Article Contributed on: 10/21/2008 3:15:40 PM
James Frye is running for State House District 42 and answered a questionnaire for YourHub.com. To read all of the candidate questionnaires,
click here.
Name: James Frye
Seat you are seeking: Colorado House District 42
Age: 56
Family: Two Daughters
Occupation: Retired IT Project Manager
Hometown: Dubuque, Iowa
Your Web site:http://fryefor42.com
Favorite local place to hang out: Not Just Yogurt
What do you like most about living here?: The Western Ambiance
Interests & hobbies: Hiking, Biking, Reading, Organizing Projects
Favorite TV show: All shows on the History Channel
Favorite Web site: http://fryefor42.com/
People who inspired you (and how): Ron Paul. His work over the past 30 years has been an inspiration. His efforts the past two years are one reason why I am running for office. He understands Austrian Economics and explains it in ways that you can understand. He has been teaching about liberty and free markets for many years.
How you have contributed to the community: I am a neighborhood and political activist.
What are the biggest issues facing your constituency now:
K through 12 Education: - Choice is a good thing. The amount of money that federal, state, and local governments provide to schools in House District 42, ranges from $9,000 to almost $12,000 per year. Parents should have the choice of where and what type of school their children can attend. Parents should not be held hostage to only having government schools available to them. Parents should be given the money directly, or in a voucher form to spend on any type of school they choose. Just think what the ramifications would be if government was removed from your child's education. Parents would be free to spend their allocated money on private education or private tutors. Taxpayers would no longer be responsible for maintaining government school buildings, paying government employees or paying for retired government employee benefits.
Health care: - Your health, access to care and insurance is too important for the government to be dictating all the rules. Insurance coverage should be voluntary and not mandated by the state government. We should not be forced into CoerciveCare. Current regulations that impose burdensome requirements on insurance companies should be removed and people should be able to buy whatever type of insurance/healthcare is appropriate for them. We should repeal health care mandates codified in Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) 10-16-104. Ending these mandates could reduce health insurance costs by as much as one third (using the median cost estimates for Colorado in the "Health Insurance Mandates in the States 2007" study by "The Council for Affordable Health Insurance"). A current example of an approach to more affordable health care and better health care access is the case of a large retailer that has low cost walk in health clinics on site and low cost prescription generic drugs.
* "When governments attempt to regulate the balance between a limited supply of health care and an unlimited demand for it they're inevitably forced to ration treatment." - Kurt Loder
* "Canadians have universal access to waiting lists" - Michael Campbell
* "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when its free." - P.J. ORourke
Immunization: - The proper role of the state government is to provide information and education on the pros and cons of various medical immunizations. Parents need to be given a choice, based on each individual's health issues, not forced to immunize children who may suffer the serious consequences of this mandate.
Crime/Corrections: - This is one of those areas where our spending priorities are all mixed up. The State of Colorado currently spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on corrections. In fact, each incarcerated individual costs the state $28,000 per year. The "lock them up industry" has to be curtailed. Continually building new prisons is the wrong approach. We need to look at sentencing guidelines and why we lock up so many people for non-violent or victimless crimes.
Transportation: - One of the legitimate functions of state government is to ensure a robust transportation network. Since the majority of the states residents and the residents of HD 42 rely on the automobile, the focus should be on maintaining and expanding our tax supported highway and road network. Diversion of time and money on toll road schemes and trolley cars is not what the folks in House district 42 want. It seems like we will have to move heaven and earth just to get an additional lane added to interstate 225. When we are taxed nearly 50 cents on every gallon of gasoline we buy, we ought to be able to upgrade one of our core interstates in Aurora.
Term Limits: - The voters of Colorado approved term limits and I oppose all attempts to remove term limits at the state or local level.
Mineral Severance: - Each year, Colorado collects hundreds of millions of dollars from the energy industry in extraction taxes. This money is doled out by the Department of Local Affairs, with minimal oversight. I believe some of this money should be allocated to the local communities who are being disrupted by the extraction process. Schools, roads, fire departments, and other infrastructures need these funds. The remaining portion ought to be directly provided to each Colorado taxpayer. As residents of this state, the individual taxpayers ought to share in the wealth being generated by this industry. The State of Alaska is an example of a state that shares its mineral wealth with its citizens. Each year, residents of Alaska receive a state check as a percent of the royalties obtained from the oil industry.
Alternative Energy: - The free market ought to determine when the time is right to move to alternative energy solutions. Having the government mandate certain types of energy generation, and subsidize other fuels, is not an appropriate function of government.
Taxes: - As I have previously stated in my CUT pledge, I will oppose any scheme to increase taxes in this state. Why is it that personal households are always looking for ways to make their expenditures more efficient, but the state government feels it is entitled to demand more funds at every turn?
Eminent domain: - Private property rights are sacred. I support additional efforts to protect owners from government takings, which would include making positive modifications to the "adverse possession" statutes (CRS 38-41) - strengthening property owners rights.
Personal Liberties and Economic Freedom: - Blue laws, such as the ban on Sunday liquors and auto sales, ought to be abolished.