Written
on July 30th and 31st, and August 7th and 8th, 2016
Edited on
August 9th, 12th, 17th, 24th through 28th, and 30th,
September 11th through 14th, and November 30th, 2016
Table
of Contents
I.
CORE PRINCIPLES, LAW ENFORCEMENT, & THE MILITARY
II.
ECOLOGY, HEALTH, & SOCIAL & DOMESTIC ISSUES
III.
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC ISSUES, & MISCELLANEOUS
I.
CORE PRINCIPLES, LAW ENFORCEMENT, & THE MILITARY
1.
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
2.
STYLE & STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
3. COURTS & JUSTICE
4.
POLICE, CRIME, & PRISONS
5. LICENSING & PERMITS
6.
SECOND AMENDMENT
7. ILLICIT DRUGS
8. BORDERS &
IMMIGRATION
9. DIPLOMACY & STATE
10. FOREIGN POLICY
11.
MILITARY
12. THE MIDDLE EAST
13. TERROR, SECURITY, INTEL, &
SURVEILLANCE
14. VETERANS
15. SPACE
II.
ECOLOGY, HEALTH, & SOCIAL, & DOMESTIC ISSUES
16.
ENVIRONMENT
17. INTERIOR, LAND, & WATER
18. ENERGY
19. FARMS, FOOD, & DRUGS
20. HEALTH CARE &
INSURANCE
21.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
22. WOMEN’S & LGBTQIA+ ISSUES
23.
MARRIAGE & FAMILIES' ISSUES
24. CHURCH & STATE
25.
CIVIL RIGHTS & DISCRIMINATION
26. SOCIAL SAFETY NET
27.
EDUCATION
28. HOUSING
29. TRANSPORTATION
30. SOCIAL SECURITY
& SENIORS' ISSUES
III.
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC ISSUES, & MISCELLANEOUS
31.
SPEECH & PRESS
32. ELECTIONS
33. FEDERAL WORKERS
34.
WAGES
35. UNIONS
36. BUSINESS
37. JOBS
38. BANKS &
CONSUMERS
39. TRADE
40. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
41. TAXES
42.
BUDGET & DEBT
43. CURRENCY & TREASURY
44. THE POSTAL
SERVICE
45. GAMES, SPORTS, & ATHLETICS
Content
I.
CORE PRINCIPLES, LAW ENFORCEMENT, & THE MILITARY
1.
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
The chief
roles of the federal government are to maintain a military and a
treasury, establish a policy for the naturalization of immigrants,
punish treason and piracy, run a Post Office, and little else; other
powers are rightfully delegated to the states and to the people.
Being that just governments derive their legitimate powers from the
consent of the governed, governments should not do anything that it
prohibits ordinary civilians from doing themselves. A just government
should recognize natural rights and protect civil liberties; provide
fair trials; punish the initiation of violence, aggression, and
coercion; and protect individuals from theft, fraud, and involuntary
servitude. The most important function of government is to serve as
an establishment of mutual political and financial trust between
citizens and public servants. More law should be made through
judicial precedent and interpersonal contract, than by legislators,
through statutes and ordinances.
2.
STYLE & STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
The
United States of America is – and should function as – a
constitutional republic, featuring representative democracy and dual
federalism; with separation of powers across branches and
jurisdictional levels. Restore to the states their sovereignty within
their duly delegated spheres of influence; by respecting the 10th
Amendment, and refraining from interfering in state nullification and
interposition. Powers not delegated to the federal government should
be wielded as close to the people as possible, both geographically
and in terms of personal choice. This goes save for constitutional
amendments saying otherwise; not acts of Congress augmenting
presidential reorganizational authority, nor improper delegations of
congressional powers to executive and foreign agencies. Abolish
between four and seven executive departments – as well as several
dozen “czar” offices – in order to scale back federal
activities to within the strictures of the seventeen powers
enumerated in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution. Revoke the
powers of Congress
to transfer powers to the executive, and to independent or private
organizations.
3.
COURTS & JUSTICE
Support
cutting the Department of Justice by as much as 65%. Advocate for the
nomination and approval of federal judges who support original
intent, plain meaning, and strict construction. Urge states to pass
constitutional amendments requiring judges to fully inform juries of
their rights, including the right to nullify the prosecution. Protect
defendants’ rights to defend themselves in court. Urge states to
ensure that the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney do not all
represent the state; and protect defendants’ rights to compel
judges to submit their oaths of offices – and prosecutors to
submit their anti-corruption pledges – into the court record.
Reform the voir dire
process to minimize baseless dismissal of potential jurors. Urge the
Senate to vote on Supreme Court appointments in election years, and
limit Supreme Court justices' terms to 20 years. Break up the 13th
Federal District Court.
4.
