Will you refrain from supporting any economic development projects that do not adhere to a 90% local hiring requirement​, unless they are related to addressing a security threat to the Austin area? (Note: 2014 Candidates Steve Adler and Greg Casar approved this idea in ChangeAustin.org’s candidate questionnaire. To our knowledge, neither have attempted to fulfill this promise.) Rate your support on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most support and 1 being the least.

I do support the requirement of outside companies who receive incentives to hire local talent. We must also challenge our existing approach to economic development and focus all investment on the people’s vitality. Once the people have Universal Basic Resources, we will be the originators of economic development, as we will become the innovation and solutions-epicenter for the entire planet. The first city to realize and implement this will be historic and catalyze a planet-wide paradigm shift.

I do not believe, as this council and previous councils have, that trickle-down economics works, ever. I believe that true economic development comes by lowering (or eliminating) cost of living while maximizing quality of life. When we invest in people first, everything will follow. We envision a city full of entrepreneurs, artists, creators, innovators, researchers, and scholars. This is possible with UBR.