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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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2020-01-01 |
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| Name | Donna Imam |
| Address | P.O. Box 170305
Austin, Texas 78717, United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
Unknown
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| Contributor | State Legislatures Big Fan |
| Last Modifed | LEAPForward
Nov 27, 2021 12:58pm |
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| Info | People who work for a living are America’s biggest assets. They get up every single morning and dedicate their day to creating value for this country and its businesses, big and small. Even though they create enormous wealth for America, and their hard work is essential to our economic success, most have been left behind.
Right now, half of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, in debt, with no path to a higher paying job. Many can’t afford to get health care even if they work full time. College tuition is out of reach for most working families.
How do you go to school or get skills for a higher paying job if you’re on your feet all day trying to make ends meet just to survive?
You can’t.
America’s top health insurance company, just one corporation, reported $226 Billion in revenue last year. The top 10 pharmaceuticals reported almost half a trillion in revenue for 2018. Yet ~30 million Americans have no access to health insurance, while ~48 million have inadequate access to health care even with insurance.
Families are left to decide between groceries or prescription drugs.
There’s no way out for them. And this is wrong.
LET’S BE REAL, HEALTH INSURANCE IS NOT HEALTH CARE.
WHO ARE THESE AMERICANS?
They are your server at your favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, your 5th grade teacher who inspired you to go into social work, the realtor who sold you your starter home where had your first baby, and the mechanic that changes your oil.
We throw around numbers like billions and trillions, but what do they mean for people who work all day, every day, but don’t even have $400 for an emergency?
We’ve been conditioned to satisfy a few individuals at the top at the expense of everyone else. If we want our democracy to survive, this must stop.
In 2004-2006 I personally witnessed my first employer move manufacturing to Mexico and layoff all assembly workers. Many of them had no career retraining options and never worked a decent paying job again.
Today, when I drive home to my neighborhood, a nice area with good schools, there is someone, often a Veteran asking for food right outside HEB. Homelessness is just one symptom of the state of our nation and this will continue to get worse.
Many residents in Bell County face a grim future of less than $10/hour retail or service jobs. Young adults live with parents because they can’t save for a down payment on a home.
There is limited opportunity for kids graduating from Killeen and Temple ISD to afford the high rents on a campus like UT Austin. Their fate is too often sealed even before they turn 18.
THERE’S NO PLAN TO CHANGE THIS. BUT TOGETHER WE CAN SOLVE THIS AND THAT’S WHY I’M RUNNING.
I’m an engineer and an entrepreneur. I find solutions to large scale problems. My experience in product, financial analysis, and cost reduction have made me apt at solving complicated challenges.
I went to Trine University, in the small, rural, snowy, conservative, Midwestern rust-belt town of Angola, in the flyover state of Indiana.
WHY ANGOLA, INDIANA? SCHOLARSHIPS.
My first car, a $400 '84 Toyota Tercel
Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony
Trine Graduation
Freshman Dorms
Lived on the same floor as the women's basketball team
DJ'ing at Student Radio
My first car, a $400 '84 Toyota Tercel
Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony
Like a lot of families, a college education would never have been possible for me without scholarships and working while going to school.
Hard work got me a full ride to grad school at Purdue where Neil Armstrong had studied engineering. I thought I was living the dream but it was really the opportunity to graduate debt free that made my American dream a reality.
As my career grew, in the back of my mind I kept thinking how I could use my skills to bring change to the lives of people struggling in my community. How could we get quality healthcare to everyone? Help every student graduate debt free? Ensure good pay for all families? Was it possible?
So five years ago, I joined the board of ProductCamp Austin, a 4000+ member non-profit that provides free continuing education to boost people’s careers and paychecks.
I know exactly how much non-profits help people, but every non-profit will tell you that it’s never enough. Last fall, as I stepped down as President, I realized I could do more. I needed to do more. Much more.
I believe a person’s ultimate individuality is paramount to freedom. To impact a person's bottom line, to give them financial independence and stability, and the choice to live authentically is key to this freedom.
REAL CHANGE IS POSSIBLE WITH THE RIGHT REPRESENTATION.
My mom always says, “Possibilities are endless.’’ So I looked closely at Texas’ 31st district and listened to the needs of its people. After spending months on these problems that we face as a nation, I’ve come up with original policy proposals with solutions.
My platform is simple. It rebuilds the crumbling foundation of this country. It lifts up every American - the people who work every day and carry America on their shoulders - so we can all flourish together, continue to innovate, and lead economically.
SOLUTIONS:
Healthcare assurance which will boost productivity and reduce debt
High-skilled education opportunities leading to increased incomes
Pay for value created, so families can live where they work
If the GI bill can put Neil Armstrong on the moon, imagine where Education for All can take America. Delivering high quality healthcare and education to ~327 million people is an engineering scaling problem that we can solve together.
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