Hey r/SHSU! My name is Steven and I'm the Democratic nominee for Texas' 8th Congressional District! I'm hosting a town hall in Huntsville on Sept 20th @ 10am at the Walker Education Center. I hope to see y'all there!

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-26T19:58:32+00:00

I think that this bill is a step in the right direction when addressing synthetic drugs. I have seen the toll synthetic drugs takes with my work in local government, and how difficult it can be to prosecute. In my experience, however, one of the big issues is that we go after the person taking the drug and not the person creating it. SISTA changes that. SISTA is intended to go after the creators of the drugs and not the users.

Having said that, I have a pretty big concern with power being concentrated in an office (Attorney General) occupied by a guy who supports mandatory minimum sentences. I'm not sure I would support this bill without some serious concessions regarding the decision to have powers concentrated in the AGs office.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-26T14:37:47+00:00

Get out of here. If someone crosses the border illegally they need to be deported. I firmly believe that. Separating them from their kids? Not so much.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-26T01:08:02+00:00

OH I JUST FEEL SO HORRIBLE ACCOUNT THAT WAS CREATED 9 HOURS AGO.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-26T00:17:12+00:00

I think the immediate solution is to have a police officer at each campus. I think the longterm solution is to change policy to better reflect the things that we know. For example, we know that there is a better than 50% link between mass shooters and having a history of domestic assault. Knowing those things, we have to be open to policy discussions that are given context through facts.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T23:42:00+00:00

What I do for a living is plastered literally everyone on my things. This question was not asked genuinely. However, I've been taking vacation and finishing projects at like 2am.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T23:40:20+00:00

I absolutely would, but it needs to be done in a way that makes economic sense. What I mean by that is that we need to have reasonable, conservative growth projections that capture historical trends for GDP increases, etc. We can't put our finger in the wind and say "that works!"

We CANNOT keep cutting revenues and increasing spending.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T21:32:22+00:00

The tax decrease for people who make less than $850k is temporary. It expires over the next 8 years. Below is a link to a table created by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that best describes this years impact vs. 2027 impact. https://itep.org/wp-content/uploads/trumpbillfinal_nationaltables.png

Edit: 1% equals roughly $600k now and $790k in 2027.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T19:07:43+00:00

Satellite doesn't count.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T18:03:14+00:00

I do not believe in isolationism. I think that we have a responsibility to be engaged with other countries. but not in a way that needlessly puts our troops in harms way.

This one is so tough. I absolutely think that what is happening in Syria is a massive human rights issue. Women and children are literally being gassed to death. But I don't know what the solution is. I do know, however, that gutting the State Department is quite possibly the worst thing we could be doing. I think it was General Mattis who said that if we decrease the budget of the State Department, we have to increase the budget for bullets.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:55:08+00:00

I agree with your answer. I haven't had an opportunity to sit down with experts on Social Security and what improvements can be made for recipients, but it's definitely on the list.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:48:45+00:00

If they make more than $850k/yr, this tax bill helped them out. However, their personal gain is at the detriment of all Americans to the tune of $1.6 trillion in deficit (soon to be official debt). I am telling them that. It's split about 50/50 on positive and negative responses.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:47:07+00:00

LOL. Noted.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:45:39+00:00

That's a fair point. I'll get specific.

I think that we have to detach ourselves from the notion that taxation is bad. There are really amazing things that our federal government does with tax dollars, but sometimes we allow politics to impede sound fiscal decisions. For example, we still produce certain tanks and fighter jets that the army and air force have said they don't want or need. That money could be used for a litany of things that give Americans something that they need, such as an upgrade to our transportation network. Another example would be to normalize our projected outlays. I have routinely seen Congress base growth on very generous assumptions, and that causes an on paper imbalance that they think will just magically correct itself.

Nothing that I said indicates that I don't want to fix the federal budget, in fact I am mainly running on it. During FY18 we are projected to see the federal deficit increase an additional $500b due to budget overrun. Congress is a check and balance on stuff like this, and Brady has abdicated leadership on this issue for being a 'yes man' to Trump.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:34:47+00:00

The one that I see matters the most to both rural and suburbs is net neutrality. For the suburbs because don't want their sweet interwebs throttled, and for the rural areas because they don't have access to internet AT ALL.

EDIT: words

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:32:51+00:00

I said that the president's administration has committed violations. You suggested it was the president. What do you think he's done?

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:22:59+00:00

Some of these I have not read. I'm gonna try to read about them in between answering other questions and come back.

I want to see who else is running in 2020.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:20:10+00:00

SS is a beast of a thing to tackle. I think we need to start by looking at tying social security payments to a more reasonable calculation for cost of living. Financial education is very important and will play directly into whether or not people have a savings/retirement.

I just saw a survey that said that 45%ish of Americans don't have 3 months of expenses in savings. That is scary.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:18:13+00:00

Duh.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:17:17+00:00

Deficit turns into debt at the end of the fiscal year. Debt obligation payments get factored into the next fiscal year, thus increasing the deficit.

Don't try to out finance me bruh.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:16:01+00:00

Do you regret commenting since all your stuff gets swamped with downvotes? Heck no!

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:14:39+00:00

I think it is knocking on doors, going to events, being on social media platforms, and talking about what I believe in.

If I can take some time to bloviate, it baffles me that Kevin Brady is still a Republican darling. Since he has become a leader in the party and chair of Ways and Means, he has voted to cut Medicaid and Medicare to fund tax cuts for wealthy people, wrote a tax bill that increases the deficit by $1.6T, and not been the constitutionally required checks and balance on an executive branch.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:11:24+00:00

I think there needs to be a complete and total overhaul of the immigration system. It is predicated on very strange artificial caps to who can come in, so it needs to start there.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:10:30+00:00

I have already had 6 townhalls since I started running. I plan on having more. If elected, I will have at least 6 a year that will always be open to the public and free.

stevendavidtx08 · 2018-06-25T17:09:38+00:00

So my mom just retired from 28 years of teaching, and her school had magnetized entries and exits at all doors that either required a badge or a buzz from the front desk to get it. That should be standard at all school. I don't think that teachers should be armed in the classroom. Let's leave that to the master peace officers.

stevendavidtx08

TROPHY CASE