The Office of Former President & Senator Polnut - Deregistration

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

The Pacific

I am preparing to leave San Francisco to return to Boston to officially launch my re-election campaign.

Let me say this, I have communicated my deep concern to the Governor and I hope he takes those concerns to heart.

The Pacific deserves an active Government, not one driven by stunts, but by good governance and good policy.

There are steps the Senate and the President can take to address these issues, however, I would urge the Government of the Pacific to act now, so we do not have to.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Kresge Auditorium - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA


My fellow Atlasians,

Only a short time ago, you gave me the tremendous honour of electing me to represent you in the Atlasian Senate. I stand here today to renew my contract with the Atlasian people.

I have worked during my time, so far, in the Senate to deliver solution-focused and evidence-based legislation. We have put in place a realistic response to our energy issues, directing more support to households who need help and want to play their role in increasing our energy-efficiency as well as ensuring that energy corporations know that much more is expected from them.

We have put in place a plan to ensure that the horror that is Islamic State is not able to generate or harbour financial resources in this country. We have sent in air-strikes, but I believe that strangling their resources and their ability to purchase weapons and the infrastructure of carnage does just as much harm to their evil mission.

Currently facing a final vote is a Bill I put forward to do all we can to support the regions to address their biodiversity challenges. Some have argued that unless there is a specific case by case approach, then it doesn't need to happen. It is an interesting position to take. This Bill, along with ensuring that those who profit or import products or by-products  of endangered species are punished at the Federal level, will make sure that regions have funds to address their identified bio-diversity challenges. This include better land stewardship, tacking invasive species and re-population of native species of flora and fauna.

There have been some difficult debates and some disappointments. I will be re-introducing a Bill shortly to increase the support to those who sacrifice their time and careers to care for friends and loved ones.

If I re-elected, I will continue to focus on real-world solutions, to real-world problems. We will do more to tackle our environmental challenges, will we do more to improve the educational standards and outcomes for our kids, we need to do more to ensure our good and strong public programs have a sound economic footing and we must do more to show ourselves to the world as a partner.

As we are here at MIT, I am pledging myself to putting a greater focus on getting more kids intereste in science, technology, engineering and maths or STEM. It is you here and the future students at institutions like this that will create the next creative technological wonder.

I ask for your help, from left and right and centre. My agenda has not been about wish-fulfilment, it has been about addressing real challenges with solutions based on best-evidence and not ideological void. I look forward to the race over the coming weeks and I hope to speak with many of soon.

So thank you, Dave bless and let's do this.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE

22 November
Richmond - Virginia Beach, VA

23 November
Raleigh, NC - Charleston, SC

24 November
Orlando - Miami, FL - Austin, TX

25 November
Denver - Boulder, CO - Lawrence, KS

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT

Prisons

Senator Polnut, if re-elected will be committing to deliver serious reforms on our prisons.

"Turning prisoners into commodities is something that I have long felt is a repugnant and vile system. I understand the concerns of my fellow citizens about ensuring those who are threats to civil society are kept locked away.

However, our prisons are not filled with dangerous criminals. They are filled with people who have made personal mistakes, very often, those most directly affected by their actions are them.

We need to stop throwing people into prison, because it is the easier thing to do. These are still human beings and we all deserve the opportunity for a second chance. Now, obviously, some have committed crimes that mean they have waived their rights to citizenship and will and should remain behind bars. But this is not the growth in the prison populations.

There is such a strong desire to punish, that we ignore mercy. We see people as their crimes, not as people. We need to do much more to make sure that people who have committed small, often victim-less crimes are not placed into the prison industrial complex.

We have other options beyond incarceration, where he have seen for generations, the radicalisation of young men. There's a reason why they call prisons Universities of Crime.

I want to open a national conversation about what we do about crime, about those who commit crimes and what we as a society do with them. This might be a difficult discussion for some, nor, will it be as easy as others think it is. But I believe, we need to do it."