POLICE, CRIME, & PRISONS
Restore
due process; the accused are innocent until proven guilty beyond
reasonable doubt by a jury of their peers. Require warrants and
reasonable articulable suspicion – not general warrants – for
arrests. Fight forfeiture of civil assets, and takings of liberty,
that unlawfully precede trial and punishment. Fight the detention of
people not posing immediate public danger, and repeal laws against
victimless crimes and vices. Strengthen Miranda
rights, and require federal law
enforcement officials to be equipped with body cameras that cannot be
disabled while on patrol. Overturn Warren
v. D.C. in order to formally require
the police to protect and serve the public. Repeal mandatory minimum
sentencing laws, and abolish the federal death penalty. Increase
penalties for prison guards who fail to report attacks upon inmates.
Reduce the federal prison population by promoting presidential and
gubernatorial pardons, and sentence commutations, for non-violent
offenders. End solitary confinement for juveniles. Repeal the 1033
Program of the 1997 N.D.A.A. in order to de-militarize local police
departments and get tanks off American streets. Create civilian
review boards for police.
5.
LICENSING & PERMITS
Support
the Ninth Amendment by curbing the powers of governments to pass
statutes that turn liberties into privileges, which require the
payment of fees in exchange for permits and licenses. Such laws have
served to oppress racial and other minorities in the past; they
interfere with our natural freedoms to travel, keep and bear arms, be
secure in our papers and effects, buy and sell, practice our
occupations, enter into marriage contracts, consume alcohol and
tobacco, and other activities.
6.
SECOND AMENDMENT
Firearms are for
hunting, and for protecting against violent criminals, foreign
invasions, and tyrannical governments. Repeal all federal gun control
laws, and discourage states from passing ammunition limits, lock and
storage regulations, and single-user fingerprint-scanner
requirements. Keep interstate commerce in arms free; and do not
criminalize the purchase, nor the ownership, of automatic and
semi-automatic weapons. Urge states to become shall-issue states that
allow both open and concealed carry. Restore the Second Amendment to
its original intent of protecting the right of conscientious
objection to military conscription (the draft). Before considering
“No Fly No Buy” -type legislation, restore due process to No-Fly
lists and terror watch lists. Hold gun criminals responsible for
their actions, but do not encroach upon the right to sue by giving
prosecutorial immunity to manufacturers nor sellers. Do not attempt
to track guns through “gunwalking” tactics.
7.
ILLICIT DRUGS
Abolish the D.E.A.,
repeal unconstitutional federal laws against drugs, and stop
prosecuting non-violent federal drug crimes. Devolve drug enforcement
to the states, urging them to legalize growing and trading marijuana
for medical and recreational purposes. Urge states to avoid taxing
marijuana, or requiring medical licenses or prescriptions for
purchase. Remove marijuana and its byproducts from the Class I
narcotic schedule, allow testing on medical effects of modern
marijuana strains, and urge states to allow medical marijuana
prescriptions for neurodegenerative diseases. Urge
states to lower the alcohol purchase age to 18, and caution states
against increasing the tobacco purchase age.
Reduce opioid abuse – and deaths therefrom – by: (1) ending all
taxpayer supports for the alcohol and pharmaceutical industries, (2)
ending assistance of opium production abroad, (3) allowing drug
abusers to have their drugs tested for toxicity, (4) legalizing trade
and ownership of needles and syringes, and (5) increasing access to
drugs that prevent and treat overdoses.
8.
BORDERS & IMMIGRATION
Don’t
pass a temporary ban on immigration from majority-Muslim countries.
Support freedom of travel and free movement of labor; instead of
building dividing walls and fences, or supporting mass deportation or
night raids that would be humanitarian catastrophes. Retain the
federal government’s authority to establish a uniform rule of
naturalization. Minimally vet legal immigrants and refugees. Granting
legal status to non-violent undocumented immigrants is not unfair to
legal immigrants; for legal and undocumented immigrants alike,
provide paths to legal work, lawful permanent residency, and
citizenship; by making it easier to obtain green cards, and by
increasing the number of temporary work visas for working immigrants,
especially high-skilled workers. If undocumented immigrants abuse
welfare, it is only because aiding and hiring them have been made
crimes. Urge states to decriminalize harboring and assisting illegal
immigrants and refugees, allowing states, the private sector, and
charity and religious organizations, to provide them housing and
education. Welfare should not be contingent upon paying taxes and
paying into Social Security; the federal government shouldn’t be
involved in income taxation, retirement, nor welfare, so allow
immigrant and native-born workers alike to opt-out of Social
Security. Allow immigrants residing in the U.S. to vote; as long as
they aren’t eligible to vote in other countries, and are not
violent felons. Do not allow officers to detain and deport
undocumented immigrants for petty and non-violent crimes. Support
congressional deferred action for childhood arrivals and their
parents; not executive orders effecting the same. Don’t make
English the official language. Don't require immigrants to learn
English – nor to serve in the military – as a condition of
citizenship. Do not establish a national I.D.; and do not effectively
require businesses to police immigration, through confirming
citizenship through e-Verify -type programs, as a condition of
hiring.
