The Problems:

• Jobs
  
  The unemployment rate in the U.S. reached 5.7 percent in July of this year, its highest rate since March, 2004. No Child Left Behind has been consistently under-funded. The devastating shortfall in promised federal support since 2001 now exceeds $55 billion.
  
  Over the last year, the number of officially unemployed rose by 500,000. Those working part-time because they could not find full-time work grew from 4.9 million in March to 5.2 million in April 2008, the largest percentage since 1995.

• Wages
  
  The American middle-class was created in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, when unions were strong. At that time CEO pay averaged 24 times that of average workers. By 2007 CEO pay averaged 270 times the pay of average employees.
  
  In inflation-adjusted terms, the average weekly pay for rank-and-file workers slipped by 1.3 percent since late 2006, despite the fact that the typical middle-class family today works 10 hours more per week than a similar family in 1979.

• Personal Debt
  
  The nation’s savings rate, more than 8 percent of disposable income in 1968, stood at just 0.4 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2008.
  
  Today, Americans carry $2.56 trillion in consumer debt, up 22 percent since 2000.
  
  College debt more than doubled since 1995. The average student today emerges from college carrying $20,000 in educational debt.
  
  The 2005 bankruptcy reform benefited the credit card companies, who lobbied for the change, and hurt their customers. Since the law was changed these companies increased their earnings 25 percent.
  
  

• Housing
  
  In Riverside County, in June 2008, the 8,142 homes targeted by foreclosure activity was 81 percent higher than one year ago. The Riverside/San Bernardino area was the nation's fifth hardest-hit region, affecting one in 95 households.
  
  Nationally, at the end of 2007, mortgage debt stood at $10.5 trillion, more than double the $4.8 trillion just seven years earlier.
  
  

• National Debt
  
  We are financing the importation of foreign goods, including imported oil, through massive borrowing. On November 7, 2007, the national debt passed $9 trillion, an increase of 45 percent since 2001.
  
  The U. S. Department of Defense's planned expenditures in 2008 are larger than all other nations' military budgets combined.
  
  Because of the tremendous national debt and the massive military spending, we are failing to invest in the physical and social infrastructures that form the basis of the long-term health of our country.
  
  

Bill Hedrick`s Solutions:

Restore Fiscal Responsibility. An economy cannot survive based on credit - eventually someone must pay the bill. I will work to restore fiscal responsibility to Congress. It`s time for a change!

Re-Invest in Our Infrastructure. We must re-evaluate our national values as we develop the next annual budget. As we begin to quickly and safely withdraw militarily from Iraq, we must provide for our soldiers` healthcare needs, and we must immediately begin to re-invest in the physical and social infrastructure that once made the U. S. the envy of the world. It`s time for a change!

WPA-like Project. I will advocate for a WPA-like project that will serve two purposes – rebuilding and renewing our infrastructure, and creating living wage jobs that cannot be outsourced or off-shored. It`s time for a change!

Fair Tax Structure.I will advocate for a tax structure that is fair to all Americans. The few most wealthy among us benefited greatly from our workers, our infrastructure, our commons. They must pay their fair share, as must we all. It`s time for a change!

Stop Outsourcing of American Jobs. Trade policies must be adopted that safeguard the interests of working Americans. The current free trade agreements put our workers in direct competition with people making a dollar or less an hour – people with no guarantee of labor or environmental standards. I will fight to stop the outsourcing of America`s jobs, and to bring new and innovative businesses to our area. It`s time for a change!

Re-regulation of Lending Institutions. Responsible re-regulation of lending institutions is absolutely necessary. The current home mortgage and banking crises occurred because government failed to adequately regulate the banking system. I will call for restoration of banking regulations that prevent predatory lending practices. It`s time for a change!

Sustaining the Middle-Class. The middle-class is the engine that keeps the economy going. Unions were always a critical agent in creating and sustaining the middle-class. I will fight to repeal the policies that undermined the effectiveness of the unions and reduced union membership so that our workers can thrive along with our businesses. It`s time for a change!