Tom Taylor:
Government has an important role in the progression of science and technology. In the 1960’s, the Department of Defense put together the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which created ARPANET – the foundational technologies that created the Internet. Government grants provided for research have resulted in countless discoveries. Science is a field where new possibilities are pursued over immediate profit motive. This makes the government’s role vital because it can take such a long view. I want to extend funding for research grants so we can stay on the bleeding edge of technological progress.

Tom Taylor:
Climate change is the greatest threat humanity has yet faced and I want the United States to be a leader in creating solutions. I am fighting for a two-pronged approach to push back on this crisis. The first is to implement a tax on carbon to discourage its use as a fuel source. The second is to use the revenue from that tax to subsidize green energy solutions. There is going to be a green energy revolution in the coming decades and the United States can reap the economic gains if we make the right choices today.

Tom Taylor:
Protecting our privacy and our data will grow increasingly important in the coming years. This starts with employing strong encryption into the technologies we use. We should demand end-to-end encryption of the private companies that offer services on the Internet. So-called “backdoors” to encrypted information make us all less secure by providing an entryway to our data that can be exploited for nefarious means. Finally, we should embrace open source software which allows for code to be continually vetted by the community and leads to the plugging of security risks much quicker.

Tom Taylor:
Our country’s current inadequacies in dealing with mental health are a symptom of how we treat health and wellness in general. Until every citizen is guaranteed a minimum amount of health care, we will continue to see people, especially the most vulnerable among us, fall through the cracks. I support moving to a Medicare for All system with robust support for mental health care. By removing the strong profit motive of insurance companies, we can focus on preventative medicine which is much less expensive and leads to better results.

Tom Taylor:
I would not have received my Ph.D in robotics if it weren’t for some amazing teachers I was lucky enough to have in the public school system. I was taught physics, calculus, and chemistry and shown how the principles and equations I learned could be used to predict the future. It was incredibly exciting and led me to where I am today.

Sparking that interest in the rising generations starts with supporting our teachers. It is time we give our teachers a raise. I want to see some of the most talented individuals in our country teaching our children and showing them their possibilities. What kind of world could we build if we valued our teachers like we did our lawyers, doctors, bankers, and CEOs?

Tom Taylor:
Having grown up in a desert, I realize our water is our most valuable resource. Utah in particular has had abnormally high levels of drought and it has been slowly draining our reservoirs for years. It is time to come to terms with the fact we are starting to see the negative effects of climate change and protecting our water starts with making a real effort to limit and eventually eliminate our carbon emissions.

Secondly, there are some bad market forces at work like subsidies for crops grown in incorrect climates. We should reevaluate how we price water to ensure that everyone gets access to the clean water they need while still putting our resources to efficient use. This includes robust regulations that ensure our drinking water is clean and corporations do not get away with polluting this vital resource.

Tom Taylor:
The United States currently subsidizes corn, wheat, soybeans, dairy, and livestock and these are often converted to refined grains and foods high in fat and sodium. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have evidence this leads to an increase in obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. The best tool we have to change dietary habits is through taxes and subsidies. We can encourage the consumption of healthy foods by subsidizing fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens and then taxing foods that make us unhealthy such as refined sugar.

Tom Taylor:
The vastness of the known universe is overwhelming and incomprehensible. We are living on a planet that is insignificant in size when compared with the galaxy. However, of all our searching, we are on the only planet we know of that sustains life. That makes us incredibly significant despite our insignificant size. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to learn as much about our universe as possible and that means protecting NASA and the amazing work they have done and continue to do. NASA’s budget is currently less than half-a-percent of the federal government’s spending. We can and should do better.

Tom Taylor:
When I see photos of coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef, it not only breaks my heart, but it gives me a renewed sense of urgency around taking steps to combat climate change. We are at risk of seeing mass extinctions unless we take real action. There is also large risk of sea creature extinction from overfishing. One policy that has proven to have a positive impact is the implementation of “catch shares.” Using scientific data, fishing businesses are given limited access to species in different areas. This eliminates the “mad dash” that comes with fishing seasons and discourages scooping up unwanted fish. Catch shares allow the world to maintain a sustainable level of fishing.

Tom Taylor:
Going through a Ph.D program taught me how important it is to keep the scientific method pure. The search for truth should not be tainted by politics. We have seen funding cut and scientists eliminated from their jobs under this administration. I will continue to be vocal about this and use my public position to stand up for the scientific research that makes all of us stronger.