9. DIPLOMACY &
STATE
Practice free trade with
all nations, in order to avoid the detriments of sanctions, embargoes
on energy and foods, and cold wars. Support cutting the budget of the
Department of State by at least 90%. In order to establish freedom,
sovereignty, and independence for the U.S.; withdraw from N.A.T.O.
before it expands further; remove the United Nations headquarters
from the U.S., and scale back involvement in the United Nations
(possibly continuing involvement in U.N.I.C.E.F. and / or
U.N.E.S.C.O.). Restore our reputation abroad by ceasing to spy on our
allies, and restore our credibility in the eyes of foreign ministers
by ending domestic surveillance and other human rights abuses. Allow
the District of Columbia to have full voting rights in the House and
representation in the Senate, and give congressional representation
to the overseas territories. Allow states to secede, and allow
individuals to renounce their federal citizenship. Allow states to
display Confederate flags on public property. Don’t ban the sale,
ownership, nor display of any flag; and do not pass laws against flag
burning. Encourage states to properly ratify a new Titles of Nobility
Amendment, revoking from Congress the powers to bestow and recognize
aristocratic peerages, titles, and emoluments.
10.
FOREIGN POLICY
End intervention in foreign civil wars and elections; require
congressional declaration of war – or Letters of Marque and
Reprisal – as a condition for intervention without permission.
Require Congress – not international organizations – to determine
whether to initiate a military action; and amend the War Powers
Resolution to limit the powers of the president to do so.
On Russia: (1) stop arming militants in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea;
(2) reduce U.S. military presence in the Baltic states, (3) abandon
the Missile Defense Agency / Star Wars program; (4) cease
allowing Western European countries to retain custody of American
nuclear weapons; and (5) continue
nuclear arsenal and other arms reduction negotiation treaties,
including S.T.A.R.T.; but (6) do not take retaliatory nuclear weapons
deployment off the table.
To diminish detrimental effects of Chinese currency manipulation and
American land purchase: (1) stabilize the dollar, (2) balance the
budget, and (4) spread communal land ownership while fighting
unlawful eminent domain takings. Be wary of spying by Chinese agents
and agencies. Engage with China to calm hostilities between North and
South Korea.
11.
MILITARY
Abandon regime change
and nation building. Cut between $115 and $230 billion from the total
military budget. Aim to cut at least 20% of the annual military
budget, but consider cutting up to 40% in the event that major cuts
cannot be made to other departments. Reduce the military to its pre-
Iraq War size and its year 2000 budget, and draw down the sizes of
the Navy and Air Force fleets. Cut 20% of domestic military bases;
dismantle between 700 and 900 overseas military bases; remove troops
from some 150 countries; and end all military activities more than
100 miles away from U.S. shores. Stay out of civil wars and foreign
elections unless asked for help and receiving congressional
authorization. Withdraw troops and bases from Germany; and stop
defending Japan and South Korea – and more than 60 other countries
– or else require compensation in exchange for doing so. Stop
flying planes and drones over foreign countries without their
permission and without a congressional declaration of war, and end
all foreign aid. Decrease spending on weapons research and
development, rather than cutting the pay or benefits of active-duty
or non-combat officers alike. Allow women to serve in combat roles,
and allow gays to serve openly; but abolish draft registration and
conscription for men and women alike. Shorten military service
contracts; and remove legal immunities for the military – and
curtailments of freedom of political speech for troops – from them.
Do not abolish the Army Corps of Engineers, nor the Corporation for
National and Community Service; unless other budget cuts can be made;
and never require mandatory civil emergency preparedness “training”
(compulsory service).
12. THE
MIDDLE EAST
As soon as possible, withdraw troops and bases from Iraq and
Afghanistan; and do not take timetables off the table. Support the
three-state Iraq partition plan, but only if the Iraqis agree. Do not
commit ground troops to Syria in order to defeat I.S.I.S., do not
help enforce a No-Fly Zone in Syria against Russia nor Turkey; and do
not join an international partnership to either defeat I.S.I.S. or
oust Assad. Do not declare war on I.S.I.S.; this only legitimizes
them as a nation-state. Work with the intelligence community to study
and re-evaluate what we know about I.S.I.S. before deciding how
to act. Do not arm Syrian nor Kurdish militants. Withdraw from Kuwait
and Djibouti. Require the Senate – not the president – to
re-negotiate the Iran deal, such that the U.S. is not obligated to
protect Iran’s nuclear program. De-classify the 9/11 Commission
Report’s 28 Pages, and support a new investigation into 9/11, as
long as it can be done affordably.
On
Israel and Palestine: End all foreign aid to Israel, Egypt, and
Palestinian authorities alike. Work with human rights groups to
continue the peace process in Israel and Palestine, but do not
encourage Palestinians to seek statehood nor U.N. membership. Urge
the State of Israel to publicly admit to its possession of nuclear
weapons; sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; end its draft;
dismantle the wall; and either return to 1967 borders, establish a
community based government, and / or make Jerusalem an international
city.
