Summary of political beliefs

[windjammer]

Social Policy

Abortion:  Pro-choice up to the point of viability. It's the womans body, but after a certain point, the baby would possibly have the ability to survive, and that's generally at about 26 weeks. That's where I think the line should be drawn.

SSM and other LGBT rights: Absolutely support. There are two ways of doing this in my view: one way is to get Government out of marriage. Getting rid of all the benefits the Government gives to married couples, and allow non-discrimination legislation to adapt. Another way is the way that is going on right now: fighting state by state to legalize gay marriage. Two people who love each other should have no barriers to be happy with one another.

Marijuana: Legalize. I do agree, that we should do this by going state by state with attempts to legalize, but I think it's time we realized that the War on Drugs is a colossal failure. Tax it heavily, regulate it like cigarettes, advertise against its use. We need to more effectively use our resources.

Drinking Age: It should be lowered to 18. We can send our men and women to war, and vote, but god forgiveth, we can't drink until we are 21. If we are legally decided to be an adult at 18, than we should be given all the benefits and what not of being an adult.

Oh, and I'm against the Death Penalty.

Physician-assisted suicide: I'm not quite sure, to be honest. I think one should be in charge of their own death, but at the same time, it also depends on the circumstance. Maybe they are in so much pain at one point and they say they want to be dead, but they are not truly meaning of it if they survive. I think in the right context and under the right scope, Physician-assisted Suicide could work, but I think there would be a lot of consent to go by. (this might be my only moralist position)

Guns: I think background checks is fine and is not gun control, so I supported Toomey-Manchin, although there were some major loopholes in the bill. However, I am not so supportive of a Assault Weapons ban, which would have little to no effect on gun violence. If we wanted to change the effect of gun violence, we need to look at our other laws and get power out of the black market (i.e. see Drug Wars)

Immigration: We need a more balanced workforce. What do I mean by that, well I mean that our workforce in the US is balanced on average skilled workers, with only small bits of American workers either highly skilled or low skilled. Compare that to an immigrant workforce, who have a lot of low skilled and high skilled workers, but not very many average workers. We need to increase immigration into this country. I believe it is time we reformed our immigration system to make it easier for people to come in, but we also need to be mindful and not treat people who came in here illegally any better than we treat people who follow the process. I do like the immigration plan in Congress, but I also want to do wonders on the work visa program.

Ultimately, though, if they are paying taxes in this country and are working, I have no problem with immigrants, illegal or not illegal, being in our country.

Affirmative Action: Against.

Economic Policy

Income Tax: We should have an income tax system. However, we should scale back rates once the economy gets back on track. However, in order to do that in a balanced fashion when it comes to revenue, we need to cut all of the special interest loopholes and ways that the corporate system gets to avoid taxation.

Deficit: The deficit needs to be lowered through cuts and increases to revenue, otherwise known as austerity. However, we also need to increase spending in smaller places: infrastructure for example, in order to push jobs back into the economy. I am against massive wasteful spending, but not all spending is the same: We have a massively bloated military budget and we have no wars we are fighting with it, and I support big cuts to it. I also support looking under every rock and cutting waste.

Social Security: I am for raising the retirement age, as Americans are living longer, and doing more with their lives. The retirement age has been the same since FDR, back when the age of death was LOWER than the retirement age he set for Social Security. It is only fair that we raise it now to compensate for increasing costs of the program. Simply put, we need to lock the lockbox. No more to Washington Republicans and Democrats robbing the trust fund as they did to fund their mistakes. In the long term, I do support a shift towards either privatization, or the Government handing back what people have put in and abolishing the program all together.

Free Trade:  Pro-Free Trade.

Education:  It should be in the hands of the states. We need to shift out of the dreadful policies of No Child Left Behind. Not all education spending is good spending, as we spend more it seems that those dollars go to waste when our scores are sh**t. We need to put more money behind primary education, giving a good foundation for later years.

Infrastructure spending: Support increasing. Our roads are in dire danger, and we need to do more to make our roads safer and better. One solution I like is making the toll roads private while keeping regular roads public. There are innovative solutions out there, and I believe that it isn't completely a lost cause.
 
