LTC (ret) Mike Pierce talks about issues that matter
Liberty
Our liberty is at stake – our liberty to speak, express ourselves, to bear arms and protect ourselves from criminals – and others, the liberty to assemble and protest… the liberty to raise our children with the values we have held dear and that have helped us turn America into this great land that it is… the liberty to protect the most vulnerable in our society – our unborn, disabled, and our seniors… the liberty to shape the values of our children, the liberty to live in comfort in our golden years.
I think any objective person can see that in recent years, there were certain gatherings that were legitimized and excused, while others were vilified and persecuted…
The Constitution provides rights for all of us- and we must ensure that our government officials are held accountable when they forget who they work for and why….
Security
Job #1 of a government is to protect its people… what more needs to be said? Our country faces challenges with the border, crime, and drugs…. These are areas where the government has abdicated its responsibilities of protecting its citizens…
The damage wrought by uncontrolled mass migration is still causing havoc for Americans across the country despite the vast improvements in border security and reduction in illegal imigration under the new administration…. Democrat lawmakers continue to turn a blind eye to the most obvious concerns of their constituents. The current 11th District Congressman voted against the Laken Reilly Act that was passed in order to protect Americans from dangerous illegal immigrants. The tragedy is the most vulnerable are suffering the most, whether it is women and girls being trafficked, people suffering death by overdose, or people being killed in running street battles or smash and grab crime sprees… Americans need to be able to defend themselves. These are simply the common sense concerns most Americans share.
National Sovereignty and Defense
We face challenges from China on multiple fronts. We have disastrously mismanaged the military and its campaigns at both the tactical and strategic level with dire results… We’ve unnecessarily lost service members on the ground, while at the same time left an untold number of Americans behind. Our national stature has been damaged so much so that it has emboldened not only terrorists, but other global competitors who are looking for ways to set us back any way that they can. The disastrous Biden foreign policy did much to weaken our country. It will not be fixed overnight. It is critical that someone who has served in the military and has the requisite background sits in this Congressional seat so that the next time the question of going to war comes up – we will go to war with the Army we need! For far too long Washington insiders and profiteers have used American Service Members as pawns in a global game of chess, and just as quickly as they move them around, they have abandoned the very things the Service Members were sent to defend. Out track record as an ally was severely damaged over the course of the Obama and Biden Administrations through a combined projection of inattentiveness and weakness to key Strategic Centers of Gravity, and an almost willful effort to re-focus our military on social issues, prioritizing this over funding combat training and recruitment. Re-building our military to the requisite end strength and capability will take time. We must continue to keep this emphasized as we tread dangerous waters with near peers China and Russia, and on a smaller scale with terror states like Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. Likewise, we cannot ignore supporting longtime U.S. Allies, while at the same time increasing expectations for them to fulfill their obligations.
Veterans
- Restore the 20 year/50% retirement
- Restore the Medical care promised to qualified retirees (at age 65 they need to sign up for Medicare and pay... another broken promise to the 1% who served this country and gave it their youth.)
- Introduce automatic housing allowance for all Veterans of 65 who are at the poverty line that will bring them to the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in their county — in a safe and secure area.
- Expand Military participation and membership by developing military programs that allow for people with disabilities to serve, and give all Americans the chance to serve their country...
- Do more to assist the “Lost Veterans” and increase programs in support of veterans in transition, or in difficulties, drawing on competitive private or non-profit organizations that provide structured re-training, long-term housing and a return to dignity for all those who have served.
- Significantly expand Small Business Opportunities through increased numbers of contracts for Veteran businesses, low business cost loans, and grants.
- Allow VA loans for Service members who live outside the States and who cannot have a spouse occupy the home; but who can have a parent or sibling to do so.
- Allow the LRP (College Loan repayment program) payments to continue for soldiers who have completed Officer Candidate School who went to Officer Status, but who did not complete their term of service as enlisted. (Why are we penalizing soldiers who apply themselves and work extra hard?)
- Expand VA home ownership program to focus on encouraging soldiers to reinvigorate neighborhoods that have been suffering from deteriorating conditions by providing 1% loans and monetary grants for renovations.
Economy and Inflation
Our economy is in trouble, real trouble… we are not out of the proverbial woods yet. Market volatility, interest rates still high, and many residual policies of the Democrats still hinder progress in achieving the American Dream! It is critical to keep the changing policies and opening of markets and other critical reforms going. We must keep and expand the Republican voice in Congress to continue to reduce corrupt pork barrel programs, cut regulations and red tape, keep taxes low, and focus Government spending on common sense priorities. The latest inflation fight was caused by the poor policies of the Democrats. They have to own it, and We The People are the ones paying the price. Tariffs have been part of a forcing action to facilitate returning American jobs and products back home. It makes sense. We learned during COVID, with pharmaceuticals, and lately, with so called rare earth minerals, that if we cede these areas to the Chinese and others, they will have and exploit their leverage over our country. Taking a stand now will ensure a brighter future for all of us and future Americans.