13. TERROR, SECURITY,
INTEL, & SURVEILLANCE
End
indefinite detention without trial, and release detainees once
acquitted. Protect all suspects’ rights to fair trials, regardless
of citizenship or enemy combatant status, but give military trials to
non-citizen accused enemy combatants. End the use of torturous
“enhanced” interrogation. Close the prison facility at Guantánamo
Bay, Cuba. Repeal the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, and abolish the
National Intelligence Program. Abolish the Department of Homeland
Security, placing the F.B.I., the C.I.A., and the N.S.A. under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and / or the Department of
Justice. Abolish the collection of phone and internet metadata by the
National Security Agency, and amend F.I.S.A. so as to better protect
4th Amendment freedom from unreasonable searches. Do not award
congressional recording equipment provision contracts to foreign
agencies. Do not require communications companies to open suspected
terrorists' cell phones nor internet records.
14.
VETERANS
Reduce spending slightly
and gradually as bureaucracy is eliminated and the department is
streamlined. At the Veterans Health Administration, improve wait
times for doctor visits, achieve lower prices on medications,
and increase the availability of specialized medical services. Allow
veterans to explore private-sector health care options. Improve the
delivery of disability assistance, pensions, housing, education, and
job training services to veterans. Fight for the rights of veterans
to keep and bear arms.
15.
SPACE
Continue funding N.A.S.A.
at current levels, and consider increasing funding; unless other
major budget cuts cannot be made. Allow the private sector to compete
in advanced flight and space travel and exploration. Work to prevent
the militarization of space.
II.
ECOLOGY, HEALTH, & SOCIAL & DOMESTIC ISSUES
16.
ENVIRONMENT
In the short term,
cut the budget of the E.P.A. by 30%; in the long term, abolish it and
devolve environmental protection to the states. As an alternative to
abolishing the E.P.A.; with the consent of Congress, replace the
E.P.A. and the I.R.S. with an agency combining the functions of
environmental protection and taxation; urging states, localities, and
voluntary associations, to experiment with natural resource backed
currencies, and natural resource backed citizens’
dividends. Replace most current tax revenue sources with carbon
taxes; and taxes on pollution, land neglect, unsustainable
development, and undeveloped land value. Do not participate in U.N.
Agenda 21, and repeal the Clean Air Act; allow states to govern
sustainable development, air cleanliness, and emissions standards.
Urge the states to take steps towards achieving zero non-offset
carbon emissions by 2030; and to become signatories to the Kyoto
Protocol as free, sovereign, and independent nations.
17.
INTERIOR, LAND, & WATER
Shrink
or abolish the Department of the Interior, and disarm the Bureau of
Land Management. Restore any supposed Interior Department authorities
to create treaties with, and / or govern conduct with or of - Native
American tribes, to the U.S. Senate. Urge the Senate to honor
treaties with native tribes, and advocate for the repeal of laws
requiring that Native Americans carry blood quantum identification
cards. Hand most federal lands over to states and tribes, and allow
tribes to become sovereign and self-administering (establishing
international relations through the State Department). As long as the
federal government administers the National Park Service, oppose
attempts to restrict access thereto in order to strong-arm Congress
into accepting debt ceiling increases. Oppose the abuse of the
Eminent Domain clause; both to excuse takings of property for private
uses, and takings that lack fair market value compensation. Fight
non-consensual takings; or else set up a citizens’ or residents’
dividend that compensates people for the deprivation of their natural
right to inherit property, and to own it in full allodial title. Urge
states to experiment with legalizing land ownership in full allodial
title, increasing the privacy of
landed property, perhaps emulating Alaska or Texas. Repeal the Clean
Water Act, devolving the responsibility to ensure water cleanliness
to the states. Instead of privatizing water rights, urge local
governments to consider establishing community land and water trusts.
Urge states to decriminalize the personal collection of
rainwater.
18.
ENERGY
Abolish the Department of
Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Eliminate taxpayer
subsidies, and other supports, for unsuccessful energy technologies
and energy monopolies alike. Return
federal lands to the states; do not interfere with states’
regulation of natural resource extraction thereon,
but urge communities to establish residents’ dividends backed by
natural resources. Do not prohibit drilling for new oil; instead,
urge states and communities to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in
natural gas exploration, to achieve zero non-offset carbon emissions
by 2030, and require oil companies to pay states or communities in
exchange for any pollution or damage to common resources.
19.
FARMS, FOOD, & DRUGS
In the
short term, cut F.D.A. spending by 40%, and cut the budget of the
U.S.D.A. by between 15 and 20%. Make no cuts to agricultural
subsidies, federal involvement in S.N.A.P. / Food Stamps., nor the
Child Nutrition Program; unless other major budget cuts are not made.
Urge states to consider expanding access to food assistance, and / or
assistance to farmers. Consider block-granting Food Stamps and the
Child Nutrition Program to states. While federal intervention may be
appropriate when it increases consumer information, federal oversight
can be replaced by consumer demand, and the moral hazard resulting
from such oversight may cause consumers to be misled by G.M.O.
labeling and F.D.A. approvals. Advocate
for voluntary food labeling that attends to consumer demand for
accuracy and detail. Reform the
purviews of food inspections so as not to inconvenience home bakers,
lemonade stands, and farm-to-fork meal patrons.
