Guest MINDSETTER™ Keith Anderson: Why I’m Running for State Representative
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Originally from Maine, I ended up in Rhode Island as a result of attending Bryant University, where I graduated from in 2003. After school, I was hired as a loan officer at a national mortgage lender and was promoted to branch manager only twelve months later.
After several years in sales, management and proprietorship, I decided to switch careers and become a high school teacher as I felt an obligation to help educate our youth.
I currently teach Personal Finance at East Providence High School, educating students on the importance of being fiscally prudent and well versed in the arts of investment strategies.
In addition, I try and serve as a positive role model for students to look up to, and constantly expound the value of having a "can't quit attitude" and tenacious work ethic. I have accomplished a lot over the last ten years despite being a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair after being hit by a drunk driver when I was twenty-one.
Despite my "disability", I do not outstretch my hand to ask for benefits paid for by the hard working citizens in our communities. Instead, I have chosen to earn my paycheck and give back to society despite earning nearly one thousand dollars less each month at my job compared to what I would receive if I were to accept a disability check. In my mind, I am fully capable of working and would rather see those funds be given to someone who may truly need them, including our seniors, developmentally disabled and brave veterans returning home.
I am running for office, not because I want to, but because I once again feel compelled to do something to help my community. I have always been of the mindset that if you want something done right, you are better off doing it yourself. My values are as principled as they come. I am an honest man who has no interest in seeking riches or fame as a public servant; I only seek solutions to our ever-compounding problems in hopes of restoring taxpayers trust in government, and leaving our posterity a better place with a brighter future.
Our state is headed in the wrong direction. There appears to be no end to the tax and spend policies of the General Assembly, which has been dominated by the same party for over seventy years. Rhode Islanders are voting with their feet, they are leaving the state because of the high taxes, over regulation and lack of available opportunity. I will not sit idly by and do nothing, when I feel called upon to stand up and serve my community.
I am going to Providence in an effort to support the hardworking taxpayers of District 29, as well as all of the seniors, veterans, and children across the state. I will not allow government to continue to leverage our future with high taxes and unsustainable debt. I ask you to join me as I fight to restore fiscal sanity to our state by reducing the size of government, providing incentive to businesses and by reforming our entitlement programs.
As is the case with my students, I hope to serve as a role model for those in our community as well as the politicians at the statehouse.
Keith Anderson is a candidate for State Rep. in District 29.
Comments:
Michael Napolitano
8:14am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Keith is an exceptional candidate, a great Republican and part of a slate of impressive Republican Candidates running for General Assembly seats. Please help support Keith by contributing to his campaign. He is an inspiration to all! http://www.electkeithanderson.org/
Aaron Regunberg
8:26am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
This is the problem with Mr. Anderson's rhetoric. If he's going to Smith Hill to reduce the size of state government (which I'm guessing would, ideally for him, include cutting taxes on upper-income earners--the folks who are already doing fine), that means--as we've seen over and over again over the past decade--passing the buck to cities and towns, which will have to increase their regressive taxes like those on property and cars.
I'm also blown away by Mr. Anderson's priorities. In a state with so many struggling, losing their houses, falling through the cracks, Mr. Anderson seems unable to talk about anything but cut, cut, cut. While Mr. Anderson seems like a personally impressive person, he's running on the platform of Carcieri/Bush/Romney, which has proven its ineffectiveness.
Donn Roach
8:43am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Aaron...as I describe today, Obama's spend, spend, spend policies have not been more effective in addressing the economy.
Also, Mr. Anderson doesn't mention the word 'cut' once in his piece, not that we don't need cuts, but you're reducing his argument to cut, cut, cut when he explicitly states - "[I] would rather see those funds be given to someone who may truly need them, including our seniors, developmentally disabled and brave veterans returning home."
There's a large gulf between cut, cut, cut and his actual comments which suggest responsibility.
Scott Dickerson
8:44am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
@Aaron, Nice job of attacking Mr. Anderson and putting words in his mouth. Most of your points are mentioned nowhere by him! In addition you also seek to tie him directly to other Republican national leaders, yet another tactic. This reeks of a public sector union leader hack job. Imagine a Republican who is a teacher, running for a seat in the RI General Assembly? This just shows to what level you will stoop. It also shows you are very afraid of him. My guess is you are sitting in the NEARI office as you typed your comments. How about judging the individual on what he has accomplished and his own comments instead of putting words in his mouth. I wonder how you look in the mirror every day?
Aaron Regunberg
8:53am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Hi Scott--sorry to disappoint, but I'm pretty far from a "public sector union leader." And man, I had no idea I said anything in that comment that could make one not look in the mirror--tone it down a bit, dude.
Donn, these are the comments that made me think "cut, cut, cut":
"There appears to be no end to the tax and spend policies of the General Assembly." That, one would assume, implies Mr. Anderson would rather we but taxes and spending--is that a crazy leap?
