AKIMSON

AKIMSON

I am a Republican Representative for the state of California. Though I am a Republican I am close to the middle.

The Congressman from California's that I most agree with in my political views is [|Jerry Lewis]. He is from California's 41st district. I agree with him because he wants better clean air standards, harder laws against drugs, and low income families to be able to buy homes.

The three issues in our country that I most care about are:

1. The Economy. Over about the past year it seems all we hear is that we are in a recession. Every week we hear about a new company going bankrupt. I have seen this globally and locally. Some of the global organizations such as Ford, GM, Chrysler, AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac all have recieved federal bailout money. The bailout money is essentially all tax dollars. I believe the government should stop bailing out the companies that put us in a recession and start bailing out those who have lost jobs and money to this recession. I believe the reason why the recession started was that the government allowed certain companies to grow too big. I believe that the government should invest in small buisness instad of giant corporations. In order to fix the auto industry I believe that the government should put higher taxes on imported cars from Asia and Europe. American automakers simply can't compete at current prices. Even their commercials have become pathetic. One had a Chevy guy and a Ford guy saying to come buy either kind of car. Chevy and Ford should be rivals.

2. Environment and Energy. One of the biggest question marks in our contry's near future is how we will get energy. One thing is for sure. Fossil fuels are not the answer. However, I do not believe that we can just stop using fossil fuels all at once. We should slowy turn towards renewable energy over a couple of decades. I happen to believe the best alternative fuel source is wind energy. We can use wind energy to help fuel our homes. Then, we can move away from cars that run on oil, and convert them to run on natural gas. This will make us import less fuel because we have a high supply of natural gas. With all of the money that we save by not importing our fuel we can further reasearch electric cars. This is mainly a plan developed by T. Boone Pickens. I believe in the short term we should drill for ol off the shore of Alaska. This would help us slow our dependence on foreign oil, and stimulate the economy.

3. Education. One of the problems with our country is the way we educate our children. The first problem is that inner city schools are becoming worse and worse. Some places have been failing to pass the same levy for years. In order to fix this the schools need to communicate better with the community. They must show voters passing the levy will not just cost more money, but is critical to educating our next generation. Another problem with schools is standardized testing. The tests vary depending upon state, and often don't truly show how smart you are. It is not fair to the students to have to worry about a worthless test that is really meant to assess the teachers. I think we should come up with a core national cirriculum for each grade level. Standardized tests force the teachers to cover more cirriculum, but in a very shallow manner. This prevents in depth learning. That way everybody takes the same standardized tests. If schools can teach beyond the required cirriculum then they should be able to do so.

1.The unempoyment rate in California has risen from 5.1% to 11.5% over the last year. 2.Many California lawmakers are seriously considering legalizing marijuana to stimulate its economy. 3. Governer Arnold Schwarzeneger has recently issued an Executive Order saying that 33% of California's power must be renewable by 2020. 4. Wind energy only accounted for 2.3% of California's total energy in 2007. 5. California's public education system ranks 34th in the nation. This is because many kids are not completely fluent in English.

I am sponsoring HB 58 along with Nick Distaulo and Eric Bluso. The purpose of the Minimum of 25 MPG by 2014 Act is to push America and the rest of the world toward a greener way of life. We will have to buy less oil from foreidn countries, and a $200 a year tax will go towards researching and funding alternative energies.This bill will revolutionize the whole auto industry, which will give the US automakers a chance to catch back up with leading Asian and European automakers. If you are in favor of a better environment for our kids vote yes on HB 58!!!!!

Sources: 1.Gallagher, Paul. "Recovery Is Possible Only If Central Bank Bailouts Stop." __Executive Intelligence Review - LaRouche Publications__. 09 May 2009 []

2.Rinaldi, Jessica. "Texas Oil Man T Boone Pickens wants to supplant oil with wind." [] 11 July 2008. 10 May 2009.

3."10 Reasons to Oppose High Stakes Testing." [].//Students Against Testing. 10 May 2009.

4. "California." __United States Geography__. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 10 May 2009 [|http://www.usgeography.abc-clio.com].

5.Shanahan, John. "Time to Permit Oil Drilling in the Arctic Refuge." []. 17 Oct. 1995. 10 May 2009.

6.Dylan, Reggie. "Restructuring Inner-City Schools for the Global Marketplace:." __Http:rwor.org/a/146/green_dot_pt2-en.html__//. 26 Oct. 2008. 10 May 2009.

7. Rogers, Jim. "Stop Bailing out the Bankrupt." []. 29 Mar. 2004. 10 May 2009.

8."Invest in Small Buisness Act of 2009." http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s78/show. 10 May 2009.

9. Gimbel, Barney. "Hunting for oil beneath the ice." []. 3 May 2008. 10 May 2009.

10.Fish, Greg. "Stop the Standardized Test Tyranny." []. 10 May 2009.