Environment: We should be mindful of our effect, but we should also not over-estimate our effect. There is something of an arrogance of our existence on this earth that we are the main culprits destroying the earth. Earth has long term shifts, some of them radical (see: the Ice Age), so I am still very skeptical. Ultimately, I wouldn't put environmental interests ahead of economic interests. However, I do support preserving lands for future generations via National Parks.

Foreign Policy

Embargo on Cuba: Totally against it. Cuba is no longer a threat. The more people we are trading with and working with across the world, the better. We need to lower barriers, not put up. No more Embargo on Cuba!

Military involvement overseas: My basic foreign policy idea is simple: It is much like Milton Friedman described Government policy in the economy. Foreign Policy is too powerful: any movement we make ultimately comes back to bite us in the future. See all these leaders we put into power and than overthrew. I think it's time we stopped being so involved in world affairs. Let's be more mindful of our place in the world and stop being the world police. So my foreign policy is a minimalist foreign policy.

Humanitarian causes: We should be more cautious about humanitarian aide. In any place where we could be thinking to fund poor kids in Africa, it turns out to be a dictator who takes those funds and slaughters thousands of his people. We need to be more cautious all around with foreign policy, but I think Humanitarian aide is a perfect example of why we need a more minimalist foreign policy.

Support for Democracy: The United States isn't a Democracy. It is a constant fight between Republic and Democracy. Why should we impose something that we aren't even 100% behind?  Again, let's leave people alone, we don't know the backlash we may face because of these policies. Iraq is still a disaster to this day, because we invaded a country and then tried to "fix" our mess under the guise of Democracy.

You are a kind of rockefeller isolationnist. Really on the left socially, on the right economically (but not so far). You could be Olympia Snowe but she's pro interventionnist, so I would say Lincoln Chafee when he was independant!

[windjammer]

Economy
-We should increase for education: I believe it's a necessity because it will produce skilled employers and it's good to improve our economy in a work where it's just impossible to rivalize with China by the prize!
- As a developed country, it's a duty to grant a correct standard of living for all people, we must show solidarity! That's why I favor a national health care (Obamacare)!
-I'm pro-union, I believe workers must be protected against their employers, who want to exploit their employees to obtain a better gain (Yes, I totally agree with Marx on this point ). Union workers aren't necessarily bad for the employers, because it prevents violent strikes. I favor a minimum wage too!
-However, I'm not anticapitalist: pro free trade,... But it must be regulated by the state (minimum wage,...) because capitalism can lead to a major crisis (1929,2008,...)
-I tend to favor a kind of welfare state, not a socialist state! I think the USSR is an example of the inefficience of socialism economically: a too big bureaucracy which conducts to a big corruption and a weak productivity.

Social:
-I'm catholic (I'm french after all ), I have a good opinion of the church generally. In France, the catholic church has always been an example of solidarity, so I'm not against teaching religion in school (if the students want to have cathechism of course!). My signature is a picture of "Abbe Lemire" who was a priest and a great fighter for better social conditions, a fighter against poverty,... It's really what I like in catholiscism: help the poors, solidarity,...
-However, I don't agree with their social views on abortion and SSM: I'm strongly pro-choice (it's a women's right for me!) and pro-SSM.
-I strongly oppose death penalty.
-I tend to favor prostitution's legalization (I'm against procuring) but oppose drugs.
-I favor immigration, our population is becoming older, immigration is a necessity! 
-I'm against flag-burning, think collective security is more important than the right of autonomy (tend to favor measures against terrorism, with moderation),  I tend to favor limiting violence in video-games.


Foreign policy
-I'm interventionnist, I was in favor of the intervention in Libya, I think we should help syrian rebels.
-Manning and Snowden are just two traitors and are weakening their country.



So, who am I politically?