The residual Biden Inflation has not gone away. Hard working Americans who want to buy a home or move into a new one are stuck in the middle. Interest rates are too high for most, and home prices have ballooned in the last few few years. This, along with other things, has had a dampening effect on our economy. As the Representative of this District, I will take steps to get help from Washington and reinvigorate programs to assist first time homeowners and others purchasing or re-financing their primary home at lower fixed rate of interest, so that we can get both the industry and home owners moving again. We need to prioritize where the government needs to be involved, and get out of the centrally planned economy that will only result in more inflation and a greater divide between the wealthy and those with limited means.
Medicare
Allow anyone on social security (aged > 62.5) to be eligible to buy medicare. This increases the healthy numbers of people in the programs thereby lessening the overall cost. First phase is to cut the age to 62.5, this will allow workers with enough resources to retire earlier, allowing younger workers to fill their jobs or be replaced by more productive means.
Second phase would allow anyone with a qualified investment account (IRAs, 403bs etc) who is withdrawing at least the annual cost of medicare out of their account to be eligible for medicare. This will provide tax revenue as those funds have not yet been taxed. The individual must withdraw at least the premium for medicare. This has some immediate benefits, those not retiring due to the high cost of medical insurance or those who have high private premiums can now withdraw from their IRAs and have the benefits of medicare. Those workers may or may not quit their jobs but it helps get more healthy people in medicare and raises revenue from the taxation of the withdrawals and the collection of the medicare premiums.
Pro-Life Stance
While current laws must be followed, that does not mean that we should not keep working towards enacting legislation that promotes a pro-life culture. I believe that life starts at conception. It is the most precious gift that we can be given and to see how it has been cheapened and debased to the degree that it has with more than 60 million unborn children’s lives being taken in the last 50 years is a great national moral and ethical tragedy. In my view, the taking of an innocent’s life should not be up for discussion in any case except when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. I feel very strongly that parents should at all times be informed of any medical care or procedure involving their minor children. The job of our legislators should be to create common sense laws that fall in line with the values of the people. The voters have voted countless times to ensure that the rights of parents, and the unborn are protected. Yet, we have seen time and time and again the threads pulled away from such legislation, and people who support such legislation described as right wing, far right, or worse. I don’t recall while I was growing up being taught that respecting life was a far right issue. It is an American issue about right and wrong.
Legal Migration- Not rampant unchecked chaos
In order for the US to maintain an increasing standard of living or increasing per capita GDP the population must grow. Productivity gains will not be enough to increase per capita GDP. As our population ages, per capita consumption is reduced. The Younger generation's birth rates are not high enough. We can also see evidence of this in Italy, Japan and most of Europe. Their native populations' birth rates have declined markedly and those economies struggle to pay the social costs promised by the government due to lack of per capita GDP growth caused by a declining birth rate.
The solution is to allow a sufficient number of LEGAL immigrants into the U.S. such that population growth is positive.
Overrunning our cities with illegal immigrants has reduced vital community services that were already stretched. Further, it has disenfranchised American voters of all backgrounds by creating an artificially higher urban population that cities and states can claim to draw Federal resources, while at the same depriving other areas of the same level of support as in the past.
In an ironic twist, this has given one political group a disproportionate amount of power while it reduces the political strength of some of its core constituents who have steadfastly voted the same people in for decades, even to their detriment. This is why I reach out to all American communities and speak on their behalf, working to ensure their hard fought rights and the future of their children are not given away to the highest bidder, cartels, and special interests.
Illinois has been paying this price for years as our domestic population has been leaving the State, reducing our number of representatives in Congress down to only 17, from a high of 24. We have had a 25% reduction in our Congressional power, while at the same time we have had thousands of non-vetted illegal immigrants brought in to take up services that were already stretched to begin with. The reduction in tax base, and the increase in consumption must be reversed. Illinois residents have been fleeing for three simple reasons- high taxes, lack of jobs, and high cost of living. As your representative in Congress I will fight to bring jobs back to Illinois, increase use and exploitation of our own resources instead of importing them, and create opportunities for Illinois graduates so they can stay in the land of Lincoln!
The Second Amendment
I will vigorously support legislation that ensures Americans maintaining their full, unencumbered Second Amendment rights. The Second Amendment is part of the original Bill of Rights. Bearing arms should not be up for discussion. The founders intended that the people of this country should be able to defend themselves against our enemies- foreign and domestic. Just because some Americans today do not choose to own fire arms does not mean their rights to own them should be infringed upon. While we can all agree that responsible gun use is important, we must not allow the creeping, incremental chiseling away at the foundations of this right to go unchecked. As with our other rights, it is crucial to ensure that our society remains free and that the government remain of the people, by the people, and for the people. Not all Americans live in the safety of a peaceful neighborhood that is violence free. Recent events have demonstrated this in countless ways. American freedom requires vigilance and discipline- the vigilance to stand guard for all our freedoms, and the discipline to stay the course and follow through on our commitments to ensure the rights of all Americans.
