·         Minnesota ranks number one in the number of people who are covered by private or public health insurance.  Minnesotans benefit from the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota and companies like Medtronic and Saint Jude Medical who lead the world in technologies and standard of care.  Yet, the cost of healthcare in our state continues to rise. Ted will work toward meaningful healthcare reform that makes sense for Minnesota families and employers, and controls healthcare costs.

·         Ted understands that you deserve high quality health care at an affordable price.  He will support patient-centered proposals which preserve our right to make our own healthcare and health insurance choices.  Your voice is important in this debate, so Ted supports that healthcare reform be a constitutional amendment, which allows you to have direct say in healthcare reform. 

A Path to our Future

·         Minnesota continues to be a leader in education, but we have an obligation to search for better and more efficient ways to enable our teachers to educate all students. 

·         Our state’s investment in education is currently at $12.6 billion. About 40% of the state budget is going to k-12 schools and nearly 9% funds higher education.  Ted will support Minnesota’s traditional investment in our schools because it’s a proper prioritization in funds.  But, we must find innovative ways to pay for delivering globally competitive educational results in the future.

·         Our children deserve an affordable high quality education.  This is achieved by delivering reliable funding, and ensuring school funding fairness.  Per-pupil funding needs to be more equitable.  Ted knows that affordability is also an important issue.  He believes in providing adequate support to students through scholarships, grants, internships, and private/public partnerships.

·         Of course funding is certainly not the only determining factor for education quality and student achievement; the education discussion must be broadened moving forward.  Ted supports providing incentives to teachers offering a challenging curriculum while meeting expected outcomes.  In order to help our world class teachers maintain excellence in the classroom, Ted will work to lift the burden of unfunded mandates, endless piles of paperwork, and encourage available teacher training.

·         Ted promotes allowing more local control so that parents and educators are in charge of education, not bureaucrats. 

·         Ted will protect school choice:  public schools, private schools, charter schools and home schooling. 

A Path to Building Sustainability

·         Natural Resources:  Ted was raised in a Minnesota that took pride in its natural resources.  He will continue the rich heritage of protecting and preserving our environment. 

·         Energy Conservation: It is a personal decision to use energy efficiently at home. Our public policies should promote personal responsibility at home and at work, but not mandate costly regulation on residents and business owners.  Ted believes that government needs to be proactive in helping citizens’ become fully educated on all energy options and usage. 

·         Infrastructure & Reliability:  Investing in the infrastructure of our energy system is imperative.  System reliability includes issues such as supply, conservation, pricing and affordability for customers of utilities. Ted supports sustainable forms of energy and will reward innovative free market processes that prudently protect the natural environment, while reducing regulatory burdens that hinder job creation and reduces our quality of life in Minnesota.