State of California secondary Archives: on Government Reform

John Melendez: Electoral College broken, voters unheard

Jimmy Gomez: Replace Citizen's United with public financing

John Chiang: Dock pay of legislators unless they balance budget

On June 22, Chiang announced that he was following through with his promise. Legislators did pass a budget, but according to Chiang, the budget they passed had a $1.85 billion deficit, and was therefore not a legal budget under the state's requirement that its budget must be balanced. Therefore, Chiang said, there was functionally no budget and by the terms of Proposition 25, he was required to stop paying the state's legislators. The impact to individual members of the California State Legislature was about $400/day

John Chiang: Caught state paying $11 million salaries to dead employees

Ron Paul: I believe in market regulation, but not federal regulation

A: In theory, if you understood the free market in a free society, you don't need government to do that. We live in a society where we have been adapted to this, and you can't just drop it all at once, but you can transition away from it. On regulations, no, I don't believe in any of these federal regulations, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in regulations. The regulation of the marketplace takes care of it. So the marke would dictate it. You can't commit fraud. If you need detailed regulations, you can do it at the state level. But the federal government is not authorized to nitpick every little transaction. The way they use the interstate commerce clause is outrageous.

Ron Paul: Everything government does is a mandate

PAUL: Absolutely. And it would help the poor, the people who need a job. The minimum wage is a mandate. We're against mandates, so why should we have it? No, it would be very beneficial. But mandates, that's what the whole society is about. That's what we do all the time. That's what government does: mandate, mandate, mandate. And we talk so much about the ObamaCare mandate, which is very important, but what about Medicare? Isn't that a mandate? Everything we do is a mandate. So this is why you have to look at this at the cause of liberty. We don't need the government running our lives.

Ron Paul: Don't use Executive Orders for controversial laws

PAUL: Forcing 12-year-old girls to take an inoculation to prevent STDs is not good medicine. It's not good social policy. But one of the worst parts about that was the way it was done. You know, the governorship in Texas traditionally is supposed to be a weak governorship. I didn't even know they could pass laws by writing an executive order. He did it with an executive order, passed it. The state was furious, and the legislature, overwhelmingly, 90%, repealed this. But I think it's the way it was passed, which was so bad. I think it's a bad piece of legislation. But I don't like the idea of executive orders. I, as president, will not use the executive order to write laws.

Ron Paul: FEMA just conditioned people to build where they shouldn't

PAUL: Well, what happened before 1979? We didn't have FEMA. FEMA just conditioned people to build where they shouldn't be building. We lose the market effect of that. But, yeah, my position is, we should have never had it. There's a much better way of doing it. I mean, this whole idea that the federal government can deal with weather and anything in the world, just got to throw a government there? FEMA's broke. They're $20 billion in debt. But I'm not for saying tomorrow close it down. A lot of people pay the insurance. I work real hard to make it work, and I did that in my district, too. But I'll tell you how we should do it. We're spending $20 billion a year for air conditioning in Afghanistan and Iraq. Cut that $20 billion out, bring in--take $10 off the debt, and put $10 into FEMA or whoever else needs it.

Carly Fiorina: American dream is perishable, if government keeps growing

Bill Simon: Voters are turned off by negative campaigns

A: Voters are turned off by negative campaigns. I have tried to run my campaign by focusing on the issues that matter to Californians: the economy, education, and our quality of life. I tried to encourage open and honest debates with Gray Davis - but he refused to attend. In the general election alone, I appeared on over 200 radio shows. I hope these efforts helped to inspire voters to get involved.

Bill Simon: Davis’ pursuit of contributions are an obsession

A: A positive that can be found in campaign contributions is that they provide the funding to help raise voter awareness. The negative effect of campaign contributions: Gray Davis. The governor has turned his pursuit of campaign cash into an obsession and has left Californians wondering whether his policies are based on what is good for our state or what is good for Gray Davis’ campaign wallet.

Gray Davis: Campaign contributions let regular people run for office

A: The positive influence is that contributions allow people of limited means-people who aren’t multi-millionaires or celebrities-to run for office. I am not independently wealthy, so I have to raise funds in order to get my message across. The money we raise does not finance my lifestyle. My opponent in this race [Bill Simon] has loaned himself nearly $11 million. When he pays himself back, that money will go straight into his pocket. That’s not to say that people who are wealthy shouldn’t run for office. But, I think the people benefit by having representatives from different walks of life and different socio- economic backgrounds. The negative influence is that fundraising creates perception problems. But, as long as you are open about the contributions you receive & put them out there for everyone to see, people will be able to make judgments for themselves.

Gray Davis: Your vote is your voice-legislate open process

A: I am a very strong believer in the tenet that your vote is your voice. I signed the Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002, which was approved by the voters, to upgrade voting systems. I also signed a bill that allows citizens to register to vote up to 15 days before an election, instead of 29 days. Another one I signed allows unaffiliated voters to participate in the primary process

Peter Camejo: Encourage volunteerism and political activism

A: I’ve addressed volunteerism with the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. I’ve always encouraged people to vote, and not just for the Green Party, but to vote and become politically active. People come up to me after hearing me speak and tell me that I’ve inspired them to want to get involved in activism.

Peter Camejo: Green’s contributions for message; Dem-Rep’s for investments