Ray Uhric - former Democratic Candidate for the Pennsylvania House Of Representatives
2016 Presidential Candidacy Declaration.
In
my last blog update (11-3-2013/11-13-2013), I said, “I am not running again for
public office.” Well, after the midterm
Democratic Party election disaster, I have come to the conclusion that we a
leadership problem in the Democratic Party.
Therefore, I feel it is my civic and patriotic duty to declare myself as
a Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States. Today, April 6, 2015, I learned that there
are five declared Democratic Party candidates for president in 2016. Hilary Clinton has not yet declared her
candidacy. None of the declared
candidates are what I would consider nationally known politicians. So my running for president really isn’t that
outlandish.
In my two previous
campaigns for public office, I despised asking for money. As a result, my political activities have
caused me spend thousands of dollars of my own limited financial
resources. Despite this, I will not ask
for political contributions. I will try
to finance my campaign and my living expenses through the sale of my art. I will accept contributions if they are
offered but I will do no political fundraising.
Below is the main plank of my campaign platform:
I am running on a Full
Employment (with just compensation and benefits), Low Tax, Low Debt, Debt-Free Money
platform.
The main plank of my
platform is a permanent U.S. Constitution-based (article 1, section 8, paragraph 5), debt-free monetary solution to
federal, state and local government funding problems. My proposal will require
no tax dollars or government borrowing.
Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Pension Benefit Guarantee
Corporation (PBGC) and the Veterans Administration will all be fully funded and
made permanently solvent using United States Treasury issued debt-free
money. This legal tender currency is called United States Notes or U.S.
Notes.
Today, government
funding is such a disaster that several private sector charities are making
television appeals for money for our wounded and disabled veterans. Wounded and disabled veterans have become
charity cases! This is a national
disgrace! For years I have been
badgering our democratically elected politicians telling them to use unlimited
United States Treasury issued debt-free money to fund ALL of the needs of our
veterans. Tragically, I have been
stonewalled and ignored by the dozens of politicians that I have
contacted. United States Notes are the
same currency that was issued under Presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and John
F. Kennedy in 1963. Incredibly, all of
their debt-free currency was withdrawn from circulation by Congress after these
great presidents were assassinated! And,
shamefully, Congress never again permitted the Treasury to issue debt-free
money. The result is an $18 trillion
national debt. When I first proposed
issuance of debt-free money to more than a dozen politicians in June of 2004,
the national debt was $7 trillion. Since
then, $11 trillion of unnecessary debt
has been loaded on the backs of American taxpayers.
Despite the stupidity of
Congress, $300 million of this debt-free money is currently an unissued part of our national money supply. Under the authority of the Legal Tender Act of 1862, Congress can
increase this $300 million to whatever amount is needed to solve America’s
fiscal and economic problems. The U.S.
Notes can be put directly into the federal trust funds to replace the trillions
of dollars that have been stolen since the federal budget was unified in
1969. Treasury issued debt-free money is
the perfect, legal and practicable solution to America’s fiscal and economic
problems. This link to the U.S. Treasury
web site: U.S. Treasury - FAQ: Legal Tender Status of
Currency will verify that what I
say about United States Notes is true and based on existing law.
I have populist, AMERICA
FIRST positions on all of the issues facing America, both domestic and
foreign. Most of my platform is already
stated plainly on this web site. As a
presidential candidate, the politicians can no longer refuse to acknowledge my
correspondence and throw my letters in the trash. And, when I request an interview in the
media, they will have no choice but to comply.
The “establishment” has refused to debate the issue of debt-free money
with me for more than ten years. So, in
the spirit of reciprocity, I will refuse to debate any national or
international issue until the issue of U.S. Treasury issued United Stated Notes
is resolved. My proposals for a U.S.
Note funded full employment economy (outlined elsewhere on this web site) are
inextricably linked to the debt-free money debate. Thus, that will also be part of the
debate. Compare my no tax, no debt, full
employment proposals on this web site with the pie-in-the-sky “jobs bills” that
are proposed by Congress and the president.