"I will not allow government to continue to leverage our future with high taxes and unsustainable debt." Well, if you want lower taxes, but you want to have no debt, then guess what--you're going to have to make some cuts.
And finally, "I will restore fiscal sanity to our state by reducing the size of government" and "reforming our entitlement programs." That one is just explicitly saying he wants to make cuts.
I fail to see any gulf at all, other than choice of words. What am I missing, Donn?
Common Sense RI
8:55am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
What? No mention of BushHitlerAnderson? You guys are slipping. I wonder if that classless NEA thug who got convicted last year would have the gracelessness to threaten Mr. Anderson with physcial violence too?
This guy must terrify all the NEA hack leaders because his very existence exposes their lies. Too bad he isn't running for union president so he could fire all the overpaid hacks and give the money wasted on their salaries back to the teachers.
Aaron Regunberg
8:55am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Unless, of course, he is talking about something rationale, such as cutting regressive taxes like property taxes (the real reason anyone who leaves the state because of taxes actually leaves the state) by increasing progressive taxes like those on income. In which case, I will full-heartedly throw my support behind Mr. Anderson.
Roland Lavallee
9:03am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
I've had many conversations with Mr. Anderson over the last couple of years and I know that he is just trying to tame the out of control giant called the General Assembly.
The General Assembly has been playing ostrich's head in the sand for many decades and in the process the 'leaders' have been stealing the golden egg from the goose and expecting their electorate to pay for the loss.
I believe Mr. Anderson will try to keep the the thieves right where they belong...out of power.
Michael Napolitano
9:35am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Did you know that the DEMOCRAT lead General Assembly cut $24 million form the developmental disabilities budget 2 years ago. They also cut several million for transportation in the same area. This resulted in deep cuts in federal matching funds to individuals who need these services. Did you also know that many REPUBLICANS including Keith Anderson attended a rally to restore these funds? As a result a fraction of the funding was restored this year.
Did you also know that Republicans in the House and in the Senate submitted amendments to the budget to increase the developmental disabilities budget while cutting money out of the legislative grants area. The area that politicians use to buy votes, such as the thousands Paiva-Weed gives to the local football and rugby club in Newport. By the way a vast majority of Democrats voted against doing this! Republicans also submitted amendments to increase their own payments toward the health care benefits they receive, and place that money in the developmental disabilities budget. Here too, the vast majority of Democrats voted against it. Go ahead fact check it!
To be clear Republicans DON’T want to cut in areas where services are badly needed like our handicapped, our seniors and our veterans. We want to cut waste, fraud and abuse within the system. Many Republicans also feel it is unfair to hand out services to individuals who are in our country illegally when we can’t even take care of our own citizens.
There is also no truth that Republicans want to cut Social Security or Medicare to our seniors yet David Cicilline and Sheldon Whitehouse continue to say that.
If you want to hear the truth just speak to our candidates and don’t believe all of the assumptions you will hear from the individuals on the left. The General Assembly has been run by Democrats and their leadership for over 70 years. Is it working?
Aaron Regunberg
9:55am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Michael, you and I have the exact same feelings regarding our Democratic leadership--huge disappointment. And it's awesome to hear that Mr. Anderson attended one of the DD rallies, thanks for letting me know that (to be clear, cause tone can get misinterpreted online, there was no sarcasm there--I do think that's great and I do appreciate the information).
Please understand that my comment was not based on partisanship. I'm a big supporter of John Savage, who until recently was a Republican. My comment was based on the above article, in which the candidate laid out his priorities. They seemed to be overwhelming geared towards cutting rather than making the smart investments our state needs.
Also, I think it's a little far-fetched to say Republicans in general only want to cut "waste, fraud, and abuse within the system," when so many are in lockstep with Grover Norquist, who wants to drown government in a bathtub. Unless you meant Republicans in RI?
Jeffrey Brown
10:33am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Let's be non-partisan for a moment. Whether in politics or in real life, be it the classroom, in business, we need more people of highest level of character and integrity. Unfortunately, in politics here in this state, most Rhode Islanders would agree that very little exists on Smith Hill. Keith represents a refreshing change from many who occupy public office here in R.I. (As well as some running for office, i.e. the candidate in East Providence took an apartment in another district to be able to run against a particular candidate for State Reprsentative).
Keith is a fantastic individual and a wonderful candidate for State Representative.
Michael Napolitano
11:31am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Aaron, As I am focused on RI and Keith Anderson is running in RI. I can only speak for what I see here. We could get into a philosophical discussion about what is occurring nationally but I am far to busy working to get Republican candidates elected to the General Assembly at this time. I am however tired of people stereotyping Republicans as rich guys who want to cut everything. It is simply not true. Here in RI the Democrats have all the money and have ruled for decades. You must admit they have done a poor job. We need balance in the legislature as no one party should have absolute control.
William Suffik
11:44am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
I would first like to congratulate Mr. Anderson. He seems like a fine young man, and a potentially great member of the General Assembly.
