Policy Factsheet

Senator SKra00 stands firmly on the side of life. He believes that every human being has an inherent dignity from the moment of conception. For this reason, he believes that no unborn person should be denied their inalienable right to life. Ultimately, he would prefer abortion to be illegal at all stages of pregnancy, with no exceptions, except in those cases where a life-saving procedure results in the death of the fetus. Abortion laws, with or without the Constitution being amended, however, should be made at the state level. Additionally, communities should give support to those mothers who find themselves with pregnancies for which they did not plan.

One's life has value, from conception to natural death. As such, SKra00 believes that euthanasia, mercy killings, and assisted suicide should be prohibited at the state level. He believes that our right to life is so inalienable that it is the only one which cannot be given away to another person voluntarily. This is because our right to life is the source of all other rights, even liberty and property. Instead of promoting euthanasia, we should work to allieve pain and foster innovation in the healthcare industry so that no one has to live through that kind of pain.

Rights do not come from government, but from the inherent dignity every person has been endowed by their Creator. SKra00 believes that the government should not have the ability to take a criminal's life, even for the most heinous crimes. The government has been notorious for sentencing innocent people to death, and they should not be trusted with the power to send their own citizens to their end. The death penalty had a use when merely imprisoning people still posed a substantial risk to other people, but given the improvements that have been made to our system of incarceration, it is now obsolete.

SKra00 believes, fundamentally, that marriage is not a civic institution, but a religious one. So, while the government may have a vested interest in keeping track of marriages for, say, the purposes of tax deductions or the census, it should not be able to define what a marriage is or sanction marriages. To this end, SKra00 would like to see marriage-related decisions returned to the state level, and ideally the religious institutions which created marriage as a sacrament in the first place. While same-sex couples cannot be married in the Catholic Church, SKra00's views do not preclude them from being married elsewhere.

Non-discrimination laws serve a noble purpose. There is no legitimate reason a good, moral person should refuse to do business solely based on the color of their skin. Yet, we must also be careful about whether we choose to legislate morality. Increasingly, we are seeing attempts by some to force religious people to abandon their rights to freedom of religion and property so that non-discrimination statutes can be more broadly applied. This is, while unfortunate, unacceptable. Senator SKra00 of course believes, however, all efforts should be taken to prevent discrimination in government.

SKra00 believes that climate change is happening. It is largely human-caused, and humanity should take action to prevent it, despite the likely results or forecasts being historically hazy. To this end, SKra00 would like to see a property-rights based approach that incorporates the social costs of polluting acts into the judicial framework we already have. He opposes arbitrary taxes on substances like carbon or other large-scale governmental attempts to restructure the economy, such as through extensive subsidies or nationalization of the energy industry.

It is natural for people to want to protect the well-being of their neighbors or themselves, but protectionist policies come at a cost. Subsidies and tariffs have been abused by special interests who want the government to prop them up over their competitors, domestic or foreign. This might help protect a few jobs here and there, but it increases the cost of living for many more Americans and leads to other negative, unforeseen consequences. Free trade and free markets have been shown to increase standards of living. Because of this, Senator SKra00 opposes subsidies and tariffs.

As most introductory economics students learn, the minimum wage is a price floor. This means that it benefits those who already have jobs, at the expense of those who want to enter the work force or need more hours. We have also seen that speeds up the automation of low-skill jobs and decreases the number of hours available to those who are already working. SKra00 also believes there is no enumerated power of Congress in the Constitution granting the federal government the ability to institute a minimum wage. He wants to repeal the federal minimum wage, and hopes states will lower their minimum wages as well.

Fundamentally, taxes are meant to pay for the spending of government. SKra00 believes that it is inexcusable that current generations are allowed to spend the money of future generations by deficit spending. He supports a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Taxation and spending should also be limited by removing unconstitutional programs and improving oversight. The income and corporate tax rates should be lowered so as to make the United States more competitive internationally and foster economic growth. SKra00 does not support attempts by the government to spend money or bail out corporations to combat recessions.

SKra00 believes that the War on Drugs had proven to be unsuccessful. Drug consumption and production is largely victimless and there is not much reason for drugs to remain illegal. Much of the crime or negative health implications of drug usage come from the sale of drugs on the black market. While SKra00 does not support the legalization and regulation model for drugs, bringing drugs onto the formal market will allow for greater legal culpability, and lower such crime rates and health effects. SKra00 supports the legalization of marijuana and other drugs, but does not support or encourage their usage.

The War on Poverty has also been one of the United States' failures. The programs that were advertized as a cure-all have turned out to actively prevent many Americans from seeking a better life for themselves. While SKra00 does not believe welfare is a legitimate function of the federal government, he acknowledges that welfare programs cannot be wholesale removed overnight. Instead, he supports transitioning to a negative income tax and privatizing social security before it is doomed to complete insolvency. Ultimately, he believes that it is up to us as moral individuals to help our neighbors.

Americans have the freedom of association, and this should apply to the workplace. SKra00 believes that the federal government should not institute restrictions on unions or employers when it comes to their interactions with one another. SKra00 does not support private right-to-work laws, and does not believe states should compel public sector unions to represent non-union members in their dealings with the government. Unions should be able to act like any other business in the private market, unimpeded by government intervention or sponsorship.

