Dear Congressman Petri,

I have just (begrudgingly) completed your recent survey inquiring about our feelings and positions on a variety of issues. I say begrudgingly because the survey is a very limited and often misleading set of questions with limited, ambiguous answer options. If you truly wish to know what your constituents think, then the surveys should be much more specific rather than general in nature and you should offer the ability to comment and clarify on given responses to each question.

My answers to many of the questions posed in this survey are dependent on many other related factors that are associated with the issues raised. In my opinion, this survey is practically useless in conveying the true beliefs of many respondents who have participated. However, please continue to offer these types of opportunities to hear from us, your constituents, but also please attempt to make the questions and answers less misleading, more specific and with better transparency so that you may vote on legislation with a true understanding of constituent input.

Respectfully,
Todd Hudzinski
Princeton, WI

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Representative Petri’s survey follows in blue and red text. Black text is my comments;

Your views and opinions are of vital concern to me. Please take a few minutes to answer the important questions listed below.

Do you believe that federal deficits are a serious matter requiring a strong response?

A) Yes
B) No Federal deficits ARE a serious matter but a strong response is not a valid question. I expect my representatives to make REASONED responses. A strong response says nothing about whether it is a right response.

In order to balance the budget, would you be willing to make cuts in the following areas?

A. Health Care

Yes  / No -  Yes if you mean cutting waste, fraud and abuse while providing mechanisms for fair and full coverage for all Americans
No if you mean transferring all health care provisions to the whims of for-profit businesses.

B. Low-Income Assistance (Food Stamps, unemployment, etc.)
Yes No No to cutting assistance and/or fraud investigation. Yes to policies that increase or support the manipulation of or dependency on welfare as a permanent lifestyle.

C. Defense
Yes No Yes to wasteful and unnecessary programs, bases and foreign involvement. No to research and intelligence training and implementation.

D. Homeland Security
Yes No No to border and port controls, intelligence gathering and disaster preparedness and response capability. Yes to wasteful and unnecessary screening, privacy infringements and activity directly infringing on constitutional rights and principles.

E. Foreign Aid
Yes No Yes to cutting aid to foreign entities without verifiable return concessions by them that support our constitutional principles. No to aid that helps to address humanitarian and democratic issues in foreign lands.

F. Transportation
Yes No No to cutting infrastructure, especially such that builds on the inevitable replacement of fossil fuels. Yes to funding that promotes continued inefficiency, dependency and sprawl.

G. Education
Yes No No to funding for the equitable capacity to receive quality primary or the pursuit of secondary education. Yes to cutting funding that has no attached means to judge efficacy.

H. Social Security
Yes No No if it means the reduction or elimination of the SS system. Yes to the payment of funds to the un-needy.

I. Agriculture
Yes No Yes to eliminating subsidies to factory farms and other destructive commodity subsidies. No to research, promotion of family farms and sustainable agricultural practices.

J. Veterans Benefits
Yes No NEVER

Would you favor Congress limiting the availability of the home mortgage interest tax deduction?

A) Yes To those who don’t need it
B) No To those who only have a single home

While the Social Security program may not be responsible for our current budget problems, the program does face several years of operating deficits. Without changing benefits for current retirees or those close to retirement, would you support these changes for future retirees?

A. Slowing the growth of future benefits over several years
Yes No No the level of benefits should not be infringed upon for those that are in need.

B. Raising the cap on income subject to tax (currently $106,800)
Yes No Yes and No depending on if any other solutions are implemented. Fairness is the determinant.

C. Means test for benefits
Yes No Yes, SS should be treated as an insurance policy where those that need it can claim it and those that don’t need it can donate their share to a variety of causes.

D. Provide benefits on a sliding scale based on income
Yes No No to a sliding scale of payments into the fund, maybe to a sliding scale of receipts dependent on need but only if other more effective and equitable measures have not been enacted.

E. Gradually increase retirement age for current workers
Yes No Yes and No based on occupational realities.

F. Increase tax rates for all workers
Yes No No/not sure. The realities of the system in terms of inputs/outputs and expectations overall need to be clarified and communicated.

G. Voluntary transfers of some Social Security contributions to private accounts
Yes No Yes if voluntary and only a percentage. Freedom of choice should be promoted but also consequences and personal responsibility need to be clearly delineated.

One of the recommendations put forth by the President’s Debt Commission was to convert the Medicare system from a government-run insurance program to a system where Medicare participants are given a voucher to purchase insurance in the private market. Would you support such a change?

CORRECTION: The question above is somewhat misleading. Instead of saying that the recommendation was “put forth” by the President’s Debt Commission, the question should read that this recommendation was “discussed” by the President’s Debt Commission. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSINUATION AND THE REALITY OF THE WAY THIS AND OTHER QUESTIONS IN THIS SURVEY ARE ASKED!

A) Yes Not Sure/ Don’t have enough information to make a choice/ question is not clear
B) No

Despite passage of last year’s health care law, the future of health care reform remains an open question. Which of the following most closely matches your current position on this issue?

A) Be patient, find out if the new system works
B) Replace the new system with Republican alternatives (competition, tort reform, health savings accounts, etc.)
C) Single Payer/Government-run system
D) Other At least you provided an “other” option as there are few if any simple answers.

Some say that new revenues are necessary to balance the budget. If so, which approach do you prefer?

A) Increase taxes on the wealthy
B) Tax reform to spread the tax burden more broadly
C) No change. Improving economy will increase revenue.
D) Other Again, there are many other options not listed. Those that are listed need to be more clearly defined. I would say B. but am more interested in a fairly distributed tax than a “broadly spread” one. As is most of this survey, this option is definitionally unclear.

Please indicate your age range

18 – 34
35 – 59
60+