Mark Small

Age: 64

Hometown: Kokomo

Residence: Broad Ripple

Family: cat

Education: bachelor’s from DePauw University, law degree from IUPUI

Political experience: none

Career: private attorney

Why he’s running: To seize back half of our two-party system from a minority that values ignorance and bigotry.

Top priority: restoring congressional oversight of the executive branch

What he’s streaming: no answer

Q&A

What do you think needs to be done to improve access to and the affordability of health care?

Here are some things that might be good: Utilize the buying power of the consumers of health care to drive down prices, especially of pharmaceutical drugs. A large group can negotiate better than an individual. Another idea is cliche: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If screening tests and other preventative measures require no payment, overall costs of health care go down for everyone.

What should be done to address the massive amount of student debt in this country and make college more affordable?

When people use terms like “free” education, they fall into a trap. If college is “free” to students who then go to college and party, it means average taxpayers are paying for keggers. We should abandon the idea that education is “free.” We need an education system in which a student can go as far as her or his abilities…. probably most would go for a bachelor’s degree. At the end of that education, in a public system, the student should not face horrendous—or any—debt.

As for existing student debt, much of it is held by the same big banks we bailed out in 2008-2009. Those banks already made tidy profits out of the money we gave them. We can simply wipe out the student debt. People who have been saddled for years, in some cases with student debt over $200,000, will be able to buy things and spend that money in domestic markets.

What is your position on trade and tariffs?

Tariffs are absurd. The cost of tariffs is passed on to consumers while overseas markets adapt to seek goods that we otherwise would sell from someone else. Trade usually is very good.

What should be done to address climate change?

We should seek to stop, as soon as feasible, reliance on fossil fuels. Renewable sources of energy—wind and solar most prominently—are significant sources of energy for advanced countries in the world. … We should reverse the absurdity of the current administration’s policies.
The EPA was created during the administration of a Republican president. As far back as Theodore Roosevelt, the GOP [strove] for a clean environment.