Party Name: Check This Box (I figure I can get a few FL votes with that name at least
) Okay, okay, I think all the best names have been taken, but I'll try a better one:
The Stars and Stripes Party.
(I hope that hasn't already been taken too.)
Issues:
Abortion: Pro-choice, but need to improve sex education and availability of birth control so it becomes a rare occurrence. Medicaid should pay for abortions, but only once for a woman. If someone can't afford an abortion, they definitely can't afford to raise a child, but they also shouldn't expect the government to bail them out for reckless behavior if they don't learn their lesson the first time. In exchange, those requiring such assistance need to attend mandatory counseling about sex education and birth control options.
Budget & Economy: Cut the fat! Make government agencies more accountable for their budgets. Cut pork-barrel spending. If states want special projects, they can raise state taxes. Tighten up tax loopholes. Only minimal restrictions on businesses to keep them honest.
Civil Rights: Equal rights for all, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. That's EQUAL, not pushing a previously discriminated group ahead of others. (i.e., women required to register for Selective Service along with men)
Corporations: Limited restrictions, primarily via tax incentives and/or benefits, and to avoid another Enron, or monopolies. Laws apply to corporations as they do to individuals. also see Environment. also see Budget and Economy.
Crime: Enforce existing laws before creating new ones. Minimum security prisons for non-violent offenders should offer education programs and psychological counseling to prepare convicts for re-entry into society.
Drugs: Treat addiction as an illness, not a crime. Tough penalties on dealers and smugglers (send them all to Malaysia
...just kidding), but those caught using or in possession should be offered rehab instead of a criminal conviction.
Education: Federal certification for teachers so all students in all states have teachers meeting the same standards. Require subject area certification for high school teachers. In low performing school districts, initiate programs that require parents to be more involved. Provide incentives for PhDs to obtain certification to become high school teachers.
Energy & Oil: Fund research for clean fuels and alternate energy sources. Allocate funds for infrastructure to convert to alternate energy sources as they become available.
Environment: Gradually increase restrictions on emissions to allow corporations to make changes necessary. Provide a tax break to corporations meeting emissions reduction goals for each year they are ahead of the schedule for emissions, assess increased tax penalties on corporations not reaching target emissions levels by the set deadlines. Combine forest preservation with the lumber industry: allow lumber companies to cut along areas of forests needing firebreaks, require replanting of other areas cut. As alternative building materials are developed, such as from recycled materials, offer job training to lumbermen (and women) to find employment in the new building material industry. The same could apply to those working on oil rigs to transition them into a different energy industry. also see Infrastructure and Technology.
Families & Children: They can be annoying at times, but we put up with them
see also Welfare and Poverty.
Foreign Policy: Maintain good relations with allies. Unless there are clear and egregious human rights violations (i.e., genocide), we stay out of other countries' fights among themselves, and when we do get involved, it is only to support U.N. forces and only if it is clear that we can make it better by getting involved. If they attack us, we attack back, but the goal is to maintain a strong enough alliance with other countries that nobody would dare try attack.
Free Trade Government Reform: see Budget and Economy and other topics below.
Gun Control: criminal background check and mandatory safety training to obtain a license to purchase. Assault and automatic weapons banned.
Health Care: Simplify insurance. One of the major excessive costs for physicians is hiring people to fill out all the myriad different insurance forms with all their different codes and rules, etc. While everyone can have their own choice of insurance, insurance companies will be required to use uniform reporting for claims to simplify the paperwork involved. The insurance industry can self-regulate as long as they come up with a single industry standard. Government assistance to those who cannot afford healthcare for prevention/illnesses pertaining to public health risks, such as vaccinations, contagious diseases (tuberculosis, measles, STDs). Risk prevention education in schools, such as about nutrition, sex education, smoking.
Homeland Security: Do it right, not by strip-searching US Citizens getting on planes, but by being more restrictive about visas, and tightening up borders (see also Immigration). Focus on disaster-preparedness as this is useful even in the absence of terrorist threats (i.e., FL hurricanes, CA earthquakes, midwest and south tornadoes).
Immigration: Tighten up borders. Anyone caught entering illegally is deported and banned from re-entering the US; they certainly shouldn't be put ahead in line of those who follow proper channels.
Infrastructure & Technology: Funding for mass transportation, such as building light rails, in growing urban areas to also reduce the environmental impact of commuting. Technology seems capable of industry and corporate driven growth, so government doesn't need to be involved.
Jobs: Tax penalties for US corporations that outsource jobs to foreign countries if eligible employees are available in the US (I have to think more about this one...what percentage of jobs could be outsourced before it would merit a penalty, what constitutes eligible employees, etc.) Tax penalties for outsourcing jobs will be applied toward paying unemployment insurance. Unemployment benefits will be provided for a fairly limited time (no longer than 6 months; seasonal workers are not eligible for unemployment, they should plan ahead for a second job during the off-season). The exception is in a time of recession, in which unemployment benefits can be extended due to the expectation that jobs are harder to find even for those truly trying to find one.
Job training will be made available for industries with a shortage of eligible employees (for example, with Russ_Watters' nursing example in another thread, scholarships would be provided for those unemployed and willing to change careers and get a nursing degree; this way job training targets need areas).
Principles & Values: Everyone should have them, but it's not government's role to regulate them in any way.
Social Security: Raise the retirement age, workers under 35 stop paying in, instead they are allowed a pre-tax deduction to invest in an individual retirement account, or other similar plan. Workers 35 to 55 partially pay in and partially privatize on a percentage basis according to the amount they've already paid in (i.e., older workers will get more from SS while younger workers will be expected to put a higher percentage into private investments/savings). Those over 55 will continue with the current system with an older retirement age. There is no way to avoid a deficit in this area until the entire workforce is privatized, but a gradual shift depending on age should minimize some of the impact.
Tax Reform: Everyone pays a flat rate percentage of income taxes. Close loopholes in the tax code. Federal sales tax will increase for items that contribute to Federal expenses, such as vehicles that don't meet a minimum fuel economy rating, alcohol, tobacco, non-renewable resources.
War & Peace: War is bad. Peace is good. see also Foreign Policy
Welfare & Poverty: Welfare will only supplement income for those who are employed in at least a part-time job but cannot earn enough to support themselves and/or their family. In a two parent family, both parents must work before the family can earn welfare benefits. Food stamps, or any similar program, will be limited to the bare minimum essentials. They will be coupons for specific grocery items sufficient for a nutritionally balanced diet, but no more, similar to the WIC program. If someone has additional children while on welfare (i.e., gets pregnant after starting on the program; pre-existing children will be covered), this will be considered child endangerment and the children will be taken away and put in foster homes or put up for adoption. Birth control will be made available for free.
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