Wilbur "Bill" Wood (Lib.)
AGE: 51
HOMETOWN: Berryville, Va.
FAMILY: Wife Amy, Son Nathan
EDUCATION: Some College
OCCUPATION: Optician
EMPLOYMENT: Optical Center, Winchester, Va.
CAMPAIGN ADDRESS:
CAMPAIGN PHONE:
WEBSITE: www.woodforcongress.com
E-MAIL: wnw3@yahoo.com
BEST BOOK YOU READ THIS YEAR: Cato's Handbook on Policy
FAVORITE MOVIE: Casablanca
1. Was the Iraq war a mistake? Why or why not?
Yes, we attacked a foreign country that did not attack the United States.
2. Five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, what more could be done to protect America? What limits on civil liberties are acceptable?
Candidate did not answer the question.
3. What is the nation's best long-term strategy in combating terrorism?
Candidate did not answer the question.
4. In light of recent corruption scandals in Congress, do you believe reforms are needed? What would you propose?
Yes reform is needed to curb the constant corruption scandals in Congress. We need to restore the federal government to doing only the tasks it is given in the Bill of rights and Constitution. Government is more transparent at the local and State level. We need to launch a sustained assault on Corporate Welfare, pork, waste and redundancy and eliminate all subsidies that benefit narrow interest at the expense of the American people. To restore our government to a citizen legislature we need to have a Term Limits and Balance Budget Amendment.
5. What should be done about the 45 million Americans who are living without health insurance?
The problem with healthcare of today is because of the third party payer system. Americans need to own their own healthcare savings accounts that will be combined with a low cost, high-deductible health insurance policy. Since Americans would own their own medical accounts they would be able to earn interest, take it with them if they change jobs, bequeath it to their children, and since humans are more careful when spending their own money versus spending someone elseís they will be able to reduce their healthcare expenses also reducing the high rate of inflation that has hit the medical field.
6. President Bush's signature education law, No Child Left Behind, requires high-stakes testing in all public schools. What is your view of the law? Should it be reformed? Why or why not?
Education is way too important to let it be handled by government bureaucrats, it should be left in the hands of parents and teachers. With each new federal mandate, educators are forced to concentrate on compliance rather than real improvements. Educators have to spend more and more time dealing with federal regulations which take away time from actually teaching. Instead of trying to satisfy parents, educators must now produce numbers to keep the federal government off their backs. Instead of imposing top down regulations, the federal
Government should urge State level reforms that will return control back to the parents.
7. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the federal deficit will grow to $286 billion in 2007 and to $1.76 trillion over the next decade. How would you address this?
The leading cause of the federal deficit is the lack of accountability that has permeated the current government. I propose a Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced budget except in the event of a direct attack on the United State or a large scale natural disaster. A permanent Sunset Commission should be created to analyze all federal programs on an annual basis to eliminate redundancy, waste, and programs that have outlived their usefulness.
8. What is the best way to deal with the record high oil prices of recent years?
Candidate did not answer the question.
9. While the economy has grown in the last five years, the wages of middle- and low-income Americans has stagnated. How would you address the income disparity between the very wealthy and the rest of the working America?
There are several things that must be done to help all Americans. We must show Americans that they will get more in terms of benefits, if own their own retirement and healthcare. I would like to raise the personal exemption on the income tax to $20,000. I want to enact a 100% tax credit for all money spent on Education cost, Healthcare cost, money donated to charity and interest earned on savings.
10. Opinion polls suggest that the international community views the United States in a negative light. Does this matter? If so, what can the United States do to repair its standing with the rest of the world?
Yes, World opinion does matter. The United States needs to change its outdated Cold War foreign policy. As Thomas Jefferson stated in his 1st Inaugural Address "Peace, Commerce and honest friendship with all Nations-entangling alliances with none, I deem (one of) the essential principles of our government and consequently (one of) those which ought to shape its administration" The United States should stop trying to solve every other countries problems, let them learn to be self- sufficient. The United States also needs to start withdrawing our Military forces from other Countries. We wouldn't want foreign troops stationed in the United States.
For the following questions, please respond with a yes or no answer.
1. The minimum wage has been $5.15 since 1997. Is it time to increase it?
No
2. Congress is considering the elimination of the federal estate tax, which requires the wealthiest 2 percent of all Americans to pay taxes on inherited property. Do you believe the estate tax should be discontinued?
Yes
3. Is global warming real?
No
4. On Nov. 7, your name will appear on the same ballot as a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Considering the full text of the amendment, will you vote for it?
No
5. If President Bush's tax cuts are made permanent, $2.2 trillion would be added to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. Would you vote to extend the tax cuts past the 2010 expiration date?
Yes
6. Should the United States have higher fuel economy standards for vehicles?
No
7. Do you believe in evolution?
Yes
8. Should electronic voting machines be required to have verified voting paper trails?
Yes
9. Do you believe the sectarian violence in Iraq is a civil war?
Yes
10. Should the federal government fund stem cell research?
No
11. The United States is one of the few countries that has refused to sign a global ban on land mines. Would you vote to sign the treaty banning the use of land mines?
Yes
12. California has enacted the nation's toughest restrictions on air pollution, requiring a 25 percent reduction in carbon dioxide pollution. Should similar action be taken for the rest of the country?
No
13. Do you support "Net Neutrality," which would guarantee that every website on the Internet loads at an equal rate of speed?
No
14. Do you believe that Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision that overturned state laws banning abortion, should be overturned?
Yes
15. Would you support a guest worker program for illegal immigrants that would lead to citizenship?
Yes