Overall philosophy: I have for many years, and continue to, consider myself a
Democratic Socialist in most respects. That being said, I also place a very heavy emphasis on empirical evidence when determining policy. "Principles" and "freedom" tend to take a backseat, for the most part, when I consider what policy is the best or worst. I do not believe people can govern themselves, and that is why we have a representative democracy, and cannot be trusted to directly make decisions on their own, which is why I oppose any referendum/initiative systems.
In the economic realm, I don't care whether it's the private sector or the public sector handling something, so long as it is fair, efficient, and cheap. I just so happen to think the public sector often does the better job, and that heavy regulation on the private sector is necessary to keep them in check. As for social issues, I tend to take the position of, "If it does not harm other people, there is no reason to prohibit it" with a few exceptions.
Social Issues.
Abortion: Abortion should be entirely legal until the third trimester, all birth control should be entirely legal, and it should be freely provided by the state. I oppose parental notification laws. People who consider this more important than economic issues have their priorities wrong, to say the least.
Drugs/Legalization: I support legalization of marijuana and other soft drugs. The drug war is one of the most idiotic policies we have ever implemented and has been an obvious, objective failure. It is an undeniable waste of money, allows criminal elements to thrive, and clearly clogs up our justice system. The drinking age should also be reduced to 18. It's retarded to have it at 21, as plenty of other countries have it lower than we do and have no problems. Creating forbidden fruit is dumb policy.
Euthanasia: I believe people should have control over their own bodies, so yes, I believe people have the right to doctor-assisted suicide in the case of terminal illness or severe pain and suffering.
Gay Rights: There is no rational, secular argument for opposing gay rights. Seriously, none. If you do, shame on you.
Gun Control: This doesn't have to be an either/or issue. You don't have to take one extreme side or another. I like to think I occupy the pragmatic middle ground. Background checks should be strict, gun-show loopholes should be closed, waiting periods are reasonable, limits on clip size are completely acceptable and empirically make a difference. Nobody needs machine guns, and certainly not explosives or artillery. A registry also makes perfect sense, as does engraving serial numbers on bullets and firearms to be able to track them. The gun lobby hates all of these ideas. Because they're bad people.
Immigration: Illegal immigration is not getting worse, and the effects of it that it has in areas like crime, or highly exaggerated. If our immigration system worked better and more quickly, and we had proper border security, we wouldn't have this problem anyway. Grant a path to citizenship, or hell, even blanket amnesty at this point. Catching all of the illegals is an unrealistic fool's errand supported only by simple minded politicians more interested in a talking point than an effective policy. The DREAM Act is the absolute very least we can do. That being said, once you stop the immediate problems, you have to crack down.
Prostitution: Once again, this is a "in control of your own body" issue. Stop and think for a moment; People like TJ in Cleveland are arguing that taking your own body and having sex with someone else, and being given a bit of money for it, should be illegal. Is that not an
insane notion? If legal, it could be more tightly regulated and the health of all involved could be better ensured. Keeping prostitution illegal is anti-woman, full stop.
Separation of Church and State: I support subjecting churches to the same taxes any other property or property owner would be subjected to.
Stem Cell Research: Of course it should be legal and encouraged. Good lord. The amount of possible breakthroughs far outweigh the "moral consequences" of a few frozen slabs of goo. Sorry.
Smoking Bans: Here's where I differ from idiot libertarians who are hell-bent on freedom at all costs. Smoking is a scientifically proven harmful activity to everyone around you. Smoking bans have also been implemented in numerous countries and cities around the world, and they have been proven to lead to improved health and happiness. What you want to do with your own body is fine. But smoking is not an activity that just harms you, it harms
other people too. Which is why there is absolutely no argument for opposing public smoking bans if you actually believe in a "it's your own body!" philosophy. Other people should not be punished because of your own vices.
Affirmative Action: I oppose affirmative action on the basis of race, and instead prefer a system of affirmative action on the basis of class.
Miscellaneous: - I support the Equal Rights Amendment.
