Issue Position: Recipe for Reforming Beacon Hill

Issue Position

* Reform welfare and stop other wasteful spending. Caroline will work to end the rampant fraud with EBT cards and restore the work requirement again. She will use her professional fiscal management skills to require accountability of our tax dollars. She supports:

Requiring more verification of income and assets before receiving benefits
Requiring another audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance
Requiring more transparency within state government such as publishing the payouts of lawsuits against the state instead of the sweeping under the rug currently happening.

* Lower our tax burden by reducing the sales tax back to 5 percent and ending automatic gas tax hikes. Our state has a surplus for the second year in a row. By lowering taxes more economic activity will be generated. Caroline supports:

Repealing the gas tax being linked to inflation. She thinks that taxes should be increased only by a vote of the legislature
Reducing the sales tax back to 5 percent to make local businesses more competitive with online businesses

* Restore integrity to the State House that has been plagued with numerous scandals including three Speakers being convicted of felonies. Caroline supports:

Ending the legislative exemption from the open meeting law
Ending the legislative exemption from the open records law
Ending the legislative exemption from the fair procurement law
Requiring committee votes to be published online
Requiring that every member have access to the can to see any last minute changes to legislation
Requiring the entire budget to be debated
Requiring the budget to be published online 24 hours before final the final vote is taken
Requiring public hearings on all tax bills

* Revive our economy by supporting small businesses that create 3 out of every 4 new jobs in Massachusetts. Caroline supports:

the Small Business Bill of Rights
Reducing the corporate filing fees for new businesses
More accountability of state agencies that work with business such as unemployment insurance division that has another failing website.

* Improve education by helping to prepare our children to compete in the new global marketplace. As a mother, Caroline supports:

reducing classroom sizes
working for more local aid
More parental input
Focus on core subjects
Keeping our Massachusetts high standards not reducing to the federal level

* Strengthen public safety by increasing penalties for habitual offenders. Caroline will work to give our law enforcement officials the tools they need to protect our families.

* Put people ahead of politics. Caroline will:

hold weekly office hours
Institute an open door policy.
Send out a newsletter
Hold forums for seniors

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