Term limits
Being called to serve our nation in the Senate, House, or even as President should not be a career aspiration. We all can agree that when we are young we have lots of energy and ideals. But as we grow older and become more seasoned in life we learn different things along the way. That shared accumulated wisdom should be brought to Washington to solve problems, not create them.
We need legislators who are strong enough to stand on their own values and not be beholden to special interests. We need people who should put the nation’s interest and their constituents needs first. Period. End of story. That is what we should elect people for- nothing more and nothing less.
If someone can’t accomplish their tasks in Congress after a couple of terms, then people should say, thank you for your service and elect someone new.
So, okay, what would I recommend? Well, we made a Constitutional change limiting the term of the Presidency to no more than two consecutive terms. Why not limit the terms in the House to no more than four, and two in the Senate? I believe this would have a positive effect on our democracy, promote new ideas and changes, reduce corruption and the stranglehold of special interests on entrenched politicians.
Honest, Historically Correct Curriculum
American history is being hijacked by an ideology from books based on a misinformed premise, using snippets of another books based on an equally flawed premise that misquoted Columbus.
This process blurs the truth, cherry picks unrelated half-truths, and weaves them into a platform being used to take away our nation’s traditions, pride, and most inexcusable of all, the rights of parents and their children to practice and enjoy their American faith, vision, and life by pushing a thinly veiled socialist state ideology into our classrooms and homes.
This ideology pushes sectarian divisions that are designed to expose the seams and differences in American culture that are based on the worst cases and examples of its flaws, without giving equal and due attention to the wonderful, amazing things that America has done and the promise that she represents. We are the hope of the world… we are the proverbial city on the hill. We have shed more blood to pay for and atone for the past misdeeds of a small percentage of our original founders than any in the world… Wasn’t it America that sent its soldiers over to Europe to fight for freedom in the First World War? Wasn’t it America who sent even more soldiers and treasure to Europe, Africa, and Asia to help liberate the World in the Second World War? And then after we had liberated those places, wasn’t it America that helped its enemies back on their feet and helped them to become economic powerhouses? Wasn’t it America who sent another 50,000 of her young men to their deaths to hold the line against communism and keep South Korea from being turned into a gulag like North Korea? And what about Vietnam? Didn’t 10 years of War there and another 50,000+ dead earn America some grace? And what country stood up to the line against Soviet Aggression for 40 years? You’re welcome… Where would the world be today without the U.S.? Despite all of the shortcomings people bring up, we still have millions of people literally dying to get here. Surely, we must be doing something right. I think it would be better to teach our young people more about the great things America has done, despite her missteps along the way…
Community School Boards are destroying their schools and losing their tax base by the way, by embracing this and other ideologies that are outside the main stream views of most Americans. Our differences are fewer than people realize… our values, our hope for the future, our ability to be an engine for industry and social change… It was the American ideals that inspired people around the world to throw off the yoke of despots and kings and strive for freedom and democracy. We have been the model that the world followed. Let’s not forget that while the CRT proponents are working to undermine what we have become and the memory and contributions of those who, although imperfect in life, brought us here and gave us the greatest nation in history.
Student Loans
With respect to student loans....Instead of forgiving student loans, why not let the debtor file bankruptcy. Now student loans survive bankruptcy, meaning if someone files bankruptcy they are still responsible for the student loan balance. They never get a clean start. All corporations, and individuals can file bankruptcy in a couple of different forms and obtain a fresh start. Even income taxes can be forgiven in a bankruptcy. If someone made a bad choice by buying too big of a house, too much of a car, or racks up large amounts of credit card debt they can file for bankruptcy and have their debts wiped clean or renegotiate with the lender under the supervision of a bankruptcy court to have the loans modified. Student loans should follow the same legal course. Right now large student loan payments rob the economy of consumption, or savings for investment, and stifle growth.
Internet and Cable
Cable companies physical plant and equipment versus content. Too much content and media control in too few companies. Cable/internet bills have increased for years. The content needs to be separated and unbundled so the consumer can decide which stations or content they desire. The government should set up zones where high access is not available for no matter the reason. Internet companies would bid on the locations to provide access to households in the zones at rates equal to or less than the current high speed access in the largest MSAs. The government would issue tax credits to the winning company for each zone. In general the government (can and ) should bridge the gap where or when it makes no sense for private capital. The biggest macro economic and quality of life gains come from large network effects, think the interstate highway system, airports, railways means of connecting people products or ideas. (not health care)