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE

30 November
St Paul - Minneapolis, MN - Des Moines, IA

1 December
Springfield - Champaign - Chicago, IL

2 December
Indianapolis, IN - Cincinnati - Cleveland, OH

3 December
Detroit, MI - Pittsburgh - Philadelphia, PA

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

The Liacouras Center, Temple University - Philadelphia, PA

Ladies and gentlemen,

I'm very happy to be here tonight at Temple Univeristy. This is a great school and produced so many fantastic  alumni who have enriched our country. It is a testament to the strength of public education, something I am both a product of and a passionate advocate for.

I wanted to take this opportunity tonight to talk about the upcoming At-large Senate election at what's at stake as well as what has been achieved during this last term.

One issue of interest is the Universal Education Bill, currently before the Senate. If signed, it will ensure that all Atlasian students, regardless of their family's financial background, will be able to attend college if they want to and qualify academically. If you're a public college, like here at Temple, you can borrow 100% of your tuition from the Federal Government. You will not be expected to start paying back the debt until you are earning $35,000 per year. The debt will not be considered credit, there is no time-limit. It will end the fear of the debt collectors and demand letters from the private loan industry.

We will also provide, in the next couple of years, a low-income educational support supplement. All students whose household income is $75,000 per year, or below, will be eligible to receive a supplement to cover the costs of books and supplies from $250 per year, up to $750 per year. This Bill is about ensuring we have the engineers, teachers, lawyers and doctors of the future. Talent and ability should not the victim of decades of debt or discouragement due to circumstances. This is not about forcing people into college if they don't want, it is about making sure all students with the ability and talent have access.

The other thing I want to talk to you about today, is the environment. One of the Bills I have presented to the Senate, and was passed, was to provide support to the regions to undertake activities to address biodiversity challenges. These include managing the impacts of invasive species, poor land-management and the re-introduction of native species. The Bill also ensures that anyone, who imports or sells the by-products of the illegal animal trade will be dealt with at the Federal level. We made a statement with this Bill. We aren't waiting for a crisis to act, we are dealing with these issues before that level comes. This is what I am in the Senate to do. While I do consider myself good in a crisis, if you look at the jobs I've had... you kind of need to be, I believe that looking to the future and putting contingences in place helps in the long-run.

While Margaret Thatcher is not someone I often quote, her comments about addressing climate change are important to all of us who are in the business of policy-making. She wasn't totally sure about the science and impacts. This was 25 years ago, long before the tremendous scientific consensus emerged. She was also not exactly an enemy of the market economy. But referred to actions to address this problem, even if the impacts weren't exactly as projected, as an insurance policy.

We spend too much time, focusing on the crisis, not the future. It is understandable.  It means taking a risk and taking a chance. I am here tonight to give you an idea what I wish to pursue, if given the great opportunity to serve you again in the Senate. It is about the future.

I want to work with the regions to put in place a plan to protect vulnerable coastal infrastructure from the impacts of climate change. It is much cheaper and easier to protect and re-enforce, than it is to rebuild.

I want to make sure that all young people, who want an education or training have access to it. We have taken a great first step with the Universal Education Bill, but we need to go further. We need to make sure that the training and support for kids who want to get into trades that are vital for our society, is there. Not everyone wants to go to college, and we shouldn't diminish the interests of those who want to get their hands dirty.

We need to have a serious discussion about our tax system, there are too many layers and too many traps for families. This isn't about tax cuts or tax rises, we need to streamline our national taxation system, particularly when it comes to the duplication of income taxation.

Finally, we need to be frank and honest about our prisons. We have too many people in prison for petty, stupid and victimless reasons. We need to end the cycle and end the role of the for-profit prison. As long as prisoners are seen as commodities, we will increase our prison population for no societal benefit. Locking people up is easy, but they're also part of our communities. They're also parents and the systemic problems this creates are well known and it needs to stop. Out of all of the ideas I have for the future, this, is probably the most difficult - but we need to face this and other challenges head on. We need to address our challenges LONG before they become crises. If I can count on your support at the election, I promise you, I am committed, as I said during the August campaign to work for all Atlasians. We need to focus on the future, to address challenges, but also to find opportunities for innovation and creativity. I urge you all, to have a read of the debates going on in the Senate right now, it might give some interesting insights.