- I support repealing the Patriot Act.
- I support Network Neutrality.
- I support lowering the sexual age of consent to 14, with some age restrictions for huge disparities in partners.
- I oppose the death penalty and three-strikes laws.
- I support comprehensive sex education for all kids in public school. Abstinence should be a footnote.
Economic Issues.
Taxes: I generally support increasing taxes on those making more than $200,000, as well as creating additional marginal income tax brackets to ensure a more progressive bent to our tax rates. A top income tax rate of 60% on extreme incomes is reasonable, to me. I support the full reintroduction of the estate tax. I support the introduction of a national internet sales tax, and am neutral on a carbon tax. I also support increasing, or eliminating, the payroll tax cap going into Social Security, as it's ridiculously regressive. First and foremost, I at least support letting all Bush tax cuts expire.
Education: I support increasing teacher pay, as well as devoting more money to renovating or rebuilding entirely, old schools, particularly in urban areas. I also support limited subsidization of tuition fees for middle and lower class students, as well as increasing a focus on public universities, community colleges, and trade schools. I oppose voucher programs, they're a waste of time.
Environment: I support cap & trade, strict EPA regulations in regard to tobacco and carbon emissions as pollutants, and very high goals in gas mileage standards. Public transportation funding should be considered a top priority, as well.
Social Security: Social Security is a crucial program that keeps millions of people out of poverty and should be considered a bare-bones necessity in any welfare state. The payroll tax going into SS should be uncapped, or the cap dramatically raised. I do not support raising the retirement age. The fact that we haven't fixed this problem by now is embarrassing, as it's one of the simplest and easiest fixes imaginable. I once supported means testing the program at a top level, but no longer do.
Unions: First of all, if you support right-to-work legislation, you are not pro union. I think unions were one of the crucial elements that built the middle class in America and are an incredibly important component in our economy that help keep businesses accountable. I support the Employee Free Choice Act, (Opposing it makes no sense whatsoever) and support the ability for unions to form in any business they choose to. I also support temporary striker protection laws. I also don't believe any strike should be "illegal." Businesses and governments certainly feel free to break contracts willy-nilly.
Health Care: I personally believe that allowing the profit motive into healthcare is sickening (no pun intended), and support a single payer healthcare system, while also allowing for private healthcare alternatives. It is cheaper, more efficient, and covers more people. Having a half dozen patchwork healthcare programs and subsidies is an insanely inefficient system, and the private healthcare market is ridiculously expensive and inefficient, not to mention blatantly immoral/amoral.
Energy: I oppose further deepwater drilling for oil, as well as drilling in wildlife refuges. Further oil drilling will not reduce the price of gas. I think we should be investing a huge amount of money and organizing energy in solar panels, windmills, and hydroelectric energy, as well as requiring that all new buildings in major cities have solar panels built along with them. I also take a very simple and practical view of the issue of solar and wind energy: We have huge swaths of land in the plains and desert west going completely unused. Let's set up shop and have the government acquire miles and miles of land in the plains for nothing but huge solar and wind farms. If the private sector can't do things in large enough scale, the government should.
Miscellaneous: - I support bring our rail transit up to European standards, with an increased focus on bringing rail to more parts of the country than just the coasts.
- I support the introduction of state-owned banks across the country, in the model of North Dakota's, as well as on the national level.
- I support the creation of a national public electricity utility, designed to compete with the private sector, as well as price caps on electricity on a regional basis. Public power is cheaper than private power.
- I support a 20% interest rate cap on credit cards.
- I support raising the full-time minimum wage to at least $9.00 an hour. For all the right-wing scaremongering over the minimum wage, Canada's wages are doing just fine with higher rates than that.
- I support banning payday loans, and other predatory loan practices.
- I support equal pay laws, further protection of maternity leave, and an expansion of vacation days per year for all workers.
- I support repealing Clinton's welfare reform, as well as Bush's bankruptcy law.
- I support banning drug advertising.
