Reece J. Roberts

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It’s time. We need universal healthcare. For all Americans.Our for-profit system, once a model of efficiency, has become a tragedy. Healthcare and insurance corporations take in 100s of BILLIONS in profits -not gross revenue- each year. That’s BILLIONS of dollars we all pay each year, going into someone’s pocket, and doing nothing to provide actual medical care. I love the concept of smaller government, but we can’t rely on for-profit corporations when there is so much money being made by keeping Americans sick. And yes, a universal system will likely mean an increase in tax burden, but with no health insurance premiums and reduced payroll expenses for small businesses, we all pay less in the end. And we will be healthier for it!

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Corruption and cronyism have become rampant as our government officials become entrenched in their positions. This entrenchment has created a “ruling” class that has become entirely out of touch with their constituents.I support a limit of two terms (12 years) for US Senators, and three terms (6 years) for Representatives in the US House. We need our lawmakers to change and adjust with the needs of our population. We need to encourage fresh ideas and more voices. And, we need to end the stale “business as usual” greed and corruption we currently have.Additionally, I support an 18 year service limit for all Supreme Court Justices.I believe in keeping these justices out of the election cycle, so decisions can be based in law and not popular opinion. But as our generations change, so must our justices. Currently, we have several justices who last attended law school over 50 years ago; these justices have become completely out of touch with the problems of those living and struggling in America today, and yet are making decisions that will impact the lives of Alaskans for decades to come.Oh, and the President can only serve two terms. Period.

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Everyone who is born has a soul. No one asks to be born; we are brought into existence against our will (or at least, without our consent).We all have struggles, and we all have hardships. And yet, everyone currently alive chooses to remain alive, despite the incessant challenges of living. So, by virtue of merely existing, I believe everyone deserves some respect and dignity.People can love (or hate) whom they choose, but the government must treat all people fairly, without discrimination. Our legislation must always support this, and the conduct of government officials must reflect it.I support equality and equity for all persons, regardless of nationality, religion, sex, gender, economic class, or sexual orientation.

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Business development and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive.I support common sense protections for our environment.This is our land. We all live here, and we all have pride in our home. If we do not protect our land, then others will come and exploit it for profit, with no concern for destruction.We can have environmental protections that not only protect our homeland from unscrupulous greed, but actually foster business growth.I support infrastructure development. And I support mineral and natural resource extraction (e.g., mining, oil, etc). But, these must be done in accordance with established practices that don’t render our land uninhabitable.Not destroying the land we live on is a pretty low bar- it is disgusting that so many politicians have been convinced (or essentially bribed) to say it’s unreasonable.

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I support a ban of stock and security trading for all elected public officials, especially members of Congress.There currently are no meaningfully enforced, significant restrictions on members of Congress from owning, buying or selling stocks and other securities.This is a massive conflict of interest, as the lawmakers setting policy decisions or government contract mandates can, and do, profit off of the businesses affected.We MUST end this source of corruption! Public service should be an honor and a privilege, and not a source of profit.

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Nearly 2/3s of Alaskan households have guns.As a gun owner myself, I support the rights of people to own and use firearms.Whether it be for subsistence living, recreational hunting, protection from wildlife, or simply because shooting is fun, I will make sure the Second Amendment is respected, so that we continue to have these rights.The caveat, however, is that I do acknowledge that gun violence is a serious problem in most of the US.Gun violence is the deadly symptom of much greater societal problems: poverty, inequality, and poor mental health.The best way to reduce violence (and all crime) is prevention; we must target the conditions that make crime viable.Sure, restricting gun ownership would likely reduce shooting victims, but the underlying problems causing violence and crime would remain unaddressed.It’s much the same way that you –could– eliminate pot holes by banning all cars from driving on our roads, but in addition to being a major inconvenience, it wouldn’t actually solve the problem of improper drainage and overweight vehicles.We can reduce the situations that lead persons into killing and harming others by working to end poverty and exploitation (see Reducing Greed and Addressing Poverty above), and providing adequate mental health resources (see Universal Healthcare above).

