
I believe in and advocate for equal rights, justice and opportunity for all. I believe that free enterprise and individual initiative is what gives rise to great prosperity in a free society.
Balance of Powers
Similarly, I believe the Courts should stay out of the business of creating law. There is no doubt that our Courts in Kansas believe they are above simply interpreting law, but are rather some sort of "super-legislative body." In this capacity they have thwarted justice and caused in large part the fiscal instability of our State budget.
Healthcare
The answer is not and will never be socialized medicine. We must reject Obamacare. The answer to healthcare is to empower individuals to make more prudent healthcare decisions and move the government and insurance companies out of the way. Use of health savings accounts and higher deductible insurance plans would substantially lower the entire cost of health care across all society.
2nd Amendment
A society is more free when citizens are allowed to protect themselves and their families from threats both foreign and domestic through gun ownership. While violence with guns must be fought, let's remember that guns don't kill, the people behind guns do. It is people with illegal possession of guns that are the cause of such violence. Stacking up regulation after regulation on honest citizens does not solve the problem of criminals with guns.
Illegal Immigrants
The key word is of course "illegal." I cannot endorse "amnesty," but I also cannot endorse deporting the masses immediately and at any and all expense. But as people are identified who are here illegally, rather than rewarding them with in-state tuition, driver's licenses and the like, they should be assisted in returning to their home country.
Tort Reform
While runaway jury awards and plaintiffs who have suffered little to nothing are the bane of our justice system, it is still a system that I believe in. I believe that the courts are the best to adjudicate damages on a case-by-case basis and are the ones in a position to know best when large corporations are taking advantage of unsuspecting end-users or bullying their smaller competitors.
Freedom of Religion, Legislating Morality, Energy & Environment, Culture of Life, Family Values, Safer Communities, Human Trafficking
Freedom of Religion
I believe that all men are free to worship as they choose, if and when and however they choose. I will not push laws that force a particular religion on society. But I will fight for the freedoms of any and all citizens to believe what they will and to act in accordance with their established beliefs.
Legislating Morality
It is wrong for government to attempt to "legislate morality" and any such attempt to do so would strip citizens of the God-ordained freedom to choose for themselves what to believe and how to live. But government should promote that which is good and just.
Energy and the Environment
As a former environmental professional who received Masters Level certification as well as training at MIT, IIT and U of Illinois in the subject matter, I am committed to "sustainable development." Regardless of where one stands on the "science" of global warming, all of society has a duty to be good stewards of the environment around us. It is not sustainable to continue to rely on energy that is produced from non-renewable resources, particularly those from foreign sources. Kansas researchers, entrepreneurs and corporations can and should lead the nation in developing domestic and renewable sources of energy.
Culture of Life
Life begins at conception and is sacred. We should value all life - elderly, sick, young and unborn. But pro-life advocates need to extend their concern beyond the life of the baby and also actively support the well-being of the mother both during and after pregnancy through models like crisis pregnancy centers.
Family Values
As described in our State Constitution, marriage is between one man and one woman. Children thrive best when in a home with one mom and one dad, married for life. At the same time, single parents must be encouraged in the courageous work they pursue in providing a stable home for their children. Foster and adoptive families are also a critical function of stable families in society and should be so recognized.
Safer Communities
Pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation destroy families, values and society as a whole and must not be encouraged. Further, parents must be allowed to raise their children consistent with their religious and moral values and be free to train and discipline their children in love and direct their education and health care without government intrusion.
Human Trafficking
There are more slaves today than ever in the history of the world. Most of them are women and children. 80% are "enslaved" for commercial sexual exploitation. Americans exacerbate the problem globally by engaging in "sex tourism" overseas. This is also a domestic issue with 100,000-200,000 "slaves" in the U.S. Counter to common belief, 83% of U.S. slaves were born in the U.S. Both Kansas City and Wichita are major hubs for sex trafficking. I will work tirelessly in the Kansas Senate to stop this violation of our women and children.