This post will serve as
my formal declaration of my intention to run for the office of President of the
United States. Because much of this web
site was written for my 2006 and 2010 campaigns for the Pennsylvania General
Assembly, some of the text is out of date.
However, nothing in my policy proposals has changed. This web site will be reformatted and updated
to be more timely and relevant for the 2016 presidential election. In the meantime, I challenge all presidential
candidates, any politician, any reputable pundit, any academic, any government
or Federal Reserve official, any business leader and any banking spokesperson
to find anything that is in error, illegal or impracticable on this web site. (Typos don’t count.) All legitimate rebuttals should be sent to PO
Box 815, Coraopolis, PA 15108.
Ray Uhric April
6, 2015
UPDATE 3/5/2011
THE TRUTH ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY “REFORM”
The Republicans say social security must be cut in order to reduce the deficit. But, by law, social security is prohibited from adding to the deficit. The Democrats say the social security “trust fund” has a $2.5 trillion surplus, and the system can pay full benefits until 2027. But, conservatives say that social security is a welfare program that costs taxpayers money. It has been claimed that the Baby Boomers did not “prefund” their benefits. What is the truth?
Back in 1970, in order to pay for the additional costs of the Vietnam War, politicians started raiding the social security system. By 1979, the trust fund was $2 billion in the red. When the Vietnam War ended, stagflation in the private sector economy during the 1970s became the major cause of the shortfall in social security funding. The Reagan/Greenspan Commission “fixed” the problem by cutting benefits, making benefits taxable and raising the amount of the FICA payroll deduction.
Today, as in the 1970s, war and a lousy private sector economy have pushed the social security trust fund back into the red. Contrary to conservative and Republican disinformation, the problem isn’t that benefits are “too generous.” The problem is that our economy doesn’t produce the revenue necessary to properly fund the social security system. This isn’t the fault of the workers or the people collecting social security checks. It is the fault of our political leaders, the business community and especially the banking “industry.” The 2007/2008 financial crisis, the Great Recession, the wars, globalization of our economy and wealthy tax dodgers are the reasons for our fiscal and economic problems and the reason why social security is in the red.
The law states that social security cannot add to the deficit. If this is true, how can conservatives and Republicans say that social security must be cut to reduce the deficit? There is a simple and infuriating answer to this question. The $2.5 trillion that politicians have stolen from the trust fund has been replaced with government bonds (IOUs). These bonds are a liability against the federal government. In other words, the missing $2.5 trillion has been added to the national debt and the taxpayers are stuck with the bill! We are told that “interest” will be paid on these government bonds. But, it is actually the taxpayers who pay the interest out of their own money.
Liberals and Democrats claim that there is a $2.5 trillion trust fund “surplus.” If this is true, why hasn’t money been taken from the so-called surplus to make up the shortfall when the trust fund went into the red? Instead, money is taken from the government’s general revenue fund. This gives social security-hating conservatives an excuse to denounce the system as a “government welfare program.” (It’s odd that conservatives don’t denounce the Banksters who caused the funding problem.) To make matters worse, since government expenditures are partially funded with treasury debt, part of our social security benefits are being funded with money borrowed from China! The trust fund doesn’t exist. That’s the ugly truth. All the money has been stolen and spent by the politicians.
The law states that the $2.5 trillion in government bonds will be “redeemed” with future tax revenues. Taking more taxpayer’s dollars to cover up the theft does not replace the stolen money. It only perpetuates the theft. The money must come from a source other than the victims of the theft. Some of the money should come from the bank accounts and pay checks of the politicians who stole the money. However, the only practicable source for this money is U.S. Treasury-issued, debt-free United States Notes. I have been proposing this solution to our elected leaders for more than six and one half years. The response has been stony silence.
