Justin Franks for State Rep Dist 19
Visionary Leader, Change Agent
May 20, 2024 94.7 Grays Harbor radio interview
June 4, 2024 101.7 Grays Harbor KXRO radio interview
My Positions On The Top Concerns Of Our Community
Healthcare:
Residents of SW Washington selected this as their top issue based on the above 2 question survey link.
More Government Makes Healthcare Difficult And Unaffordable.
Society thrives when people are healthy and well. Caring for others and receiving care from others is what being part of a community is all about. But Government gets in the way here. When government stays out of the way, affordability and access go up. We need laws that encourage competition in healthcare so prices reflect a healthy free market where costs reflect what people are willing to pay, not forced to pay. This is how a free market works. People buy and sell things at prices most people are willing to pay. This is why the term, “what the market will bear” exists. “What the market will bear” is a business idiom that means you should charge as much money for a product or service as customers are willing to pay. How many people can afford healthcare? We can’t but we are forced to. Our twelve year old daughter had blood in her stool a few months back on a Saturday. We had good health insurance through my job at the time. We went to the ER and they gave her sports drink and a blood test while we waited for 4 hours in a small ER room. Total bill was over ten thousand dollars. Our part was $987 even with insurance. Who can afford that? We had to make payments. In no reality was a $10,000 bill something the market could bear, something most customers would be willing to pay. We need to stimulate competition in healthcare and remove policies and laws that make it ridiculously expensive for healthcare providers and insurance companies to provide healthcare. Government by way of bad legislation has caused the healthcare problem we have today.
One can make the argument that we can't put a price on health. This is not literal, it is figurative. We should be willing to invest as much as we reasonably can into our health and the health of our family. But we should not be expected to invest so much that it puts us into financial ruin and a lifetime of debt. What healthy person can enjoy life if they are unable to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table?
Government transparency and accountability:
Accountability requires transparency. Some transparency should be at the discretion of Government, some should not. There will always be powers out there that want to weaken our economy and global position, and vice-versa. This is the reality of living in a competitive world. Governments need to keep some cards close to their chest. That said, our Constitution gives insight into what sorts of things should transparent. Article 1 Section 5 of the Constitution says, “Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the Journal.” I don't expect any Government to be an open book. But I do expect our Government to be as open as the Constitution says it should and I will hold them accountable to that.
How can we hold anyone in government accountable if they are immune? The Constitution doesn’t say anything about immunity. That is Common Law and Supreme Court precedent, not the Constitution. That said, if we allowed any citizen to sue a Civil Servant then our Judges, District Attorneys, Legislators, etc would be tied up by an endless flow of suits coming from 350 million citizens and they wouldn’t have time for anything else. All that said, the reality is that we have two “Justice” systems. One for the common people and one for government officials and the wealthy. I don’t know how to fix this right now. Any and all ideas are welcome. But I strongly believe it starts with an amendment to the Constitution so we have some way to hold government accountable.
Second Amendment:
Nobody needs to agree with the Constitution, they just need to adhere to it. The right to bear arms is a basic right just like the right to due process, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc.
The Constitution is very clear. The Second Amendment is just one short sentence. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The use of commas in the sentence causes it to mean that two things shall not be infringed: 1) A well regulated State Militia 2) The right of the people to keep and bear Arms.
Now, an Arm is any kind of weapon, from a stick to a thermonuclear bomb. The Constitution puts no conditions or limits on the types of Arms the people can keep and bear. Do I agree with this? No. We should have conditions around the types of Arms the people can keep and bear. I do not want my neighbor stockpiling thermal nuclear bombs, biological weapons, and chemical weapons that can wipe out entire populations of people. But the solution is not to make laws to go around what the Constitution says. The solution is to amend the Constitution to refine and update the Second Amendment.
Until that happens then the right of individuals to keep and bear arms should not be infringed upon with laws that are designed to effectively prohibit the purchase, sale, possession, and manufacturing of arms. If you don't like it, then push for an amendment to the 2A, not laws designed to go around it and undermine it.
Jobs and the economy:
Innovation, Ideation, and Change bring opportunity and growth.
America is known for innovation. We dream big, we go big. Others take what we innovate and tweak it. As long as we keep innovation front and center our economy and jobs will grow strong. If we hold onto the past we will go the way of the VCR and the Fax machine. Our jobs and economy depend on innovation. Innovations should span healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, food production, entertainment, construction, manufacturing, finance, etc.
I know for a fact that some of our local public leaders have actively prevented economic growth and opportunity in our area, and I have the messages to back it up. We don’t need leaders like that representing us.
