MATT GUNDERSON: I BELIEVE WE NEED TO PASS LONG-TERM TAX RELIEF
Q:
From wildfires to sea
level rise, the climate emergency is increasingly affecting California. What immediate steps should California lawmakers be taking to address it?
A:
All Californians want
clean air and clean water and to protect the natural wonders that make our state so beautiful. California is already the most environmentally friendly state in the nation, but we can still do more to protect and improve what we have. The Legislature should move immediately to do more to prevent wildfires, protect our beaches and waterways from exposure to oil or other toxic substances, stabilize the bluffs along the coast, and make sure disadvantaged communities get the same level of environmental protection our wealthy communities have.
Q:
The governor’s pleas
to reduce water use have been widely met with indifference. What, if anything, should state lawmakers be doing to address drought conditions?
A:
We need to ensure
that all California communities have safe access to water. Continuing the same failed water policies over and over is simply insanity — the Legislature needs to act now to create more surface storage and new reservoirs and to invest in more water recycling projects.
Q:
What would you do to
address the surging gas prices in California?
A:
California has had the
highest gas prices in the nation long before this recent spike. Not only do we add a 51-cents-per-gallon state tax, but the state also tacks on additional fees that brings up the total tax burden on a gallon of gas in California to $1.18. I support a gas tax holiday through the duration of this crisis to provide relief to Californians, and I also support loyng-term reductions to the gas tax to ensure the state is not collecting more than it needs to complete necessary road repairs and expansions.
Q:
How do you strike a
balance between reducing the state’s dependency on fossil fuels and addressing energy affordability issues, including the high cost of gasoline?
A:
While it’s unlikely that
we will be able to move commuting, middle-class Californians out of their gas-powered cars by 2035,
we must have goals and work towards them. The average electric vehicle still costs $10,000 more than your average car, and the high cost of the electricity needed to charge such a vehicle rival even the high cost of gas in California. If we’re serious about a green energy future, we need to address affordability first. That means using market incentives to phase in more green energy programs, not forcing compliance at such a high cost that average people can’t afford them.
Q:
What single change
would you make to improve California’s K-12 public school systems?
A:
California students,
as a whole, are falling behind the rest of the country in academic achievement. Unfortunately, the children who get left behind the most in our public school systems are lowincome and minority students. That’s why I would champion school choice for all. School choice allows all students to be successful, regardless of what ZIP code or neighborhood they were born into.
I’d also fight to protect advanced classes in public schools. Combining advanced students with students who need more help strains teachers’ ability to serve both groups, and hampers those who are able to work beyond their grade level.
Q:
Should taxes in California be increased? If so, which ones?
A:
Absolutely not. Californians are wildly overtaxed.
We are operating with a massive budget surplus of $68 billion. We do not need to make life harder for Californians by increasing an already high tax burden.
In fact, I believe we need to pass long-term tax relief that reduces taxes on Californians and particularly focuses on working and middle-class Californians and small business owners — who have all been hit particularly hard by inflation.