Conservative and Republican actuaries claim that the “Baby Boomers did not prefund their social security benefits.” This is sheer nonsense. The Boomer’s benefits were prefunded by, at least, the $2.5 trillion that was stolen by the politicians. Add to that, all the money that disappeared into the government’s general revenue fund prior to the 1983 Reagan/Greenspan commission. And, remember, it was our globalized economy that caused the declining wages that robbed the Baby Boomers of the ability to totally prefund their social security benefits.
The Wall Street money sponges lament the “low savings rate” of the American people. The trillions of dollars stolen from the trust fund were the savings of the American people. The law states that the IOUs will be “redeemed” with future tax revenue. However, with a $1.4 trillion budget deficit and a $14.1 trillion national debt, it is patently impossible for the politicians, who are responsible for this enormous theft, to replace the stolen money. This is why, when I asked my Congressman to explain why the politicians don’t simply replace the money raided from the trust fund, he said: “I would have to raise your taxes to do that.” The Congressman now claims “he doesn’t remember saying that.” Whether he remembers it or not, that statement is true.
There are budget crises at the local, state and federal levels. This mess was caused by our political leaders. In the name of free markets and deregulation, they let the Banksters and their cronies in the mortgage finance “industry,” spin totally out of control. Now, everybody but the people who caused the problems have to pay the price for an “industry” that ran amuck.
That’s the truth.
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Thus far, there has been no response from Senator Pat Toomey, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, MoveOn.Org or Democracy for America.
UPDATE 2/25/2011
My December 10, 2010, letter to Senator Pat Toomey has remained unacknowledged. I called his Washington, DC, office and explained that I wanted a response to my letter before I put it up on this web site. On February 6, 2011, I sent an E-mail copy of the letter to Senator Toomey’s DC office. The next day, I called the office and confirmed that they had received the E-mail. As of February 25, 2011, I have received neither a letter nor an E-mail from Senator Toomey’s office.
The December 9, 2010 E-mail replies that I sent to MoveOn.org and DemocracyForAmerica have also remained unacknolwedged.
Below is a copy of the E-mail that I sent to Senator Toomey's office:
February 6, 2011
The December 9, 2010 E-mail replies that I sent to MoveOn.org and DemocracyForAmerica have also remained unacknolwedged.
Below is a copy of the E-mail that I sent to Senator Toomey's office:
February 6, 2011
Dear Senator Toomey,
On December 11, 2010, I mailed a letter (see below) to your Club for Growth address. I wanted the letter to be forwarded to your Senate office in order to be among the first citizens to contact you. I called the Club for Growth and your Washington office. I was assured by both offices that you would, eventually, get my letter. As of February 3, I have received no response. For this reason, I am sending you a copy of the December 10, 2010, letter via E-mail. Please respond as soon as possible. I will put my letter and your response on my web site rayuhric.blogspot.com so that the public can judge the merits of our respective arguments. If you disagree with my position, I will put my rebuttal to your letter or E-mail on my web site. I expect and welcome a lively debate.
The public has a right to know that there are legal, United States Constitution based, alternatives to the painful austerity that the Republicans (and their Democratic allies) plan to impose on the American people. America’s current fiscal and economic problems are the result of the reckless greed and fraud of the financial “industry” as well as the irresponsible actions of their cronies in our government. I intend to bring the whole truth about our current fiscal and economic problems to the attention of the American people.
Ray Uhric
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December 10, 2010
Club for Growth
Club for Growth
2001 L Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Dear Senator-Elect Toomey:
For several years, I have been trying to provoke a public debate regarding the subject of United States Treasury issued debt free money. This legal tender currency is called United States Notes, also known as Greenbacks. Despite my best efforts, for six and one half years, none of my elected representatives would address this issue. Now that you are my representative, I will ask you to address the issue.