Listen, our area has tons of potential and resources. There is no reason Aberdeen and Longview can’t be a hot new up and coming destination for innovative industry and business. They have deep water ports, railroad, and industrial infrastructure where manufacturing plants would do well if we could get more to locate here. There is no reason Raymond, South Bend, Long Beach, Ocean Park, Pe Ell, Ilwaco, Naselle, Grayland, Westport, and all of our other wonderful towns should be held back from doing what they want to do to bring more prosperity to their respective areas.
It really sets me off that some leaders are holding us back because they are against innovation and change. And it really sets me off when legislators pass bills they feel helps their district but hurts ours. When I get to Olympia I am going to bring disruptive, bold, and innovative legislation designed to bring more economic opportunity to counties across Washington no matter if they are some big fancy county like King county or some smaller lesser known county like Wahkiakum.
Crime, safety, and justice:
Crime goes up when jobs and the economy are weak. If our economy and job market was strong then crime would go down. Desperate times, desperate measures.
We have problems with crime in both big city and rural areas because, quite frankly, our government seems to give criminals more rights than they deserve. Our “justice” system is used and abused by both criminals and authorities alike. This is why we have more crime than we should. Criminals know how to play the system in their favor. Criminals know that crime pays more than the consequences they will face. This goes for small-time criminals that break into our cars and get a slap on the wrist; big businesses that intentionally pollute entire ecosystems or mislead financial markets and only pay a fraction of a percent of their revenue as a penalty; or district attorneys that knowingly prosecute innocent people or keep innocent people in jail and are never held accountable for abusing their authority. Or DAs and law enforcement that allow repeat criminals to walk on technicalities or because the local county jail is too full. In no reality is this a successful formula for reducing crime.
Property and business owners shouldn’t fear lawsuits for forcefully removing someone that is violating their property or business. We should be empowered to take ownership of our own safety and the safety of our community.
We have a constitutional right to safety. The 4th Amendment says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,…” Being able to keep your person, home, and property safe and secure is a big part of why the Second Amendment exists. We can’t always rely on law enforcement to save us. We need to take personal responsibility for our safety and the safety of our family, home, property, and business. Remember, it is our Constitutional right to do this and laws should not punish us for doing so. If you have a business and someone comes in to steal something you should be empowered to manage the situation as you see fit up to and including a reasonable level of physical force necessary to restrain the offender and vacate them from the premises. The problem is that the second we put hands on someone to protect our own property or others then silly laws come into effect that open us up to lawsuits and criminal charges. This should not be the case.
According to the US Department Of Justice there are just over 1 million law enforcement officers as of 2012. This includes federal, state, county, and local agencies. The total population is about 330 million. That comes out to about 1 officer for every 300 residents. There is no way that law enforcement can handle the population. This is why we cannot or should not rely on law enforcement. This is why the Constitution has the 4th and 2nd Amendments. We need to handle as much as we can on our own and laws need to allow us to do that.
Government overreach:
State and federal government have become more than what they were intended to be. Their role has expanded far beyond what state and federal constitutions charge them to do. That said, we need some level of government to maintain law and order, civil rights, sanitary conditions, public safety, etc. For example, we need some building codes so people don’t build homes, offices, and public spaces that collapse and kill others because reasonable design principles were not followed. We don’t need neighbors pumping their raw sewage out on their lawn because they decided it’s their property and they don’t want to build a septic system or pay for a sewer service. We need traffic laws, commerce laws, crime and punishment laws, etc. We need a government, we just have too much of it. This causes an inflated financial burden on citizens and more nonsense red tape and laws than the small minded Harry Potter bureaucrat Dolores Umbridge could have ever created on the best day of her life.
The Federal Government only has two jobs… 1) Ensure members of the Republic (States) stay within the boundaries of the Constitution 2) To administrate the Constitution via its three branches (Legislative, Judicial, and Executive). That's it. Anything else is far outside of its lane. But the Feds are telling us what we can eat or drink. Or who can sell/buy alcohol, tobacco, or firearms. Or who can make/sell/buy drugs and medicine. A number of federal agencies in place today have little to no Constitutional basis for much of what they do. A number of federal laws have little to no Constitutional basis either. One federal law makes it a crime to sell “Turkey Ham” as “Ham Turkey” or with the words “Turkey” and “Ham” in different fonts (21 USC §461 & 9 CFR §381.171(d)). Another makes it a federal crime to handle a crate full of imported primates without wearing waterproof shoes (42 USC §271 & 42 CFR §71.53(i)(6)(iii)(C)). Yet another makes it a crime to wash a fish at a faucet if it's not a fish-washing faucet, in a national forest (16 USC §551 & 36 CFR §261.16(c)). Federal laws like these demonstrate a ridiculous and unchecked level of overreach.
