So see there? I actually agreed with you on maybe about 25% of your platform.
Well aren't you cute! So are you willing to take apart each point? I mean hell, I don't care what you call yourself, let's make this country work again!
(1) Fix our trade policies to benefit American workers not multinational corporations. Yes. I have been thinking about this for a long time and I think a reasonably restrictive import tarriff policy can protect U.S. manufacturing against nations like China who do not keep any standards. Free trade is not free when the competitor is paying people 50c an hour and throwing all the wastes into their rivers. Not only that, but did you know that they have not reciprocated? They have kept protectionist policies while we have not.
(2) Raise taxes. No. This is pure class-warfare politics, cannot possibly have any positive result on the market. I think you need to look at history. This is not true. Raising taxes on the top has many positive effects. It adds revenue, it slows commodity trading, and it forces companies to shelter that money in their own business, rather than said trading. This is a huge discussion and will take a lot of facts and figures to hash out. Closing loopholes and lowering rates is another way of addressing this.
(3) Fix the roads bridges levees etc that are falling apart all over the country. Maybe. It has already been tried - it did not work. It will have no effect on the market or the economy. It does have a good effect on the roads and bridges themselves. When was it tried? If you are talking about the stimulus, you are mostly incorrect. The stimulus was largely tax cuts, given to the states to makeup for budget shortfalls including keeping firemen, police and teachers at work. Now if you are talking about post depression FDR WPA style stuff, well that worked beautifully. Even the Republicans are aware of how infrastructure spending produces jobs and stimulates the economy. Look at the record of those who publicly opposed stimulus, and then privately begged for funds in their district. Siting JOBS. When you give a guy a job, he not only pays taxes, he buys things. Our economy is currently 2/3 consumer spending. That means we need consumers to have money to spend. Period.
(4) Make education a priority from pre school to university. Of course. But this is pure political rhetoric and an excuse to increase spending with money which will result in a greater deficit, and no better education. First step would be to break the NEA stranglehold on the system. You are merely showing your partisan entrenchment by attacking the NEA. Or saying it's rhetoric to increase spending. You really have no idea what this entails. I don't think I do either. It may need increased funding, it may not. NEA may be a positive, it may not. But a strong educated populace is a good thing for democracy and the economy, and we have been neglecting it for a long time.
(5) Universal health care. No. Pure left-wing politics again; a great deficit creator and budget buster. Negative effect on the markets. And, it has already been tried (Obamacare 1) and just added to the deficit. LOL, I'm sorry Woods, I don't even think I can discuss this one with you until you are more educated on the subject. Every other AAA rated country on the list has universal health care, "Obamacare" hasn't even been implemented yet, and it's projected to SAVE money. It takes a burden off of small business and they are the actual job creators! Etc. etc. etc. This one is easy.
(6) Alternative energy r and d. No. (assuming you mean a government-funded increase) This is long term at best, if it ever works, and we are facing an immediate crises. Research and development to get off the Middle Est teat?????????????? This is a simple no brainer dude. Stop giving subsidies to big energy, and start instead subsidizing renewable energy small business etc. Or are you in the biz down there in TX?
(7) Focus on quality of life issues here in America (youth centers, green belts, local sports/arts, volunteer opportunities, urban beautification etc etc). No. Our problem is not softy-pillow quality of life issues - our problem is hard budget issues. U.S. is far ahead of almost every other nation on earth in this already. We just need to keep our position on big financial issues - not silly little social feel-good programs. Sorry, but you are short sighted. The more of the populace that is producing rather than sucking up resources via prisons, crime prevention, public assistance...............the better we all are as a society. I sat next to a Swiss man on the way home from Zurich, he had a paper and I was hungry for news. Anyway, we got to talking and got on to the subject of the Government helping people with housing etc there. He said "We know that if you don't take care of people they will become sick, emotionally. Causing more expense and burden. We gladly pay more to take care of them". I agree, America has the largest prison population in the world. Why not put that money at the front of lives instead of at the back??? These aren't silly feel good programs, they are forward thinking productive populace programs. You can tax workers, you can't tax prisoners.
(8) Legalize pot and get serious about crack and meth................................. Maybe. A case could be made for both, but it will do nothing to solve the stock market values or the deficit issues. Crack and Meth are destroying huge segments of the populace. Horrible stuff. Pot is nothing but a less destructive booze. Why not make a few tax bucks on it and take control out of the hands of criminals. Again, having a segment of the population be dependant and worthless as opposed to productive is not good for any of us. Workers pay taxes, drug addicts don't.
