League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz Counties, CA June 5, 2012 Election
	Carol L. (Shepard) Brouillet Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 18

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

Questions & Answers

1. In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy?

Reform our monetary system, transition from a war economy towards a peace economy, hold those responsible for the largest wealth transfer in human history accountable for their crimes, and get back money that was stolen. Instead of rewarding those who created the fiasco, if money had been simply distributed equitably throughout the country, there would have been no crisis, nor would so many have lost their homes and property.

2. How should the federal budget deficit be addressed, now and into the future? How should budget priorities for defense and domestic programs be adjusted?

The Doctrine of Odious Debts could be applied to the debts incurred by the criminal behavior of current and past administrations which have aided and abetted one of the largest financial heists in history, robbing the many for the benefit of a few and to the great detriment of the country as a whole. We need accountability and restitution from those who have basically committed massive fraud and pocketed the loot. The war economy lines the pockets of war profiteers, depriving the country of essential services and the maintenance of vital infrastructure. Monetary reform could easily solve this problem. H.R. 2990, introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich in September 2011 would place the Federal Reserve under the Treasury Department, ending the private banks ability to create money out of thin air and enabling money to be created as a public utility to address our needs, pay for health, education, infrastructure.

3. What are your priorities with respect to our nation’s energy policy? Should there be an emphasis on clean energy and reducing carbon emissions, and/or on reducing our dependence on foreign sources?

Our dependence on fossil fuels, especially foreign oil, distorts our foreign policy and threatens the environment. We can greatly curtail our energy use by scaling down our Department of Defense, the world's largest polluter. Intercity high-speed rail and well-maintained urban and suburban light rail could substitute for the ubiquitous need for cars. Electric cars, far cheaper to fuel than their gas-powered counterparts, are odor-, noise-, exhaust-free. Agri-business requires huge, unnecessary outlays of petroleum on farm machinery and fertilizer. Proper investments in solar, wind, and new energy technologies can deliver much of our energy needs.

Hydraulic fracturing is a highly destructive technique used to extract natural gas from rock that is promoted by our national energy policy. Fracking pollutes drinking water supplies and mixes radioactive wastewater into rivers. We must place the full environmental clean-up costs back onto the corporations that created the mess, which will eliminate this dirty and destructive industry.

Our government has made expanding our offshore drilling industry a major priority. The White House actively initiated a major public relations campaign for foreign owned British Petroleum throughout the continuing Deepwater Horizon crisis, and billions of dollars of clean-up costs remain unpaid. We need to end this catastrophic industry before it destroys more oceans, coastlines, and livelihoods.

The radioactive byproducts of most of our 104 nuclear power reactors are stored on-site, including the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. All Americans are endangered by nuclear power plants, which are prone to periodic catastrophic meltdowns. The nuclear energy industry is inherently unprofitable- it requires enormous federal subsidies to develop and operate plants. We must reverse our current administrations intent to expand the nuclear energy industry, and instead close all nuclear power plants now. I authored The Invisible Nuclear War to inform the public about the nuclear energy scandal, and warn people that there is no "safe" level of radioactive contamination.

4. What, if any, changes should be made to federal health care policies or programs?

Over half of personal bankruptcies in America occur as a result of medical emergencies. Health care is a human right, not an earned privilege. We need to make Medicare coverage universal in America. All other industrialized nations have such a system- their health care costs are only a fraction of ours. Health-care is a big business, providing expensive care and insuring people. The insurance bureaucracy is not the solution: it is the problem. The pharmaceutical industry makes incredible profits, safeguards have been relaxed or eliminated, our service-persons in the armed forces are being used as guinea pigs for untested vaccines, and expensive sick care has replaced affordable preventative care. We need to end the promotion and tolerance of air pollution, environmental destruction, toxic and radioactive substance proliferation, workplace injustice, the moral trauma caused by wars of aggression, smoking, the profusion of unlabeled genetically modified foods, and more that threaten the health and well being of humans and other life on this planet.

5. What, if any, changes should be made to federal rules on campaign financing?

Money is not speech. PACs are not people. Speech by non-media corporations is not protected by the 1st Amendment. Political campaigns and political parties are dominated by money, not people. Political campaigns must be publicly funded. Television networks must grant candidates air time free of charge. PACs must be banned. A 50% tax should be levied on corporate-funded political ads, with proceeds allocated candidates and groups with contrasting views who are not receiving corporate funding.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. 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: April 24, 2012 15:27
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