20. HEALTH CARE &
INSURANCE
In the short term, cap
the growth of Medicare, and cut as much as 10% of the budget of the
Department of Health and Human Services. Repeal Obamacare and the
individual insurance mandate. Repeal employer insurance tax credits /
breaks, and amend H.I.P.A.A. so as to legalize interstate insurance
purchase. Continue federal involvement in health only for federal
employees, military, veterans, and first responders to the Pentagon
on 9/11; otherwise devolving health care to the states (including the
Children’s Health Insurance Program), and considering block-grants.
Abolish the H.H.S. if and when an act of Congress would allow it.
Urge states to consider expanding medical savings plans, and / or
making health costs tax-deductible. Achieve universal care through
making doctors’ oaths legally binding, not through state
single-payer plans. Don’t tax hospitals, nor hospital workers'
income, nor medical device sales nor profits. Oppose tort reform to
avoid disempowering juries. Urge states not to mandate vaccinations,
and do not mandate vaccinations at the federal level. Get
out of the World Health Organization.
21.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Oppose
congressional involvement in abortion; don’t ban abortion at
the federal level, but cut all federal funding for Planned
Parenthood. Life and humanity begin at conception, but legal rights
and legal personhood begin at live birth. Do not extend 14th
Amendment personhood to fetuses; but urge states to adopt legislation
similar to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002, and the
Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003. Do not overturn the Gonzalez
cases, and revoke medical licenses of doctors who perform
infanticidal partial-birth “abortions”. Reduce abortions by
increasing education, and availability of contraceptives; oppose any
state attempts to prohibit sale of contraceptive devices in stores.
Urge states not to require counseling; waiting periods; parental
consent; nor costly, medically unnecessary fetal sonograms as
conditions of getting abortions. On stem cell research and fetal
tissue sale; neither criminalize them, nor fund them at the federal
level. Do not require private enterprises to cover birth control in
employee health insurance policies.
22.
WOMEN'S & LGBTQIA+ ISSUES
Pass
a new Equal Rights Amendment – and amend the 14th Amendment to
include protections on the basis of biological sex, and gender, and
sexual orientation – but limit the scope of agencies and activities
to which these protections apply. Ensure transgender restroom
accommodation in federal buildings, and on taxpayer-supported and
interstate commercial properties. Reduce the risks of violence to sex
workers – and of spread of venereal disease – by urging states to
decriminalize and / or legalize prostitution.
23.
MARRIAGE & FAMILIES' ISSUES
Make
marriage a contractual and / or religious institution, rather than a
legal one subject to permits and licensing fees. Ensure gender pay
parity and paid family leave for federal employees, and protect
visitation and bereavement rights of federal workers in homosexual
unions. Allow states to decide whether to recognize and validate
marriages, but urge states to regard such unions as already existing
contracts that should not be impaired. Urge states to legalize
cohabitation before marriage, and to require shorter durations of
cohabitation before recognizing common-law marriages. Do not
interfere with the rights of churches to refuse to transfer care of
children to adoptive homosexual couples.
24.
CHURCH & STATE
Don’t
establish religion at the federal level, but don’t interfere with
the states’ rights to establish a religion, nor their rights to
place religious references and displays on public property. Protect
all faiths’ rights to worship in peace, and protect the rights of
those with no religion. Urge states to repeal laws against atheists
running for public office, and remove references to religion from
national currency. Support cultural pluralism, rather than
assimilation or multiculturalism; do not interfere with voluntary
submission to Jewish rabbinic law nor Shari’a law. Do not ban
burqas, nor hijabs, nor any other clothing worn for religious
reasons. Repeal the Johnson Law limiting political speech by pastors,
and stop levying taxes on churches not based on land value. Protect
the right of religious objection to the service of patrons in
intrastate non-taxpayer-supported enterprises, and to the draft.
Protect the right of religious enterprises and organizations to be
exempt from requirements to provide contraception or abortion – or
health insurance covering them – and exempt from performing gay
marriages.
25.
CIVIL RIGHTS & DISCRIMINATION
Abolish
segregation, discrimination, and affirmative action and quotas by
federal public-sector agencies and organizations supported by federal
taxpayers. If supporting welfare, support racial neutrality; but
consider reparations programs once the federal budget is under
control. Support open access to enterprise by keeping public
accommodations open to the public (including the disabled); but only
if they are taxpayer-supported, and / or directly involved in
interstate commerce. Amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Equality Act to protect freedom from association in
non-taxpayer-supported intrastate enterprises, and on private
residential property. Do not interfere the right to refuse to serve
patrons based on religious objections (if the enterprise is
intrastate and / or non-taxpayer supported). Do not interfere with
exclusion of patrons for engaging in threatening or violent
behavior.
