Transparent Elections: A Public's Right to Know Project (Pres. Candidates Post)

[Јas]

For the most part, I agree with Colin. Given that, I'll add my own comments where appropriate.

Transparent Elections: A Public's Right to Know Project

1. Why are you running for President / Vice President?

I am running for President because I believe that the Wixted/Jas administration has overall been quite successful in the role of the Presidency. We have put forward an agenda and we have promoted activity and activism in the Executive. However I still think that there is more that both Jas and myself could do in the office. We need to retain strong leadership and leadership with an agenda for Atlasia. A second term of the Wixted/Jas administration will focus more heavily on domestic and foreign policy problems while still keeping a grounding in a reformist agenda.

2. What is the greatest issue you hope to tackle, if elected?

National Healthcare is a major issue that needs to be rectified in Atlasia. As a nation we need to join the first-world when it comes to healthcare. I believe that the Atlasian government should provide a guarentee of basic healthcare for all its citizens. The Wixed/Jas ticket strongly supports national universal healthcare in Atlasia and we are open to most ways of making that happen, though both of us are strongly opposed to a system that illegalizes private practices.

Another major issue that we hope to tackle is foreign policy. The President needs to work on both more global aspects of foreign policy and forum affairs aspects. A second Wixted/Jas term will see both of us becoming more engaged in the global community and improving relations with many nations around the world. We will open dialogue with nations that have become hostile to Atlasia in recent years and cooperate more with major players on the world stage like Russia, China, and India. We also need to keep up our support of pro-democracy groups around the world, including showing our solidarity with the pro-democracy protests in Myanmar that are currently occuring. The Wixted/Jas administration would also focus renewed attention on the issue of Atlasian-US relations and the forum affairs implications of any actions we take. We will get the Senate and the people involved in the decision making process and will come to an acceptable conclusion so we can figure out our place in the world.

3. Where do you stand on the following social issues:
a. Illegal Immigration: I supported Porce's Immigration Bill and have always been a strong supporter of a more open borders policy in regards to immigration. My ideal would be a country that allows all in, except those who are criminals or terrorists and would do harm to this nation. I do not see how a hard-working law-abiding resident of this nation could ever be called illegal.

b. Capital Punishment: I am against capital punishment and support the current Federal moratorium on the dealth penalty. The regions, of course, have the power to set their own policy and though I would like to see an Atlasia without capital punishment I will not usurp the power of the regions to decide that for themselves.

c. Gay Rights: I support the current status quo in Atlasia. Seperating marriage from the government is probably the most equitable way to treat any union between two people. I do not support any major changes in Atlasian marriage law at this point.

d. Affirmative Action: I have always been a firm supporter of economic affirmative action however I have never been a supporter of raced-based affirmative action.

e. HIV/AIDS: I support government funding for sex education that teaches about proper condom use and does not try to swindle children on falsehoods concerning contriception. I also support a federal needle exchange program.

Agree with all of this, just about word-for-word.

f. Abortion: I've always believed that abortion should be legal in the first two trimesters. In the third trimester it should be illegal except for health concerns, however I really don't know how this is pertenent since the President has very little control over abortion policy, which is a regional affair.

I personally am undecided on abortion issues. I do feel that were a fetus is capable of life indepedent of the mother (including with medical support) then abortion probably shouldn't be allowed. I feel that where the life of the mother is threatened (including by way of self-harm) then an abortion is justificable. Beyond these concerns, my personal position is ill-defined, if at all.

g. Euthanasia: I support euthanasia as long as it is properly regulated by the government.

h. Drug Law: I support the decriminalization and legalization of most drugs. One of my first objectives as Senator, back in 2005, was the decriminalization, at the Federal level, of marijuana, an accomplishment I am still very proud of. I believe I have shown a constant support for drug liberalization and legalization throughout my time in elected office.

i. Stem Cell Research: I support giving federal grants for Stem Cell Research, I would be completely and utterly opposed to any ban on Federal funding for research.

Agree with Colin's positions.

4. Where do you stand on the following economic and environmental issues:
a. Minimum Wage: I have supported the decision of Bono v. Atlasia that the minimum wage is a regional issue. As all regions now have a minimum wage at or above real life levels I don't think that a Federal minimum wage is needed.

I actually agree with the reasoning in the dissenting judgment of Ernest in Bono v Atlasia. The fact that the regions would all seem to have passed a minimum wage, which I believe are mostly indexed to inflation is a good thing and means that, at a federal level, the issue is not a pressing one. I would have no problem with the a federal minimum wage though, so long as it was not set at inappropriate levels.

b. Estate Tax: With things like taxes I have to say that I take a very look and see approach. It would depend on how much of an increase, or decrease, the bill stated and what the particular details of the changes in taxes would entail. I don't really have a broad policy on the Estate Tax or most taxes for that matter.

My feelings would be that taxes should focus on income and not expenditure. When someone gains income, either through employment or inheritance, then in general, I think it's fair that it should be taxed. With regard to Estate Taxes, then I feel that the tax rate applied should be similar to that applied on earnings from employment, but that there should be assets (such as the the family home) which should be exempt.

c. Universal Health Care: As I stated earlier the Wixted/Jas campaign has come out in full support of universal healthcare as long as it does not illegalize or discourage private practice and private insurence. I do believe that it is essential that Atlasia creates a universal healthcare programme and joins the rest of the first world in granting basic healthcare to its citizens.

d. Education Reform: I agreed with both the Acceptance of Science Act and Section 4 of the Educational Funding Clarification Bill. I do not believe that Federal monies should go towards schools that promote backwards, wrong, and outdated policies. Atlasians have the choice to send their children to a school like that however the Federal government also has a choice to make guidelines for critical educational topics in schools that our government funds.

e. Global Climate Change: Global climate change is a threat, I do not see how anyone could think that it was some climatologists conspiracy at this point, and it is a threat that the government should be facing. I think there are more pressing immediate needs than global climate change however I have support measures such as the Carbon Tax that would help promote good stewardship of the Earth and a decrease in pollution.

f. Alternative Energy: I support federal grants for alternative energy research but in the end any advancement in alternative energy has to come from the private sector itself and not out of a government lab.