Below are two excerpts from my web site, rayuhric.blogspot.com :
How could Congress give up its enumerated power to issue debt free money without a Constitutional Amendment? This power was given to Congress in Article One, Section Eight, Paragraph Five of the United States Constitution. The Constitution did not give this power to the Federal Reserve, a privately owned Central Bank. The creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 is a national scandal that is vividly exposed by our $14 trillion national debt.
[Please explain] why we have a $14 trillion national debt when our Constitution provides a mechanism for the U.S. Treasury to issue debt free money. This fiscally responsible, and legal, monetary policy was instituted by Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Unfortunately, after they were assassinated, their debt free monetary policies were reversed by the combined efforts of Congress and President Ronald Reagan.
Please address the above questions point-by-point.
The articles on my web site present a direct challenge to the “Club for Growth” economic policies that you represent. This is why I respectfully invite you to debate economic policy on my web site. I am prepared, and eager, to defend my position. We have both taken oaths to uphold the United States Constitution. (I took my oath when I enlisted in the military.) The Constitution requires elected officials to “promote the general welfare of” and “ensure the domestic tranquility” of the American people. The policy proposals on my web site are designed to advance those hallowed objectives. The purpose of the debate that I propose to you is to establish whose policies best conform to that Constitutional mandate.
As an elected official, you are no longer a member of the private sector. You are part of the federal government. You are required, by law, do what is best for the country. The desires of Wall Street and the financial services “industry” are irrelevant to your job. America can no longer afford the “free market” blunders that have brought us to the point of economic and financial ruin.
I await your timely reply. Thank you.
Ray Uhric
Ray Uhric
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Please contact Senator Toomey and ask him why he has never addressed the issue of United States Treasury issued debt free money. Ask him to give me a point by point response to my correspondence so I can put it on this web site.
Please contact Senator Toomey and ask him why he has never addressed the issue of United States Treasury issued debt free money. Ask him to give me a point by point response to my correspondence so I can put it on this web site.
Senator Pat Toomey’s Washington contact:
B-40B Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: (202) 228-0284
B-40B Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: (202) 228-0284
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Below is a copy of the E-mail that I sent to MoveOn.Org and Democracy for America:
Please check out my web site: rayuhric.blogspot.com . Tell me what you think of my economic and monetary reform ideas. I believe the only way we are going to fix America's fiscal and economic problems is to follow the example of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. I explain it all on my web site.
Please respond to this e-mail. I'm trying to find people with the courage to stand with me.
Thanks.
Ray Uhric
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I invite the visitors to this web site to scroll down the page and read the essays that I wrote as my campaign platform. In these essays, I address and offer solutions to a wide range of issues and problems. This invitation is especially extended to Senator Pat Toomey, MoveOn.org and Democracy for America.
Some of the topics covered in my essays include: Lowering Taxes; Reducing Government Spending; Making Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Pensions Permanently Solvent; Affordable Healthcare; Building a Strong Economy; Rebuilding American Manufacturing; The National Debt and The Legal Justification for Lincoln/Kennedy Monetary Reform
PLEASE NOTE: I would like to apologize to everyone who tried to link to the U.S. Treasury Department web site from the essays on this web site and were denied access. Because changes were made to the Treasury web site, my links were effectively disabled. Modifications to this web site have now been made in order to restore access to this vitally important information. In the event my links become disabled again, the relevant Treasury information is transcribed below. For convenience, I have highlighted the parts of the articles that I think are particularly important.
Today is October 28, 2010. There are only six days left until the election. I have some final thoughts about my campaign. I’m sorry that I didn’t have time to write articles on all the issues I listed on the home page of this web site. Healthcare, taxes and social security were at the top of the list, so I made sure I covered them.
My opponent, Representative Mark Mustio and state Senator John Pippy, are having their annual “Senior Expo” at the Crown Plaza Hotel here in Moon Township, with free food and flu shots. Needless to say, I don’t have the money to match a vote-getting operation like that. Representative Mustio claims to be a cost cutting, fiscal conservative. I wonder how much of this expensive party was paid for with tax dollars.
