Senators Vote For Marijuana Banking Reform

Waushara Argus Newspaper, Inc. Wednesday September 8th 2010.  www.wausharaargus.com

The article printed gave the headline Republican Candidates for Wisconsin Assembly District 41. On August 20th, 2010 I received the questions for this article and replied via email.  The Democratic challenger, Scott Milheiser was not mentioned in the article and we are not sure why I was labeled as Republican.  Perhaps all this talk about hemp and cannabis is even starting to sway rural print media, which could also benefit from industrial hemp as Selthofner’s campaign has pointed out.

Joan Ballweg went onto defeat fellow Republican and rural Markesan resident Nicholas Quade.  Quade’s answers were also listed in the news article.  The analysis of the primary numbers came early and Scott Mundro of the Berlin Journal Newspapers was the first to break the local story on September 16th .  The story entitled Ballweg takes 41st District primary contained the following report, “While Quade will not be the Republican selection come November, with over a quarter of the GOP’s votes in Tuesday’s primary it can certainly be said that there is no unanimous favorite for the 41st District Assembly seat.”

The following are the answers to Candidate Questions provided by Jay Selthofner, Independent Candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly District 41.

I am married for 10 years and the father of three.  I managed a successful insurance and investment practice for almost a decade.  By asking questions and listening to my potential clients, we identified areas of importance, set goals and systemically worked together to achieve these goals.  By constant communication, continuing education and networking with clients who had specific areas of expertise, we efficiently solved problems everyday.  The State Assembly position requires being the vital link back and forth between the district and legislation process.  I have shown over the past year I have skills to organize, educate, engage, encourage and passion to bring the people back to politics.  With an efficient line of communication, introducing legislation and voting based on the ‘will of the people’ will be the standard operating procedure.

1. Rather than promote, we first should look at areas where the state government actually prohibits or discourages economic progress.  By examining areas of law that impede economic growth, we can ultimately save taxpayers and business dollars while promoting economic progress efficiently.  Industry incentives usually means subsidized by taxpayer dollars, just as producing and retaining college graduates does.  Legalization of marijuana, in particular industrial hemp, will require the state of Wisconsin to look hard at rules and laws that directly prohibit economic progress and ultimately affect the retention of college graduates in our state.

2. We first have to put Wisconsin on the map, separating the state from the rest of the country.  High property taxes and high fees are not attractive on a state resume already behind in most sectors.  My proposal would be to create a new economy and tax base to draw from all together.  Legalization of industrial hemp, medical marijuana and recreational cannabis could provide the economic boost needed in a variety of sectors, regulations would impose fees that are not even in existence today, healthcare costs could be dramatically lowered, and an ongoing sales tax could be attached to the purchase of marijuana.  To assure taxpayers directly benefit from this change, legislation directing the revenue and protecting the taxpayer will need to be included.

3. In my proposal to legalize marijuana, I would propose that the “tax” breakdown include several specifically funded, under funded, or taxpayer funded areas, including the public school system.  With the projected revenue increases, we will need to re-examine school funding and revenue limits.  In general, I see areas where we can allow schools to be more efficient, but we cannot afford to under fund our children’s education.

4. Higher education opportunities funded by the State should increase as our state prospers. Unfortunately, our state is not prospering.  The legalization of marijuana will lead to increased revenues, which undoubtedly will change the Wisconsin tax landscape.  In general, I believe we need to encourage our youth to pursue higher education.

5. Infrastructure and our road ways can make or break communities, especially in rural Wisconsin.  I would support increasing our funding and efficiency for transportation sectors and roadways.  This support needs to be funded.  The marijuana tax revenue can be directed both locally and to the state. The State may specifically direct a percentage of their portion of this tax towards the transportation fund.

6. It is well known that the healthcare industry in general is flawed.  By allowing medical marijuana, health care costs will go down.  Providing an alternative to recreational drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and prescriptions could improve the general health of the state’s residents, thus lowering overall healthcare costs.  Healthcare costs should also be examined in this equation.  I firmly believe every employer with morals and money would provide as many benefits to their employees as possible, including healthcare coverage.  Public or private sector funding of a flawed system is not sustainable.