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Name: Richard "Rich" L. Grabowski
Position Sought: Representative in Congress – IL 3rd Congressional District.
Campaign contact information:
Website: www.RichardGrabowski.com
Email: Rich@RichardGrabowski.com
Phone: 708-769-9345
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RichardLGrabowski
Mailing address: Citizens for Richard L. Grabowski, P.O. Box 536. Oak Lawn, IL 60454.
Age: 45
Family: Wife, Linda; four sons.
Education: St. Augustine Grammar School, Chicago; De La Salle Institute, Chicago; St. Joseph H.S., Chicago.
Moraine Valley Community College, coursework in industrial engineering management and marketing.
Occupation: Materials Supervisor at a west suburban manufacturing company.
Political Party: Republican, Constitutional Conservative Republican
Official name of your campaign committee (if you have one):
Citizens for Richard L. Grabowski
Previous Elected or Appointed Offices: None.
CANDIDATE QUESTIONS
1. Is there any additional experience you believe qualifies you for the position?
I have not held an elected office, appointed position or a pensioned government job. I am citizen of the United States, I live in my district (which actually ISN’T a requirement), my interest in and concern for our country and our future generations genuinely qualifies me.
2. What would your priorities be if elected to this office?
Preserving our freedoms, our traditional American way of life, defending our United States Constitution, lowering taxes, reducing spending, balancing the federal budget, protecting our USA borders, enforcing and toughing our existing immigration laws currently on the books, and having something left of our country to pass on to our future generations.
3. What sets you apart from the other candidates? (If your race is contested.)
I’m an ordinary citizen who cares deeply about the uncertain economic and social path that Democrats running our state and federal government have chosen to lead us down. I’m a common sense constitutional conservative with traditional family values. I’m Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Pro-Business, Pro-Growth, and Pro-Second Amendment. I respect our God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
4. How do you define a small business, and what can government do to support them that isn't being done?
Businesses of 150 to 200 employees or less, all the way down to mom and pops businesses. What can government do to support or help them? Get out of their way, reduce taxes, regulations, promote a business friendly environment, welcoming businesses – not chasing them out, or treating them like the enemy. They are the real JOB PRODUCERS.
5. What are your ideas for cutting the federal deficit? Will federal services need to be cut in coming years, and if so, which?
Bring in an across the board flat tax from the lowest income earner to the highest income earner, reduce regulations on businesses, reverse of the progressive tax idea – everyone’s at the same base rate, yet multiple benchmarks for incentives to receive lower tax rates (not higher) based on increased profitability. By having target benchmarks to achieve greater profitability as a goal, companies are challenged to grow, if they so choose, to receive further reductions which add to an increased bottom line, and a need to hire more employees to achieve the next benchmark and beyond. More profitability also naturally creates a larger inflow of income tax based on larger volume of profit.
6. What should the government do to create more jobs?
Get out of their way, reduce taxes, regulations, promote a business friendly environment, welcoming businesses – not chasing them out, or treating them like the enemy. They are the real JOB PRODUCERS. When businesses profit, they GROW. When they grow, they tend to need to hire more people. When they hire more people, there is more spent in the economy. More money made and spent naturally creates a larger inflow of income tax and sales tax WITHOUT RAISING TAXES.
7. Should there be repercussions for legislators who don’t read bills, and how do you enforce that?
Setting legislative immunity aside, the citizenry should have the ability, beyond voting them out, to hold them accountable with a certain amount of liability for their actions and votes that were in a personal conflict of interest, and not in the interest of ‘We the People’. Ordinary people who work in the private sector quite often are held to this degree of ethics, our legislators should be as well, and to a higher degree.
8. Should the “No Child Left Behind Act” set different measurements for economically disadvantaged students, special education students, students learning English as a second language, etc?
Yes, but based on educational learning ability. Some children – and adults, learn at different speeds and in different ways. Special education and children with disabilities are a great example for this alternate measurement need.
9. Should federal immigration policy be changed, and if so how?
No amnesty, abide by the deportation policies that currently exist. If caught here illegally, sent back, and have returned again and caught, citizenship will then never be an option at all, and prosecution is next, in their home country. For LEGAL immigrants, 5 year waiting period after receiving citizenship for ANY form of public aid or federal or state programs.
