State government should take the initiative to build affordable public housing that exists not for someone to make a profit off of, but instead provide shelter to every person.
State government needs to fund public education at rates much higher than they currently do. We need to claw back the public dollars going to private institutions that refuse public oversight. We need to fund universal pre-K so that every child has access to resources to prepare them for Kindergarten. We also need to fund universal school lunches in our public education system. Children should not go to school hungry.
The initiative and referendum process in South Dakota would be ok if the legislature and the governor were beholden to the people's will. In 2017 South Dakota GOP used emergency rules to repeal an anti-corruption law passed by South Dakotans with more than 51% of the vote. In 2021, then governor Kristi Noem supported a lawsuit filed by law enforcement officials arguing that voters didn't know what they were voting for when they passed an amendment to legalize recreational marijuana. The South Dakota Supreme Court overruled the will of the people.
Our elections are secure and have integrity. I will fight to repeal the "Save South Dakota act". According to the right wing think take Heritage Foundation, since 1982 there have been 1,620 cases of voter fraud. There have been 1.3 BILLION ballots cast in ONLY presidential elections in that same time frame. That means 0.0001246% of ballots cast since 1982 were fraudulent in actuality that number is even smaller since billions of more ballots have been cast in primaries, off year, and local elections. The "SAVE act" and the "Save South Dakota act" are clearly voter suppression and unconstitutional pieces of legislation.
I believe we should fund universal childcare in this state. When parents have access to free childcare they are able to go back to work earlier, put more money into their pockets, and put more money back into the economy. We should be funding the childcare facilities that already exist.
The most important challenge facing South Dakota is our regressive tax policy. According to the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, South Dakota has the 6th most regressive tax policy in the nation. This is because of our over reliance on property tax and sales tax to fund our local governments and schools. The top 1% in the state only pay and estimated 2.6% of their annual income in state taxes. That is the lowest rate in the nation. Its time the wealthiest among us pay their fair share so that South Dakota starts working for South Dakotans and not the ultra wealthy who stay overnight in a hotel or RV, buy a P.O. box and claim residency for the tax breaks.
This is complicated but it needs to be addressed. The solution I would like us to look at is the possibility of using Hemp as a building material. And, it can be produced right here in South Dakota, in fact, here in District 17. Housing is a multi-level problem needing multi level solutions, including allowing municipalities to zone appropriately, but also giving them the freedom and resources to know what can work in their type of towns. Wouldn’t it be amazing if at the state level we had a consultant who could provide city planners and administrators will all sorts of resources and examples that have worked in other similar size communities? Or perhaps we utilize all the talented social scientists in our state?
Education is the smartest investment to a great future. Public dollars should be used for public education, no questions asked. The state ideally should find ways to support early childhood education, if not by funding it directly at minimum allowing municipalities and businesses to solve pre-school issues. Early childhood education can also be looked at as a workforce issue. If every 3–4-year-old has access to a solid public school pre-school, imagine what that can do for working parents. In regard to quality, teacher pay should be a top priority for the state. We expect teachers to be superheroes. Let’s compensate them accordingly.
We just keep making it more difficult for citizens to bring things to the ballot. Now, I don’t believe in a free-for-all; I do think we need specific, clear processes. But unhelpful nuances with processes that are confusing and perhaps unconstitutional need to be removed. We can do it all: We can have a robust process for initiatives and referendums while also putting the people’s voice first.
First, fear is powerful emotion. Many of our leaders love to put fear in us – fear of people different than us, fear of progress or new ideas, and, fear that non-citizens are voting in massive numbers in our elections. Saying it does not make it true. All eligible citizens should be able to register without undo burden, and all registered voters should have access to simple and clear elections. We can do it because we already do it.
As a mother, one of the first things I think about is how much help I have had. And, because of my privilege, so much of it has been because I can afford help. But what if I couldn’t? Many parents want to stay home with their young children, and we should provide an economy where that can happen. But the government should also put childcare at a higher priority. As I mentioned before, it’s a workforce issue. In a state like South Dakota, where universal childcare is a dream (of mine!), at minimum we can start talking about partnerships. If we are pro-business and pro-family that means pro-childcare.
Regressive taxes hurt the most vulnerable, and our tax structure is as regressive as it gets. This type of structure is anti-family and anti-public programs. There are simple measures and programs we can look at it. We can be smart, thoughtful and progressive all at once. I want to explain to citizens that we need to stop voting against our interests. We can make better decisions with the budget we do have, while also looking at creative and perhaps seemingly unpopular forms of revenue. It’s about communication about what is possible and what things actually mean.
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