Tooele, District 28

Fred L Baker 
for House, District 28 

Fred L Baker is the Democratic candidate for State House of Representatives. District 28 includes Tooele city, a portion of Stansbury Park, and everything on the east side of UT-36 down to I-80, not including Lakepoint.

In October 2022, I was shocked to see only one candidate on the ballot for Dist 28. My career, 32 years as an Air Force officer and 20 years in civil service, predisposes me to avoid partisan politics, but I decided I must run in 2024 if nothing more than to give Tooele citizens a choice! I prefer the Democratic platform domestically, but foreign relations is very important to me so I have generally registered as a Republican. In the past Republicans have been more responsible with international affairs. That changed in 2017 so I became a Democrat. With little opportunity at the state level to consider foreign affairs, I have a fresh approach to government -  what the citizens of Tooele need. To me, that is an improved standard of living entailing raising salaries and improving education so people can qualify for better jobs.

Livable Wages

 

I am distressed to see campaigns to end child hunger where a major retailer asks the public to drop off food. Child hunger is not fought by donating food, but by raising the salaries of parents so they have enough money to buy food for their children.

  • Raise the minimum wage for all employees to $15.00/hour.

It should be easy and intuitive for qualified people to obtain state licenses, when needed. The State should ease licensing requirements to qualify for good jobs without getting a baccalaureate yet ensuring competence and quality for the public.

  • Re-evaluate occupations that should require a state license together with the requirements to obtain that license.

Non-compete agreements (aka non-disclosure agreements) hinder an employee's ability to move to a competitor to obtain a better job. Though NDA's are not illegal, they restrict the employee's abiliity to improve his salary. They could be be discouraged by a tax.

  • Tax non-compete agreements enabling employees to move freely between jobs. 

Improve Education

Education is a necessity for all, not an investment in personal well-being for the wealthy. The United States' rise to world leadership did not begin until the 20th century concurrent with a free, public education system that qualified high school graduates for a good job without further training. Today's system of public education needs to do the same, either by making post-high school training free, or by reforming high school to qualify graduates for immediate employment.

  • Increase salaries of public school teachers. By rights, teachers with a BS or MS should earn more than police.
  • Expand capacity of junior colleges. Eliminate or greatly reduce tuition.
  • Reduce tuition at state sponsored institutions of higher education.
  • Raise taxes to pay for the above.
  • Limit salaries of presidents and coaches at state sponsored schools to not more than 750K. 

Things I Support:

Borders

The border with Mexico is a mess, but the Canadian border is just fine. The explanation for this has to do with (1) violence in Central and South America making countries there difficult or impossible to live in, and (2) climate change making places at lower latitudes too hot and intemperate. People naturally gravitate to the first livable place with the chance of a good job - the United States. 

Current law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, is nearly 40 years old and needs to be updated. Doing nothing will result in greater confusion and higher numbers of immigrants from Central and South America, particularly if/when global warming exceeds 1.5 deg centigrade. The best countermeasure is development of an immigration system for 2024.

It is not individual states' prerogative to address immigration. The Governor should not dispatch state assets to assist other states in illegal activities.

Mass Shootings

Local law enforcement is expected to protect the public, especially schools, from mass shooters. To that end, sheriffs and police ought to receive additional funding to track weapons in their jurisdiction. In return for federal dollars, they would also be expected to report data annually, perhaps  to the FBI. Sheriffs or police chiefs who have a mass shooting event in their area would be expected to resign.


Build trust in a relationship between higher education and police academies exposing police training to higher education and university personnel to police training.

Money

The English farthing, "the smallest coin in the realm", was used from the 13th century through 1960 and discontinued 1 Jan 1961. The Canadian one cent coin was discontinued 4 Feb 2013. Congress should do away with the US one cent coin.

Measurements

Congress should adopt metric units. Technically began in the 1970's but never finished. 

Things I Oppose:

Medical Laws 

A law is a rule without exception. Creating exceptions to a law reduces the measure from a law to a debate. Repeal all state laws regarding abortion. Abortion is an occasionally useful medical procedure fully understood by, and controlled by, physicians who are themselves subject to the Hippocratic Oath, containing the phrase "First do no harm".

Repeat all laws affecting trans-gender treatment.  Gender issues are medical issues, best addressed by physicians, not congressmen.

To ensure all people have access to medical care, reduce red tape before getting Medicaid or equivalent medical insurance. Support a public option for the ACA, medicaid for all.

Utah Inland Port Authority

In the beginning the Utah Inland Port Authority was intended as a way to build the economy. It has not fulfilled its promise, is doing more damage than good, and should be repealed.

The UIPA takes tax money from local communities, nominally for good jobs but returns nothing but pollution and destruction of  the environment.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Fred at     fred.baker@fredlbaker.com

Fred L Baker, Colonel USAF/Ret, Intelligence Analyst, Geophysicist, Communications Engineer

fred.baker@fredlbaker.com

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