In a wide-ranging interview, Republican senate candidate Joe Miller talked to ABC’s Jonathan Karl and Politico’s Mike Allen about the issues facing the nation — and how he’d change the status quo if he’s elected senator.

While Miller’s remarks about the federal minimum wage have drawn a lot of attention, Miller offered plenty of other policy proposals. Admitting that about 40 percent of the Alaskan economy was dependent on federal spending, Miller said that everyone with “common sense” knows “that’s not going to continue forever,” thanks to “13.5 trillion in federal debt [and] over 100 trillion in future, unfunded obligations.” Saying that “Alaskans have to balance their checkbook just like anybody else,” Miller argued that he had a plan for the future, unlike write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrat candidate Scott McAdams.

Miller’s refusal to rely on earmarks makes him an outlier in the Alaska senate race. McAdams’s latest TV ad focuses on his determination to bring federal dollars to the state. Murkowski told CNN that one of Miller’s “radical things” was his proposed “elimination of all earmarks.” In fiscal year 2010, Murkowski sponsored or co-sponsored nearly $80 million in earmarks, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’s OpenSecrets.org.

Asked by Allen how federal powers could be rolled back, Miller said that “what we do in the next two years is we do a lot of de-funding,” mentioning regulations and “agencies that have overreached.” He said that he would support “defund[ing] certain components of the EPA.”

On Social Security, Miller said that “anybody that says that this system can continue where it’s at is not being truthful to the American people,” but agreed that he wanted to uphold Social Security’s commitments to current seniors.

And while he gave President Obama “kudos” for his decision to add 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, since “we’ve got to support the troops on the ground,” Miller also expressed concern about the government’s nation building. “I do not believe it’s within the national interest to engage in nation building,” he argued, saying that the U.S. to become “much more laser focused, recognizing that our role as a country isn’t to go into an area that for millennia has been ruled by ethnic rivalry or dictatorship and say we know what’s best for government for you.” Saying that the U.S. should adopt a much more specific warfare approach — “we go in with is a big stick and say you take care of this or we’re going to take care of it for you,” — Miller explained that this different kind of strategy would require fewer resources and could “help us get back on track fiscally.”

In other Alaska news, McAdams announced over the weekend that he has raised $650,000 since Miller won the Republican primary. That’s much more than the $16,000 he had on hand as of August 4, according to Politico.