Gary Young |
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(candidate for 2002 Idaho State Representative, Position B) |
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1. Do you favor the Indian Gaming Initiative, Prop. 1? |
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Yes, with reservations. (no pun intended) Though I am impressed with the economic gains made by the Coeur d"Alene and Nez Perce tribes the past few years. Though gaming and other recreation activities have contributed to improvements in employment, quality of life and opportunities on and off of the reservation, their profits have not come without significant cost to some individuals and taxpayers.
I am concerned for the potential negative impact to a relatively small portion of the population and community who are adversely affected because of addictive tendencies. When we make provisions for property development we create and enforce provisions to keep the contaminated runoff out of the streams before we start the development. We consider the total environment and the overall impact before proceeding to harvest natural resources. We consider "remediation" before changing the landscape. I am concerned that we have not considered the overall impact with gaming. We have looked at the positive impact and essentially ignored the negative. We do not know if the positive benefit significantly outweighs the cost.
If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that provisions would be in place to protect the "environment" of peoples lives and our communities, or provide "remediation", I could more fully support the issue of Tribal gaming.
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2. Do you believe Idaho should continue to use the Millenium Fund (which
was created with money from the tobacco settlement for use in health
advocacy) to balance the state budget? |
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I oppose using the millenium fund to balance the state budget unless it is considered a "loan" and provision is made to require repaying the money into the fund as soon as possible. |
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3. Would you ever consider increasing taxes in Idaho? |
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I will work hard to keep taxes from increasing, but not at the expense of our education system. We do need to review all the exemptions that have evolved into law over the years.
We are also told that $80-90 million is owed in taxes that go uncollected each year. The legislature could have spent the money to hire auditors that would have improved tax collection. Representative Trail and I tried to introduce legislation that would have done this but it did not pass. "Sin Taxes" should be addressed as a possible
source of revenue to help pay for increased costs to the state that result from substance abuse. I would also like to see the regressive sales tax on food and prescriptions that penalize low income households removed. This could possibly be replaced by raising sales tax and/or eleminating some exemptions.
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4. The Supreme Court ruled that a death penalty law like Idaho's is
unconstitutional. Do you favor a moratorium on executions in Idaho?
How should the state revisit the current death penalty law? |
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I favor a moratorium while Idaho's death penalty is analyzed as to costs of life imprisonment vs death sentences. I do support the death penalty where a heinous crime occurs (such as Idaho State Police trooper Linda Huff's murder) and guilt can be proven beyond doubt through DNA evidence. Research does tell us that neither the death penalty nor prison terms serve as much of a deterrant to commission of these crimes. |
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5. Is it important to you to connect with voters (answer questions and receive input) via email? Do you plan to subscribe to Moscow Vision 2020 if elected? Do you plan to post messages to Moscow Vision 2020 if elected? |
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It is very important for me to hear from constituents via e-mail and regular mail. I have subscribed to Moscow Vision 2020 since 1998 or 1999 and will continue. I will post messages from time to time. Representative Trail has done such a great job of communicating via Vision 2020 and many of my comments would have been duplication. Instead, I
have used my web page, e-mails and regular mail to communicate with constituents.
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6. What book(s) are you now reading? |
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I am currently reading the Books of Isaiah and Galatians in the Bible and "Justice that Restores" by Charles Colson and "Hiding From Love" by Dr. John Townsend |
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7. Add your email address and any biographical information you wish. |
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My e-mail is gyoung4idaho@moscow.com. I am a 22 year resident of Latah County as of this coming January. I have been married to Lynne for 36 years. We have 2 married sons with a 4 year old granddaughter and a new grandchild due in March. I am recently retired from a 33 year sales and marketing career in Agricultural products. |
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