Thank you all, good night and Dave bless!

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE

4 December
Seattle, WA - Portland, OR

6 December
San Francisco - Palo Alto - Los Angeles, CA

7 December
Las Vegas, NV - Kansas City - St Louis, MO

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Oregon Convention Centre - Portland, OR

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for coming out this afternoon to have chat about what kind of country we want for the future. Yesterday, in Philadelphia, I outlined a series of challenges that I was giving myself and the Senate to confront going forward.

My point is clear, too much of our governing is based on jumping from one immediate crisis to another or, more recently, being up to our necks in personal -interest legislation that has no hope of passing.

I believe that those of us in the Senate, regardless of political or ideological stripe, have been placed there to serve the interests of all Atlasians. Therefore, those who have the time and inclination to wander through the Senate threads would see that recently, I have taken on the role of trying to get unworkable  or non-viable legislation in a state where it can gain majority support. We need people like this in the Senate to conciliate the warring parties and get something that works. I've always said that moderation is not a dirty word, and I hope recently, I've shown that isn't a dark deed.

I want quickly touch on a bit of a flame-heavy issue before the Senate right now. My colleague Senator TNF, has presented a massive Bill, he refers to as a civil rights bill. I have seen the passionate support on both sides of this issue. I admit having a hard time putting together my own thoughts on this highly emotive concept. As a progressive and liberal, the belief in individual rights and liberties are paramount to me, but they must also be considered through the frame of being a member of a society. Unlike some people on the other side of politics to me, I believe that society does exist and that we all have both a stake in and a responsibility to our neighbours.

I do not support the Bill as it currently stands. I believe that all citizens have the right to express views that might not fit what others views as correct or accurate. People have the right to think differently. The element I most object to in this Bill is the idea that tolerance and understanding of others needs to be enforced by law or fear of punishment. Of course if someone acts in a criminal manner towards someone due to their race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or any other superficial human difference, then we should punish them. But when you get into the idea of trying to criminalise thought, it is a dangerous place to be.

I do disagree with Senator JCL that 'religious freedom' entitles people to preach negative views towards gay and lesbian people (or practices as he argues, I think someone needs to inform him that there are straight people who have had sex with someone of the same sex and gay people who have sex with people of the opposite gender) or those who exercise their constitutional right to bodily autonomy.  I am committed to defending your rights, but being mindful that no one right, trumps another, especially when it comes to thought and speech. If your speech puts the rights of others in jeopardy, then your right has reached it limit.

At the same time the Bill does speak to promoting diversity and social inclusion. This is an issue I have been a passionate advocate for, for many years. During my presidency, I put forward a Bill to increase education among children to reduce the level of bullying. There is much more we can do to craft this Bill into something that reflect the positive benefits of increased diversity and social inclusion. When someone feels a part of a community, they have both a desire and an incentive to help it to thrive.

This is why I need your help and support to be re-elected to the Senate. I have worked to put together common-sense solutions to the challenges we face. They have no always trodden an ideologically pure path, I make no apologies for that. But we have challenges and issues whose answers cannot be found in an economics textbook, a political pamphlet or a blog post. We need creative people who genuinely want to find answers.

Thank you all and good evening! 

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

FINAL CAMPAIGN STOPS

11 December
Atlanta - Savannah, GA

12 December
Newark - Trenton, NJ - New York City, NY

13 December
Providence, RI - New Haven, CT

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

The polls have opened and it's time to send a message. We want and need a Senate that is focused on solving problems, not creating new ones.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

You REALLY need to include a link to the polls.

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=204043.50

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Thanks everyone for the support so far. This election will be decided by a very small number of votes and every single vote will make a difference!

