It is time to change direction in Washington. With unemployment hovering above 9.7 percent in North Carolina and no end in sight for the economic downturn, drastic measures need to be taken to place unemployed Americans ahead of the career politicians and special interests in Washington. There are real problems in Washington and I am running for Congress because the politicians have shown they don’t have what it takes to turn this economy around and get Americans working again.

I believe our national debt has hampered the growth of our economy. Larry Kissell has been a constant vote in favor of wasteful spending, bailouts, giveaways and other government boondoggles. He voted for the failed 2009 stimulus that promised new jobs – but the only thing Kissell’s stimulus brought was economic growth in China and a higher national debt in America, now over $16 trillion. I will never vote for a bailout or giveaway and, instead, support a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution.

But that isn’t all. We need to repeal Obamacare immediately. Larry Kissell had his chance to get rid of Obamacare but, instead, he voted in favor of it 23 times. That is outrageous. I will work tirelessly to get rid of Obamacare and its 18 new taxes and punishing regulations on small business.

We need to fundamentally change the tax system in this country. The current code is comprised of over 72,000 pages, littered with loopholes and giveaways throughout. We need to fundamentally reform the tax code, eliminate the loopholes and lower and flatten tax rates across the board. Middle class tax cuts will help jump start this economy. Finally, over the last several months of traveling across the 8th District, I have talked with hundreds of small business people. The biggest issue they face is the uncertainty created by regulation-happy bureaucrats and politicians in Washington who are in collusion with the Obama Administration. The uncertainty in healthcare costs, energy costs, taxes and regulations are holding them back from hiring new workers and expanding their businesses. Who could blame them? We can’t seriously ask a business owner to place millions of dollars on the line when the political whims of bureaucrats in Washington could take it all away. The best policy government can enact to create jobs is to get out of the way and give small businesses the confidence to invest and hire again.

These solutions are simple — but we need new leadership and a new representative to turn these solutions into law. I’m running for Congress because I know times are tough and if we can change direction in November and send someone to Congress who shares your values, then we can turn this country around.

Richard Hudson

Republican Candidate for Congress

North Carolina’s 8th District