$Billion/Year Budget Increase, the Food Tax Bill & More

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If you feel that your freedoms are being eroded day by day, that it's getting easier and easier to unknowingly break the law, and that government is steadily encroaching on everything from the type of milk you may drink to how many gallons you can flush with, it's not your imagination, and you're not alone.

I stand with Thomas Jefferson in his wish for "wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement" (from his First Inaugural Address, 1801).

I will courageously do all I can to reduce government influence over your life - not increase it - by voting against bills that restrict personal liberty, and I will work with other legislators and encourage them to do the same.

Instead of looking for ways to "increase revenue" and raise taxes, government should reevaluate its expenditures and pare down to only those endeavors that pertain to the proper role of government. 

I strongly opposed SB2001, the so-called "tax restructuring bill." I spent dozens of hours on the referendum petition and drove hundreds of miles to distribute packets to other counties. Not only did this bill increase tax on food, gas, and essential services, but it gave sales tax exemptions to large, hand-picked companies. We don't need that kind of "restructuring."

Utah legislators should set an example for the rest of the country and strive to limit the number and scope of laws that are passed, particularly those that would restrict our freedoms or increase our tax burden. 

I am pro-life for the simple reason that I believe an unborn baby is a person - at every stage of development.

I believe women (AND men) should have total control over what they choose to do with their own bodies, as well as their property, as long as they do not harm others, including and especially the most vulnerable among us - unborn children.

In rare instances where a mother's life is in jeopardy due to her pregnancy, I would expect and implore her to seek counsel from her doctor, her partner, her clergyman if she has one, and her God, in order to make the best decision she possibly can. Obviously, no government can or should tell her what to do in such a difficult and personal situation.

While Utah is consistently the most frugal state in the nation when it comes to per-pupil public school expenditures*, we are in the top ten for SAT scores**. This is great news, but that doesn't mean we don't have problems to address. 

Districts must avoid "upside-down budgeting," where less important items are placed at the top of the list, and crucial items like classroom supplies are near the bottom or even left out of the budget altogether, with teachers paying for materials out of their own pockets.

Even in surplus years, I believe we should make sure our precious education dollars are being spent as responsibly as possible.

*http://www.utahfoundation.org/2019/05/new-data-shows-utah-still-51st-in-the-nation-in-per-pupil-spending/

**http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/sat-scores-by-state/

I am an adamant supporter of the Second Amendment, which means that I fully support our right to bear arms and oppose red-flag laws or any other effort to "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" (U.S. Constitution, 14th Amendment).

The four words "shall not be infringed" are as clear as it gets.

In 2013, a Constitutional Carry bill was passed overwhelmingly by both houses of the Utah congress. Governor Herbert vetoed the bill, but the legislature needed only to hold an override session in order to pass it, but they failed to do so.

How do I stand on other issues? Please feel free to email me at KarenForUtah@gmail.com with any questions or comments. I would genuinely love to hear from you.