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Thanks angus, not only for your vote, but for your comments.

I am aware that you have familiarity with this issue. I have said from the get-go, that I go on best-evidence and so I will absolutely considering this as policy is developed.

I should say that my support for those more 'technical subjects' is not meant to be to the detriment of other subjects. I am a big proponent of the arts and studying the humanities. I believe in education, that is giving people as broad and as wide a set of understanding and knowledge as possible. I don't believe that students without a basic interest or aptitude for studying these subjects, being 'forced' or 'coerced' into these subjects (because of beneficial treatment for the sake of admission or additional support) will benefit anyone, especially the bored students who are there for the wrong reasons and the students who want to be there who aren't getting their teacher's full attention. I can attest as someone who was a natural humanities student...

Thank you again for your input and it will be taken very much into consideration.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

We are pushing through, but we need every single vote we can- I also ask people to consider my colleague and friend Senator BaconKing who has made a strong, and if you look at his work on the Civil Rights Bill especially, substantive and thoughtful contribution to the Senate.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Like all of us involved in a close race, I will be awaiting the results.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Election outcome


While provisional results have been released, Senator Polnut will not make an official comment until the results are official.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

But will Senator Polnut?

Him too.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Considering the closeness of the results - I am still awaiting confirmation of the results from the SoFE.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I will be making a statement shortly

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

My fellow Atlasians,

I am humbled to have been given the honour of representing the Atlasian people in the Senate for another term. It was a very, very close race. When I said every vote matters, I honestly meant it. Obviously, I would have preferred to have been elected with a quota, but clearly, I will need to work harder to show many people that they can trust me.

I want to thank all of those who supported me and those in my party, especially the new Chair of the TPP, Justice Oakvale.  I want to pass my congratulations to those who were successful, Lief, SWE, Cris and my colleague and friend, Senator BaconKing. Also, I note the departure from the Senate of Deus and JCL.

Now, we look to the future. I have outlined a set of challenges I believe we need to face head on going forward. But we can start that discussion. It has been a long stretch since this campaign was launched and we can allow ourselves a day of rest, but then we get back to work.

Thank you all and Dave bless.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

Getting the work done


I was recently re-elected to the Senate to do a job. To represent all Atlasians, whether they voted for me or not. This is a responsibility I have taken seriously, and I will continue to do so.

There are a number of significant Bills and processes before the Senate right now.

One is our Federal Budget. As president, I was the first in a long time to present a comprehensive Budget to the Senate. The Senate speaks to our priorities as a nation. I will work with my fellow Senators and the White House to generate a package that respects our responsibilities, builds for the future and is fiscally responsible.

We have seen proposals for radical reforms of our tax code. Shifting the entirety of the taxation burden to those earning over $125,000 per year. I understand the desire to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share. But the proposal in the Senate is not only unfair, is it a recipe for fiscal disaster. Where will the revenue for all these programs come from when the wealthy move their assets offshore and people start to deliberately under-earn? This is not, let me say this loud and clear, it is not a defense of the very wealthy, it is defending the programs the help our most vulnerable, help educate our kids, provide healthcare for all and assist in promoting global stability. I have said during the campaign, that I am open to a serious discussion about tax reform. But I will not entertain any proposals that put the programs I believe in and advocate for in jeopardy. The broken-record call for increasing taxes on the rich to fix an economic problem is attractive, but will not work. We need to focus on prioritising our spending and finding ways to efficiently increasing our revenues.

Another is the Bill before the Senate on support for our carers. I have proposed a very modest supplement. While we work through the exact funding mechanism, I want to make clear that I am determined to follow through on my promise to deliver increased support to those who make such a sacrifice. I want to work with my fellow Senators to get this done and to convince the president that this was needed yesterday. But I hope my fellow Senators will see through the dramatics to see the real need that these people are experiencing and not use it as an excuse to grand-stand.

