Chris Praedel

Candidate Name: Chris Praedel

Race: State House 60th District
Political Party: Democrat

CONTACT INFORMATION
Email address: ChrisForKzoo@gmail.com
Website address: http://chrisforkzoo.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Praedel/229438366476
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/chrisforkzoo
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisForKzoo

MICHIGAN PRIMARY QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1. - HOW WOULD YOU PUT MICHIGAN BACK TO WORK?
The best way we are going to put Michigan back to work is by investing in small businesses. We need to attract, retain, and help expand small businesses. Most Americans work for businesses that employ less than 50 people. When people think about Michigan, they need to think of it as the entrepreneurial hub of the nation and the leader of the economic resurgence.

QUESTION 2. - IF ELECTED, WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY IN YOUR FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE?
Insuring that funding for all levels of education is fully restored. From birth to college, education at all levels is the best investment in the future of this state. Until last month, we faced one of the largest per pupil cuts in Michigan history and universities still face a massive 3.1% cut and further cuts in financial aid.

QUESTION 3. - WOULD YOU MAKE CHANGES TO THE MICHIGAN BUSINESS TAX? IF SO, WHAT CHANGES?
More than any other factor, local business owners want tax stability and consistency. Many small business owners live month to month between the black and the red. As a family, one could not budget with that level of uncertainty from year-to-year.

Should we shift to a services tax (minus child and healthcare) and slightly lower the sales tax on goods, this would enable us to slowly phase out the MBT. Besides educating our citizenry, we need to assure that we retain and attract new business. We need to show the rest of the country that we will be at the forefront of the economy resurgence and we are an entrepreneurial haven.

QUESTION 4. - HOW WOULD YOU BALANCE MICHIGAN'S BUDGET? WHAT SPECIFICALLY WOULD YOU CUT? HOW WOULD YOU RAISE ADDITIONAL REVENUE?
Since 2001, the State of Michigan receives $9.1 billion less in tax revenue. There's not much left to "slash and burn" from the budget. Instead, we need to have a comprehensive review of our budget to determine more innovative and efficient ways to serve the people, without doing so on the backs of state employees. We need to create benchmark and ambitious goals to do so by clearly defined deadlines.

Second, we need to look at the trends that have altered our tax revenue stream. In the recent decades, we have shifted from a goods to a services economy. Our tax code needs to reflect those changes. There have been proposals that we lower the sales tax for goods and begin collecting a similar tax on services (minue healthcare and childcare). Lastly, along with the sales tax shift, we would begin to phase out taxes on small businesses.

Furthermore, we lose an estimated $100 million per year in revenue loses from purchases made online. Online purchases largely leave our state's borders and hurt our local businesses. As a state, we need to engage federal leaders and come together with other states to insure online merchants collect state sales taxes like any other brick and mortar business that wishes to do business in our state.

Furthermore, we need to look at areas of the budget that receive matching federal dollars for spending. At all costs, we should avoid cuts to these areas. For instance, a proposed 200 road and infrastructre projects were on the chopping block. Not only will the roads deteriorate, but we'll lose thousands of prospective jobs. Not to mention, we risk losing millions of federal matching dollars that would have added even more jobs. The same is true for many healthcare matching dollars.

Reps Byrnes and Ball (bipartisan) have proposed that we raise the gas tax by .04 cents to assure that those 200 road projects are not chopped. This increase seems reasonable considering the price per gallon has fluctuated from $2.52 to $3.09 in a month alone.

Lastly, our state could potentially raise an additional $400 million in revenue each year, if we allowed "Racinos" or racetrack casinos. Currently, most state gamblers play at tribal and Detroit casinos, both are largely exempt from paying any state taxes. By allowing similar gambling at these venues, we could raise substantial amounts of additional state funds each year.

QUESTION 5. - WHAT GOVERNMENT REFORMS/CHANGES WOULD YOU PUT IN PLACE TO HELP PREVENT BUDGET SHORTFALLS IN FUTURE YEARS?
The annual budget issues is not as much of a cyclical issue as it is structural. As mentioned in the previous response, we need to look at the trends of society and adapt to those changes or we will continue to see massive budget shortfalls. We need to take a proactive overhaul approach that assures budgetary stability for the longterm.

QUESTION 6. - IS MICHIGAN'S SYSTEM FOR FUNDING K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION RELIABLE? DO YOU THINK