Summary of political beliefs (user search)
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  Summary of political beliefs (search mode)
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Author Topic: Summary of political beliefs  (Read 557963 times)
Mike Thick
tedbessell
Junior Chimp
*****
Posts: 7,085


Political Matrix
E: -6.65, S: -8.26

« on: August 04, 2017, 03:10:21 PM »

Don't remember if I ever posted this, but here goes. Format, and some planks, borrowed from Scott.

Ideology
Social: Libertarian-ish
Economic: Social democrat
Foreign Policy: It's complicated
Political Registration: Democratic in CA (PreReg)

Social Policy
Abortion: Pro-choice. Oppose mandatory counseling/waiting periods. Oppose the Hyde Amendment. Support protection of late-term abortions, as they are extremely rare and almost always occur in cases where there's a medical necessity.

Same-Sex Marriage: Strongly support, as well as measures to protect the access of LGBT access to the same services as straight people.

Conversion Therapy: Ban it, for obvious reasons.

Transgender Issues: Support allowing transgender people to use the restroom corresponding to their gender, and their right to serve in the military if they so choose.

Drugs: Legalization of marijuana, for the time being, as well as decriminalization of some of the harder stuff. I'd be open to legalizing those other drugs after we get a broader view of how pot legalization works out over the next few years.

Death Penalty: Oppose unconditionally.

Gun Control: Oppose bans on assault weapons and gun registries. Support reasonable magazine/clip limits. Support open carry in some places, concealed carry in fewer places. Support mandatory gun safety features, background checks, and closing the gun show loophole.

This should, of course, be very localized. I would support some kind of regular test of psychological stability and knowledge of gun safety, like how you have to renew your driver's license, but this is probably not politically feasible.

Affirmative Action: Bigly support -- it's a way to give underserved communities a leg up, and more diversity on campuses is a good thing.

Prostitution: I don't really think it's the government's job to legislate this sort of thing, and I could support this as long as it's monitored to make sure that the prostitutes are there voluntarily and contraceptives/condoms are used.

Euthanasia: Ambivalent. Suffering through terminal illness is awful, but I also don't believe that people have a right to end their life, and I think that it's immoral to end the life of another.

Immigration: Create a pathway to citizenship for all non-violent undocumented immigrants. Deport or imprison violent undocumented immigrants. Offer free English courses, and require basic knowledge as a prerequisite to citizenship, but oppose making English the "official language" of the United States. Prosecute businesses that hire and exploit illegal immigrants out of good wages. Expand legal immigration (H1Bs, green cards, etc) drastically, and remove steps from the bureaucracy required for admission.

Police Issues/Black Lives Matter: I strongly support the goals of BLM and police reform. Require body cameras and accountability. Encourage community policing.  The justice system should be reformed so that officers are held accountable - no more "blue shield."

Free Speech/Political Correctness: Some level of "political correctness" as a social norm is necessary to keep politics from descending into a blithering mass of personal hatred and bigotry, but I support the right of anyone to say anything and my right to call them a hateful asshole for saying it. Tongue

School Prayer: I don't think it's really appropriate, but religious clubs are alright.

Muslim Ban: Islamaphobia is wrong and so are religious litmus tests period.  Anyone who's willing to assimilate into the culture and be a productive member of society should not be disqualified from entering the United States.

PATRIOT ACT/NSA Spying: Completely and unconditionally opposed to warrantless wiretapping. Privacy is a human right.

TSA: Abolish it. Let airports/airlines manage their own security in accordance with federal standards.

Economic Issues
Minimum Wage: Establish a national living wage of $15 per hour set to rise with inflation.

Welfare: Safeguard and expand the welfare state. Ensure food security for all Americans, provide adequate living assistance, paid maternity and paternity leave of at least 1 year each, paid sick leave, 2 weeks guaranteed paid holidays, and subsidized childcare and universal pre-k. Implement a UBI for economic stability and general welfare.

Social Security: Lift the taxable income cap.  Social Security is solvent until 2033 and there is no “crisis.”  Ideally, the retirement age would be lowered so as to expand job opportunities for young people.

Healthcare: I would support a single-payer/Medicare-for-all program. Currently I’m most in favor of a nationwide “public option” or Medicare buy-in program, as well as co-ops or Germany-style “sickness funds,” to compete with private insurance companies.

Allow drug imports from Canada and countries which tightly regulate their drug markets for safety. Subsidize families that spend more than a certain portion of monthly income on prescription drugs, either through reimbursement or tax credits.

Globalization/Trade: I think free trade is a net plus for the economy, but

Deficit/Debt: Maximize efficiency, streamline all governmental agencies, consolidate agencies and eliminate redundancies, abolish the NSA, slash the military and defense budget, focus on implementing cost saving technologies, and make it publicly available and readily accessible to see where all funds are going, the budgets of every agency and department, and who voted for what funding.

Campaign Finance Reform: Amend the Constitution to exempt political contributions from free speech, and allow Congress to establish reasonable regulations and (possibly) publicly fund campaigns.

Unions: Strongly support. Completely overturn the Taft-Hartley Act, strengthen public and private sector unions, and abolish all right-to-work laws.

Energy: Invest heavily in green energy with the intent of revolutionizing our energy sector. Incentivize businesses and individuals to go green with tax breaks, implement cap and trade, partially nationalize all companies exploiting our natural resources, and begin reducing fracking and offshore drilling by gradually restricting permits. Retrain workers on the fossil fuel sector and help them transition to other jobs.

Job Creation: Invest in a massive infrastructure redevelopment program a la Roosevelt's public works programs. Heavily incentivize businesses to create jobs in underprivileged areas, both rural and urban. Expand broadband to all people, including rural areas.

Education: More autonomy for schools and teachers over curriculum, ideally by reducing the effects of standardized testing on said schools. Free tuition for public universities and pre-k, and no ban on homeschooling.

Taxes: Reduce the corporate tax rate, while closing loopholes and such. Sales taxes should be minimal, and income taxes should be very progressive.

Foreign Policy
Basically, the U.S. should play an active role in the liberal order. We should respond proportionally to humanitarian crises on a case-by-case basis, and prevent singular actors from gaining hegemony over their regional neighbors and our allies via bullying. However, most of the failed military ventures by the U.S. post-WWII can be explained by a failure to decide where the best theater to prevent said aggression is, so caution is extremely important.
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