Attendees of the Expo are offered advice about financial planning, health care and insurance. Does the fact that Representative Mustio inherited an insurance business that represents twenty three insurance and finance companies cause a conflict of interest with his duty as a representative of the people of the 44th legislative district?
I have a good reason for asking this question. My Medicare supplemental insurance premium was raised 45% in 2010. I personally know a woman whose supplemental insurance premium, in 2010, exploded by 150%! This is on top of significant increases in co-pays and prescription drugs. Seniors, like me, received no increase in our social security benefit because we are told “there is no inflation.” Factor in higher prices for food and gasoline and it is easy to see why seniors on fixed incomes are struggling.
If I am elected, I will tear into these issues because I have empathy for struggling older people. Can Representative Mustio say the same? As a representative of the insurance and finance industry, will he fight to lower the cost of health insurance for his constituents knowing that this might lower his profit margin? How will those twenty three companies react if he fights hard to lower the healthcare costs for senior citizens?
There is no guarantee, of course, that I will win this election. If Mr. Mustio remains my representative, can I depend on him to fight to lower my healthcare costs? What will he do about a 150% increase in a healthcare premium? These questions lead to this question: is his position as an insurance company representative in conflict with his duty as a state Representative? Mr. Mustio, the cost cutter, has offered to pay for his state- provided insurance as well as his state car and cell phone. Considering his personal circumstances, this offer is laughable.
Mr. Mustio likes to talk about reducing the size of the Legislature. If a good bill to reduce the size of the legislature comes to the floor, I will vote for it. This issue is a great vote getter during a campaign. But, Mr. Mustio admitted in a recent radio interview, that even with a Republican controlled legislature, the chance of passing legislation to reduce the size of the legislature is remote at best. He likes to talk about what he will cut from government. But, remember, cutting jobs and wages will only make the recession worse.
I take the opposite approach. As I have explained in detail on this web site, we can stimulate the economy and have prosperity by following the example of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. They used Article 1, section 8, paragraph 5 of the United States Constitution as their guiding economic principal. If they had lived, we would never have a thirteen trillion dollar national debt and a debt enslaved national economy.
I won’t reiterate the economic and monetary reforms that I propose elsewhere on this web site. I will simply say they are legal, they will work and the historical record bears witness to the truth of this statement. I sent letters outlining my economic and monetary reforms to both Representative Mark Mustio and State Senator John Pippy. I explained how we can use U.S. Treasury issued debt free money to make social security, Medicare and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation permanently solvent. I also explained how this money could be used to lower taxes, reduce the national debt and stimulate the economy.
Mr. Pippy forwarded my letter to Senator Arlen Specter who never responded. Mr. Mustio never answered my letter. This stonewalling is the reason I decided to run for public office.
The current economic thinking is to impose cuts and austerity on us so that our government debt will be more attractive to foreign investors. Workers must take pay and benefit cuts in order to be competitive with the cheapest slave labor that the world has to offer. This is rubbish. Clear alternatives to this economic doomsday are outlined on this web site.
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I have received policy questionnaires in the mail from every interest group imaginable. I apologize to all those that never received a response from me. I simply did not have the time to respond to all of them. Responding to some would slight the ones I omitted, so I left most of them unanswered. Questionnaires are problematic for me. I don’t want to make promises that I can’t keep. Legislation is not cut and dried like questionnaires. Legislation takes the form of complex documents that may or may not reflect my position close enough to warrant my vote. My ideas are clearly detailed on this web site.
Although I am running a state office, I plan to attack the problems facing the people in the 44th legislative district whether they originate in Harrisburg or Washington. I’ve had enough experience with Washington politicians to know that if I can’t depend on them, I will have to depend on myself.
I am not a career politician. I am a retired aircraft technician. I have worked as a welder, steelworker and a factory laborer. I am on social security, Medicare and my pension, abandoned by my employer, is in the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. I am a typical taxpaying citizen. However, I may be atypical in that I have devoted many years of study to understanding how economics, monetary theory and public policy affect the lives of ordinary citizens and the government. If I am elected, I will put this knowledge to good use.