[windjammer]

Social Policy:
Abortion: I support abortion during 1st semester, oppose after except some exceptions. Abortion should be funded.
Drugs: Oppose
Censorship: Support flag burning amendment, stand with Alito on Snyder Phelps.
Gay Marriage: Legal federally. What's really more important is protecting LGBT people from losing their jobs, eviction, etc. based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Death Penalty: Oppose, oppose life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
Prostitution: Mixed. Support prostitutes rights, but mixed on brothel.
Church & State: Church and State shouldn't be separated, like Germany.
Affirmative Action: Strongly support.
Hate Crime Laws: Support
Immigration: Strongly support, support Dream Act,...
Stem Cell Research: Support its expansion, including federal funding.
PATRIOT Act: Support
Gun Control: Staunchly support (I'm french). The NRA should be banned.
Assisted Suicide: Lean oppose
Gambling:Support legalization, but must be respected.

Electoral Reform:
Term Limits: Oppose
Statehood: Any territory that wants it should be granted statehood. Yes to Puerto Rico and DC. I don't agree with the attempts by sections of states to create new ones.
Voting Age: 18
Campaign Finance Reform: Support (french)
Voting System: keep this system.
Gerrymandering: Support independant commission.
Voter ID: Oppose in the USA, support in France.
Economics:
Welfare: Expand the current programs, no decreases in funding.
Unions: Strongly approve of the right to unionize. Oppose all right-to-work laws. Support Taft-Hardley Act repeal, support union shop.
Privatization: Oppose privatization of social security, schools, etc.
Environment: Ban tracking, band mountain-top mining, set water purity standards, protect all endangered species, invest in green energy, etc, etc, etc.
Minimum Wage: The Minimum Wage should be raised.
Taxation: Mixed.
Healthcare: ACA didn't go far enough. A single-payer is the best choice.
Subsidies: I support farm subsidies for low-income farmers.
Military: Increase veteran's benefits, military spending shouldn't be cut.
Education: Increase funding overall. Oppose creationism in schools and voucher programs.*

Foreign Policy:
War: Except Iraq War, I'm a ing hawk.
Israel-Palestine:: Support diplomacy between Israel and Palestine.
Draft: Support, it can be necessary.
Nukes: Support new start treaty.
Foreign Aid: Good in most cases

[windjammer]

Economy
Minimum wage: I support increasing the minimum wage. A minimum wage is a necessity. Companies are much more powerful than workers on the labour market, so their wages are lower that they should be, so a rise will improve the standard of living and in the end will have more positive than negative effects on jobs.

Labor Unions: I have become less supportive of them. But I still believe they need to become stronger in ordre to raise the wage, boosting the economy. RTW is totally bullsh**t.

Free-Trade: I completely support free-trade. Protectionism is a rightwing policy that just creates private monopoly.

Education: skills needed in the workforce will always be higher and higher. So this is necessary to spend more and more.

Heath Care: very left-wing, I dont want to let people die.

Social Issues
Abortion: Should be available until 12 weeks of pregnancy. I dont like that at all at personal level but I understand it has to be legal.

SSM: fully supportive of that obviously.

Death Penalty: I oppose it completely. (Catholic)

Immigration: I support it, it is necessary when population is becoming older and older.

Euthanasia: I oppose it. I believe it will end up killing too many people for economic gains. I dont want to take the risk. It should be decriminalized for some cases though.

Alcohol, drugs and cigarettes : I personally hate that. Smoking is disgusting, alcoholic people vomit everywhere. These things are clearly  the reason how the western culture can be totally degenerate sometimes. But let that be legalized because the war on these stuffs doesnt work. But it needs to be heavily taxed.

Foreign policy:

Iran deal: I obviously support it. Iran will be a powerful ally in the region.

War: I m interventionist, I dont want other Hitlers to come to power because of "muh pacifism". But at the same time, we need not to be bellicists a la Iraq war.

Israel: This isnt an issue I know many things. I m right now really pro-Palestine and against Israël who I believe is oppressing the pzlestinians. However, I do recognize that my views are highly being influenced by my friends who are very against Israël. I used to think that any hyper pro Israël would be the reincarnation of Israël. M'y views are evolving though as I realize that I really some of them. So if any pro Israël could explain me why they support Israël by PM, that would be cool. I will likely remain pro-palestinian, but I think it would be useful to have the opinion of the pro israel side.