Andy Maidment
LibertarianQ1 In their 2024–2025 report, the Missouri Office of Rural Health reported that 42% of counties in MO do not have a hospital. What policies, if any, do you plan to implement to address access to health care, primarily in rural areas?
“I plan to vote for policies that reduce regulation, get government out of the way, and make rural hospitals more viable from a business perspective.”
Q2 The Missouri Department of Agriculture has reported that Agriculture and related industries have contributed 93.7 billion dollars in economic output and 456,618 jobs to Missouri in 2021. Would you continue to develop and support agtech business in Missouri as well as the education and scientific training for Missourians to contribute to this industry? Why or why not?
“The government has no business picking winners and losers. If there is profit to be made, and there is in agriculture, then investment and ingenuity will follow. Trying to force this results in bad policies that do the opposite. Just look the amount of land that is poorly conditioned for row crops that are under row crops thanks to farm and ethanol subsidies. And we wonder why we’re running out of beef. We do not need new legislation to make this happen. Legislation and regulation will only discourage the entrepreneurial spirit that built this country.”
Q3 America has a growing AI industry, supporting cutting-edge innovation but raising issues of resource use, privacy, and economics. In your opinion, what are the costs and benefits of new data center construction in Missouri and how would your policies accomplish a balance between them?
“Missouri is already at the forefront of making large users of electricity and water pay for their increased capacity, at least where those industries are in the private sector. I cannot speak to what is happening under municipal utilities. New data centers are a good driver of economic development, but they should always pay for themselves. If a tax incentive can be used to lure one, then the tax rate is too high and should be lowered and made equal for everyone. Privacy certainly is an issue, but the question is nuanced. There is all the world of difference between voluntarily sharing some of your data with a technology company and having your data collected by government agents (or the companies they hire), collated, run through AI, and used to determine if you’re committing a crime.”
Q4 If elected, in what capacities would you refer to scientists when you are deciding how to vote on a policy?
“Generally I wouldn’t, since nearly all legislation and funding today isn’t even authorized by the Constitution. But I do know to seek out advice from experts in areas where I am a layman. I am in information technology but some aspects are not my forte. While I am quite versed in weapons from serving as a soldier, there are some aspects I would still be unclear on. In most matters, I can easily decide if the Federal government should even be involved, but if it actually should I’ll likely need assistance.”
Q5 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?
“The best way to improve education in all fields is to get children out of government schools–that are at best expensive babysitters and at worst indoctrination centers–that have reduced themselves from teaching calculus in high school to teaching remedial math in college in less than a century.”