Political Philosophy

Smaller Government

The Constitution was written to limit government to those essential services needed to produce an environment for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Government has become too large, too involved in people’s lives, too involved in business and too expensive to maintain. Government needs to stop making promises it can no longer afford to keep. It’s time to eliminate unessential programs and bureaucracies.

Fiscal Responsibility

A smaller government means less money spent. It’s shameful that we must borrow from China and others to make ends meet. Even more shameful is the fact that Maryland balanced the budget with $1.3 billion of federal stimulus money and by raiding trust funds for $300 million. The day must come when fiscal responsibility returns. When that happens there will be less federal money for the state to spend. We have to start tightening the belt now.

Personal Responsibility

People can’t live forever off the government. My father used to say “Never kick a man when he’s down, but never give him more hand than it takes to get up.” Unemployment insurance and a certain amount of welfare are necessary, but too much creates dependence on government.

People need to stop blaming others for everything that happens. We need tort reform to stop outrageous settlements that, in the end, are paid for by consumers. True tort reform doesn’t mean putting caps on awards; that just addresses the symptoms and not the disease. We have to fundamentally change the way law suits are conducted, and that means putting a stop to “jury shopping,” frivolous suits and unjustifiable legal fees.