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We must balance the budget. Economies are incredibly complex, but continuous deficit spending always has a bad outcome. Sure we all want lower taxes, and more services, but eventually something has got to give. Balancing a budget should is a pretty basic principle of finance. Every dollar we borrow is a dollar that must be paid back with interest. Alaskans are absolutely getting screwed over by decisions made by past administrations, and as we continue to run deficits, we make it worse for ourselves, our children, and all future generations. The US is projected to pay $1 TRILLION in interest alone (on our current debt of ~$39 T) by the end of 2026! That’s $1T in taxes this year, or about $3k per American. We are at risk of catastrophic economic collapse!To raise revenue, we must target greed (see Reducing Greed sections below). To cut expenses, we should start by forcing the Trump administration to stop wasting money on his vanity projects, and forbid the US from joining pointless wars.

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The right to refuse medications, including (sigh…) vaccines*.*I must add that as a healthcare worker, I absolutely believe in vaccines. I am furious with the anti-vax movement. These bad actors push false information that is eroding public health and KILLING OUR CHILDREN! Everyone should be getting vaccinated for preventable diseases. BUT, I cannot abide by a government FORCING anyone to put something inside of their body against their will. I will absolutely support programs to combat the rampant misinformation and support government vaccine requirements for voluntarily chosen positions, such as public health or military service.

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We need to fight corruption and enact term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court.

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We need to end deficit spending and stop funding vanity projects and pointless wars.

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We need to close corporate tax loopholes which are hurting consumers and small businesses.

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We need to raise taxes on billionaires to discourage wealth hoarding.

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The taxes we do spend must go to actually help people: Universal Healthcare, fully funded Social Security, and new infrastructure investments to withstand climate change.

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We also need to affirm and protect personal liberties and defend human rights, for all humans.

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All Alaskans are being exploited. Corporate America is selling out all of us. If you are not outraged, you should be.Mega-Corporations are leeching public funds through fraud and abuse of public programs, and gutting the financial and physical health of our communities.These are tax dollars YOU PAY that are now not able to fund schools, public safety, roads, and everything else the public needs. (Alternatively, these are taxes you shouldn’t have had to pay at all).We need to end the tax breaks and loopholes given to profitable companies and severely punish corruption, embezzlement, and fraud.Our public tax dollars should NEVER line the pockets of corporate executives.We need to end private equity firms that target vulnerable businesses and squeeze out every last penny; they leave hard-working Americans unemployed and drain retirement plans through manufactured bankruptcy. Families and entire communities are left in ruin, while the executives of faceless financial corporations get to buy more yachts.We need to strengthen consumer protections. Corporations are extremely skilled at extracting money from ANY place they can. Fraud, deceptive marketing, planned obsolescence, predatory lending are just some examples. When greed causes to people to seek wealth by any means, consumers must have the means to fight back. We also need to end corporate protection loopholes and hold individual people within corporations accountable for financial crimes.Business law is quite complex; there are good reasons for some corporate legal protections. But all Americans are victims of unscrupulous executives, and we must stop allowing those who pillage us to sit, virtually untouchable, behind legal corporate smokescreens.

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Affordability is rapidly becoming one of the biggest challenges facing Alaskans.We need to reduce the financial burdens working Alaskans are experiencing. We have been living in a period where, quarter after quarter, corporations report record profits, and yet we are told prices have increased due to inflation, and few of us have seen pay raises. Perhaps you are financially stable enough to have not really noticed the recent price increases on seemingly everything, (if you are, I’m happy for ya), but statistically, most of us have been hurting from the gas pump to the grocery store.“Trickle down economics” was a joke, and the middle class is the punchline. Our economy has always been designed to move wealth upward and keep it there. Mega-Corporations, and the billionaires behind them, are very skilled at extracting our money- that’s how they got rich to begin with. Now, this economic system is extracting wealth from our communities at unprecedented rates, while exploiting our labor and actively price-gouging us. To tackle affordablity, we need to adequately tax those profiting off our despair (see Reducing Greed sections) and stop spending more money than we have (see End Deficit Spending section). We must spend tax revenues wisely, in programs designed to support our economy. Counter-intuitively, adding some government services, such as Universal Healthcare (see section above) will assist in affordablity despite a marginal increase in tax burden.

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I wholeheartedly defend bodily autonomy (see Bodily Autonomy below). All persons, including pregnant persons, must have the right to have control over their bodies.While access to elective obstetric care is currently safe in Alaska, it is under threat nationwide.Women in other states are dying due to a lack of essential, life-saving obstetrical care.We owe it to them, as our fellow Americans, to restore their freedom, and to have the domain over their own bodies.