FREEDOM BUDGET FOR THE PEOPLE
- coreyedwards17
- May 13
- 3 min read
Freedom isn't just the absence of restraint. Real freedom is having enough time, enough stability, and enough choice to actually live your life. In Kentucky's 6th District — and across this country — too many people have none of those things. The Freedom Budget Act of 2026 is our answer to that.
I'm running this campaign unbought and unbossed. No PAC money, no corporate donors, no permission asked from the party establishment. That's not a liability — it's the only way to say what actually needs to be said: the federal budget is broken, not by accident, but by design. It is built to extract value from working people and transfer it upward. We are going to change that.
The Freedom Budget Act of 2026 is a proposal to restructure how the federal government spends money — not by tweaking line items, but by changing the framework entirely. It treats the national economy like what it actually is: a living ecosystem, not a machine built for the benefit of a small number of people at the top.
"Why should the richest nation in the world pay more in interest than its entire military budget? Why are we charging $100,000 visa fees that drive away the doctors and engineers we need? This is our nation too — and it's time we get our fair share."
— Corey Edwards
The Three Pillars
A Budget Built Around People, Not Power
The Freedom Budget reorganizes all federal spending into three categories — and sets binding targets for each. No more hiding military overruns in supplemental spending. No more gutting social programs while contractors go unaudited. Here's what that looks like:
Pillar 01 — At Least 50% of Outlays
Freedom Investments
Universal early childhood education and care. Tuition-free public college and trade training. A national housing builder with rent capped at 20% of income. Universal healthcare — preventive, mental, dental, vision. The 32-for-40 workweek. Paid family leave. Public research and clean energy.
Pillar 02 — At Least 20% of Outlays
Stability Guarantees
A guaranteed minimum income through a negative income tax, indexed to regional cost of living. Automatic stabilizers that expand during recessions without Congress having to act. Rapid-response support for workers displaced by climate, automation, or industrial collapse — including Kentucky's farmers and coal-country communities.
Pillar 03 — No More Than 20% of Outlays
Power Containment
Defense spending subject to zero-based budgeting and independent audits — no more blank checks. No military engagement funded beyond six months without Congress reauthorizing it. Universal access to legal representation. Independent police oversight. Rehabilitation-focused corrections.
What It Means for KY-6
Kentucky First, For Real This Time
This isn't abstract. Every piece of this framework connects directly to what people in the 6th District are living right now.
Rural Hospitals
Universal healthcare ends the cycle of rural hospitals closing because uninsured patients can't pay and Medicaid reimbursements don't cover costs.
Hemp Farmers
Kentucky farmers are burning crops worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over fractional THC test results. Stability Guarantees cover farmers in transition — that includes our agriculture community.
Working Families
The 32-for-40 workweek means more time with your kids without losing income. Childcare tax credits and universal early education mean you can actually go back to work.
Housing in Lexington
A National Public Housing Builder with rent capped at 20% of income directly addresses the affordability crisis hitting Lexington and the surrounding counties.
How We Pay For It
Carbon Pricing. Financial Transaction Taxes. Claw-backs on Fraud.
The Freedom Budget is funded by carbon pricing with per-capita dividends returned to the public, financial transaction taxes on Wall Street speculation, excise taxes on stock buybacks, and resource extraction royalties. Revenue from publicly owned energy and data infrastructure goes back to the people — not shareholders.
And automatic claw-back mechanisms apply to no-bid contracts, procurement fraud, and price-gouging. Washington has been leaving billions on the table for decades. We're going to take it back.
Democracy & Accountability
Unbought. Unbossed. Built to Last.
The Freedom Budget also addresses how power corrupts the budget process itself. All major campaign donors disclosed before televised debates. A permanent ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks. Lobbying expenditures capped and reported in real time.
And for the first time, an Independent Future Generations Office will assess the 25- and 50-year impact of every major fiscal decision. Because the choices we make today shouldn't be paid for by our children and grandchildren.
This race has five days left. I may not win on May 19th. But this platform — this vision of what a federal budget that actually works for people looks like — that doesn't end on election night. We are planting something. And it will grow.
United We Stand.
Five days left. Whatever happens on May 19th, the work continues. The ideas are out there now — and ideas don't lose elections.
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