#1 Priority: Jobs and Economic Recovery

As a businessman and investment adviser, I know that the small-businesses of Illinois are the engines of job growth, economic recovery and prosperity.  I will always stand with our local companies to fight for common sense tax reform policies that make it easier for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and fulfill the basic American dream of entrepreneurship.

For my strong pro-jobs record and policies, I’ve been recognized or awarded by:

• National Federation of Independent Business: Guardian of Small Business Award
• Illinois Tooling & Manufacturing Association: 90% Voting Record
• Illinois National Federation of Independent Business: 100% Voting Record
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce: 100% Voting Record
• Illinois Prosperity Project: 96% Voting Record
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce: Champion of Free Enterprise Award 2003
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce: Champion of Free Enterprise Award 2005
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce: Champion of Free Enterprise Award 2007
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce: Champion of Free Enterprise Award 2008

My top priorities for Congress – policies that will immediately free up private capital to create jobs – are:

• Reduce the tax burden on families, businesses and individuals
• Shrink the role of the federal government and reduce wasteful expenditure
• Lower the cost of energy
• Repeal the Estate Tax
• Extension of the $125,000 and $250,000 expensing limit for small businesses
• Empower small-businesses with better pooling mechanisms for health-insurance to empower them with the same buying power as larger entities

Ending Wasteful Government Spending

As Americans we’ve always prided ourselves on our independence, freedom and entrepreneurial spirit. What little we do ask for is limited to two simple things: 1) competent, honest government and 2) limited, responsible spending.

The American people are fed-up with their leadership in Washington, and rightly so. In recent history, both parties in Congress have failed to satisfy these two, basic principles.

The problem is, Washington has never made it a priority to live within its means and that’s the first thing I intend to change.

Today, the difference between what the government is earning and what the government is spending has never been greater in history. Greece’s current debt-crisis was brought on by a debt-to-GDP ratio of 115%, by comparison our 20 year budget projections put our debt-to-GDP ratio at 140%. In fact, by the end of this decade, our annual interest payments alone are projected to exceed $700 billion per year. This means:

1. Our interest payments at the end of this decade will be larger than any of our entire federal budgets before 1978.
2. The increase in cost of interest payments between today and the end of the decade – a $500 billion increase – is more than the combined cost of the budgets for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That’s why we must immediately:

• Stop the out of control spending. This is America; government spending should not exceed a quarter of our entire economy.
• Force the government to – like any family or business – actually find ways to save pennies on the dollar. I know we can, we just haven’t had leaders willing to make it a priority.

No problem is so great that we as Americans can’t overcome it with our hard work and ingenuity. But we need leaders in Washington willing to make the tough decisions and prioritize this looming problem, instead of continuing to spend taxpayer money with utter disregard for common-sense.

Health Reform:

Real reform must include the following if we are to improve our system for all Americans:

1. Price transparency: It’s impossible for people to ’shop around’ right now for health services, as we do for other necessities like groceries. This needs to change so people can make smart decisions with all the information at their fingertips.
2. End Abusive Law Suits: It’s important for people who have serious claims of medical malpractice or error to find justice in the courts, but the trial-lawyer lobby with legislators in their pocket have ensured that the medical system has turned into a virtual lottery. Not only are frivolous lawsuits clogging the courts, but the rising costs for physicians of medical malpractice insurance, coupled with the need to order countless unnecessary tests in the practice of defensive medicine, has been a major contributor to the out-of-control rise in the cost of health care.
3. Encourage real competition in the health insurance market: In health insurance a combination of regulation and local monopoly control has restricted the choices for families, businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance from only a few providers. Increasing national competition is a principal method we can use to drive down the cost of health insurance.

Taxes: Simpler, Faster, Lower

Paying income tax used to require a simple, one page form. Today our tax code is longer than War and Peace. It’s estimated that we spend over $200 billion annually complying with income tax requirements.

Tax reform is long overdue, and I would support a proposal that incorporates three basic principles:

Simpler Rules

Faster Filing

Lower Rates

Simpler rules and faster filing will save billions of dollars in compliance and planning costs, in addition to improving the rate of economic growth and overall size of the economy. This means we can have higher overall revenue to pay down the debt, using lower rates and a broader base.

What this means for you: Businesses spend less time and money on compliance and planning, markets have fewer distortions, and you get to spend more time with your family and less time worrying about pages and pages of tax rules that no one fully understands.

Affordable Energy & A Clean Environment

All Americans agree that a clean and unpolluted environment is an important treasure to pass on to future generations, but we also agree that affordable and reliable energy is a vital component of job creation and economic prosperity. While my opponent and other big government supporters think the best solution to address pollution is to limit Americans’ use of energy through increased regulation and less competition, I think there’s a better way.

By improving the investment climate for new technologies and production of cleaner energy, we can innovate our way to a cleaner future. Irresponsible policies like Cap and Trade will only serve to drive economic productivity overseas to countries like China, which will not only harm America’s competitive edge, it will also actually result in more global pollution because of the complete lack of environmental responsibility in these countries.

There is no problem that cannot be solved by American ingenuity. The best solution to our long term problems is an immediate change to our treatment of productive capital to one that rewards investment, hard work, and productivity, instead of discouraging them.