U.S. SENATE: JOHNSON: IT'S TIME FOR THIRD-PARTY SOLUTIONS

Why are you running for the U.S. Senate this year?

I am running to give voters a choice. The main problem I see with our political process is with a two-party system -- especially the way our campaigns finance a two-party system -- we can't seem to elect representatives who represent our beliefs and values. They go to Washington and they represent the beliefs and values of special-interest groups and the political action committees that gave them the money.

I am trying as a third-party candidate to see if it is possible to elect somebody who works in the community and doesn't hold special-interest money. I also want to give voters a choice. There are a lot of frustrated voters out there.

What effect does party affiliation have on your campaign?

It has helped in my campaign quite a bit just because people are so jaded with the other political parties. There was an interesting situation both at the federal and the state levels. We had a sweep of government. Democrats got put in office at the federal level and at the state level we see voters are so fed up with (William) Webster's mess that the Democrats got in. Now we have Judi Moriarty and that problem and Bill Clinton and his problems. The voters are looking at that.

What they are seeing is it doesn't matter who's there, we are going to have the same kind of corruption, same kind of mismanagement. It's a real opportunity not to be a traditional party. We aren't the guilty party yet. We haven't had our opportunity to put our foot in yet.

What do you feel that you have to offer citizens of Missouri?

I have a lot of experience overseas. I bring that to the table. I have traveled to more than 40 countries, mostly in Africa and Central and South America. I have seen lots of attempted solutions to economic and political problems. I have seen the practical application of those solutions and whether they work or don't work. We don't have re-invent the wheel each time here in this country. I bring that sort of experience coupled with my educational background.

I'm a contractor. I live in the real world, making a living. I know what it's like to operate a small business. One of the main problems we have with our political system is the power of incumbency. The politicians can remain in office for so long they lose touch with what is happening back in their communities. I think that is happening in the case of Alan Wheat and John Ashcroft. I am not saying it can't happen to me but that is why I support term limits. I say the first thing I will do if I am elected is introduce a bill for term limits. I believe I am susceptible to the same thing. It is human nature. You get in a position of power for so long and you get corrupted.

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

I have a degree in chemistry. I was pre-med in college. I was accepted to medical school and went for a while. Since that time I have traveled. I have a broad base of experience looking at other societies and problems they have had along with the solutions they have come up for those problems. The example is with health-care reform. What we are talking about is two different versions of socialized medicine. No one is saying it, but there is an alternative -- the free-market, free-enterprise alternative. That isn't going to require government taking more than 14 percent of the economy. Let's do it with a free-market, free-enterprise solution. We should introduce competition into the system by letting people have their own choice with medical savings accounts.

What distinguishes you from the other candidates running for the Senate this year?

I think that the main thing people see is that I am life in the real world. I am a real person who understands what their problems are. I am in touch with what the problems are in the communities and for the working people.

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

The biggest problem is the way we finance elections. We can't seem to elect people who represent us anymore. The problem is where the money comes from. About 90 percent of Alan Wheat's money comes from outside the state. How is he going to represent us? John Ashcroft's is 40 percent, not nearly as bad. There is the expectation of where that money comes from, but they aren't giving that just because they like you. They are expecting something. What I want to see is campaign-finance reform so that the money comes from within the area you are going to represent. I am not against PACs or special-interest groups. They have a legitimate say, but it's the matter of are they going to be voting. That is the main issue.

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

I think the biggest problem is our government is disconnected from us. At the federal level, we are running $300 to $400 billion deficits every year. We have lost the ability to elect people who will make changes to rein that money in. The biggest thing facing the citizens of Missouri is bankruptcy eventually.

What can be done to expand economic development opportunities in Missouri?

Lower taxation and lower regulation. Whenever we have a problem, we decide we have a blighted area like an inner city downtown St. Louis, Kansas City, somewhere. We set up an enterprise zone. What that consists of is lower taxation, lower regulation, making an environment where people want to go there and create businesses and go there to work. What I advocate at a national level is enterprise zones for the whole country. Lower regulation and lower taxation and business will flourish, people will prosper.

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

I don't believe it is a crisis, but I do believe it is a problem that we are going to have to address. The problem is through the intermediaries of insurance or government programs, the patient isn't connected with the provider of the service.

We have got to make the patient care about what they are spending for services. When we do that, it is going to provide competition among the health-care providers. I use the example of $12 for aspirin. Who would pay that if it wasn't an insurance company doing it. What they would do is go out and shop for services. So by introducing or by making the patient care about what they are spending and make them shop for services, that will introduce competition among the hospitals and providers and lower costs.

