The issues

The difference between myself and my republican opponents is clear:  Whereas, I believe that government, when run properly, can provide for the improvement of people's lives, my opponents believe that all public functions of government should be run by corporations - for the profit of corporations - including, our schools, roads, hospitals, retirement, civil defense (police and fire departments, FEMA), environmental resources and, even, our military.  This was the essence of the "Reagan revolution."  Unfortunately, we can see the logical outcome of that philosophy in President Bush and the last 6 years of Republican dominance in Washington, DC:  corruption, incompetence and ineptitude that boggles the mind.  In New Jersey, the conservative policies implemented over the past 10 years are now having their effects, in the form of higher property taxes and decreased economic power.  My approach to legislative participation would be to protect our citizens while providing for economic stimulation of emerging technologies and industries.

Improve access to health care and medicines for all citizens

The Problem:  All New Jerseyans deserve access to high-quality, affordable health care.  However, approximately 1.3 million residents (including 230,000 children) don't have health insurance and insurance and prescription drug prices have continued to rise faster than inflation.  Illness remains the number one reason people end up financially bankrupt.

Causes:  The number of uninsured has been increasing, both in real numbers and as a percentage of the population, in large part, due to misplaced priorities by President Bush and the Republican controlled congress, who are actively seeking to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid at the federal level, while preventing states from negotiating lower drug prices for their senior population.  This is compounded by various other factors, such as, an aging population and the denial of coverage by some employers (i.e., Wal-Mart) that, then, forces their workforce into the ranks of the uninsured.  Interestingly, litigation and law suits have little impact on health insurance prices:  over the past several years, the number of lawsuits filed has declined and the amount of money paid out has remained unchanged.

Solutions:  Encourage small businesses to pool together in order to negotiate lower prices.  Strengthen anti-fraud legislation.  Investigate and scrutinize health insurance rates and, if need be, regulate how rates are set.  Allow the state to negotiate prices for medicine.  Lastly, it's not a question of if we will have universal health care, it's a question of when.  Many large corporations are lobbying for universal health care as a way to lower operating costs.  New Jersey needs to begin to explore this subject and come up with a feasible, realistic plan.  Waiting until later, will only guarantee that the system will be wasteful and rife with inefficiencies.

Bring New Jersey fiscal discipline with balanced budgets

The Problem:  Government waste remains a problem.  New Jersey citizens do not understand where their tax dollars go, nor do they believe their money is being spent wisely.  They deserve a government that is efficient, effective and accountable.  

Causes:  In any bureaucracy, there will be waste and inefficiencies and these should be reduced as much as possible.  Of the $33.5 billion New Jersey state budget this year, approximately 74% will go to state aid and grants, 7% to service our debt, 11% to executive branch operations and the remainder (8%) to operate the rest of government.  Excluding property tax relief, the budget increased by 1.6%, compared to the previous year, well below inflation.  A great deal of our budgetary problems are left over from the previous republican era (1992-2002) in the form of debt.  Unfortunately for our municipalities, this period of fiscal irresponsibility also was a major cause of rising property taxes, as the state slashed revenue and deferred pension obligations until later.  Like with credit cards, the bills eventually come due, and we are now experiencing the fiscal hangover that comes with this "borrow and spend" philosophy.

Solutions:  Last year, the Democrats put into place several measures to increase government accountability.  They re-instituted the Office of Public Advocate to better safeguard seniors and consumers, created a Medicaid Inspector General and a new State Comptroller with unprecedented authority to closely monitor large-scale procurements, fight conflicts of interest and root out wasteful spending.  They cracked down on "Christmas Tree" grants, that had reached 0.9% of all spending under republican control, and brought it down to just 0.3% of state spending.  They instituted pension reform, cut the government payroll and increased transparency.  And they did all of this while neither instituting new taxes nor raising existing taxes.  In the future, we will need to address our neglected infrastructure.  We will instituted additional changes to make the budget process even more transparent and involve the public to greater levels.  For instance, through NJBudgetCuts.com, we received thousands of responses on ways to cut unnecessary spending.  There is also a proposal to institute "zero-based budgeting" - which forces each agency to justify every dollar of it's budget, every year.  Looking ahead, we need to resist the temptation of the usual one-shot gimmicks offered by the republicans.  Instead, the Legislature needs to continue to incorporate public input on ways to reduce government spending.

Fulfill the high-payoff potential of technology and biotechnology

The problem:  New Jersey has a long and rich history of being at the forefront of the modern world.  Our technology industries lit up the world, cured major diseases and improved the lives of everyone.  No one on this planet has not been touched directly by the inventions that originated in New Jersey.

Causes:  However, our technology and pharmaceutical industries have been hit hard.  Twenty years ago, about 20% of all pharmaceutical jobs in the country were here in New Jersey - now, it's about 13%.  As a cancer researcher, I have seen our high technology jobs disappearing from the state.  We need to reverse this trend, because these are good, high-paying and clean jobs.  

Solutions:  We need to invest more in technology "incubators."  Incubators are facilities that nourish and encourage the growth of fledgling companies by providing them shared resources that no start-up company could afford on it's own.  In return, they should commit to being in New Jersey for some period of time once they are established.

Enforce stronger legislation to prevent and stop corruption

The problem:  Corruption is, and has always been, a problem in government.  Corruption leads to higher taxes, a lower quality of life and reduced confidence by the citizens that the government (that the people elected) is working for them.

Causes:  Corruption is not a partisan issue and anyone who says otherwise is a pathological liar.  (Although, let's face it, the republicans are quite adept at it and make Democrats look like amateurs.)  One of the major contributors to the problem is the fact that politicians must raise money to run for office.  As a result, they tend to "favor" the needs of those that can contribute the most to their campaigns.  Another contributing factor, especially in New Jersey where the legislators are part-time employees, is that salaries are not sufficient to support a family.

Solutions:  Although the republicans have tried to politicize corruption, in the prior 10 year period they controlled the legislature, almost nothing was done to stem the problem.  In contrast and in just a few short years, the Democrats have initiated a 25-point plan that included the toughest pay-to-play law in the country, the nation's first legislatively enacted "Clean Election" pilot program (publicly-financed legislative campaigns), a broadened nepotism ban, a prohibition on "revolving door" lobbying practices and tougher personal disclosure requirements.  These reforms have made New Jersey a leader in clean, open government.  We can do more:  remove the inherent conflict of interest in the ethics review process by eliminate all legislators from the ethics committee, expand anti-pay-to-play laws to the local level, expand the clean elections program and enhance transparency in government all all levels.

Demand "open" government at all levels -- State, County and Municipal

As part of efforts to clean up government, we need open and accessible government at all levels.  I support A-4251, which would require that all government records available under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) to be posted immediately on the internet.  This should apply to state, county and municipal governments.