Labels should not dictate who or what we vote for

Are you tired of labels? Socialist, communist, liberal, conservative, republican, democrat? I am too. Labels represent ideologies. They should not dictate who or what we vote for. You should vote for the person who will represent you, your family and your values not someone else’s. Being tied to a distinct party ideology limits the information you have access to and limits your choices. Expanding our information base provides the opportunity to examine all solutions. If you are told that grape jam is the best and are never exposed to other jams then you become biased towards grape jam. But let me tell you, grape jam is not the best. Ideas and solutions are the same. Ideas from people from other religions, cultures, political views may be different than yours but need to be examined. The current Senate majority believes the only way to “fix” the budget is to cut funding to programs which affect your family’s way of life. Reducing spending to early childhood development programs, increasing the amount paid by your parents or grandparents to stay at the Pioneer Home, eliminating or reducing senior benefits, eliminating adult public assistance, eliminating assistance to needy families and repealing the school bond debt reimbursement program. If funding to these programs are cut, who pays? YOU DO! By eliminating the school bond debt reimbursement program, your property taxes in the Mat-Su will increase by 2.4 mills. For a $200,000 home that amounts to $480 per year. You will see crowded classrooms, no new schools, no school renovations, more homelessness, higher taxes and slower police and fire response times and worse health services. That is not counting the amount of emotional, physical or additional monetary toll the other cuts may take on your family. This type of logic to balance the budget is bad economics. This logic won’t balance the budget and keep family programs viable. You need someone to represent you who is not politically motivated, not driven by party politics, someone who has owned and operated a successful small business, someone who actually has an advanced degree in Government Finance, someone who will work with others to get the job done, someone who is not afraid to stand up for what is right, someone who will listen to you and actually represent you. You deserve better that your current Senator. Together we can make a difference. Vote Jim Cooper Senate District F.

Jim Cooper,

Palmer