26. SOCIAL SAFETY
NET
Social welfare would not be
necessary if not for corporate welfare. Advocate for reform of - and
cuts to - the social safety net, but prioritize completely
eliminating aid and privileges for businesses before considering
curtailing social welfare benefits. Once the social safety net is
obsolete, support an act of Congress to get the federal government
out of welfare, including S.N.A.P. and T.A.N.F.. Urge states to
explore providing aid to low-income residents without requiring work,
job training, or drug tests. Eliminate the poverty trap, and provide
a smooth transition from welfare to work. If citizens’ dividend
programs become popular, pass a constitutional amendment formally
authorizing personal income taxation; and then extend the Earned
Income Tax Credit, and / or pass a Negative Income Tax.
27.
EDUCATION
Abolish the Department
of Education; and devolve education to the states, school lunch
programs included. Urge public school boards to allow the teaching of
the evolution vs. intelligent
design controversy, and to allow voluntary prayer. Discourage states
from adopting Common Core, but allow states to adopt it, and to
voluntarily implement national education standards. Urge public
schools to teach auto shop and wood shop, and other trades, asking
students to sign waivers protecting the school from potential
personal injury lawsuits. Urge states to explore voucher
programs, distance learning, and online education; and to expand
access to community colleges. Urge states to refrain from
requiring public school attendance, and to keep home-schooling legal
and free. Get the federal government out of student loans, and
abolish Sallie Mae. Devolve student aid and debt to the states, and
urge states to forgive debt and offer education tuition-free.
28.
HOUSING
Devolve the issue of
housing to the states. Abolish the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(F.E.M.A.). End government sponsorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Stop giving tax credits to live in areas prone to natural disasters.
Urge states to reform homesteading laws; lowering the required
duration of occupancy, and allowing cooperative access to
property.
29.
TRANSPORTATION
Oppose any future
bailouts of the auto industry. Stop protecting fuel-inefficient
domestic car production; urge auto makers to improve fuel efficiency.
Devolve and transition the ownership and administration of abandoned
federal transportation infrastructure assets (outside of the District
of Columbia) to states and localities - preferably to community to
land trusts - in order to establish and execute the best public
use. Oppose Cash for Clunkers -type programs, but allow states
to pass their own fuel efficiency and emissions standards. In order
to avoid taxing non-driving members of the public for the
construction of roads and other transportation infrastructure,
encourage states to explore (1) funding more construction of roads
through tolls and electronic toll payment systems, and / or (2)
requiring private businesses to fund the construction of roads near
them.
30. SOCIAL SECURITY &
SENIORS' ISSUES
In the short
term, don’t means-test Social Security, nor tighten eligibility
standards for disability. Consider block-granting the program to the
states; but as long as Social Security is under federal control, curb
its growth, cut waste and fraud, and allow young workers to opt-out.
Gradually raise the retirement age, but only if none of the
aforementioned proposals can be achieved. Urge states to explore
non-profit-sector retirement savings account options.
III.
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC ISSUES, & MISCELLANEOUS
31.
SPEECH & PRESS
Oppose prior
restraint of the press, as well as of speech and action. Oppose
federal hate speech bans, and the confinement of free speech to “Free
Speech Zones”; do not punish speech unless it causes clear and
present danger, with specific and credible threat of harm. Oppose
censorship in the media. Protect the rights of journalists to keep
their sources confidential, and defend bloggers’ free speech rights
against attempts to turn journalism into a profession that requires
official credentials. Decriminalize protesting on public property,
augment the power of civilians to petition their government for
redress of grievances, and open national records to public viewing.
Promote granting immunity and issuing presidential pardons to
whistle-blowers. Oppose internet kill switches, and general warrants
for phone and internet records. Overturn Net Neutrality regulations
that classify the internet as a public utility; and don’t prohibit
internet providers from offering sped-up access to websites that pay
higher rates.
32.
ELECTIONS
Money
in politics, corporate personhood for political action committees,
and unlimited campaign donations as free speech, are only symptoms of
the main problem: government having so much authority to interfere in
our lives, outside its constitutionally limited boundaries. To
overturn Citizens United
– and / or to limit the powers of political action committees and
super PACs – would be unnecessary. Campaign donations are
irrelevant if government largess is limited. Urge candidates to
refrain from accepting more than $2,200 per election cycle, and urge
voters not to donate nor vote for candidates who do. End public
funding for elections; but enforce antitrust and anti-collusion laws
against the private Commission on Presidential Debates, and revoke
its tax-exempt status. Urge all levels of government to allow early
voting and same-day registration, adopt ranked choice voting and
algorithmic redistricting, and make “none of the above” an
official and binding option on ballots. Caution states about risks of
privacy intrusions when states consider adopting automatic voter
registration. Urge more states to allow 17-year-olds to vote in
primaries if they will turn 18 by election day. Establish voter
privity by requiring voters to sign ballots, making voting records
public, and requiring elected officials’ oaths of office to be
written and signed. Avoid the problem of poll taxes by providing free
identification documents wherever voting requires identification.
Limit senators to two consecutive terms, and House members to four
consecutive terms. Redistrict or prosecute candidates for having
permanent residences outside their districts. Allow
felons to vote in federal elections.
