Michael Folk in 2020 WV Governor's race
On Budget & Economy:
State money not spent should go into rainy day fund
Folk was very critical of the budget passed in 2017, saying there are ways to eliminate wasted spending instead of raising taxes on the citizens of West Virginia. "I agree we are spending money on stuff we shouldn't be spending money on,"
Folk told those in attendance. One example of this discussed is the excess of reappropriated dollars. Folk said he was a proponent of a bill that did not go anywhere but would have swept this money not used into a rainy day fund.
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Feb 20, 2020
On Education:
Don't need to buy new math books every few years
Folk said there is wasteful spending in education. "I think there is too much of the education industry sucking money out of our education system," he said. "We do not need new math books every (few) years. Math has literally not changed for the last
75 years. I understand history and literature--but there is a lot of people making money off education that are not teachers, and a lot of times, it comes to testing."
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Feb 20, 2020
On Families & Children:
Wrong incentives put kids in foster care instead of families
On foster care: "They have taken some of these kids that the grandparents want to take care of and instead put them in foster care, because they get federal money," Folk said. "If there is a willing, able and competent grandparent that wants to
take care of those children, the families should get those kids first, and it is not happening because of that federal, twisted incentive that should not be there."
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Feb 20, 2020
On Corporations:
Shouldn't have taxes that drive business out of state
On taxes: "What prevents jobs from happening in the state of West Virginia? It is the lack of our competitiveness with neighboring states,"
Folk said. "I could look just across the river and see all kinds of economic development. West Virginia is one of 10 states that has the equipment and inventory tax that makes businesses go across the river. We shouldn't have that."
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Jan 13, 2020
On Education:
Teach basics to young children, not how to use devices
On schools: "Education is a big issue in West Virginia. We need to get back to basics," he said. "I know that is cliche but wasting money by putting a device in every child's hand from kindergarten to
third or fourth grade is the biggest waste of money, and that line item is between $10-$20 million. It is developmentally inappropriate for children of that age to have devices in their hand. They need to learn the basics."
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Jan 13, 2020
On Government Reform:
Cut red tape on state purchasing
Folk described the state's roads as horrendous. He added that from talking to those with the road department, the biggest issued are waste and prioritizing what needs fixed. "The biggest thing I have seen with waste is that purchasing is messed up,"
Folk said. "I had a story told to me that a truck was down for a week and a half to two weeks because they had to go through a specific bid for getting the part that they could have got from their local auto parts store for a fraction of the money."
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Jan 13, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
Support free enterprise, job creation, and tax reform
The budget needs to be completed during the Regular Legislative session. We should not be expending additional taxpayer funds during an extended session each year just for the budget.
Reduce or eliminate "unclassified" spending in the state budget to reduce or eliminate the amount that is taken from the "rainy" day fund in the coming years. Support free enterprise, job creation, and tax reform.
Source: 2020 West Virginia Governor campaign website Folk4WV.com
Dec 16, 2019
On Education:
Repeal Common Core and Testing
Repeal Common Core (especially Math & replace with common sense methods) and
Testing (replace with WV teacher developed tests).
Source: 2020 West Virginia Governor campaign website Folk4WV.com
Dec 16, 2019
On Health Care:
Abolish "Certificate of Need" law as anti-competitive
Reduce Healthcare Costs by abolishing the Certificate of Need (CON) law passed in 1977 that prevents competition! One cause for
WV's high inflation rate in healthcare services is directly related to anti-competitive policies that result from laws in West Virginia and 34 other states that are known as Certificate of Need (CON).
Source: 2020 West Virginia Governor campaign website Folk4WV.com
Dec 16, 2019
On Social Security:
Eliminate state tax on Social Security
West Virginia is 1 of only 13 States that tax Social Security. Why is Social Security "double taxed"? You are taxed on all income before
Social Security withholding during your career. You should not have to pay again, once you receive the benefits in retirement.
Source: 2020 West Virginia Governor campaign website Folk4WV.com
Dec 16, 2019
On Drugs:
Government can't solve drug problem; only community can
Woody Thrasher says the opioid problem is such a crisis that the state should have the option of executing drug dealers whose sales result in death. "I think it should be considered when you look at the havoc they wreak on society,"
Thrasher said on MetroNews' "Talkline."Republican candidate Mike Folk, a former state delegate, says government won't solve the problem. "People and the community will," Folk said.
Source: W.V. MetroNews on 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Oct 24, 2019
On Government Reform:
Government is not the answer
Folk said he is an airline pilot by trade and is running for office because in 2008, he was laid off by the airlines. "The more I researched things, the more I realized it comes back to government," Folk said. "Government is not the answer."
"West Virginia is a state that thinks government can solve its problems," Folk said. "It's not the government that is going to solve its problems. The only thing it can do is remove the inventory and equipment tax."
Source: MyBuckhannon.com on 2020 West Virginia Governor debate
Aug 27, 2019
On Health Care:
We need a free market in health care
Folk said an issue is a lack of free market in health care in West Virginia. "We don't have a free market in West Virginia because of the Certificate of Need," Folk said. "I put a bill in to abolish it or greatly reduce the Certificate of Need.
There is a guy who works doing imaging in Ohio, the cost is $50. When he works in West Virginia, he has to work through a hospital and the cost is $500 to $800 for the same thing. If you want to get people into the state, one of the things
needed is lower health care costs."According to the West Virginia Health Care Authority's website, in West Virginia, all health care providers, unless exempt, are required to secure a
Certificate of Need prior to adding or expanding health care services, exceeding a certain capital expenditure threshold, purchasing major medical equipment or building or acquiring new health care facilities.
Source: MyBuckhannon.com on 2020 West Virginia Governor debate
Aug 27, 2019
On Gun Control:
Red flag gun laws unconstitutional & unacceptable
Red flag laws have been implemented in several anti-gun states. Without a hearing, and without ever being even charged with a crime, you will have your constitutional rights trampled and your property (supposedly protected by the Second Amendment)
confiscated. You will be forced to pay expensive legal fees to clear your name. However, no penalty under these laws exists for those who wrongfully accuse you. Unconstitutional. Unacceptable.
Source: WVPress.org on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Aug 7, 2019
On Drugs:
Led push to force vote to legalize medical marijuana
Folk said previously, "There's never a wrong time to do the right thing."
Months earlier, Folk led a successful move to defy House Republican leaders and force a vote on a bill, which ultimately became law, to legalize the use of marijuana to treat some medical conditions.
Source: Herald-Mail on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Feb 5, 2019
On Tax Reform:
Don't raise taxes on shrinking population
"At a time we are cutting taxes at the national level, in West Virginia, Jim Justice proposed the largest tax increase in West Virginia's history," Folk said in a news release. "It is bad economic policy to increase taxes on a shrinking population.
We must forward policies that allow our citizens to live, work and raise a family with the expectation of being able to see their grandchildren without driving out of state."
Source: Herald-Mail on 2020 West Virginia Governor race
Feb 5, 2019
Page last updated: Dec 19, 2020