Since the Democrats have gone off the deep end into the dark, murky waters of socialism, and the Republicans appear to be lost in the woods with no trail of bread crumbs to lead them home to rational, responsible governance, it is time to start thinking third party a little more seriously. Except, there is no existing third party with the right policy platform in place to win sufficient support for a national election victory. This got me thinking about issues, and I started constructing a platform of positions that I'd like to see a party adopt and stand behind. Here is where I am at thus far (more to come):
1. Cut the Federal Budget by at least 33%. It is past time to cut the fat out of our bloated, bank-breaking budget. And I am not talking about D.C. cuts, which are not in fact cuts, but reductions in the anticipated increase in spending. I'm talking real cuts, where you take the current number (whatever it is), and lop at least one third of it off. Yes, this will mean cutting back or even eliminating programs and entitlements, and some hard decisions will have to be made. However, the alternative is a tax burden that can range as high 60% of earned income, and a rate of spending that will literally bankrupt the United States in a relatively short amount of time. Funny how the democrats are always so concerned with deficit spending and "mortgaging the future" when the republicans are in charge, but when they themselves are controlling the purse strings, Keynesian spending is the only way to lift ourselves out of the economic doldrums. And republicans, for their part, get elected as the so-called "party of fiscal responsibilty" and then spend like mad as soon as they are given the chance like Patrick Dempsey in "Can't Buy Me Love", hoping that dollars will buy them popularity and ultimately, re-election. We should expect and deserve better.
2. Throw out the current tax code. 40% of Americans pay no Federal Income Tax, the top 5% of wage-earners pay 50% of all income taxes, and our tax code is over 10,000 pages long. It is time to stop using our tax code as a tool to enforce our social engineering experiments and pet programs, and apply it for the one and only thing it should be used for, raising revenue for our federal government's core, constitutional responsibilities. It is time to establish a super-simplified tax code, that can be explained in no more than 10 pages, or 1/1000th of the size of our current code (heck, our Constitution, which established our government, only needed 6 pages. Ten should be more than enough for the tax code). The simpler, the better.
3. Allow all citizens to choose to opt-out of Social Security. Social Security is one of those big government legacy programs that, for many Americans, has outlived its purpose. If someone feels that they can do better than the Government Bureaucracy investing their money for the future, then by all means, they should be free to do so. And, if they choose to opt-out, they should be able to roll over all contributions they have made to date into a 401K style retirement plan, CD, IRA, or some other investment of their choosing. I would much prefer to control my own financial future/destiny, and I believe most Americans would agree with me.
4. Re-commit to our national infrastructure. This is critical for so many reasons, not the least of which is the free flow of commerce. It is also important for disaster response, public safety and welfare, and national defense purposes. We have neglected our infrastructure for too long (especially energy production & distribution and transportation networks).
5. Re-build, properly fund, and supply our active military. It is shameful that we are straining our Reserves and National Guard the way that we are. It is a mistake that we have let our blue-water navy dwindle down to fewer than 300 ships. Our active ground forces military needs to be expanded dramatically, with an ultimate goal of 1 million soldiers/marines, and if we expect to continue to be the international police force of the seas, then we need to have a navy that can support such a mission.
6. Allow Medical Insurance companies access to all 50 states, and reform the way policies are sold. The reason that I cannot buy an inexpensive insurance policy is that there might only be a handful of players in my state, and the state regulations covering policies dictate what must be covered and at what cost. But if we remove all obstructions to insurance companies competing with each other across state lines, and we make it possible for we, the customers, to purchase a base-line, catastrophic coverage policy with all additional coverages being available a la carte, then it would dramatically cut the cost of medical care. Forcing every American to buy a policy, whether they want one or not, is un-American and exceeds the Constitutional power of our government.
As I say, this is merely a start. More to come, so stay tuned.
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