Office of Chairman TNF: Red Army takes NM, UT, ID, AZ

[TNF]

I posted five new citizens initiatives today, which you should totally go sign if you like paid holidays, higher wages, and a shorter workweek for everyone. If not, well, I'm just going to introduce them as actual legislation at some point, provided that I defeat Governor Maxwell in our upcoming Senate contest. Speaking of the Governor, he recently introduced a modified version of my sex work proposal in the Althing, and it got a vote, but unfortunately Atlasia has apparently already legalized prostitution, making the whole thing moot.

At any rate, a few days ago I promised that I'd get something up and written about social welfare policy, and that's a promise I intend to keep. So, without further aideu...

...TO EACH ACCORDING TO THEIR NEED
An Atlasian social insurance system we can be proud of.



A poster for the Social Security program, produced in the late 1930s

Social insurance is the bedrock of any society built upon the notion of human rights. Those of us on the left recognize that human rights are not merely a laundry list of things we have access to, but duties we have to one another as human beings. The most basic duty we have to one another is the duty to care for one another and to help one another out in times of need. I am a firm believer in the New Deal-Fair Deal-New Frontier-Great Society tradition of social insurance programs. I believe that social insurance should be universal, not means-tested, and I believe that it should be generous, not stingy.

First and foremost, we as a society must provide security for those in the dawn of life. I applaud the passage and implementation of our very own National Health Care program in Atlasia. This program has no doubt and will no doubt continue to provide young Atlasians with the care that they need from cradle to grave, as well as help young parents in the difficult time of pregnancy and childbirth. To support young Atlasians, we must support parents. This means that Atlasia must adopt paid parental leave for the parents of newborn children. This means that Atlasia must adopt tougher fair pay laws, to help women raise their children on an equal standing to that of men. This means, above all, that Atlasia must adopt policies that promote stable and fulfilling environments for our children to grow up in. Young Atlasians need guaranteed access to child care facilities, regardless of how much their parents make. We need to adopt education reforms that put our children, not standardized test scores, first.

Atlasian adults need security, too. Much has been said and much done about marriage equality in Atlasia, and there is a very good citizens initiative, which I have signed on to, sponsored by President Marokai calling for the abolition of all civil marriages in favor of civil unions for all. I support this initiative, but ultimately, I believe that families come in all shapes and sizes and believe that we should stop attaching fundamental rights, such as inheritance, hospital visitations, etc. to an institution with a 50% failure rate. These rights should be available without a marriage certificate, period. Atlasians need security from economic forces beyond their control. This means repairing our broken unemployment insurance system so that it retrains workers for the jobs of tomorrow. It means enacting tough protections for Atlasians afflicted by credit card debt, and cracking down upon unscrupulous credit card companies. It means nationalizing our energy sector so that Atlasians aren't victims of price gouging energy companies. It means banning payday lending. It means ending exploitation for profit, and it means protecting those who need protection the most. That's what I believe in, that's what the Labor Party believes in, and that's what Atlasians believe in.

We also musn't forget elderly Atlasians, who face some of the toughest challenges of all. Social Security, originally devised as an old age insurance program, should be reconstituted as a universal pension program. This means adjusting the minimum Social Security benefit to a living benefit, adjusting it periodically with inflation, and adjusting it when overall worker productivity increases. Retirees should be able to purchase annuities from the Social Security Administration and they should be able to retire at age 55. Tax-favored private pension plans, like the 401(K) and Roth IRA, which are expensive and wasteful, should no longer be tax-favored, and should eventually be phased out. In addition, elderly Atlasians should have a right to death with dignity.

The fundamental crux of developing a just and humane social welfare system, however, is the immediate establishment of a universal basic income. A universal basic income is the strongest possible policy that we could enact as a society in recognizing that every person is deserving of value. Far from encouraging dependency, the results of real life universal basic income experiments, like the 'Mincome' experiment in Dauphin, Canada, was that only young mothers and teenagers dropped out of the labor force in significant numbers. Senator Nix is calling for a basic income policy in his presidential campaign; I want to make it clear that while I am in tentative support of the Senator's policy, I do not believe that a basic income should serve as a substitute for existing social welfare programs. Rather, I believe that a robust basic income policy should serve as an addition to existing social insurance and social welfare programs. A basic income policy that keeps everyone above the poverty line, combined with a high minimum wage, will force employers to raise wages and better compensate workers for their work. It will also allow for those who wish to simply drop out of the labor force and pursue other avenues of personal fulfillment, like entrepreneurship, the arts, or the like, to do so. Put simply, the adoption of a universal basic income as a supplement to existing social supports, would mean the greatest expansion of human freedom to date.