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

What the role the federal government would play is to create an incentive by allowing people to have a tax medical IRA. It creates an incentive, then solves the problem. That wouldn't create 110 new federal buildings and bureaucracies. The other benefit that I like about IRAs is it solves the problem of portability. That is a big concern. We are concerned about 37 million Americans who don't have health insurance. But all but 6 million of those are temporarily between jobs. Medical IRAs would be an individual's account that will stay with him wherever he goes. That also allows him choice. So with the 6 million who can't afford it any other way, I throw in the towel and say we are going to have socialized medicine in the form of free clinics. At least they won't be going to the hospital emergency rooms doing an expensive form of care.

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?

Term limits are the very first priority. Reducing the power of incumbency with the mailings and the other parts associated with it. We need a balanced budget amendment, line item veto. We all know what the problems are, it is just a matter of how we are going to get them enacted.

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

To tell you the truth I am not informed on the farm bill. But I would like to see is lowering the tariffs and the subsidies other countries are providing their farmers so that our farmers can't compete. Our farmers are the most efficient farmers in the world. If we can end the subsidies that the other countries have, world exports will take off. That is the direction I would like to see the reform -- not so much as what we are doing inside the country as far as making sure we have a level playing field outside the country. We can compete. We can grow food more cheaply and efficiently than any other country on earth.

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

We aren't bringing the budget deficit under control at all. We aren't going to as long as we have the special-interest money and political-action money. The way we fund our campaigns we aren't going to elect people who will rein it in because that isn't what the groups funding these campaigns want. I believe if we can get rid of the money that is financing campaigns that comes from the people inside the area they are representing, I believe we will elect people who will bring down the deficit.

As far as specific items, welfare reform would be at the top of the list. We currently have 76 different federal programs that dispense different forms of aid. We could consolidate those into a single organization. That would cut around $200 billion a year from the deficit. The other thing is to make countries we currently have a trade surplus with, who we are defending like Southeast Asian countries, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, make them carry their share of their defense cost or our cost for defending them. That is around $150 billion a year. So, just with those two programs, we would be well on our way to eliminating the budget deficit.

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

Consolidating the agencies into a single agency. We can't even quantify how much aid a single person gets now because of all of the different agencies. That is why there is rapid fraud and abuse.

We don't even have to talk about cutting anybody from the welfare role. The people who are going to get cut from the welfare role are going to be bureaucrats.

The big problem I have with welfare is many of the programs are sending the wrong message. This is from my experience as a contractor. I have been doing this for 14 years. Over the years, it has gotten harder and harder for me to hire people. In the last few years, it has been nearly impossible.

When I looked out to see what the problem was it was because of the welfare programs. I can't compete with the benefits being paid to people. I can't provide health-care insurance for labor-type work and you get in the situation where people nearly laugh at you if you try to hire them.

Our welfare messages are sending the wrong message. I am not saying that there aren't people out there who really need help, I am not for that at all. Just from my experience and from talking to a lot of people out there, there is a lot of people out there on the welfare rolls with no justification for being on it. Plus you get into a situation where the welfare programs are now interjecting themselves into our family structures and communities.

What do you see as the role of the U.S. military in the post Cold War era?

I don't see it us as policemen to the world. I am a very strong noninterventionist. That comes from seeing the practical effects of intervening in other countries' affairs, trying to solve their problems with the results we see in Somalia, Bosnia, and which we will see in Haiti. We aren't going to install a democracy in Haiti. As much as we would like to try as soon as we leave they are going to be right back. Democracy has to be earned. I don't advocate using our forces anywhere but where our direct nation's securities are at stake.

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

People are very fed up with government. Two years ago people were with Ross Perot. People are very cynical of our political process now. But when it turns out that someone might be able to make a real change, they come out in droves like the Ross Perot supporters. If he hadn't had his problems being in the race, out of the race, I think he would have won. That is the kind of frustration that is out there.

This election I am running across groups of people, large groups of people, who think it is too late for politics. Central Missouri over by Macon, I had people yelling at me it is too late for politics. This is my first time out and I really wasn't expecting that kind of response.

How much do you intend to spend on this race?

It will be less than $20,000. It will be mostly personal. I have about $12,000 of my own money in the race. The rest is campaign contributions.

BIOGRAPHY

Bill Johnson

Age: 34

Party: Libertarian

Occupation: Contractor

Hometown: Norwood

Political experience: First run for office.

Opponents: Alan Wheat, Democrat; John Ashcroft, Republican

Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 8