8TH DISTRICT CONGRESS: AS LIBERTARIAN, TLAPEK BATTLES BIG GOVERNMENT

Why are you running for Congress this year?

I am running because I very much want to represent the people of Southeast Missouri in the United States House of Representatives. I think the people in Southeast Missouri, like people everywhere, need somebody like me who does not represent special interest and has the best interest of the country at heart.

What effect does party affiliation have on your campaign?

Everything. There is a principle to the Libertarian Party. I would not be running for office if it were not for the fact that I believe so much in what the Libertarian Party stands for what I have believed in my entire life. I think everybody is a Libertarian, they just don't know it. Basically our principle is that people should be allowed to do what they want to do, so long as it is peaceful and honest. I think that is an American value.

What do you feel that you have to offer citizens of the 8th congressional district?

Honesty, hard work, dependability.

Discuss briefly your background and experience that has prepared you to serve in Congress.

I am a commodity broker. I manage a branch office for Lind-Waldock & Company. It is a discount commodity brokerage firm. I worked for them for about five years up in Chicago. I wanted to get back to Southeast Missouri because this is where my friends and family are. This is where I wanted to be. They allowed me to open a branch office for them here. I have been with the company 12 years. I am 37 years old, a three-generation American. My great, great grandfather came from Bohemia and settled in St. Mary, Missouri. My dad, Jim, and his brother, Pat, started a couple businesses in Cape: Cape Electric and Auto Tire and Parts. My parents, Helen and Jim, raised five kids. We were all born and raised here in Cape Girardeau. I know the area. I know the people of this area. I have not really considered myself a Democrat or Republican for a long time. I don't necessarily think I fit in the typical political mode. I think that is what this country needs.

What distinguishes you from the other candidates running this year in the 8th district?

The big distinction is Mr. Emerson has been in office for 12 years so he is part of Washington. He is a part of what is going on up there. In fact, I don't know if you caught the Wall Street Journal article yesterday, they pointed out 31 congressmen who claimed to be for less government but as it turns out delivered more government. He was right there on the list.

I say what I mean. I don't say on the one hand, "Oh yes, we need less government." But then when it gets time to actually make decisions about it, I won't be voting for all the legislation to increase spending in Congress.

As far as Mr. Thompson goes, he is an honest man. I like him personally. But he hasn't had previous political experience either in that sense. I think he would be a fine choice for Congress because he is not a politician.

We have a political party that in trying to solve a problem, turns it into a problem for everybody. On the other hand, we have a political party that because of its conservative nature tends to prefer the status quo -- even to the extent of denying a problem exists.

The Libertarian Party offers solutions that are creative solutions based on the same principles upon which this country was founded. I know that until we as a people decide what it is we want government to do exactly, there will be no solving the problems that face our country. We will be having these same budget deficit problems and poor legislation problems 100 years from now unless we decide what it is we want government to do. I think Libertarians and I represent what everybody wants, that is a strong national defense, a good system of justice and a strong police force. All of these are designed to help us protect ourselves from those people who make it their business to do us harm.

There are many problems facing the country, but what do you feel is the ONE biggest problem facing the United States today?

I think big government is our biggest problem and the fact that people we elect to Congress seem to lack the principle to do anything about it. Concurrent with that problem is people still tend to want politicians who talk but don't say anything. In fact, I was in Poplar Bluff the other night and the slickest, best politician there was an incumbent who is unopposed. There were 20 politicians sitting up in front of that group of people. The first question from the mayor of Poplar Bluff was are you for or against Hancock II. Slickest, best politician there would not give an answer. Apparently that is still what people want. The fault isn't with the politicians cause the politicians give the people what they want. So the fault lies with the people, I am afraid.

What do you feel is the biggest problem facing the people of the 8th congressional district, and how do you as a representative intend to address that problem?

I think the biggest problem as far as the 8th district is that the federal government owns too much of the land. I have looked at a map and it looks like the government owns probably 20 percent of the whole district. That is a major problem for the people who live in that area of the district. Except for a little bit of logging and mining operations that are allowed to be carried on there, there is nowhere for those people to make any money. As a country our greatest problem is this war on drugs. I think it is causing our area problems.

What can be done to expand economic development opportunities in the 8th district?

I think for the government must begin to turn over control of some of that federal land. To open it up to private enterprise and ownership would be the greatest thing to do for the economic development for the western half of the district. For the district as a whole, to reduce regulation and taxes. I really mean it.

How serious is the health care problem? Is it a crisis?

It is a crisis for some people. It is definitely a serious problem. I think we need to keep in mind that our health care technology has undergone a revolution in the past 25 years. The system has not yet had the chance to adapt to it. We don't want to do anything that is going to sacrifice the continued growth of technology. We have to be careful not to take something that is a real problem for some people and turn it into a problem for everybody if we socialize medicine.

The Libertarians have a very comprehensive proposal for dealing with health care, part of which has been adopted by the other two political parties. The cornerstone of our plan is the establishment of what are called medical savings accounts which will allow individuals to self insure to build equity in themselves instead of insurance companies.