That's all I have for now. Questions, comments, concerns?

Thanks, and Dave Bless!

[TNF]

STATEMENT REGARDING THE SITUATION IN SYRIA

I would like to make my position known as far as the situation in Syria is concerned. With reports from the External Affairs Dept. that tensions are "rising," I want to caution the leadership of this nation against acting hastily or engaging in activities that would lead to Atlasian intervention in the conflict, be it direct or indirect, be it intervention or arms sales. We do not have a dog in this fight, my fellow Atlasians. The only people who stand to benefit from Atlasian intervention in Syria are the arms and weapons manufacturers, not the people of Syria, who are, at this time, caught in the crossfire between a murderous regime and murderous rebels who seek to establish an Islamist regime. Neither are worth our support, and neither should be given our support. We must stand against the human rights abuses of the regime by working with the international community to quarantine Syria through sanctions and effective action to cut off the flow of supplies into Syria that allow this murderous conflict to continue, not by opening the conflict up or expanding it further.

[TNF]

STATEMENT CONCERNING THE PACIFIC

I wish to congratulate those members of our party and our friends in the National Movement "Aliya Mustafina" in their successful liberation of the Pacific from the existing structures of inactivity and oppression. The Wolfentoadist state has been abolished in favor of true democracy. In the Senate, I will fight my hardest to prevent reaction from depriving The People of their right to self rule in the manner that they see fit.

[TNF]

Congratulations, Senator-elect! You've been one of the brightest stars in the Labor Party as of late and your focus on policy is a refreshing take on the often catty commentary in which we engage. Do us proud, my fellow Southern socialist rube!

Thank you Comrade Griffin! And thank all of you for your endorsements, your votes, and your support!

[TNF]

Congratulations TNF!

Thank you Comrade Windjammer. I hope that we can work together in building up the Midwest in the future!

[TNF]

VICTORY SPEECH

Wichita, Harmony - Comrades, I would like to thank you all for your support over the course of this campaign. Governor Maxwell provided us a good challenge and I thank him for giving me the opportunity to have a competitive, fun race in which the issues were put first and the petty politics put last. I encourage Midwestern voters to re-elect our Governor while the polls are still open.

This thread will henceforth serve as my transition and later Senate office. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them here from this point forward.

[TNF]

Congratulations, TNF!  I look forward to working with you in the Senate!

Thank you for your congratulations, Senator-elect Scott! I look forward to working with you as well.

[TNF]

I would like to note my steadfast opposition to The "Cocaine Shouldn't Be Legal" Bill. Recriminalizing cocaine will not solve the problem of cocaine addiction anymore than recriminalizing alcohol would solve the problem of alcoholism.

[TNF]

While it hasn't come up for a vote yet and likely won't until I am a Senator, I want to make known my support for Senator Napoleon's bill to repeal the Late Term Abortion Restriction Act.

[TNF]

While it hasn't come up for a vote yet and likely won't until I am a Senator, I want to make known my support for Senator Napoleon's bill to repeal the Late Term Abortion Restriction Act.

Thank you. I am still workingb ok n my child care and senior care bills if you are interested.

Certainly!

[TNF]

An Announcement from Senator-elect TNF

Wichita, Harmony - Folks, I just wanted to thank everyone one more time before I swear in as the regional Senator for the Midwest in less than an hour. You've all been so helpful, so kind, and great in helping me get to where I am in Atlasia today. I promise that I'll try not to let the Midwest down while I'm in the Senate. I'm a firm believer in the need for a representative for the workers, the farmers, and the average person in our Senate, and I hope to be that person along with my allies in the Labor Party and our friends in other progressive parties. I want to be your advocate. If you have any questions, if you would like to suggest legislation for me to introduce, please don't hesitate to address me here or PM me. I'd love to answer your questions and do my best to represent my constituents regardless of party affiliation.