Please vote for me next Tuesday.
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Priorities:
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| If elected on November 2, Ray Uhric will work vigorously for a sound stable economy in the 44th District, and in all of Pennsylvania . |
PLEASE SUPPORT MY CAMPAIGN
My economic and monetary reform proposals to make social security, Medicare and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation permanently solvent can be successful. The only requirement is the political will. These reforms can also lower taxes, reduce government debt and lower unemployment. Some people may say these are national issues, however, they affect every person in Pennsylvania’s 44th Legislative District.
As an elected official, I will have free access to the media. And, I will take advantage of an existing State legislative mechanism that will put my reform proposals on the table for the United States Congress. The public debate regarding economic policy is incomplete until the American people are made aware of the Constitutional provisions regarding United States Treasury issued debt free money.
If you would like to support my campaign as a volunteer, with a yard sign or a financial contribution, please contact me at
Committee to Elect Ray Uhric
P O Box 815
Coraopolis, PA 15108 - 0815
Thank You
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A message for the voters in the 44th Legislative District
I have begun a door to door campaign of talking to the voters. I am asking each voter to share with me their concerns and what they expect from their elected representative. I have a list of issues that I ask each voter to rank in order of importance. When I have collected a representative sampling of the voter's opinions, I will address each issue on this web site. I will begin with the issue that ranked most important and continue down the list.
By addressing each issue individually, I hope to avoid "information overload." For the voters who have no computer, or who have never used a computer, please visit your local library or a friend or relative who has a computer. Simply tell them to get on the Internet and type in rayuhric.blogspot.com . That will bring up this web site.
This is the list of issues ranked in order of importance to the voters so far:
- An Open Letter To The Post-Gazette
- Lowering Taxes / Reducing Government Spending
- Social Security / Pensions
- Taxation
- The Legal Justification for Lincoln/Kennedy Monetary Reform
- Affordable Healthcare
- The Social Security Trust Fund
- Medicare
- A sensible energy policy
- Building a strong economy
- Rebuilding American Manufacturing
- Good paying jobs
- Strengthening small business
- Peace
- The environment
- Marcellus shale
- Illegal immigration
- Abortion
Ray Uhric June 30, 2010
Biography
Upon graduation from high school in 1962, Ray Uhric enlisted in the United States Navy and chose the field of Naval Aviation. After training as an aircraft maintenance technician, he was assigned to a radar picket early warning squadron in the north Atlantic. His next assignment was a nuclear attack squadron aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. He completed his military service in a hurricane hunter squadron based in Florida. After being honorably discharged, Ray was employed as a steelworker and a manufacturing plant worker. He reentered the aviation field as a student at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. After graduation and federal certification as a aircraft maintenance technician, he went to work for Allegheny Airlines (later, USAirways). After a thirty-five year career, he retired in 2004. |
| A Note For Previous Visitors To This Website Thank you for visiting this web site. In the past, this site has dealt primarily with national issues. U.S. Constitution based monetary reform was a solution put forth to permanently solve the under-funding problems of social security, Medicare, and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. U.S. Constitution based monetary reform was also a solution put forth to stimulate economic growth, lower taxes and reduce government debt. I have decided to run for the 44th District seat in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. For this reason, this site will now link to my 2010 campaign web site. The campaign site will focus on the issues of concern to the voters in the 44th District, including me. As I campaign and talk to the voters, I will ask them to share with me their concerns and what they expect from their elected representatives in Harrisburg. I will put these concerns and expectations on the campaign web site along with my recommendations for the best legislative action, or inaction, to be taken. I hope this interactive dialogue will convince the voters of the 44th Legislative District that I am worthy of their support in the November 2, 2010 general election. Thank you. Ray Uhric April 17, 2010 |
