My 5:30 am running group is going to the dogs

Collecting Blood

Checking Teeth

419 East Main Street Laurel, MT

 Krayton Kerns DVM

For the past twenty-five years I have been a veterinarian here in Laurel, Montana.  I own Beartooth Veterinary Service. My three children are graduates of the Laurel School System where my wife, Druann, is employed as the district technology coordinator. 

My Core Beliefs

*Taxes:  Without hesitation, I know you can better spend your money than either Helena or Washington.  Yes, there is a need to fund basic services, but let’s keep it basic! 

*Education:  Everyone should get a good education.  There will always be inequities in funding, and smarter people than me are working to address that issue.  The biggest obstacle to education is an inequity in the desire to get one! If you limit your horizons and rely on the government safety net for your well being you will be forever disappointed. 

*Healthcare:  Yes, healthcare is expensive.  I am a strong supporter of the Health Savings Accounts.  Just as I think you the taxpayer are most qualified to spend your money, I think you are ultimately responsible for your health.  If we are going to provide full-coverage cradle-to-grave health care for all citizens, either taxes will go through the roof or we will ration care.  I oppose both. Universal health care will be a fatal blow to the best health care system in the world. 

*Energy Costs:  Yes, fuel costs are high.  Burnable hydrocarbons are in big demand, are of limited supply, and are expensive to deliver in a useable form to the point they are needed.  These facts are not going to change.  I do not believe anyone is gouging the consumer.  My biggest concern about fuel is the day when it is no longer available.   Loss of supply will be more catastrophic than high prices! 

*Energy Exploration:  The demand for energy will not diminish.  Conservation will not increase our supply.  We must explore and develop the energy reserves within our borders.  Coal bed methane must be developed, and can be without damaging our environment.  New energy technologies are years away.  We need to do what we can, with what we have today.

*Man-Caused Global Warming:  There is no data that proves the earth's current warming trend is influenced by human activity.  The hysteric cry that we must diminish the production of greenhouse gasses to cool the planet is the biggest hoax of the last thirty years.  (Before man-caused global warming, man-caused global cooling was the biggest hoax.) 

*Jobs and Wages:  Who isn’t for more jobs and higher wages?  Unemployment is near zero in Montana.   Cenex Harvest States announced in April that the construction of their coker plant may necessitate going out of state to find enough workers to fill their needs.  Supply and demand would indicate all wages will be going up.  Yellowstone County, like much of the nation, is facing a shortage of laborers. 

*Minimum Wage:  Reread the “Jobs and Wages” statement.  If you think the minimum wage is too low, refuse the job. Today the laborer is in the driver seat.  The economy is expanding and the baby-boomers are retiring.  Who is going to provide all the needed services?  We could soon enter a time where employers will organize to set a maximum wage. 

  *Gun Ownership:  Of all the amendments to the Constitution, the second is the clearest….”the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”  Why this point is even debated is beyond reason. 

*Abortion:  I am a Christian.  I am Pro-Life. 

*New Government Programs:  Keeping in mind neither the state nor federal government earns even a penny.  All new spending on new programs must come by taking money from some citizen who has earned it and giving it to someone who has not. (Of course, less a small handling fee to administer the program.)  Unless this new program could be considered basic services, I am opposed to it. 

 

*Property Rights:  The ownership of property by the private citizen is the cornerstone of our foundation of freedom.  A recent Supreme Court decision has ripped a hole in that foundation.  For residents of western Yellowstone County, the threat of property loss due to eminent domain is very, very real.  I support strengthening private property rights.

*Family Values:  My wife and I have raised three children.  I believe we have instilled a strong Christian work ethic in each of them.  My oldest daughter has brought a son-in-law into my family, and from this union I have three wonderful grandchildren.  My primary obligation is to my family.  They are the reason I get up and go to work, and they are the reason I am running for public office.  I do not want to see freedom become extinct during my generation. 

*Excess Tax Revenues:  This occurs when the Montana Legislature taxes its citizens at a rate faster than the state government can spend the money.  Some in Helena call this a surplus, pat themselves on the back, and then develop new programs to spend it.  Beyond a small savings cushion, excess tax revenues are overcharges on the tax payer, and should be returned.