Thank you all. Let's get to work.

TNF
Midwest Regional Senator-elect
Progressive Caucus Chairman
Vice Chairman of the Labor Party

[TNF]

Well, as of five minutes ago, I've sworn in as a member of the Senate and introduced quite a few bills, which I'll be posting here in conjunction with posting them in the legislation introduction thread. If you have any questions or concerns, don't be afraid to ask/make them heard here!

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[TNF]

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

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Thank you, Mr. President! I hope they're to your liking.

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Thank you for your input, Governor. I look forward to debating them on their merits with you.

[TNF]

Ok thank you, I didn't know what it was.
So good luck, I support most of your propositions!
Just one question, Why do you just want to block the "student loans" under 0.5%? In France, the scolarship awards are much more developed and if a student must take a loan, there isn't any interest and he has to begin to redeem this loan after 10 years.

I don't want to block them under 0.5%, I want to make sure they go no higher than 0.5%. Currently Atlasian law limits them to 5%, which I find far too high.

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I'm unaware that Atlasia has a standard at all. This bill is mostly a reaction to the fact that IRL I know folks who go half a month without being paid, mostly because their employer likes to shirk their responsibility from providing overtime compensation. Two weeks is a reasonable pay period, though of course I wouldn't be opposed to lowering it to one.

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I don't think I included a total prohibition on overtime anywhere.

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Atlasia, like the real world United States, has no paid leave of any kind. I like your suggestions and I may well include them in an amendment to the bill when it comes to the floor.

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Thank you!

[TNF]

I think some of them could  be combined to speed things up a bit.

Though I disagree with a lot of it, it's good to see my Senator getting actively involved. Keep up the good work, TNF!

Thank you Tmth! It's funny to think that when I started this game I was one of your constituents in the Mideast and now you're one of my constituents in the Midwest.

[TNF]

Just wanted to pop in and make it known that I will be going on a camping trip from today until Wednesday, and so I'll be taking an official leave of absence from Monday July 15 until Wednesday July 18. I apologize in advance for missing any votes and would ask that the PPT hold my legislation from the floor until I return, assuming we get to it by then, which I feel is rather unlikely, but just in case.

Thanks!

[TNF]

I had a lot of fun and am now back in Chicago! Hope my absence didn't slow up the Senate too much. I'm eager to get back to work.

[TNF]

I have just introduced a 'death with dignity' bill in the Senate. If anyone has any questions about this bill, please feel free to ask.

[TNF]

LEGISLATION
✓ = SUPPORT
✘ = OPPOSE
? = UNDECIDED

On the Floor

• ✓ Senator Αverroës TNF's Prison Reform Act
• ✓ Senator NC Yankee's Mental Health Reform Act of 2013"
• ? Senator Scott Napoleon'sEducation Modernization Act
• ✘ former Senator X's The Common Sense Drug Reform Act of 2013
• ✘ former Senator X's The Regional Exemption Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator Sbane's Cannabinoid Legalization Act

• ? Senator Kalwejt's Judicial Tenure Amendment

Current Queue

• ✘ former Senator X's The Rehabilitation and Reasonable Penalties Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator Sbane's Emergency Contraception Liberalization Act
• ✓ Senator Αverroës' NC Yankee's Executive Branch Reorganization Act
• ✓ Senator Kalwejt's Wikimaster General Act
• ✓ Senator NC Yankee's Repeal of the Legitimize the Voting Act
• ✓ Senator Napoleon's It's Not Up to You Act
• ? Senator Napoleon's Representative Democracy Amendment
• ✓ Senator TNF's Amendment to the Labor Rights Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Making Up for Lost Ground Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Just Cause in Firing Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Responsible Federal Contracting Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Amendment to The Productivity Equalization and Worker Employment Act of 2011
  