As far as Mr. Regunburg's remarks go, I believe Travis Rowley (another GoLocalProv Mindsetter) did a great job a few months ago comparing the two main competing tax-and-spend plans being proposed, and refute Mr. Regunberg's analysis quite thoroughly. I emailed Rowley's work to friends and family, so I should be able to provide the links.
WS
William Suffik
11:55am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Here we go. I found these two op-eds so thoughtful and convincing, that I sent them to my personal email list. They take on the "tax the rich" and the "anti-cut" arguments espoused by Mr. Regunberg:
http://www.golocalprov.com/politics/travis-rowley7/
http://www.golocalprov.com/politics/tr1/
Aaron Regunberg
1:53pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Regarding regressive vs. progressive taxes, seems like all Travis is arguing in the first piece is that rich people deserve to keep their money more than working families do, despite the fact that they objectively need it less. That's a moral stance--one that is in my opinion incredibly narrow-minded, premised off the kind of low-level thinking that ignores structural and systemic factors and the misconception that everyone is an island who somehow got where they are completely on their own. In the effective words of Elizabeth Warren: “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police-forces and fire-forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory — and hire someone to protect against this — because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless — keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
William Suffik
2:17pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Mr. Regunberg, Rowley didn't just explain the moral position of conservative taxation, he also illustrated the destruction that the Democrats' socialist policies have caused ("the logistical and moral foundation" he wrote), and how it's a myth that cuts to state aid are the cause of high property taxes. You seem to have entirely ignored those portions of his argument in order to invoke Elizabeth Warren's God-awful moral justification for socialism.
"If nothing else, Rhode Island has served to prove that no matter whose heads high taxes fall upon, the poor and middle class will always be the ones who suffer the most."
Very, very true.
Scott Dickerson
2:35pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Aaron (surely not your real name as you sound too much like a public sector union head especially with that last point) You forgot some major points that always seems to be missing from the argument: 1. The business owner took all of the risk. 2. The business owner pays a much larger portion of property taxes at the commercial rate, plus a tangibles tax, plus in RI an insane amount of fees. 3. The business owner is double taxed as most form a corporation for liability purposes. The business owner if successful is paying taxes on a higher tax bracket, if not the highest.
You also present your argument like the business owner didn't pay those taxes that you also paid while working his/her way up the ladder. Most business owners in RI are small business owners. The large companies have all moved on.
I am still wondering how many business owners own factories in RI, since most all manufacturing is overseas.
jen atack
3:49pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Aaron~ The problem with this state is that everyone keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over and expecting a different result. I.E. voting purely Democratic, opening this state up to illegal aliens, not drug testing those receiving welfare / benefits, not cracking down on those that break the law ( including politicians, their sons, abusive police officers that assault someone in cuffs ), not turning over murderers the Feds, and not having the gumption to do what's right for the citizens of this state. There is gross mismanagement for the care disabled people get, no care for the homeless, no care for hungry children, and basically being dismissive of problems unless they directly affect your personal wallet. Quite frankly, I was blown away when Mr. Robataille was not elected and yet again you put someone in office who told you to your faces, he was going to raise any and all taxes in this state, allow illegal aliens even more freedom in the name of votes, and basically be a giant softy and insult his father's name. Where does it end? When will the people of this state stop being so blatantly ignorant and do what's right?! The State House needs one giant proverbial flush and start over because it's gotten to where I am embarrassed to admit I live in this state.
Jeffrey Brown
5:46pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Is it true Mr. Regunberg, that you are not a real person? How shameful. Someone from the left hiding their real identity who apparently is quite threatened by the likes of Mr. Anderson. Seems my point about the need for character and integrity said it all. And, seems that Keith Anderson, well, has more spine than you!!!
Odd Job
6:58pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Methinks aaron sits down when he uses the toilet!
jen atack
8:18am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Odd job - was that seriously necessary?
Aaron Regunberg
8:53am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Hey, so I don't know where the "I'm not a real person" thing is coming from (though I find that super funny!). I've never written anything under a pen name in my life. But interesting line of attack, A for creativity.
Aaron Regunberg
8:56am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Let's leave the false names to folks with more elevated arguments, like that I sit down when I use the toilet.
Michael Napolitano
10:48am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
FYI Aaron is a community organizer and a member of The Institute for Democratic Education in America. I assume it is the same Aaron posting here. Aaron, the party you support is responsible in fact for where we are in RI today. Rank 50th for business and number 2 in unemployment. It is full of corruption, cronyism and is controlled by public sector union leaders. You list your political view as a libertarian yet the party you support wants more government. We need people like Keith Anderson in our legislature. We need more Republicans in our legislature. Surely you can't believe that total one-party dominance is healthy?
jen atack
3:40pm on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Good Lord, leave it to a bunch of chest puffing chest thumping neanderthals to act like this, and you wonder why this state is circling the bowl?
Art West
12:10pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
Keith, I'm liking what you've written here. Stay true to your fiscally responsible stance.