Dear Elected Representative,

      Our names are Michael and Brittany Barber. We are Utah residents we have lived in Northern, Southern and Central Utah locations. I am a Registered Nurse at IHC-DRMC and my wife Brittany is a Dental Hygienist. We consider ourselves members of the TEA party movement.  As our elected representative we would like to express the opinion/viewpoints in behalf of our friends and family as well as ourselves in regards to a few important state issues. We know your time is valuable so we will be very concise.

1)      We support EQUAL rights for all individuals NOT “special rights” for individuals/minority groups.  Whatever happens with the LGTB individuals we support a civil union NOT a “marriage” and we do not support homosexual couples adopting children since we (and most Utahans believe) that an appropriate environment for a child’s development is within the nurturing loving structure of a MARRIED father and mother. We have reviewed Sen. Urquhart's proposed bill regarding the LGTB community and have found that within that bill there are “special rights” granted to these individuals, please review, reform, and re-submit it so that the balance of EQUAL rights is not infringed.

2)      There is debate arising about a GAS TAX increase “because fuel efficient vehicles lower the state’s tax revenue.” This is ridiculous. You should be rewarding people for living more efficiently. For being self reliant, for living simply within their means (gardens, solar, energy efficiency, biking etc.) and not punishing them. Just because the government suffers a little from decreased tax revenue only means the government should work to be more frugal and live within their means.  The government is notoriously inefficient and frivolous with spending.  This will be a chance for them to show the citizens of Utah that they are working to cut taxes and keep government small. After all, aren’t we “Taxed Enough Already”!?

3)      We support cutting taxes and down-sizing government where ever possible. The larger the government gets the more lazy and dependent its constituents become. Keep people free, alive, working, intelligent, and moral. Make people work for what they have. This we believe is achieved from minimal government intervention.

4)      The national average wage for a working Registered Nurse is over $33.00/hour. Nurses in Utah are making nowhere near that! The starting salary for a RN at IHC is $21.80/hr. this is frustratingly low, especially considering that most RN’s hold a bachelor degree, are highly specialized, and are an intricate part of a healthy society. For many families the RN is the main breadwinner-try raising a family of more than two on a salary like that-impossible.

Thank you for your time. we will be grateful for your  support  with these issues that so many Utahans agree with.

Sincerely,

Michael and Brittany Barber