NEWS RELEASE

Annapolis, MD [04/04/2002] – Gene Zarwell, unannounced candidate for Maryland Governor, released a list of priorities for Maryland. He stated that to survive Maryland, things would have to change or succumb to pressure from outsiders wanting control of the coffers.

Zarwell ran in the primaries for U.S. Senate in ’88 & ’92, Congress in ’96, and for Comptroller in ’98. Of his campaigns, he said, he was sincere in his bid for the legislative jobs to bring legitimacy, creditability, accountability, and now responsibility back into Maryland life.

He remembers when he first moved to Maryland when family orientation was a great attribute. Back then families knew each other. That has given way to retail greed by doing away with the "blue laws"; thus destroying young families, and weekend relaxation more needed by everyone today to reduce rage and isolation. And, kids get to see their parents more than just before bedtime.

Marylanders, like everyone else in the area are in a rush to wealth, and don’t want to wait until next week to get there. Sad as it is, the world still takes 24 hours to rotate once and 365 times to encircle the sun. People gave up their weekends to shop and work, and families gave up their respect for each other.

Zarwell’s campaign in ’96 focused upon taxes offering a solution to small business demands, wage earners profits, and a balance with reality. In Maryland where 30 percent of the wage earners work for government at some level, it takes the other 70 percent to pay for it all.

A real solution to keep costs down and wage earning up was to (1) "exempt second job pay from taxes" to give the lower income family more money. Instead the government raised the minimum wage and eliminated any profit for the two-job worker. Higher tax brackets took more than the pay away, it increased the costs of attending to a second job, and the incentive to spend time with family.

(2) "Exempt overtime pay" to give incentive to the small businessman and an opportunity to offer real wages to loyal employees instead of putting them into the next higher tax bracket that depleted employer profits and destroyed employee incentive to work more hours.

And, (3) "exempt vacation pay" to allow families to travel and relax together without the government taking the hard earned monies away from the family.

After all, government hardly works more than 35 hours, but expects the private citizen –"TAX Payer" to contribute a percentage of every hour including those exceeding 35. And what do the taxpayers get for that - reduced benefits and less service from the "civil servants" now called something else. But we do get bureaucrats who cannot understand what public service means but understand the wealth to be had.

Another concept he raised in the ’88 Senate run was about eliminating government employee income taxes! Sound like a strange idea? Think about it. With whose money do they pay their taxes?

· They earn their government pay by contributing hours, some labor to take care of the infrastructure.

· The government gets that pay from private citizens who contribute to economic growth, gross national product, etc. contributing to the countries power and wealth.

· The government, in return, taxes that pay that came from private sector money. In effect, the private sector pays twice and more.

Maybe the government should just reduce government wages by 28 percent and eliminate the taxes on government pay. Get their hands out of private sector pockets, and eliminate 30 percent of the tax-filing burden except for taxing government employee earnings on investments, earned interest, and moonlighting all hours up to 35 per week.

It seems strange to Zarwell that the government accounting method needs to double book tax monies. First they collect it from the private citizen. They pay the government employees with it. And then, ask the government employees to rebate the government at a lower rate, thus not being able to realize true expenditures because the taxes are not levied against true costs but to virtual costs.

Simply stated, taxes levied against government wages don’t contribute to the general fund in any conceivable way. But it is a great slight of hand with the "walnut shell" to deny the private sector its earnings. Perhaps a zero based budget should be demanded. Ah! It is, but pork barreling makes politicians wealthy as they spend taxpayer money on a few constituents instead of common good.

"Common good" – the good of all not a few, not an industry, not a government agency, not a foreign country, but for the good of all without reservation.

"Term limitations" was a big issue in ’92 and ’96. Zarwell’s take on it was simply; "Voters had that right to limit political terms in office". It’s in the Constitution; 6 years for a Senator, 4 years for a President and Vice President, and 2 years for a Congress person.

Where’s the problem? The problem is really that government employees can vote for their bosses and secure wage increases, something that if a private corporation did would be illegal.

Government calls corporate votes for building corporate profits insider trading.

Solution is to deny Government employees the temptation to vote in their bosses. Structure their voting to other than their level of government – Federal employees denied votes in federal elections, State employees denied votes in State elections, etc. Seems fairer without the collusion. That way the will of the people will be heard and not distorted by "insider voting".

Getting back to "terms of office". The only place where corruption and collusion interfere with governing is at the bureaucratic level and below. Government was never meant to be "of" the people, but rather "for" the people and "by" the people.

It was never conceived to be "by career bureaucrats", but a service each citizen should be entitled too - to experience and earn an appreciation for common good. 

Every three years Bureaucrats should be released from government to work in the productive private sector. Thus, earning an appreciation for contributing to the national good as opposed to living on it. It also eliminates costly retirement pay and innately demands each individual wanting to be an American the responsibility to be one – no "free" rides for 20-30 years.

The question then, is what about retirement? That’s a good one! The government sets up its own program that neither contributes to nor benefits the private citizens who pays for it and for the one "Roosevelt said would never be taxed" of which Congress deems fair game to tax if a private citizen earns more than poverty.

As ridiculous as some of this sounds - THINK about it!

Gene Zarwell has as he traveled the World-over several times experiencing different governments observed reactions of the people governed by them.

In 1992, he witnessed the changing of Flags in Moscow. He experienced preferential voting in Australia in 2001. And, strategized with military leaders the change from world wars to isolated skirmishes and terrorism as early as 1983, 1986 and 1991.

He believes the Constitutional form of elections is the only way to proceed to avoid media power in selecting this nation’s leaders. Taking it one step further to level the playing field, he proposes that instead of states as the voter base in the electoral college, the base should be a county. That way the heavily governmental population in the cities would not weigh any heavier than the rural counties where tax payers live and work and have the right to vote.

How would it work? Simply stated, each county has one vote. The entire popular vote is counted and majority rules to cast that county vote. Same in the cities. In that way the large states with more counties may have more votes, but the vote will eliminate the media effect by zealot reports and anchors in the more populous "urbs" and suburbs.

This concept could apply intra state at Congressional and District levels by allocating the popular vote to precincts, etc.

This could be fair for the taxpayer and could actually produce less corrupt government – every three years.

Responsibility - that’s tough! Who wants to take responsibility when there are lawyers who can diffuse, confuse, and refuse to present the truth? The media is not far behind.

Life is boring when everything goes well. I don’t think Americans should take the sensationalism in our media and the fabrication of news. But whom can they point to for the change? Certainly not the media, not government, and not politicians!

SO, who then. They must do it themselves by not trying to change events or history after the fact. Ignore the media’s instigation for ratings. Demand they be responsible in their reporting. Kind of like they were 25-30 years ago. There are more special effects in the news today than there are in the movies. And, some are staged and some are for effect by those who challenge American morality. Our leaders… nothing more said.

Elect Gene Zarwell Governor just for a change and some integrity of leadership. He’ll be a "one-term office holder". He probably won’t run government by lottery but by fiscal responsibility and financial planning to provide those basic services tax payers thought they were paying for until they got the bill.

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Gzarwell©04/02/02 All rights reserved unless authorized in writing.