1] The war on drugs destroys communities, alienates and demonizes large segments of the population, and adds to drug abuse. Of course it increases the problems faced by classroom teachers. Educational "problems" are community related; rebuild communities first! Stop the drug war poison! While vouchers may be a good idea, and should not exclude religious schools, they are not the answer, and should not be advocated - until the larger problems caused by drug prohibition are ended. JT's voucher proposal would be different from ones previously proposed and would benefit both private enterprise and public education.
2] The problems mentioned above also face families on government assistance; reducing the problems caused by bad governmental policy will reduce welfare rolls and make that problem more manageable.
3] A significant amount of tax revenue is lost each year - that could be used for public resources - due to the ridiculous War on Drugs. This includes tax money from the sale of illegal recreational drugs and money stolen from consumers and businesses by customers of illegal drug vendors. Either spending more tax money or giving tax relief to taxpayers would be irresponsible until this drag on the Oregon economy is reduced by major drug reform. Unlike Bill Sizemore, who has yet to come out against ANY specific governmental spending of import and proposed no specific
spending cuts, JT has proposed MAJOR cuts in government and new sources of revenue to actually fund his proposed tax cut and retroactive tax indexing proposal.
4] The recreational drug store proposal, as proposed by JT, would share revenues with counties. The tax indexing proposal would reduce revenue that goes to Salem. This would shift money to local governments and allow much of the decision making to be made on the local level
especially helpful for schools, who have seen their funding increasingly dependent on the dictates of Salem and pet policies of the two major parties.
5] Gun control is an issue that is dependent on maintaining the War on Drugs. Ending the War on Drugs will reduce crime, violence, and overall drug abuse. It will also result in reducing the demand for guns. There is absolutely no need for any gun control - since it is obviously a feel good response to crime and violence that will evaporate when a sensible drug policy is adopted. If gun control is still an issue even one year after full legalization of all drugs, this candidate will volunteer for the dunking pool at any and all major gatherings.
Questions about other issues not related to War on Drugs or spending tax dollars?