Agreed

[Јas]

g. Oil Drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge: I support oil drilling in ANWR. In the short term, in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need to produce more domestically. When alternative energy sources, such as solar or wind or geothermal, become more widespread and practical then we can reduce both our foreign oil demand and our domestic oil demand.

I don't support oil drilling in ANWR.

h. "Sin" Tax: This is one issue that I have completely changed stances on in the past year or two. I was one of the people behind the Federal Sin Tax however, now, I consider that to be a horrible decision. The Sin Tax is the ultimate regressive tax that hurts the power in order for the government to gain. I do not think it is at all ethical and it tries to use both money and government power to promote morality. I would now never support any Sin Tax that is passed by the Senate.

I would take a somewhat different perspective here also. If a product causes societal harm, then I am willing to support a 'sin tax' which would seek to help alleviate the harm caused - e.g. tax on cigarettes which would go towards related public health care costs.

5. Where do you stand on the following forum affairs issues:
a. Popular Initiative: Well considering that this was part of the Wixted/Jas administration agenda I was very strongly supportive of it.

Indeed.

b. Proportional Representation: Strongly support and if proportional representation does not pass in its current form than I will continue to fight for its implementation within Atlasia, a cause that I have been a supporter of since my arrival here three years ago. PR is essential to create a strong party structure and in changing the system to make it both more fair and more interesting. It would be a neat way to try and change up the most important aspect of our nation, elections, and to allow new forms of campaigning and voting to take place.

I just want to add that there is no single issue in all my time in Atlasia that I have put more effort into than my effort to get the PR Bill and associated End to Districts Amendment passed.

I am more than dismayed with how the current debate has been framed by certain opponents of the amendment. While there are Atlasians I respect who have voted Nay on this matter, looking at the voters on the Aye side and on the Nay side, I know I'm on the right side on this issue and the prospect of the measure failing on the basis of the tie in that region causes me a great deal of dissatisfaction.

c. Balance of Regional and Federal Power: As I have stated before, while there are success stories in the modern regions, Governor Jesus for example, most of our regions are nothing more than pits of inactivity and sloth. In the past month we have had two governors kicked out of office for failure to open a voting booth on an amendment. We've had governors who don't open regional elections on time and we have regional governments that have gone months without passing any new initiatives. It is for these regions that I have believed that more power should rest with the Federal government. Whatever one might say about the Senate, and I have said alot, they are the most active body in Atlasia. Even our most inactive and figurehead Presidents have done more than some of the governors of the regions have in recent times. Regions have, in a sense, become almost dead weight, and while I support true attempts to try and revive them, I will continue to push for the transfer of powers to more active branches of government in order to keep the game going strong.

I have long been a great believer in the potential of the regions to deliver. However, the recent decalartions by various regional executives that re-districting is a crucial aspect of their role indicates to me that there has been an abdication of responsibility at regional level.

I'm sure that those members who have so vigorously attacked the federal government over the past few days will now certainly display to us all the value of their work in the coming weeks and months. Should they fail to do so, I will bring this issue front and centre and may argue for radical solutions.

d. Cabinet Size Reform: I think the Cabinet, as it is now structured, is fine.

e. Senatorial Term Limits: We have problems finding enough candidates to run for Senate in the first place, term limits would just make this problem even more acute.

f. Judicial Term Limits: I supported Judicial Term Limits, or at least a re-application every year, in order to determine whether a Justice is still able to preform his or her duties and allows the Justices to be still independent of the Senate.

g. People's Referendum: Yes I supported this fully though I believe that since that did not have the support we should go back to the first idea of giving the President a "third option" in the power to call a national referendum on a bill, which is a power that is given to several Executives around the world.

h. Line Item Veto: I supported the Expansion of the Line Item Veto as it gave the executive more power and more equally balanced out the powers between the Senate and the President.

Agreed

i. Secret Ballot: I have never been a supporter of the Secret Ballot. I always thought that having a secret ballot would destroy some of the fun in Atlasian elections, which is seeing the results come in real-time and allowing you to make speculations on the race throughout the weekend. It makes things more interesting than having the SoFA announce the final results on Monday. Also the logistics of a secret ballot are very ungainly and in order to make sure that no one can falsify a ballot you would need to send them to multiple people simultaneously and then each of them would have to recieve it and verify it. Overall its a very tedious procedure that would not help Atlasia in any way.

The secret ballot was an interesting idea and at the time worthy of discussion and consideration. I would feel though that there are too many issues of concern for it to be warranted.

j. Vote Editing: Our current laws on vote editing are perfectly fine and I do not think there needs to be any subsequent legislation at this time concerning this issue.

k. Preferential Voting: Preferential voting is a hallowed part of Atlasian tradition and I would not ever replace it for election to offices such as the Presidency and for regional elections. I like the idea of the current PR reform in which half are elected using preferential voting and the other half using a more proportional system.

Agreed.

I think it's fair to say that we share a great deal of common ground and that what differences there may be are relatively minor in the context of the Atlasian executive.