Finally, the President is yet to sign the Universal Education Bill. This Bill guarantees access to all Atlasian students, who qualify academically to attend a public university, without having to pay upfront fees and to be able to graduate without the fear of debt collectors. I urge the President to sign this Bill. The education of our future engineers, doctors, teachers and lawyers, matters much more than a defence spending increase.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

The Budget

The President, a few days ago, issued an official state of emergency, due to a Federal Budget not being passed.

While I understand the desire of President to pass this quickly, this is something that White House should have proposed weeks ago. I shouldn't need to remind the White House that during my Presidency, while it was late in the piece, the Budget I submitted was not passed until my successor was in office.

This is not a quick and dirty process. This is the opportunity for everyone with an agenda and an axe to grind to to pop up to the surface and demand their pound of flesh.

There is one fundamental element here, the White House has not provided to us any indication of any proposed changes or if there is the intention of changing any revenue structure. Unless the White House is a part of this conversation, it is impossible for us as the national legislature to pass anything. Let alone to do so in a week.

I urge the President to furnish the Senate will a full proposal of Budget measures within 24 hours, most of my Senate colleagues wish to get this passed and we will work with the President to do so.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

Current issues


I have submitted for the Senate's attention, a Bill that will create a Senate committee to investigate options for the reforms of our prison system. I believe this is a vital step to address many of the issues that are related directly or indirectly to short-comings in that system.

It should also be noted that work towards passing a Federal Budget is continuing. I believe we are very close to a compromise and I hope the President and my fellow Senators will recognise the importance of getting this done. Our economy is recovering, but the data tells us, this is likely a blip responding to holiday activity. While, again, this needed to have been in place weeks ago, we cannot send a message to the market that we cannot get our act together. My Budget proposal will deliver a small reduction in  taxes for small businesses, and will deliver a tax cut to the lowest wage earners. It follows through what I believe in, tax relief needs to be directed at those who need it the most. It also creates a more fair and progressive set of tax-rates.

I have asked the President provide a continuing resolution to enable the Federal Government to continue to function. I am confident such as a resolution would pass. While it is not a great situation, it is manageable and can be managed without any further instability.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

The Budget

I wanted to quickly discuss the primary issue we are dealing with in the Senate. The Budget.

This process has been drawn-out, but this should always have been expected. I thank the President for presenting an emergency resolution to the Senate to enable the functions of Government to continue as we work towards a solution.

I am determined to get a Budget passed and signed by the end of this month. There are clear divides and a not-inconsiderable challenge in addressing them. The Administration doesn't want to see a deficit and is focused more on spending cuts and trying to introduce tax reform. Frankly, while my proposal does have some tinkering when it comes to taxes, and some small operational cuts in spending, considering the impact of not having this in place, I don't believe now is the time for the 'big discussion'. I'm still at a loss as to why it took the White House up until the week before Christmas to introduce this Budget proposal, all it did was create unnecessary pressure on the economy. If they wanted to introduce tax reform into the Budget process, then this needed to happen a lot earlier than it did.

I am happy, and indeed eager to discuss the possibility of significant tax reform, but it has been left too late and the focus now, needs to be having a functioning Budget for the Federal Government. I am not a deficit hawk, but I would prefer we have a surplus, naturally - but the processes to get a surplus in place, should not risk worse outcomes than a small deficit.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Considering the present situation would a surplus be more of a positive or negative, thinking strictly of the present economic situation not aspirationally?

My view is a surplus for the sake of a surplus is usually a mistake. The goal should be structural soundness above all else. At the moment we aren't in the position to expect significant increases in taxation revenues, so the only way to get one on paper in the short term would be spending cuts.

So you need to make damn sure, the structural changes you're putting in place to deliver a surplus don't cause drags on the economy - probably greater drags than a small deficit. For example, at this time - the worst outcome would be to cut spending, create an on-paper surplus, then direct that surplus to deliver, for example tax cuts. Because that is structural deficits are created - and those are difficult and painful (logistically and politically) to undo.