Because of government's initial involvement in Medicare, Medicaid and the advent of insurance to cover catastrophic costs, people have begun to buy health care without looking at the price. It would be like going to a restaurant and seeing market price on the menu and not asking what it was going to cost before you ordered it. Once again the government can provide protection for us without limiting our choices.

What role should the federal government play in providing all Americans access to health care?

So far as I know all Americans already have access to health care. It is just we are paying for it in the stupidest possible way. By making people buy Medicare or Medicaid, we're forcing people into an emergency room situation where they get the most expensive health care possible.

In order to increase the availability we need to increase the supply to the extent that the federal government gets out of health care. And we get the insurance companies out of health care. That is how the government could help. I would sooner forbid insurance to people. If the government thinks it has all the answers, don't permit anybody to have insurance. That way doctors are going to have to tell their patients how much it is going to cost because the patients are going to ask, "Can I afford this? What is it going to cost me?"

There has been a lot of talk about problems with Congress as an institution, and the need to make changes in the way it operates. How do you assess Congress and what changes or reforms do you believe are needed?

When I watch what goes on in Congress on C-Span, it appears to me that the people in Congress are nothing but corporate representatives. I would think that the press could have a tremendous impact on Congress if they would let people know who is the corporation paying to have this politician's chart made up whenever he is pushing some form of legislation. Who stands to benefit from this? If that gets out and is widely known it will make our congressmen quite a bit more careful about what legislation it is they sponsor.

In the constitution it says our congressmen cannot be held liable for what they do in Congress. We have given them a tremendous amount of power and money. They have breached that responsibility. If they were in the private sector, they would be behind bars.

Next year, a new farm bill will be written. What direction do you think it should take?

I have a couple of articles, one talks about downsizing the USDA. There are 43 separate agencies. There is obviously a move afoot to try to reduce the farm programs. This is sizable cutting. This is more than I hoped out of Congress. If they could downsize, it almost seems like it is pretty politically impossible to do. I view payments to farmers like payments to special interest groups. I think the payments should be reduced to people on welfare and to the rich people on welfare too. If you are on the government dole, everybody can be cut across the board.

This responsible reduction of government spending or regulation is not easy. We tried to reduce regulation and banking during the Reagan administration and we ended up with $50 million boom bill. Nationally I think we have learned a valuable lesson from that.

In the other article, the state department of agriculture said its plans for 1995 farm bill is for new programs. We do not need new programs. You almost have to be a lawyer to know what to plant when and where. I want to make the farmers lives easier to a certain extent and reduce the regulation they have to deal with.

Are you satisfied with efforts being made now to bring the budget deficit under control, and what further steps do you support?

No, I am not satisfied with the efforts to bring the budget deficit under control. I don't really support a constitutional amendment to force a balance budget because I don't in the first place have faith in Congress to think they won't take that as a mandate to raise taxes. I think the things I have talked about just generally reducing government. We as Americans have got to make a deal with each other, if we want to do something about this big government we have got we all have to give on our special interest.

What direction should be taken with welfare reform in the United States?

It is another special interest. Politicians have created a special interest group here. There is a whole legion of bureaucrats out there who it is there best interest to maintain a class of poor people. It is going to be hard to get rid of. I cannot solve poverty.

I think the best thing we can do for poor people, the ones we have made dependent upon the state, is to not pull the rug out from under them. As far as I am concerned they can stay on the dole until they die.

But as far as putting new people on the dole, I am opposed to that. For poor and rich people, it is just the smartest choice to make to go where the free money is. I think if you have to make some hard decisions. If you are forced to find alternatives, there are alternatives to going on welfare.

What do you see as the role of the United States military in the post Cold War era?

The purpose of the United States military is now what it has always been: help us protect us from foreign enemies. We have abused the power of the military. I don't blame it on the military. We are fortunate in this country that the military does not take it upon themselves to act upon their own accord. They answer to the president. This country is perhaps unlike any other country in that respect. The integrity of the military exceeds that of any branch of government. I just do not think we should be the policemen of the world. I don't think we can afford to be from a financial standpoint or from a moral standpoint.

From your campaign experience, how do you think people feel about government, and what can be done to improve their feelings?

I think people are apathetic toward the government. I think it is evident by the fact there are 570,000 people in this district and only 60 percent are registered to vote. In the best turnout only 80 percent will vote. So then you are left with in the best election maybe 40 percent of the population actually going out there and voting. Then of that 40 percent, before the Libertarian Party, it was a two-way race -- so 20 percent of the population could decide what the rest of us were going to get.

That is the extent to which people are at a loss as what to do about government. They do not perceive there is a difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Therefore they do not know what to do. There seems to be no guiding principle behind either of the two political parties.

How much do you intend to spend?

I have already spent about $10,000 of my own money. Probably $4,000-$5,000 in contributions. So you are looking $15,000 effort.

BIOGRAPHY

Greg Tlapek

Age: 37

Party: Libertarian

Occupation: Discount commodity broker

Hometown: Cape Girardeau

Political exerience: First run for office

Opponents: Bill Emerson, Republican; Jay Thompson, Democrat

Election Day: tuesday, Nov. 8