Keaton For Governor
Announcement Speech in Charleston, West Virginia-"My friends and fellow patriots,
The Mideast deserves big ideas. Our region deserves a visionary leader who can enact those big ideas to make our lives better. During my time here in Atlasia, I have been elected to the Mideast Assembly. Recently, I was re-elected to that position. During my time in the Assembly, I tried to be that visionary. I proposed foster care reform that made kids' lives better and worked with our robust civil society. The reform received support from all over the political spectrum. I've worked with now-former Assemblyman Njall on a tax reform proposal that cut taxes for everyone and flattened our code. Currently, I'm working to pass a healthcare reform bill that picks up the slack from where the federal government is bankrupting our healthcare system.
I believe in the Mideast. I believe that we can lead Atlasia in embarking on common-sense reforms and enacting the conservative principles we hold dear. I believe that we can be a model of multi-partisanship. As governor, I plan to reach across the aisle and work with people that I don't necessarily agree with to solve the problems our region has.
In the Assembly, I work to find solutions and common ground to the challenges we face. However, that problemsolving has been met with obstruction. Universally liked foster care reform was vetoed. The people of the Mideast were told, "it can wait" when it comes to tax reform. I voted for Spiral when he ran the first time. However, I don't believe that what he has accomplished is reason enough to re-elect him. Nor do I believe that he has the vision to lead the Mideast for another term.
In conclusion, my friends, I hope that you will join me. Join me in our campaign for a more hopeful Mideast. When you cast your ballot, I hope you cast your ballot for a conservative visionary leader. I'm asking for your support to elect me the next Governor of the Mideast.
PlatformPromoting Economic Growth -Reform our tax code to be flatter, fairer
-Revitalize Mideast manufacturing
-Work to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending
-Make the Mideast competitive
As governor, I plan on bringing the discussion of tax reform and spending reduction to the fore. I will commit the Assembly to passing comprehensive tax reform that gets rid of large portions of the current tax expenditure and lowers rates for everyone. Tax relief is vital to keeping the Mideast the strongest region in terms of unemployment. Tax reform must address the needs, not of this demographic or the other, but of every citizen of the Mideast. That is why we should cut marginal rates across the board
The Mideast has a long history of a robust manufacturing sector. In recent decade, that sector has all but died. Between overbearing governments and rabble-rousing unions, manufacturing is in a very weak place in the Mideast. I plan on implementing a plan to restore Mideast manufacturing. The plan would provide tax incentives for manufacturers who have left our region to come home. New factories opening in the Mideast will not pay regional corporate taxes for 5 years. My plan involves encouraging investment in new businesses and factories. Manufacturing can provide a lot of jobs, revenue, and economic growth to the Mideast region.
In the Mideast, we pride ourselves on having our fiscal house in order. We consistently have surpluses on our budgets. However, we are being outpaced in terms of competitiveness in many ways. For example, the Northeast has no corporate income tax. This makes them very attractive to businesses, jobs, and capital. As governor, I will work to reduce spending and make the Mideast competitive with other regions.
Making Life Easier -Reduce sales tax
-Improve our schools and guarantee choice
-Reform our current welfare system to help people build a life
Government isn't just an inhibitor to economic growth. It doesn't just get in the way of heady discussion about exports, imports, capital, and markets. The damage government does is much closer to home than macroeconomics. Taxes, over-regulation, and lack of opportunity have more of an impact on our grocery bills than it does on Swiss bank accounts. As governor, I want to promote economic growth, but I also want to make life easier on Mideast families.
The sales tax is the most regressive form of taxation. It has a larger impact on working families than it does on the wealthy. I support implementing a "prebate" system that exempts spending up to the poverty level from the sales tax. At the beginning of each month, every household would receive a check equivalent to how much sales tax they'd pay on spending below the poverty line. This system effectively exempts the poor from paying sales tax.