What about State Government? Should a State agency tell Pacific County when it is OK for their residents to burn yard waste outside? Doesn’t it make sense to allow Pacific County firefighters and leaders to determine when it is safe for their community to burn yard waste outside? Should a State agency do electrical installation inspections? Why can't a local County do that? State agencies are abused by a few loud voices that want things a certain way… and want everyone to do the same. Every state agency should have its scope, resources, and power reduced to a capacity that only allows it to carry out what the state constitution charges it to do. No more, no less. If state and federal agencies stay within the boundaries of their respective constitutional roles, overreach would not be such of as problem. But they keep expanding their influence and reach.
Housing:
The housing market is all supply and demand. Housing is expensive and hard to come by because of Government interference.
From Investopedia: “The federal government enacted legislation for investors to generate income from real estate investment trusts (REITs) in 1960, which led the way for people to buy and sell properties for profit. But it wasn't until the recession of the 1980s that real estate investing actually took off.” Since the 1980s the stock market has relied heavily on real estate. The Feds (via Federal Reserve Banks) work hard to keep the market afloat by pumping money into it via bankers. The Feds keep real estate prices going up by fueling REITs and the like with cash via bankers… creating artificial real estate demand. The artificial demand, in turn, causes the limited housing supply to be super expensive. In a free market, prices reflect what people are willing to pay, not what they are forced to pay. Oftentimes when government gets involved things move from willing to forced.
For decades State Government has made building more residential housing almost impossible for anyone but huge developers with deep pockets. Too much red tape and too many restrictions caused a massive housing shortage. We need bold and innovative legislation to make it easy and affordable for property owners to build and maintain housing anywhere local communities, not the State, feel it makes sense. We need flexible zoning that will allow for this, quick and easy to get building permits, and a local community run inspections so nobody needs to depend on the State or County and experience lengthy delays. We need to change local ordinances and laws so it’s easy for homeowners, not just big developers, to build housing. Supply will go up and costs will go down as a result.
Taxes:
The 16th Amendment of The Constitution basically says that Congress can tax our income and there is nothing any State or person(s) can do about it short of changing the 16th Amendment.
Look, here’s the bottom line. We all need to chip in for some shared services and resources. For example, firefighters, infrastructure (water, roads, waste disposal, electrical, communications, etc), military defense, etc. because chances are our local neighborhood doesn’t have enough resources to do it all on our own. The problem is that we have moved far, far beyond that notion. Taxes have mostly become a revenue generation gimmick used to help offset budget deficits caused by poor financial planning and irresponsible cash management by our government officials and their banking industry cohorts... and to pad the pockets of leaders and their associates.
Look, if we want lower taxes then we need to stop funding a number of programs, projects, etc. The simple fact of the matter is that we have way too many people shaking their tin cup at tax payers to fund special projects like restoring wolf packs while others in our community need help with housing, healthcare, jobs, etc. Listen, I'm all about the environment. But we need to prioritize and focus our dollars and stop padding the pockets of others. Yes, helping wolves is important. But if everything is important then nothing is important. Let's focus tax dollars on what people need to be healthy and comfortable and productive.
Immigration:
My wife is an immigrant, a resident alien. We got married when I lived in Japan and she moved here with me in her late 30s. I have firsthand knowledge of the immigration process and what it is like for immigrants. Until you’ve actually been through it, it is really hard to appreciate the good and bad about the process.
Immigration is critical to our future. We want an industrious population of people with talents and abilities and the desire to learn and do new things that help maintain the competitive advantages of our nation. Our country is only as strong as its population. A dwindling or stagnant population would doom our future. Populations of other countries would rise along with their global economic and political influence causing them to eventually overtake our leadership position. I’ve flown coast to coast many times and most of middle America is wide open land. We have plenty of room for industrious people from other countries that want to contribute to our society.
When possible, we need to help people from our global community but not at the over-expense of the well being of our own citizens. We should not overextend ourselves to help others in the global community because it will weaken the position of our country. Bottom line, if we are in a position to help a global neighbor we should help as long as it doesn’t cause too much hardship on our existing citizens, economy, or government. To this end, we need to set aside a certain amount of resources we can designate towards helping our global community. We need to be more responsible with our limited resources.
The reason any person is illegal is because our government failed. If anyone enters our country seeking refuge, asylum, opportunity, or the like, paperwork they need to complete should be easy to get, extremely affordable, and processed in days. The result should be temporary legal status as an immigrant, refugee, worker, etc. Of course we don't want bad actors sneaking into our country with ill will and bad intentions. Such people should be forcefully removed immediately and not afforded the rights of our Constitution.
Abortion:
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution says, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". A person's life cannot be taken without due process of law. The question now becomes, at what point is a person considered a person as defined by the Constitution? At conception? At birth? Somewhere in between? We need an answer to this question that most people find acceptable and then have our Constitution amended to define this. Once it is defined in the Constitution then we can say at what point, if any, the life of an unborn child is protected by due process as mentioned in the Constitution. Then we can put this to rest once and for all.