I still believe to this day that we live in one of the greatest countries on earth and we have an obligation to those who have died to protect it's citizens freedom and liberty that we may never forget their sacrifice. I find it very disheartening to hear how some say we are a troubled nation or that this country is the "terrorist nation" of the world. This is part of why I want to serve my country in some way. I also believe as former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil once famously coined "all politics are local" and I believe I can make a difference at the local level.

My views when it comes to government spending and taxes are that of "fiscal conservatism". I do not believe in the "tax and spend" mentality of government nor do I believe that big government can be the end all to all of our problems.  At the national level I am not satisfied with how fiscally responsible the government has been with our tax dollars. We must stop over spending at all levels. Taxes are high enough right right now locally and we need property tax relief, not hidden fees, added surcharges or irresponsibly generated taxes.

Was everyone happy with their property tax reassessments this past year? As an example; in the City of DeKalb we have seen numbers go as high as 25+% while at the same time on a national scale housing value has declined significantly. If you look at the break down of your property tax bill a large amount of it goes towards school districts.  When referendums are passed such as the recent DeKalb High School, your taxes can go up significantly in a short time frame. This can cause a financial strain on those who are on a limited or fixed income. Compounding this is the fact that as we build more homes in the cities and annex more county land we are adding to the over crowding of the present school system and without enough business/retail or industry to generate tax dollars, the homeowners  will be forced to cover even more of this in the future.

For renters, this also effects you since higher property taxes mean higher rent passed onto you by the landlord.  Housing needs to be planned in a well thought out manner to minimize the burden on existing homeowners by over development.  This in turn only puts more pressure on local government to raise taxes as increased services are required if there is no major revenue stream from retail/industry.  Houses alone cannot generate enough revenue for a city to maintain a balanced budget. Housing and taxes are becoming unaffordable in this county for the average "middle class" citizen, so how can we expect first time buyers or lower income individuals a chance at the "American Dream"?