Mike Koffenberger for 4th District PA

Q & A

Have a question for me? Send me an email and I will post my response here on this page. mike@mikeforpa.com

1) On abortion: Most reasonable minds do not believe it will ever be outlawed but the crux of the “political” issue is federal funding and state funding of abortion. Would you vote to defund taxpayer funded abortion? From “Fed Up in Felton”
- Absolutely I would vote to defund taxpayer abortion. My statement on the issues page is that the federal government has no say in the matter. At best, it is a states issue to be addressed there. Any and all federal regulation, especially any that assist organizations that fund abortion, should be eliminated.

2) Why not run for a local or state office first? – I am a firm believer in the original intent of our Constitution in making our country a republic. This entails having strong state and local governments and a small federal government to take care of what is detailed in the Constitution. Because our Federal Government is so large and overreaching, I would ask that you send me to Washington D.C. to return power to the states where it belongs. I do not desire the power a state/local government should have. I only wish to help return our country to fiscal sanity and a Constitutional form of Federal Government. We need less government and more freedom because liberty benefits everyone.

3) Why run Libertarian? Won’t voting third party get the Democrat/Republican elected that you do not want? – I ask that you help make history and elect the first Libertarian to Congress. It will not be an easy task. Many minds have to be changed. The belief that we have a two party system is only made true by exclusively voting for Republicans or Democrats and believing the hype that the establishment of the Republican and Democrat parties produce. If it hasn’t been made clear by this point in our history, the Republican and Democrat parties have only their party in mind. They want to keep power for themselves…not return it to the people where it belongs. The reasons that I left the Republican Party are on my “About Mike” page. I joined the Libertarian Party because it is the Party of Principle. Sticking to your principle is what matters…you the people have demanded it time and time again. It is also evident by our recent history of having the majority of the government controlled by Republicans and then by Democrats that neither wish to fix the actual problems. It is too politically controversial and they believe that it would erode their political power base. Bold decisions and legislation must be made.

4) “Social Security provides disability benefits – what would replace this insurance when a worker is not able to work and has been able to put away enough to survive? What replaces Social Security’s children’s benefit or benefits for wives and widows? Private life and disability insurance? How much would a private life and disability policy need to be to replace the payments that would have come from Soc Sec? Would the premiums be more or less than the amount paid to FICA? Your plan does not cover all of the benefits of Soc Sec.” – from Henry

Unfortunately, Social Security is only a tax on the current work force. Like other major pieces of life-changing legislation from our government to “help us,” they never envisioned how to fully pay for it. There is no doubt that, outside of the retirement stipend, other benefits derived from Social Security do help some people. Also, like other large federal government programs, there is rampant fraud, waste and abuse. No one looks into that however, and this is only one of the reasons that Social Security is projected to be broke by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Another reason is that the retired population will be greater than the working population that pays the Social Security tax.

As I mentioned in my plan, Social Security was promised to the American people. Before it is just denied due to the inability to pay the bills, I believe that it must be modified now and moved towards elimination over time. This period of time to eliminate the program is not set in stone. This will be a major piece of legislation. Numbers, that I do not have access to as a private citizen, will have to be looked at, experts talked to, etc. to ensure that a proper plan is implemented in any legislation to eventually eliminate this program. Therefore, as mentioned in my plan, the people that live on and depend on Social Security today, will not lose it. That would be criminal in my opinion and a breach of “contract.” This type of legislation (to continue it in any form or function) must be done by the states individually. This is where American ingenuity and enterprise comes into play. In my opinion, this would be better served in the private sector, instead of a smaller scaled bueracratic nightmare.

As far as retirement accounts, I feel that this could be better served by some sort of account at a bank, that can be moved from bank to bank depending on enticements (such as higher percentage yields), and carried from employer to employer, who could also add enticements to employment benefits, such as a contribution from them, etc. This money would certainly have a guarantee upon retirement that a government plan does not. As I mentioned, the federal government could decide any day to eliminate it with the stroke of a pen, if they cannot pay for it any longer, and that would create mass chaos. I believe that we are better served in working towards something better, instead of continuing to dump money and tax dollars into something that has not been majorly modified and no one wants to tackle due to political pressures. If the states are given the opportunity to come up with plans outside of Social Security, there would be many different ideas to choose from as to which one works the best. I would not be in favor of legislation that modifies it at the federal level to continue the program at the federal level. Personally, I also do not believe that retirement accounts (that people must depend on to survive) could be served well on Wall Street due to its volatility.

To conclude, we must come to realize that the federal government is not the “be all end all” authority on every issue. Social Security, national health care, etc. are not constitutional. Our founding fathers envisioned a republic, where the federal government has very few and defined powers (or they would not have listed them). If Social Security was perfect, there would be no reason for 401Ks, deferred compensation plans, savings accounts or pension plans.

I hope that this helps you understand what I am campaigning on a little better. I certainly do not want to “pull the rug” from under people that currently receive benefits. I am attempting to tackle one problem that current politicians in Congress refuse to. Neither the Republicans or Democrats want to seriously consider modifying or eventually eliminating this, they only promise to save it. They do not tell us how they are going to save it other than to take more money from those that are currently working. That, along with other federal taxes, will eventually run out, and those in the workforce will suffer the consequences.

Paid for by Mike Koffenberger for Congress, P.O. Box 202, Stewartstown, PA 17363

Treasurer: Kevin Koffenberger