Governments are instituted to protect rights, but how is one supposed to protect rights when it is the government which is infringing upon them? The founding fathers recognized that it was up to the citizenry to be the last line of defense for their rights, so they enshrined the right to bear arms as the second amendment to the Constitution. With this in mind, Senator SKra00 believes that attempts to limit the carry of weapons is unconstitutional, whether that is through a national gun registry, magazine capacity limits, or arms bans. Arms serve to protect one's family from both thieves and governments, and attempts to limit this right are attempts to render the populace defenseless.

While energy production is vital to the national security interests of the United States, SKra00 believes that government intervention in that sector has led to more bad than good. Government assistance to the fossil fuel industry has exacerbated the prominence of carbon and distorted the market. Regulations on nuclear energy have also made competition more difficult and prevented the rise of new technologies. SKra00 believes that the government should exit the energy industry by ceasing subsidies to energy producers and relaxing regulations on nuclear power plants in order to create a more sustainable future.

The internet has revolutionized our economy and culture. With this, there is great concern for the fairness it involves, both in the provision of internet-based services and in the fairness of the services themselves. SKra00 believes that the federal government should not be involved in regulating something so dynamic and innovative. He rejects attempts to institute net neutrality as a false appeal to what a free market means and also rejects attempts to regulate social media companies for their percieved biases against certain viewpoints. Instead, he would prefer competition and innovation to lower prices for consumers and produce a better product.

A strong healthcare system is indicative of a strong nation. The United States has struggled to match other developed nations when it comes to the availability of care, but far surpasses those nations in innovation and serious disease survival rates. Insurance companies can be blamed for some of the inefficiencies, as the government has effectively entrenched them in the healthcare system via a variety of programs, the most recent of which is Obamacare. SKra00 supports the repeal of such programs while also taking such steps as altering patent laws for new drugs and reducing the roles of middle men, bringing price transparency and lower costs to everyone.

Despite good faith efforts to make education of a higher quality in this country, the federal government has largely exceeded its power when it comes to education. SKra00 believes that the federal government should begin to withdraw itself from this arena and return it to the states. He does not support efforts to make college educations free and he does support the termination of college loan programs, which have caused tuition rates to skyrocket. SKra00 believes that education should be focused on placing students in the programs best suited for their skill set, and not on pushing all students to meet the same goal in a one-size-fits-all approach.

The United States military is the greatest military on the face of the planet, not least because the United States is not afraid to provide it the funding it needs for top of the line equipment and training. However, the military comprises a significant portion of the federal budget. Senator SKra00 believes that federal funding for the military should remain steady for the time being, but should have additional oversight measures put in place to reduce waste and cut back on the military industrial complex. The money recovered through such reforms could go to research or combatting the growing global threats of China and Russia.

Alliances are key to the success of the United States. NATO is a great alliance, and SKra00 believes that we should keep up our monetary support of the organization while encouraging our allies to increase their own support. SKra00 also recognizes the importance of Israel as an ally in the Middle East among the throng of tyrannical human rights abusers there. That is not to say Israel is perfect, and the country should work to end its conflicts with the Palestinians in a peaceful manner. The United States should terminate its relationship with "allies" like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which actively turn their backs on the values of the United States, regardless of their strategic importance.

Thanks to our brilliant military, the terrorist threats in the Middle East have been mitigated. They do remain, however, and SKra00 maintains that Congress should authorize the use of force against such groups. SKra00 also rejects attempts to hastily pull troops out of the region without adequately accomplishing our goals or repairing some of the damage done by our mistakes. Terrorism is not the greatest threat to our nation, though. China and Russia seek to undermine the United States and SKra00 believes we should take strong action to deter the spread of their influence throughout the world.

Our nation, as cheesy as it may sound, was built by immigrants. Immigrants will and should continue to be an important part of our nation. As such, it is important our immigration system is as free and fair as reasonably possible. SKra00 supports reforms that increase the number of low- and high-skilled worker visas available while reducing the importance of the diversity lottery visas. He supports measures that more rigorously enforce visa expirations and prevent the illegal trafficking of persons across the border of the United States. For those who wish to become citizens or permanent residents, he supports their integration into American culture by requiring them to learn English and about American history and government.

The United States has a vested national security interest in maintaining scientific dominance over other nations. While copyright and patent laws do need some amount of reform, SKra00 supports a decently strong government emphasis on America's dominance in the scientific fields and in space. He believes that the United States should work with private companies to be the first country to send people to Mars. If the United States does not become the dominant force in outer space, other countries will and will be able to undermine our national security. SKra00 therefore supports the establishment of a Space Force as an extension of the military.

Oftentimes, it may seem as though the American governmental system isn't fair. However, SKra00 believes that government isn't necessarily meant to be fair. It's goal is not for every person to have an equal say on every issue, but to protect the rights of every person, no matter the opinions of others. SKra00 rejects attempts to abolish the Electoral College, but would consider efforts to incorporate Instant Runoff Voting to our electoral system. SKra00 also rejects attempts to prohibit gerrymandering, as drawing a district for any purpose, even a non-partisan one, aims to achieve a specific goal. He considers campaign finance laws a violation of free association and speech and seeks their full repeal.

The Senate is given the important task of approving presidential nominees to the courts of the United States. As a senator, SKra00 has sought to ensure that those nominated to the bench are not only highly-qualified, but also interpret the Constitution according to how it was written and according to its original intent. Attempts by judicial activists to expand the power of the federal government have greatly denigrated the constitutional order and come from a place of faulty logic. SKra00 also believes that judges should not be able to legislate from the bench by issuing injunctions that prevent the application of laws to people not party to cases being heard.