And forget building the chain link fence – for the cost of ANOTHER new highway project, build a 40ft high, 20ft deep, 3ft thick concrete and steel wall from the Pacific coast border to the Gulf of Mexico border, sealing tunnels as well. Border roads between are then covered by ICE and US Customs, waters by US Coast Guard. When the southern border is completed, start the northern border. One useful project that I wouldn’t MIND my taxes to be used to build.
10. What are your philosophies on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion, and what should government’s role in those issues?
I believe in one man and one woman marriage, as God intended for procreation and bearing of children.
Life begins at conception. I am Pro-Life, and believe that a separate unborn life should not be ended as a convenience for the mother’s choosing based on social or economic choices or status. Every individual has personal responsibility for their own actions.
11. Are there certain things you think could be reasonably taxed (fuel, entertainment, luxuries, etc.)?
No to service taxes. Reduce the fuel tax. Eliminate the death tax. A serious and committed effort at reduction of spending during our tough economic times, the voracious appetite of the Federal Government, will reduce the need to raise any sort of tax.
Sure, a certain amount of taxation is necessary to administer the union between the states, but only that which is truly needed to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, ensure the blessings of liberty, for our citizens and our future generations as required in our United States Constitution.
12. What should minimum wage be and through what method should increases be determined?
How about what it should NOT BE. It isn’t meant to be an annual or periodic pay increase not based on merit. It’s not meant to drive cost of living increases justified in union contracts for wage increases. It’s the lowest wage to be received by law. Increases should be based on the strength or weakness of our economy, cost of living per region, and not only raising, but potentially even reducing.
13. How would you find a better balance between the tax burden and funding services?
Seriously, look at reducing, overhauling or eliminating services and programs and departments that are duplicitous, or full of waste, fraud and abuse by the recipients. Reducing or eliminating waste, fraud and abuse and mismanagement increased the funds available to efficiently and effectively administer the programs.
14. Non-partisanship is given a lot of lip service by congressional members. Tell us how you would work with members of the opposite party?
I’m willing to work with ANYONE who is working in the interests of ‘We the American People’, not reducing our rights and freedoms, not trampling on our freedoms of speech, conscience and religion. If you’re not in it for the right reason, then I might find it difficult to agree with your self-interested and alternative motives.
15. Do you think some or all of the health care bill should be repealed? What can the government do to provide more access and affordability to health care?
Repeal it. It’s too costly to fix a car that has too much wrong with it to get it to turn over. Scrap the bill and start over, or better yet, get out of and stay out of the way of private sector businesses, doctors, physicians, private practices, service providers, etc. Government intervention has been the cause of so much price inflation throughout the insurance industry through what Medicare / Medicaid has been ‘willing’ to pay or reimburse for services, setting the new standard for the insurance industry.
16. What should government’s role be in private sector finance?
Another private sector industry that the government needs to keep out of. Bailing out banks created somewhat of an ownership of those establishments by our government. The Dodd/Frank Act and its piggybacked Durbin Amendment took it a step further, and are doing irreparable damage to our free market banking and financial system, slowly crushing the individual’s ability to keep more of their own hard earned money in their own bank accounts.
17. Who are your political heroes and why?
- Ronald Reagan – greatest president in my lifetime.
- Currently seated Congressman Joe Walsh – stuck to his guns, voted how he said he would without wavering.
- Rush Limbaugh – My first real solid conservative influence.
- Sean Hannity – Opened my eyes to a broader spectrum of issues with a different perspective.
- Mark Levin – The one man I can say I most agree with on issues.
18. Do you agree with the administration's handling of the wars? As the U.S. reduces its military presence in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, what do you think is the future of the war on terror?
The reality: With nuclear bomb making potential in the middle east, I wouldn’t hold my breath. We may have a need in the near future to act militarily, not only in the interests of our allies, but in our own National Security interests.
19. Have you ever been convicted of a felony, sued successfully or had a restraining order placed against you? If so, please explain.
No, no, and no.
