Throughout our State we see that we all have more in common than the Republicans would have us think. Our communities continue to deal with a drug epidemic that we are struggling to get under control. Our wages have stagnated and in some areas we have seen wages go down while prices continue to rise. Funding for our schools continue to be cut. We struggle to pay for health care and the vast majority of us are one emergency away from financial disaster.
These are not Republican or Democrat problems. These are Minnesota’s problems. But, instead of focusing on addressing these issues Republicans continue to support policies that only benefit the most privileged. For the rest of us the Republican agenda appears to be to set us against each other with false narratives. I am tired and fed up of watching this continue.
We need leadership that will support all Minnesotans. We need at least a $15 minimum wage so Minnesotans can support their families. We need a single payer health care system to reduce health care costs and provide affordable health care to all. We need increased funding for chemical and mental health treatment. We need increased funding to support our schools and teachers. We need to protect reproductive rights and support reproductive health care. We must support our workers’ right to unionize and to collectively bargain.
I support these policies because I believe, as Paul Wellstone said, we all do better when we all do better. There is no “red” Minnesota or “blue” Minnesota, there is only Minnesota. We are the best State in the Nation with a proud history of good government. Our campaign is about what type of future we want for our State. With your help we can move Minnesota forward.
You can us reach via phone at 218-681-7481 or e-mail us at stephen.moellerfor1a@gmail.com for more information.
MY ISSUES
Education
For too long our Legislature has cut funding from our schools forcing rural districts to do more with less while important programs are cut. A study by the North Star Policy Institute shows that schools across the State and specifically in our district, receive less State aid per pupil than they did 15 years ago while our property taxes have increased to manage this shortfall. Our schools and our children have suffered as a result.
We need to increase funding for our schools. We need to affirm our commitment to our teachers by making sure they are paid what they are worth. Funding must be provided to reduce class size and provide our schools with the resources that provide our children the opportunities to succeed. We need to further prepare our children for success by providing universal Pre-K for all 4 year old children.
Our children have the right to be safe at school. We must address school violence by providing the resources to schools, such as school social workers and resource officers, to address the needs of students.
Diversity
Discrimination in any form is wrong. Again and again the Republican Party supports policies that would move our State backwards. Everyone in our state, regardless of identity, deserves the equal protection of the law in housing, employment, medical care and in our schools.
We must address the systemic biases that exist in our system. We must recognize and address the struggles of communities facing disproportional violence. We must work to create a State where all people are safe, all people are recognized and all voices can be heard in our government. We can not allow our government to strip away the hard won rights of our citizens.
Reproductive Rights
All people should have access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including access to safe and legal abortion. All people deserve access to birth control and other preventative care. Everyone deserves access to medically accurate, culturally specific, and inclusive sexual education. Everyone deserves access to affordable reproductive and sexual health care.
Economic Development
Minnesota is a great State to do business. According to a survey conducted by CNBC, Minnesota is ranked as the fourth (4th) best place in the nation for business. CNBC cited Minnesota’s high quality of life, education and infrastructure as a basis for this ranking.
Minnesota’s major corporations are thriving in today’s market. A study done by the US Census Bureau shows that more Minnesotans than ever work for larger companies and that our State is more dependent than ever on big business for economic growth.
However, the research shows that despite the growth of big business, small business owners and entrepreneurs, the engines of any truly robust economy, are struggling. In 2014 Minnesota had 5,000 fewer small businesses than before the Great Recession in 2008. The rate of startup companies have declined by 9 percent of all business prior to 2008 to just 6 percent after.
As a result work forces in rural Minnesota are concentrated in big corporations. This has the effect of keeping wages stagnate and limiting choice for workers. This is not to say that big, successful business should be punished, far from it. We should applaud successful business in our State. But we should also look to encourage people to start and run small businesses.
North Dakota has the country’s only state bank. The Bank of North Dakota has helped preserve a network of small community banks that work to supply credit to small businesses and farmers.
Access and development of credit is vital to a thriving economy. I would support a similar model in Minnesota as they have in North Dakota. I would support a State Bank of Minnesota that would run a network of community co-ops that would help to provide credit to small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs to encourage small business growth.
Living Wage
Over the past 20 years prices from everything from homes to a gallon of milk to health care have increased. All the while our wages have stagnated and in some cases fell. I support a minimum wage of at least $15 so working Minnesotans can support their families without relying on government assistance.
Healthcare
The vast majority of us are one medical emergency away from disaster. Health care is a right not a privilege. Unfortunately, we have allowed the insurance industry to hijack our health care system. Our current system is bloated with enormous administrative wastes. We also overpay for our health insurance because of irrational pricing. Minnesotans pay different amounts for the same care with a range of $6,200 to $47,000 which is an almost 8-1 disparity. As a result some of us are paying as much as 8 to 16 times what is reasonable for health care.
Addressing the costs of healthcare is vital to repairing and fixing our broken health care system. Minnesotans spend an average of $10,000 per person on health care. We spend more than twice as much per person on health care as most other countries pay, even though those countries cover everyone. Our current system is bankrupting families, burdening businesses and breaking the budgets of schools and governments.
We have some of the best hospitals and doctors in the world but access to those resources are limited. I support a universal plan that allows patients and their doctors to make medical decisions. I support a plan proposed by Senator John Marty called the Minnesota Health Plan (MHP).
MHP is a universal, single-payer health care system that would cover all costs associated with health care. There would be no co-pays, deductibles and all patients would have the freedom to choose their own providers. Premiums would be based on the ability to pay and would actually be affordable. MHP would NOT be run by the insurance industry or the government and would cost Minnesotans less than we are currently spending. Medical decisions would be made by patients and their doctors not by insurance companies.
Support Unions
Our country was built by union labor. Unfortunately, our unions are under attack like never before. We must affirm our commitment to allow workers to unionize and to collectively bargain. We must protect hard earned pensions and oppose any so called “right to work” legislation.
Criminal Justice Reform
Chemical Dependency
We must address the drug epidemic in our communities by providing funding for mental and chemical health treatment. Our rural communities lack sufficient resources to address the scourge of drug addiction. Too many people who are on probation for drug related offenses lack the resources to actually address their addictions.
Legalization of Marijuana
I support the full legalization of recreational marijuana. There has been a campaign of misinformation and fear mongering against marijuana. The old “reefer madness” myth has framed this debate for too long. States such as Colorado, Washington, and California have cut through the myths and rightly legalized marijuana and have reaped the financial benefits. It’s time for Minnesota to join this movement.
Juvenile Justice
Our juvenile justice system needs an overhaul. If we are to address criminal justice reforms it must start with the arcane and byzantine juvenile justice system. As it stands now a juvenile who is convicted or adjudicated of an offense that would be a felony if an adult will have that conviction on their record until they are 26. That affects their ability to go to college, to get a job, to apply for a loan for school, business or a home or car.
We all make mistakes. More so when we are young. Juveniles who are in the system deserve the opportunity to have a clean record as an adult and avoid the costly collateral consequences of their mistakes so they can address their issues and become a productive member of society.
This content was originally published at https://www.stephenmoellerfor1a.com/