Born and raised in Monmouth County and moved to Ocean County, Michael has been a resident in, or near, New Jersey's Congressional District-Four his entire life. A dedicated and passionate husband and father, Michael's blue collar upbringing and adult life in sales have taught him the value of hard work and perseverance. These values will drive him to be the best he can as he pushes for common sense policies on Capitol Hill.
Together we can bring common sense governance to Washington, D.C.
LETS TALK ABOUT HOW
(Click eachhere to watch YouTube videos on these positions and more.)
NATIONAL DEBT
There is no greater threat to Life, Liberty and Prosperity than that of DEBT! Think about your individual life. The fewer bills we have, the less we owe others, the more time we have to enjoy the freedoms of the world. When a person owes others they must continually work without rest or enjoyment as they attempt to pay off their debtors. Working in a constant state debt can be nauseating and crippling. Many people have lost their lives to the stress it can cause. This too works with government, the further we drive ourselves into debt the more we have to focus on working for the things we have already done and the less we can focus on how to work towards the future and the betterment of our society as a whole.
We must reign in the careless spending of Congress and let them know that the checkbook is closed. They must be told that we will no longer finance pet projects and special interest programming that may have little to no effect on the community and/or the greater good. We will no longer work for their donors. We must demand the ability to fund our lives in the manner we see fit without having to pay for the mistakes of those before us. Our children must not be burdened with the chains of debt. It is unethical and careless to sacrifice their future for our current wants and desires. My sole purpose in life is to provide for my child and leave this world a better, and easier, place than what I had growing up. This cannot be achieved when the shackles of debt strap our children's hands and feet.
HEALTH CARE
Corporate Special Interest, Protectionism, Crony Capitalism and back room deals, these are the root of our nations Health Care problem. The cost of health care is not dictated by the method of payment. However our Congress today will tell you that the method of payment (insurance coverage) is the whole of the problem. Yes, Health Coverage must be made more available, but how do we control the cost? The first step would be to stop restricting where people can buy their coverage and medical treatment. We must allow for cross-state insurance purchases, we must allow for use of experimental drugs, we must stop preventing competition in the market place by providing ridiculous protections through patents. The more people have access to treatment and supply the more they will shop, the more they shop the more aggressive the pricing, the more aggressive the pricing the more affordable the treatment or supply. We do this with every product in our lives except health care, why? How is it morally acceptable to limit the availability of medicine and treatment by limiting its production to one company? How is it morally acceptable to restrict bringing a useful medicine to market because of an antiquated drug scheduling? It is acceptable because, today, congress is more worried about its donors than it is about us. Together we must fight to reduce the burdens placed upon us and remove these restriction. We must open up the market place and allow for a more free exchange of care. We must end the mixing of business and politics, especially in regards to a healthy Life, which will intern lead to Liberty and Prosperity!
GUN CONTROL
It is the role of the Federal Government to protect Life, Liberty and the Prosperity. However the government, whether Local or Federal, should NOT be the SOLE protector of one's life. Self defense from the worst of enemies is your inherent God given right and no human should be allowed to take that from you. Many times it has been said that when the authors of the constitution developed the second amendment it only pertained to muskets of the day and not our modern weapons of war. However, those same people ignore the fact that those muskets were the weapons of war and the people were armed just as well as the standing armies. This armament is why the Patriots were able to defeat the British and gain their independence from the over-reaching, ever-growing, greed driven oppressive force. The fears of violence are understood and there is cause for concern when atrocities take place but, at close inspection, it is usually those we task with preventing these atrocities that fail to do so. There have been governmental process breakdowns across the board from failure to report domestic abuse charges with the proper agencies, to FBI intervention thwarted because of a failure to act upon multiple leads. Creating more government action is not the solution to failed government action. What this nation needs is actual efficient government actions and accountability all the way down to the individual. Protecting your right to protect yourself, from oppressors both foreign and domestic, is the best way for government to protect Life, Liberty and Prosperity.
IMMIGRATION
Controlled borders and legal immigration are important but we must have zero restrictions on country of origin. The patch of dirt on which one is born does not dictate the content of their character. Comprehensive checks are a must but processes must be streamlined and simplified. As with all government programs, redundancies and efficiency must be addressed. No mother or father should be separated from their child because of paperwork and arbitrary formalities. We must continue to welcome the "poor, tired and huddled masses" furthering the mission of those before us. A mission of Life, Liberty and Prosperity for all the world to enjoy!
FREE SPEECH
The policing of thought and speech is the policy of tyrants. There is no virtue in preventing speech or thought. The free exchange of ideas is what allows for the growth of culture and intelligence. The things we believe today may be found to be wrong tomorrow and without free exchange we will never find out. When Galileo spoke out against his government, in regards to the Sun being the center of the solar system, he was jailed for questioning the "common science" of the day thus slowing the exchange of ideas and dealing the discovery of the truth. When government controls thought and science this oppression is inevitable. This is what must be avoided. No one person is 100% correct in any situation but the exchange of free thought (no matter how wrong/right) will always allow us to move closer to that mark. In regards to thoughts of hate and evil, it is much easier to remedy a problem when it is visible, it is when that problem is hidden, in the dark and out of sight that it continues to grow and fester becoming an ever worsening nuisance and cancer.
Yes we as a people must work with each other to educate ourselves on morality. Protest and boycott are the most useful ways to stop people of mal-intent. However, we must be careful the powers we provide the government for if those powers end up in the wrong hands, it may be the honest, righteous and just that have much to fear. We are better off working together than following the dictated guidance of the all powerful state.
WAR ON DRUGS
It is way beyond time to end the war on drugs as it is known to us today.
First, it is time legalize the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana, a safer, none addictive, alternative to alcohol and prescription opioids. The ban on marijuana has done nothing but halt the development of new medical treatments, created an alluring forbidden fruit, fueled a black market that drives illegal immigration and gang related activity. and over works law enforcement and prisons by accounting for the overwhelming majority of drug related arrests and imprisonments. The arguments for ending prohibition of marijuana are the same successful arguments for ending the prohibition of alcohol with the added benefit of reducing the pain of the opioid/heroin crisis.
Secondly we must look to a country like Portugal which has implemented the most effective plan in the world for reducing drug related death, crime and addiction. Decriminalization, with a complete refocus on help and rehabilitation, has reduced the overdose rate from one the worst in Europe tofive times lower than the European Union average. We must stop locking in cells, those that need help, for longer periods of time than rapists and murderers.
Check out these articles for more information on Portugals new approach:
We must force congress to put the President of the United States in line when it comes to declarations of war. This is a function solely of Congress. The problem cannot be corrected by continuing to vote for the war hawks of the Democrat and Republican Parties. Whenever it is decided that we shall use force against another people, the threat of violence to our people must be discussed and scrutinized as to prevent the mistakes of the past.
War is not a game to be played for economic advantage. We must ensure that the deployment of troops and force is used solely as an absolute and final option. There should be zero doubt that a war is not for oil, gas or the crony contracts of the Military Industrial Complex. Human life is far too precious and the unintended consequences of bad decisions far too negative to accept.
No one single person should have the autonomy to send the world into a waste of nuclear hell fire.
THE NON-AGGRESSION PRINCIPAL
The use of aggression/force to advance one's personal goals while simultaneously trampling the rights of another shall be avoided at all costs. Only when one is being physically harmed and/or their rights are being violated should aggression/force be considered a reasonable action.
To learn more about Michael, check out his videos series on his YouTube Channel.