• ✓ Senator TNF's Amendment to the Student Loan Interest Rate Fairness Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Pay Period Limitation Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Think Twice Before Sending Them Home Early Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Everybody's Working for the Weekend Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Black Friday means Black Friday Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Overtime Compensation Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Break Time Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Paid Vacations Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Paid Sick Leave Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator TNF's Internships, not Internment Camps! Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator Scott's Ratification Amendment
• ✓ Senator Napoleon's Atlasian Senior Care Act of 2013
• ✓ Senator Napoleon's DDT Ban Act
• ✓ Senator TJ's Abolition of Senate Committees Resolution
• ? Senator Gass3268's Political Party Representation Amendment
• ? Senator Napoleon's Hiring Incentives Act: Take Three
• ✓ Senator TNF's Death with Dignity Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Atlasian Lottery Act
• ✓ Senator TNF's Checks and Balances Amendment
• ✓ Senator Napoleon's Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform Act

[TNF]

Comrades,

I would like to note that I have consolidated and reintroduced two omnibus pieces of legislation, the Paid Leave Act of 2013 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 2013. Both of these acts will go far and do much to humanize the working conditions of Atlasian labor insofar as possible. I plan on introducing more legislation in the coming days permitting the adoption of industry wide collective bargaining, including allowing for the creation of master contracts, expanding the right of unions to bargain for union hiring halls (which are allowed under the Labor Rights Act, specifically our closed shop provision), and the creation of a system of co-determination as a means of giving workers a voice in the management of their firms, and a piece of legislation officially declaring May as 'Labor History Month', designating May 1 as 'International Workers' Day' and officially designating April 28 as Workers' Memorial Day.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[TNF]

I forgot to say, thanks for sponsoring the prison reform bill after Nix became President.

You're welcome Matt! Glad to have. Thanks for getting it off the ground.

[TNF]

Comrades, if the recent polling is to be believed, I'm in the most approved of Senator in the Republic!

I'd like to thank you all for your support since the 56th Senate has convened. I have striven to be a voice of all working Atlasians, an honest and true friend to the working class. I will continue to be that voice only with your support and help to shake up the schlerotic, unresponsive nature of our aristocratic Senate. We have a great deal of bills in the queue that will vastly improve the lives of working people, but the Atlasian right wants these bills tabled, defeated, or worse. The Atlasian right has no room for working people in it's vision of a society based upon hierarchy, upon greed, upon dare I say it, despotism by wealth - that is, plutocracy.

They have ridiculed my proposals as 'far-left,' 'Soviet', or godforbid, 'socialistic' () but in doing so they have only shown themselves for who they truly are - pawns of a reactionary financial elite intent upon the degradation of Atlasian living standards and the destruction of our communities. I reiterate that I am not afraid to be red-baited by the right because I am honestly and truly a 'red', a socialist without adjectives, a friend of the workingman and the workingwoman. Governor ZuWo recently attacked me for seeking restrictions upon trade with Switzerland, berating me for pushing for Atlasians to lose their jobs, or some such nonsense.

What candor these right-wingers have! What honest-to-god nonsense! It's funny seeing them all jump to the defense of the 'Atlasian worker' when they've never been willing to associate themselves with the Atlasian workingman or workingwoman before. Opportunism is the first sign of weakness, and the Atlasian right, I am happy to report, comrades, is weakening every day.

Another sure sign of weakness is the willingness of the Atlasian right to engage in a political witchhunt against members of an opposition party. Senator Yankee has led the charge to destroy the National Movement "Aliya Mustafina" a party of patriotic Atlasian citizens whose only crime is taking a stand against the sclerotic, conservative nature of the Republic itself. It is regrettable that many members of the Atlasian establishment that are members of the Labor Party have likewise taken up the cause of political persecution and engaged in political witchhunts, and I hope to see this pass and an productive understanding established between those elements of the Labor Party and the National Movement.

[TNF]

I think the Midwest seems to like its Government officials though... I have a 100% approval rating

And there's no denying that in spite of our ideological differences, we make a good team.

[TNF]

Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would be more concerned about the fact that only two Midwest citizens bothered to even vote in the poll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mPlXwpJ1I8

[TNF]

My question for you Senator TNF, is with your proposal that disarms the police and other administrators, is the question of your principals. Maybe you didn't run on it, but your views are anti-gun control. Do you think this legislation violates your own ideas of gun ownership?

I am opposed to the police being armed but am fully supportive of individual citizens' right to keep and bear arms, to answer your question, Governor. I would oppose any and all legislation that seeks to restrict the right to bear arms for individual citizens.