The key to combating poverty and improving the lives of every Atlasian is education. I support a creative, but rigorous, set of accountability standards. But accountability alone does nothing to improve our schools. I support attaching the money we spend per-student to the student and allowing them to take 75% of it anywhere they want as a voucher. If public schools cannot turn themselves around, private organizations should be able to petition boards of education to reopen the school as a charter with guaranteed admission. We should be focused on making every Mideast school the best that it can be, but we also can't forget the students in those schools. No child should be trapped in a failing school. We should also preserve the right to homeschool children. That is a vital component of school choice. My priority is to support accountability, pay for performance, and guarantee choice.
The Mideast's welfare system should work to provide opportunity to every citizen. Our current safety net should be reformed to do that. The Mideast government should serve as a supplement to the federal Basic Income Guarantee. Where the federal program is lacking is that it doesn't incentivize work. Our money would be better spent paying those currently on welfare to work. Everyone will have a basic income, but those who chose to take risks and strive will be rewarded. Welfare should be an insurance policy for those in poverty trying to escape and make a life for themselves. As governor, I will preside over a compassionate, mutually agreeable welfare reform effort that works best for Mideast families and the poor.
Families, Children, and Communities -Constitutional guarantee that anyone married under the law is able to adopt children
-Reform foster care to give those without stable homes a chance
-Stiffen penalties on child abuse
-Enact stricter punishments for domestic abuse
-Crack down on human traffickers
-Work with civil society to strengthen communities
The question of marriage has been settled in Atlasia, so now we as conservatives must do what we can to strengthen families on the battlegrounds of today. Our first step should be to constitutionally guarantee all married couples in the Mideast the right to adopt children. It's heartbreaking to know that, despite our great wealth and power, there are children in our region and in our nation that are without families. A constitutional guarantee of adoption will go a long way towards putting those kids in loving homes.
In the Assembly, I authored a reform of the foster care reform system that received support from all over the political compass. That reform would allow private organizations to "adopt" foster children and run their caseload as if they were the social worker. These private organizations, community groups, churches, etc. would be responsible for placing the children in loving homes and caring for them. This would allow every child to get more love and attention than the current system allows. Reforming foster care is good for kids, and good for our region.
As governor, I plan on increasing the penalties on child and domestic abuse. We cannot allow a generation of children to be raised in the shadow of fear. We cannot expect a teacher to educate a student who doesn't feel safe at home. That's why I want to add a new layer of fines, jail time, and community service to perpetrators of these awful crimes. This will be a core priority of a Keaton Administration. Human trafficking poses grave social concerns for our region and it is unfathomable that we don't do more to stop human trafficking within our region. As governor, I pledge to double all penalties on human trafficking and apply our judicial resources to infiltrating human trafficking rings.
We have a long history of a strong civil society in this country. We have all sorts of private organizations like churches, youth groups, community groups, businesses, etc. All of these organizations make for richer, stronger communities. As governor, I will order the creation of the Office of Community-Based Initiative to strengthen our towns and neighborhoods.
Game Reform -Thoughtful consideration of GM Griffin's reforms
-Keep regions wholly intact
-Create Assistant GM position whose identity is unknown
Adam Griffin has done a wonderful job as GM so far. However, he has recently gone full Bulworth by telling us that the fundamentals of our game are not, in fact, strong. I believe that we should really consider what Griffin has to say on the issue of game reform. I'd be enthusiastic about developing concrete policies for the Mideast that serve as a model for other regions. If Atlasia has been built on false premises, as Griffin suggests, it is our job to fix that falsity.
One aspect of game reform that is frivolous to discuss is region reform. Our regions are part of our heritage and any talk of region combination is not productive. I will oppose any and all efforts to fundamentally alter the nature of our regions. I will defend the constitutionally-protected boundaries of the Mideast when I'm governor.
People have talked in the past about creating an assistant GM and making the GM's identity secret. I understand that this isn't under my purview as governor, however I believe that all elected officials have a role in discussing game reform. I would support creating an assistant GM position that remains secret. The job of the Assistant GM would be to write stories and conjure up events. Those stories and events would then go through the GM and be published, if they're approved of. The position would add a new layer of depth to the game and take some of the burden off the GM.
