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2008 Candidate Survey Responses & Voter Guide Tim Moffitt (Republican) 1. What are your top three policy priorities for your term, if elected? Job Creation, Healthcare and Education. 2.An estimated 16-20% of Buncombe County’s children and youth live in poverty; many more live in low-income families facing many of the stresses and challenges of families living in poverty – especially in the current economic downturn. What initiatives or policies do you support to reduce the impact of child poverty? Provided your numbers are accurate, we must
reach out to those families and work with them to assure that they can move
away from poverty. People deserve the opportunity to develop the personal
dignity that comes from employment. They deserve the opportunity to develop
self worth that will demonstrate to their children that they are not
condemned to the life of dependency and poverty to which they currently are
exposed. We must create an economy of higher paying jobs and work with our
local educators to ensure that we can provide the skilled labor that
businesses need. Additionally we must assist the parents and guardians of
those families to access both. 3. North Carolina’s dropout rate and educational achievement gap between white students and students of color have been a focus of politicians, educators, and advocates over the past two years. In your opinion, what are effective ways that the General Assembly can address these issues? I’m not familiar with those particular
statistics. Education in general is failing at many levels. Addressing one
singular issue without simultaneous address of other issues is
inappropriate. However, I would return to my response on Question # 2 and
repeat that if we can create an environment of self-worth and personal
dignity among the parents, many of these disparity problems can be reduced.
4. North Carolina was one of a few states that enjoyed a budget surplus this fiscal year. However, there still were not enough funds to meet the growing demands for education, health, and human services funding proposed by many legislative leaders and the Governor. What, if any, tax or budget reforms are needed to ensure sustainable funds for state programs in education, health, and human services? We must stem the need for government
services. Government should act more in a manner which empowers people
instead of creating dependency. The current way in which government
functions only creates more need, thus, regardless of how much of a surplus
exists – it is easily and quickly consumed. 5. Air and water quality are part of a myriad of environmental factors that can impact public health – especially in children. What policies do you support, or propose, that can assure a robust natural environment for current and future generations? We must be good stewards of our natural
resources. We must continually strive to find new energy sources that
produce fewer greenhouse gases. We must strive to become more efficient in
the use of all energy which will also diminish the amount of pollutants in
the air. Water quality is primarily impacted by sedimentation in our streams
as well as run off pollutants from our developed areas. Erosion control
measures need to be enforced. We need to also develop an incentives program
for homeowners and businesses to gain their assistance on these important
issues. 6. Affordable, high-quality child care ensures working parents can stay in the workforce and promotes positive child development. Within the child care industry, most child care providers in Buncombe County are not paid a “living wage” ($11.35/hr as calculated by Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign). Several state-funded programs impact child care availability, affordability, quality, and provider salaries. What are your recommendations for the state’s future role in providing both affordable, high-quality child care and promoting good-paying jobs within the childcare industry? The state does not need to have a role in
childcare. The state has demonstrated lacking ability on everything from
mental health to infrastructure maintenance and development. The only role
the state could possibly occupy in regards to childcare is to treat
childcare businesses as non-profit type businesses regardless of “tax”
election. This would allow the tax dollars to remain in the business to be
used for wages and benefits. Additionally, the local governments could also
follow that lead in order to provide tax relief for property taxes that
would be also used for wages and benefits. Lastly, parents should be able to
deduct all of what they pay for childcare from their income taxes. |