33.
FEDERAL WORKERS
Reduce the size
of the federal workforce by at least 30%, by shrinking and
eliminating between four and seven departments. Reduce the number of
federal contractors by between 220,000 and 250,000. Repeal the
federal minimum wage. If major budget cuts can't be made - and / or
unconstitutional departments aren't shrunk or abolished – consider
reducing compensation and / or benefits for federal workers in core
civilian departments. Reduce the salaries of federal legislators by
between 50% and 80% and curtail their pension, insurance, physical
protection, and other benefits. Provide health care and insurance,
and paid family leave to federal employees, ensuring gender pay
parity. Allow federal workers to self-direct their retirement plans.
Protect visitation and bereavement rights of federal workers in
homosexual unions. Amend the Constitution to allow federal
legislators to be charged with felonies.
34.
WAGES
Increasing the minimum wage
only serves to increase unemployment rolls and decrease labor force
participation, and increase prices on consumer goods by fueling the
cycle of price inflation. Repeal federal minimum wage laws, but do
not prohibit states nor localities from passing local minimum wage
laws. Make minimum wage increases unnecessary by reducing consumer
prices and increasing purchasing power; by (1) decreasing income
taxes, (2) decreasing sales taxes and tariffs, (3) stabilizing the
currency through enforcing constitutional legal tender laws and
fixing the budget deficit to reduce inflation, (4) limiting
intellectual property protections, and (5) ceasing to tax charity and
ending regulatory interference in mutual aid. Urge businesses and
unions to remove limits on wages and raises in contract
negotiations.
35. UNIONS
Scale
back the federal role in protecting the rights of workers not
employed by the federal government. Devolve most labor issues to
states, urging them to protect concerted activity in the workplace,
and to consider lowering the vote requirements necessary to prompt
negotiation. Repeal the Taft-Hartley Act so as to allow wildcat and
sympathy strikes. Repeal the Wagner Act in order to: (1) end the
free-rider problem; (2) end compulsory representation of workers by
their workplaces’ established union; and (3) help make dual,
plural, and minority unionism – and members-only collective
bargaining – more common. Urge states to require union-shop and
closed-shop workplaces to inform prospective employees that they will
be required to join a union. Oppose a national Right to Work
amendment, but do not prohibit states from passing Right to Work
laws. Remove taxpayer supports for businesses in order to make
consumer boycotts effective and possible.
36.
BUSINESS
Abolish
the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration.
Allow states to govern intrastate manufacturing. Urge the states to
halt grants of limited liability to new corporations; either through
abolishing their secretary of states’ offices, and / or by revoking
the power of the state to issue new business charters. Urge
businesses to form independent business alliances, divesting funds
and membership from lobbying agencies acting as chambers of commerce.
Consider radical privatization, mutualization, and privatization to
the third sector as alternatives to privatization, public-private
partnerships, and “independent” private organizations. Dismantle
artificial privileges for small business and large corporations alike
(including subsidies, tax credits, trade promotions, intellectual
property protections, etc.).
End bailouts, and end government-supervised restructuring that
empowers bureaucrats and big consulting firms.
37.
JOBS
Increase the availability of
jobs by: (1) reforming and loosening occupational licensing standards
for lower-skilled jobs, (2) reducing costs and fees for such
licenses, (3) encouraging states to implement waiver programs so that
high schoolers can acquire somewhat hazardous skills without the
school facing threats of lawsuits, and (4) lowering or removing wage
minimums. Urge states to expand occupational safety and health
protections; and to expand job training and apprenticeship programs,
and access to technical schools. Urge states and financial firms to
explore zero-interest and zero-collateral business lending.
38.
BANKS & CONSUMERS
Prosecute
Treasury Department officials and stop bank bailouts. Audit the
2007-08 Wall Street bailouts (and do not rule out prosecution); also
audit the restructuring and contracts thereto. Don’t reinstate
Glass-Steagall, nor tax Wall Street speculation; instead, insulate
the public from the ill effects of risky investment decisions by
either abolishing the F.D.I.C., or significantly decreasing limits on
the quantity of commercial assets that it can insure. Abolish the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; empower consumers to make
decisions about financial products instead of risking moral hazard.
Stop securitizing bad loans, and foster a regulatory environment
conducive to independent credit rating. Allow citizens to save and
invest money in offshore bank accounts; encourage all states to end
tax havens by lowering taxes on productive behavior.
39.
