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Thousand Oaks

T.O. City Council Candidates Speak: Jeff Schwartz

Jeff Schwartz, retired civil servant, father and homemaker, Jeff4TO.com

We’re living in a time of significant social and economic upheaval. We have the highest levels of inflation in more than a generation and an unprecedented number of homeless people. We have an affordable housing crisis. We have extreme political polarization. The federal government has a debt crisis. We have rolling blackouts and water crises. Voters can sense that something’s not right. That’s why we need new leadership and completely new ideas. We don’t need another career politician. We need someone who’s a patriotic American who has new ideas for addressing these problems.

For more than 30 years, I’ve been a passionate student of, and advocate for, our country’s founding principles: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, individual liberty and personal responsibility. I’ve studied bold, innovative free-market solutions to local problems for more than 30 years. I work incredibly hard. I’ve spent more time sitting in on City Council meetings since late May than any other challenger in the race. I’m an independent candidate who is not controlled by either of the two major parties. Because of my independence and my passion for America’s founding principles, I am the person who, at this time, can bring people together and help lead our community to address the issues confronting us. I’m running on a unique platform. My platform is Love and Liberty.

[What are the most pressing issues?]

a. Inflation and High Cost of Living – This is an extremely serious issue because when prices go up, living standards go down. This results in even more problems: housing becomes unaffordable, evictions and foreclosures lead to homelessness, people become financially desperate and crime rates go up. I will explain to the taxpayers that the reason for inflation and the reduction in our standard of living is excessive government spending. Excessive government spending is related to excessive dependence on “grants” of taxpayer money from state and federal governments. Both the state and federal governments have their own massive deficit and debt problems. We need to cut excessive local government spending, cut unnecessary and counter-productive regulations and red tape, and make our city less dependent on “grants” from the state and federal governments. This will allow us to REDUCE TAXES, REDUCE INFLATION, and IMPROVE our standard of living! You can learn more about my ideas about inflation solutions at: www.Jeff4TO.com and at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6lERZBEfChGJAgWMRg6OsawY05vo9blw

b. Water shortages – The water “crisis” in California is not new. We’ve had problems with water management for generations, not only here in California but also in other states. The root of the problem is that water is currently owned and controlled through a political system, not a free market system. Free market reforms are so powerful that they could completely solve the water crisis. I believe I’m the only candidate in this race who has brought free market water proposals to the forefront. We must educate our taxpayers about the cause of the shortages. I can help lead the way by organizing petitions and resolutions aimed at demanding that the federal and state governments stop giving water subsidies to special interests. You can learn more about my ideas regarding water solutions at: www.Jeff4TO.com and at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6lERZBEfChHaR5f1Vtg5jWszh4iGhsqu

c. Homelessness – The government has tried to solve the homeless problem for 85 years by building “free” housing for the homeless. It’s obvious that this approach has been a failure because of the fact that the homeless problem has not improved. We need a completely different approach. We all can agree that homeless people deserve some compassion and require basic things to survive, such as food, water, and clothing. Yet, the private faith-based and/or secular non-profit charities do a better job of helping homeless people than do taxpayer-funded programs and bureaucracies. I suggest we make it easy for private charities to THRIVE by offering significant tax credits to all residents who donate time and/or money to local private charities that provide services to feed, clothe, or otherwise help the homeless. You can learn more about my ideas about homelessness solutions at: www.Jeff4TO.com and at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6lERZBEfChEiSCQXVZPEz4HsitGZkPe6

Our present leadership in the City Council has failed to educate the taxpayer about the fact that every time we accept a “grant” from either the federal government or Sacramento, we are spending taxpayer money that, eventually, we, as taxpayers, are forced to pay. We as taxpayers end up paying for these “grants” either directly, through various tax methods (income tax, sales tax, excise tax, etc.), or else we end up paying indirectly, through increased government borrowing, debt, or federal printing of money out of thin air. This causes inflation. Every cent that the government spends, we as the taxpayers end up paying for, one way or another. We need to be honest with the taxpayer. When Washington, D.C., or Sacramento offers us a “grant,” it is WE the taxpayers who have to pay for this! Taxpayer-funded “grants” are NOT free! The other problem with accepting these “grants” without question or debate is that these “grants” usually have contingencies, or “strings,” attached to them. These “strings” are not always in our best interest! We need someone who will take a completely different and fresh approach to the way business is done in the City Council. I have a video playlist that explains how excessive government spending causes inflation at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6lERZBEfChGJAgWMRg6OsawY05vo9blw

The current City Council members appear to be well-intentioned [regarding water policy]. Nevertheless, the City Council has failed to adequately educate the voters about the root causes of our water shortages. The primary cause is Sacramento’s and Washington’s mismanagement of water administration. A major reason why we’re being asked to conserve water is because Sacramento and Washington, D.C., are giving massive taxpayer-paid subsidies to special interest groups who are getting more than 80 percent of California’s water supply at prices that are massively lower than they should be. All Californians must band together and call for ending the water subsidies to special interests. Free market reforms are so powerful that they could completely solve this water crisis. I have an entire video playlist that explains the cause and solutions to this problem at: www.Jeff4TO.com and at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6lERZBEfChHaR5f1Vtg5jWszh4iGhsqu

The City Council has good intentions in spending $27 million in taxpayer money to create housing units for 77 homeless people at the cost of more than $350,000 per person. The problem is that this has the potential to cause unintended negative consequences. Building these 77 units will not reduce the homeless problem. The more “permanent” housing units the taxpayers build for the homeless, the more people will travel from elsewhere in order to line up for the next round of “free” housing. There will never be a shortage of people lining up for “free” taxpayer-funded housing. This approach does not solve the problem. The best solutions are provided by private charitable organizations: faith-based and/or secular. Let’s empower the private charities so that they can take care of this problem instead of the taxpayer. By giving a generous tax credit to every resident who donates to a local charity, we can stimulate private charities to solve this problem. You can learn more about my ideas on homelessness at: www.Jeff4TO.com and at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6lERZBEfChEiSCQXVZPEz4HsitGZkPe6

I am a lover of our country’s foundational principles: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom is popular! Freedom brings people together! I’m running on a unique platform: Love and Liberty. “Empower the Folks in Thousand Oaks!” “Love to the Folks in Thousand Oaks!” Arguably, I may be the hardest-working challenger running for this office.

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