League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA November 2, 2004 Election
	Sandor J. Woren Answers Questions Candidate for Member of the State Assembly; District 43

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. What does California need to do to address the current budget crisis?

My parents taught me as a child that there are only two ways to balance your personal budget: cut spending and/or increase your income. This principal has served me well, and also applies to the state. The state, however, cannot raise its income without raising taxes; it has no income, other than forcible confiscation of the property of its citizens. Raising taxes is no longer an option. Doing so drives out current and potential employers from California and is a hardship for the people who must pay them. We must choose our priorities, and greatly cut spending to balance the budget and tighten our collective belt. My priorities would correspond to the constitutional functions of government. I would advocate an across the board budget cut in almost every state department, with only a few exceptions. Ending the destructive and wasteful drug war would be a top priority, and allow us to reallocate resources to legitimate law enforcement.

2. What should the state's priorities be for K-12 education? For the Community College System?

It has been shown over and over again that throwing more money into the failed public school system does no good. It does not improve the quality or outcomes of education. The only practical solution to the education disaster is a move toward privatization of the failed public school system: This will promote competition, and allow parents to choose the school that they feel most ecomically educates their children in accordance with THEIR priorities and values, not the state's. While outright privatization may be a long term goal, I realize it is not practical if imposed outright. I would support any measure that would move us in this direction: vouchers, tax credits, etc. I do not believe that education beyond K-12 should be a responsibility of government at any level. It should be funded by personal funds, parental help, and private scholarships.

4. What should the Legislature be doing to address the needs of Californians without health insurance?

Medical insurance, like most other things in life, is a personal responsibility, not one of the state. Politicians who promote the myth of "universal coverage" are promoting a lie, and promising something they can never deliver. The best answer to the un-insured problem is to promote high deductible medical insurance policies, along with already available tax advantaged Health Savings Accounts. Routine medical care, in the absence of excessive government regulation, would become much more affordable. A free market approach would reduce the cost; catastrophic costs would be covered by the above mentioned high deductible policy. In the case of truly needy patients, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers would, as they did before the state took over this responsibility, donate part of their time and resources for worthy charity care. Because of the present widespread belief that medical care is the responsibility of the government, this concept of charity in medical care has all but disappeared. Charity patients, in turn, would tend not to abuse the caregivers and overutilize the system, because they know that, if they did, care could be refused. The present system of publicly funded medical care is rampant with fraud, abuse, and overutilization. I know from direct experience as a physician, that Medi-Cal programs are a dismal failure; they pay so little, that the only physicians that are willing to take Medi-Cal patients are the ones that run high volume, low quality Medi-Cal "mills." Government mandated "free" care has caused the closure of many hospitals and emergency rooms, thus worsening the availability of care. Patients themselves have no incentive to reduce costs, as they believe that everything is being paid for by the "magic card." Nothing could be further from the truth. They are trapped in a high cost (to the taxpayer) and low quality system. Make no mistake: medical care is a NEED; not a RIGHT, as some politicians dishonestly promote. By dismantling government health care programs and promoting personal responsibility and competition in this area, costs would plummet, and availability of health care would sky-rocket.