TRADE
Support competition, and
the openness and interconnectedness of markets. Engage in free trade
with all nations; do not implement sanctions, but do not interfere
with boycotts nor divestments. Make boycott- and divestment – and,
if necessary, arms embargoes against foreign countries and militias –
possible, and options for dealing with the Saudis, Egypt, Cuba, Iran,
China, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, and Palestine. Allow states to
govern intrastate manufacturing; but empower the federal government
to keep trade regular, open, and free. Do not allow states to tax,
nor prohibit, out-of-state products such as alcohol. N.A.F.T.A.,
C.A.F.T.A., G.A.T.T., and T.P.P. don’t go far enough to support
real free trade, and free trade should not need a treaty. Withdraw
from the World Trade Organization. Eliminate tariffs instead of
trying to punish foreign producers by increasing them; this only
excuses increased exploitation of foreign labor in order to offset
the costs of the tariffs, making imported goods more expensive for
American consumers and businesses in the process. Caution the Senate against transferring too much trade negotiation authority to the executive. Amend the T.P.P.’s
Trade Secrets provisions so as to limit intellectual property
protections. On Cuba, re-establish diplomatic relations, and maintain
trade relations; while advocating for fair elections, more humane
labor, and freer trade. Do not require any company to station its
headquarters in the U.S., nor to save nor invest in the U.S.. Do not
allow businesses nor investors to sue governments for compensation
due to loss of possible future profits due to regulations.
40.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Less
protection of I.P. means lower consumer prices on medications and
other products. Reform patent law to stop protecting mere
applications of laws of physics (as opposed to actual discoveries),
and shorten the duration of government protection of intellectual
property (patents, copyrights, and trademarks). Oppose attempts to
pass legislation similar to S.O.P.A., P.I.P.A., C.I.S.P.A., and
A.C.T.A.. Stop prosecuting internet file-sharing and music
sampling.
41. TAXES
Until
major tax reform can be undertaken, tax all current sources at the
same flat rate. Cut federal income
taxes to between 12.5% and 14.5% within several years. If abolishing
income taxation proves impractical and / or unpopular – or other
tax revenue sources cannot be phased out
– then pass an amendment formally authorizing personal income
taxation, and either extend the Earned Income Tax Credit, and / or
pass a Negative Income Tax. In order to lower consumer prices, reduce
and abolish sales taxes, luxury taxes, and import tariffs. Reduce and
abolish taxes on investment (capital gains and dividends), and taxes
on inheritance (the death tax / estate tax). In the long term, aim to
fund government only through $400 billion in user fees; unknown
amounts of voluntary contributions; and a full Land Value Tax. A 14%
annual Land Value Tax at the federal level would balance the budget,
while states would need an average of 0.5%. The “Single Tax” on
land includes fees paid to the community for natural resource
extraction; and fines on pollution, land neglect, and land value and
size.
42. BUDGET &
DEBT
Avoid debt ceiling increases
and credit rating downgrades by getting the debt and deficit under
control as soon as possible. Prioritize spending cuts over revenue
increases, and efficiency streamlining over cuts
to services. Pass a
Cut-Cap-and-Balance bill – and / or a Balanced Budget Amendment –
or any legislation requiring that the budget be balanced through at
least $7 of cuts in spending for every $1 of new revenues raised. Aim
to reduce federal spending by between $1.25 and $1.75 trillion,
resulting in an annual federal budget of between $2.15 and $2.65
trillion. Adopt zero-base budgeting, and move more programs and
spending from mandatory and emergency categories to the discretionary
budget. Encourage executive and congressional budget estimates to
report major fiscal exposure and unfunded future liabilities when
reporting debt. Pay back domestic and foreign debt at equal rates,
and increase payments. Eliminate pork barrel spending and regional
subsidies, cutting total aid to states by between 30% and 35%. Do not
cut the Smithsonian Institute, national monument services, nor White
House tours; unless major budget cuts cannot be made.
43.
CURRENCY & TREASURY
Audit the
private Federal Reserve System, and abolish it by repealing the
Federal Reserve Act. Exert congressional control over monetary
policy, return to constitutional currency, and make money redeemable
in precious metals. Audit the gold reserves at Fort Knox. End
Quantitative Easing, fiat currency, and fractional reserve banking;
and stop hypocritically accusing other countries of practicing
currency manipulation. Promote experimentation in backing money with
energy and natural resources. Allow competition in currency; by local
currencies, e-currencies, association currencies, and mutuum checks.
Withdraw from the International Monetary Fund and end Special Drawing
Rights.
44. THE POSTAL
SERVICE
Achieve fiscal solvency
for the U.S. Postal Service, first by addressing retirement funding.
Formally allow competition in letter delivery by repealing the Postal
Express statutes. Repeal laws exempting the Postal Service from
taxes, regulations, and prosecution. Stop abusing the Post Roads
clause to justify such widespread federal involvement in
transportation.
45. GAMES,
SPORTS, & ATHLETICS
Repeal
federal anti-gambling laws; allow states to govern gambling. Support
union negotiation rights for athletes attending federally funded
universities. Urge states not to build stadiums with taxpayer funds.
Do not hold any additional congressional hearings on doping in
sports. If and when the U.S. hosts the Olympics, take caution not to
displace poor and homeless populations; and not to abuse police
powers, nor display disproportionate force, nor police brutality, in
the course of enforcing the law and administering security at the
games. Do
not use the Olympics as an excuse to displace the poor, beef up
security and surveillance, and allow politicians and private interests
to set up profitable land development deals.