“The evidence and theory that Whitman uses to diagnose California’s problems are unscientific and an unsound basis for policy,” the economists write. “As a result, her diagnosis and her proposed economic policies are both deeply flawed. If implemented, her policy proposals will deepen California’s budget crisis and are likely to reduce employment and economic growth.”

The 22 statistics that you are about to read prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at a staggering rate. Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now that is changing at a blinding pace.

So why are we witnessing such fundamental changes? Well, the globalism and “free trade” that our politicians and business leaders insisted would be so good for us have had some rather nasty side effects. It turns out that they didn’t tell us that the “global economy” would mean that middle class American workers would eventually have to directly compete for jobs with people on the other side of the world where there is no minimum wage and very few regulations. The big global corporations have greatly benefited by exploiting third world labor pools over the last several decades, but middle class American workers have increasingly found things to be very tough.

Read more: 22 Statistics That Prove The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America

These could be the most important 250 words of my campaign. Every voter will see them when they open their ballot. But I need your help getting my statement on the ballot.

Each word costs $20. Could you help me by buying one or more words? Visit my ActBlue page to donate.

(Want to see my ballot statement ahead of time? It will probably look a lot like this page on my campaign website.)

More at http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2010/100707_No_Free_Lunch_bb.pdf

“Just say no” works fine when fighting drug abuse, but when it comes to getting work done in Sacramento, it just hinders progress.

I’m an engineer, and in order to do my job, I must be able to understand and analyze complex problems, work with various stakeholders and their concerns, and piece together the solution from various sources, all while the industry around me is constantly changing tools and processes. And each possible solution gets ruthlessly analyzed for its merit. This is the same sort of thinking that I’ll take with me up to Sacramento. I’ll listen to all sides of the arguments, but I’ll demand to see the merit of each solution. I want numbers. I want evidence.

It’s time to stop the logjam up in Sacramento. It’s time to stop voting for those who just say “No”. It’s time to vote “Yes” for someone who will read the bills, analyze them, and pick the solutions that are best for the short and long term. The only pledge I make is to do my best for the voters of my district and to uphold the Constitution.