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Edited on Wed Dec-28-05 01:57 PM by rpgamerd00d
Economy: I believe that people like to spend money. When the average person has an excess of money, they spend it. Look at Tax Returns. People often spend them before they even receive the check. I believe that the economy is strong when people spend money. I believe that when people spend money, Demand increases, which causes a shortage of Supply, which causes businesses to ramp up Supply to meet the increased Demand, which creates jobs, which stimulates the economy. But for this to work, money needs to be put into the hands of the majority of Americans - the middle class. Not the rich. The rich already spend exhorbitantly, tax breaks would change nothing. I also believe in seeking a Constitutional version of the line-item veto to make it easier to root out pork-barrel spending. We need to raise federal minimum wage, and penalize the outsourcing of jobs.
Civil Liberties: I feel that the Patriot Act threatens our individual rights and that it needs to be removed. Our government should never round up innocent people only because of their religion or ethnicity, and we should never stifle free expression. I am against racial profiling in finding terrorists. Terrorists can be any race, and terrorist groups can recruit people of other races to circumvent profiling. We should never give up a freedom for the sake of safety. Its a risk, but its what our country is all about - Freedom. American Citizenship is hard - its supposed to be hard. That's what makes it great.
Crime: I place more focus on methods of prevention of crime rather than on what penalties are applied to crimes. I think improved community policing and more on-duty police officers are important. We need to crackdown on gangs and drug trafficking specifically. I also want stricter penalties for domestic violence offenders and stronger protections for its victims. People aren't honest because they fear what the penalties happen to be for a specific crime. They are honest because they fear the odds of getting caught. Increased police force size means a decrease in crime.
Equality and Non-Discrimination: "A day's work is worth a day's pay." On average, a woman continues to earn 77% of what a man does, which is not acceptable. We need laws for equitable pay. We need to uphold the Americans with Disabilities Act to prohibit discrimination against people on the basis of physical or mental disability. Affirmative Action is a method with which to redress past discrimination and to ensure equitable employment regardless of ethnicity or gender.
Legal Standing of Same-Sex Partnerships: The word "Marriage" is causing all the problems. I think a civil union between any two people who intend to share their lives with each other is a Right for all people. Leave the word "Marriage" to Religion where it belongs. We don't need to legalize same-sex marriage, we need to legalize same-sex unions. We must allow everyone the same legal rights granted to married couples today - inheritance, custody of children, joint tax filing status, legal protections. How they choose to perform the ceremony is up to them and their religious beliefs.
Health Care: This is insurance, folks. The very nature of insurance dictates that most people pay but do not require it, which is how it funds the medical bills for those that do require it. This means everyone has to pay. But rich people don't need insurance. Why would they when they can afford to simply pay, outright, any doctor bill they might incur? Any solution to affordable health care must make participation in the system mandatory for everyone, the rich included.
Choice/Abortion: A woman has the right to choose, period. Nothing less will suffice. If any person can choose to have elective surgery for things such as weight loss, cosmetic improvements, or the disabling of their reproductive system, then this is no different, and no one has the right to interfere with your body and what you do with it.
Gun Control: We need to admit that the Right to Bear Arms is an outdated amendment created at a time when militia was necessary, remove it, and move on with our lives. People can still own guns without an Amendment stating they have the right to. They can still apply for permits to own guns, and still go through vigorous background checks to buy guns, even without the Right to do so. Once this is done, assault weapons need to be permanently banned. There is no possible reason a private citizen needs to be able to hose down 100 people in 4 seconds.
National Security: It is not acceptable to attack a sovern nation because we believe they might attack the United States in the future, just as it is not acceptable to arrest a person for a crime they might commit in the future. Nations that harbor known terrorists or terrorist organizations must be given the chance to voluntarilly assist in their capture and/or elimination. If this is refused, sanctions can easily be used to force the nation to comply so long as the sanctions are harsh enough.
Religion: Being part of the largest religion does not grant anyone more rights than being part of the smallest religion. This country was founded by people who were escaping religious persecution, and the men who created our constitution specifically foresaw the need to be sure that the laws of our country were utterly separate from the religious beliefs of the people. All religions must be welcomed in the United States, and none shall receive any special treatment nor incurr biased treatment by the government of this country.
Environment: To ensure the health of the our citizens and of future citizens, we need to enforce pollution control. We must put a stop to corporate polluting. We must take action to reverse global warming. We absolutely must develop alternate sources of renewable energy to replace oil.
Election Reform: All elections at the local, state and federal level will adhere to strict Election Laws to ensure complete fairness. All candidates will have equal spending caps on campaigning, all votes will have a paper trail, and a non-government bi-partisan agency will have authority and responsibility for vote tabulation.
Education: American students should have the best education in the entire world, bar none. We need better incentives to attract teachers and keep them, and better funding for school revitalization and modernization projects.
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