League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
State of Ohio March 6, 2012 Election
	John Fockler Answers Questions Candidate for United States Senate; Libertarian Party

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. According to the U.S. Census, median income has declined and the number in poverty has increased. What steps should be taken to strengthen the U.S. economy and address unemployment?

Median income has declined and poverty increased primarily because of the additional stress placed on the economy by large, intrusive government. The solution is to reduce government`s footprint by eliminating unnecessary or unconstitutional government departments and programs and streamlining the regulatory process. In particular, the additional regulation coming with full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and that which would be the cornerstone of ―cap and trade‖ will likely prove extremely expensive for business, especially for smaller enterprises that create the majority of new jobs in today`s economy.

2. How would you reform the tax code?

The tax code should be reformed by going back to the basics. The overwhelming number of deductions and credits have been instituted to benefit special interests or to try to engineer behavior. All of these should be eliminated. Almost all corporate tax incentives should be repealed, but the corporate tax rate should be lowered to a level competitive in the world marketplace. Capital gains rates should be reformed to encourage long-term investment and to prevent it from being used to discount taxes on employee compensation. Long-term, after government as a whole has been shrunken and the deficit eliminated, tax rates across the board should be lowered

3. How would you change Medicare to make it sustainable?

I`m not sure anything will make Medicare sustainable in the long term. Any time unlimited services are guaranteed without cost considerations, the cost of those services will rise without limit. Medicare should be converted to a private system including some level of co-payment and with a choice of coverage. Medical professionals and hospitals should be encouraged to compete according to prices the way any other service does. Government involvement should be limited to last-resort financial aid according to need, which would be gradually phased out as the market comes into full play in containing costs.

4. Do you believe it is possible to protect the environment while preserving American jobs? What are examples of how this can be done?

Yes, it`s possible to preserve jobs and protect the environment. In fact, in the long run, it`s not possible to do one without the other. The mistake we have been making is to rely on government to have the right answers. Most consumers will make decisions based at least in part on environmental concerns, especially if they believe that it is up to them and not to the government. Entrepreneurs and inventors will produce new, more environmentally-friendly goods and services which are able to compete in the marketplace. Specific regulation should be largely abandoned in favor of relying on tort law which would hold polluters responsible for the full costs of their actions and encourage responsible behavior. Conversely, relying on government to pick winners produces products made to please government and not the marketplace and which therefore do not sell. Regulation that ignores the marketplace will eventually fail.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: February 29, 2012 07:47
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