Declaration of Beliefs: Saturday Political Soap Box 158

I think I'll skip the negativity for this week's Soap Box.  It's necessary, in the face of the greatest threat to democracy we've ever experienced, but that's not all we need to do.  We should also declare what we are for. And we should do at simply and declaratively as we can,  The sad fact is that Americans don't always listen to long, complex, nuanced solutions.  They prefer easy to grasp solutions to wonkish answers. And that is one place that Republicans are much better than Democrats.

In that spirit, I am stating my beliefs, and the best solutions to implement those beliefs, stated as briefly and succinctly as possible.

I support universal health care, as a basic right that everyone is entitled to.  No one should be left out. The best way to achieve this is is by expanding Medicare, a Medicare for All.  It is the moral and fiscally responsible choice.

I support Social Security, and benefits should be increased and expanded, not cut back and the age of eligibility raised. Think it may grow insolvent in a few decades?  This one is the easiest to solve. Raise the cap.  BAM! Problem solved.

I support green solutions to global warming.  We need to become the leader on this front, not the foot-dragger.  If climate change is to be mitigated, it will be by the countries smart enough to be a leader in this regard.  Those who don't will fall by the economic wayside.

I support a minimum wage that is a living wage.  Everyone who works deserves to be able to support themselves and contribute to their family.  Service jobs deserve the same respect as manufacturing jobs, or any other job. Paying a living wage will fuel the economy more powerfully than any tax break to the wealthy.

I support a complete restructuring of the tax code, one that is streamlined and automatic, but still progressive.  I realize that this is a gross oversimplification, but it should have the following elements; 1) elimination of the individual and corporate income tax 2) a national sales tax that is progressive, increasing for luxury items 3) a financial transaction tax for when money is moved 4) the only taxes coming out of earned income would be Social Security and Medicare For All 5) a gross income tax on businesses, possibly adjusted to the type of business and typical margin of profit, with the only deduction or adjustment coming from the amount above living wage you pay to US citizens.

I support civil rights.  That includes protection and support for the LGBT community, including same-sex marriage,  That includes focusing on increasing voter participation, not suppressing it.  That includes not targeting and persecuting our Muslim citizens.

I support public education.  All solutions should be focused on making public schools better, not by states grabbing control of local schools, and turning them over to private interests whose major goal is not the education of students, but to enhance and increase profits.

I support background checks.  The solution to the rampant gun violence in this country is more complex than gun control measures, but we can at least do those things that a majority support.

I support education and birth control access as a way to reduce abortions in the country.  I don't like abortions, but I have no interest in criminalizing the decisions of women and their doctors. Terror and criminalization, intimidation and ignorance, will not reduce abortions, and in some places it will just drive it underground, making it more unsafe and dangerous.  The abortion rate has gone down most dramatically in states that offer sex education, greater access to birth control, better support to mothers and their infant.  Sunshine is better than the storm.

I support a foreign policy that enhances American strength and position in the world, and does so by taking the humanitarian high ground.  Foreign policy is complicated and fraught with peril, and sometimes harsh choices have to be made, but as in abortion we need to remember, sunshine is better than the storm.  Love and improving lives is better a foundation than torture and acting in anger.

I have not highlighted immigration as a problem.  That seems a silly thing to do for a nation of immigrants.  If you provide a living wage for ALL jobs, then if Americans still won't fill them, who else is going to do that labor?  If businesses find their only tax deduction paying US citizens above a living wage, it completely changes their motivation.  First, they find no advantage to hiring immigrants (illegal or otherwise) because they have to pay them the same wage as an American citizen. Second, they are motivated to pay US citizens better than a living wage as the only way to reduce their tax obligation.


Are the solutions to these problems over-simplified?  You bet your arse they are!  But if Progressives don't find a way to quickly and compellingly voice their beliefs and solutions, they will be constantly drowned out by the single minded Republicans (reduce taxes on the rich, cut spending to the poor and middle class, build walls, deregulate).

Break through the Corporate Democratic wonk.  Talk directly to the American people.

You can do it, Obi-Wan Progressive!

It's our only hope.