When I was a kid everyone thought they could run for president as long as they were over 35 years old and a citizen of the United States. As I got older I came to believe that to be elected President of the United States, one must be an excellent leader, have knowledge of politics, law, foreign affairs, military strategy, economics, public health, and so much more. Even the task of staffing the White House is a little daunting. But then Trump was elected and my childhood fantasies were again possible. Trump proved you don't need to be knowledgeable, experienced or even care about all your citizens. All you need to do is synthesize your platform into concise marketing slogans and repeat over and over and over and over. Here is my Platform! Shout it out loud! 1 Choose Life!
- Mothers First: Federal amendment forbidding the government from outlawing abortion.- Adopt our Children: Federal Grant program giving 6 months of maternity or paternity paid leave to any US citizen that adopts a baby or child that is a US citizen up to $30,000 and a tax credit for family therapy for up to $10,000 while the adopted child is a minor.
- No Noose: Outlaw the death penalty as a form of sentencing in the United States.
2 Tea Party, Simple Tax!
Taxes are too complicated, here is my solution:- Federal income tax: The federal government may collect income taxes, and only income tax, no other form of taxes will be collected by the federal government. (this includes individuals & corporate tax)
- State Sales Tax: State governments may collect sales tax and only sales tax.
- Local Property Tax: Country and municipal governments may collect property tax and only property tax.
- Fee & fines, voter-approved. Licenses and fees or fines which are like taxes, but situational rather than across the board will be allowed, at the federal, state and local level, however, the creation, adjustment or disillusion of licenses, fees, and fines must be done by ballot referendum and can no longer be changed by legislative vote.
3 Be Gay and Marry!
- LGBTQ rights: Include LGBTQ in civil right amendments and add them to the protected classes. - Marriage rites: legalize and protect LGBTQ marriage at a federal level,
- Marry for love, not money: End the filing jointly income tax deduction for married couples.
4 Auto Budget!
- No federal shutdowns: amendment stating: if a federal budget is not approved on time, that the budget from the previous year will automatically go into effect, with a 5% reduction evenly across the board in every category, without exception. This auto budget will continue until a new annual budget is approved. If a budget in never approved during one fiscal year, then this next year the auto-budget will again go into effect with a 5% reduction across the board.5 Healthcare for all!
National single-payer federal health insurance for all citizens. coverage will be the same for all citizens. Private health insurance will still be a viable market for medicines and procedures not covered by the federal plan.Hypothetical examples: The federal plan may only cover one teeth cleaning a year, an individual may want more than that. The federal plan might cover glasses, but not contacts or Lasik. The federal plan may cover 2 months of physical therapy for a hip replacement, and the patient may want more outpatient therapy. This would be paid out of pocket or by supplementary private insurance.
The single-payer system would replace all other federal and state healthcare befits including, Medicaid, veterans medical benefits, and medical welfare benefits.
Politicians will have the exact same coverage and all other citizens.
6 Basic Income for all!
10% of all federal income tax will be redistributed evenly to all citizens on a monthly basis to their federal ID/debit card.This will replace welfare, social security, and all other forms of government aid or income distribution including WIC, HUD, and food stamps. Individual states will still have the right to establish social services legislation, but the federal government will no longer offer social welfare funding beyond healthcare and basic income. This includes no federal grants to support state-level social services.
This will end federal income tax deductions for dependents because each dependent will be receiving a monthly basic income check. If you have declared dependents then you will have access to their basic income funds. Because the basic income is taxable, all citizens will file federal taxes regardless of age or income status.
If we want a higher basic income then we will need to work together to increase our GDP.
7 Let's get wild!
Currently, 14% of United States land is protected, at the federal, state or local levels. 12% of the United States marine areas are protected. A constitutional amendment should be put into place setting a minimum environmentally protected area of the United States at 50% by the year 2070, then in perpetuity. The minimum yearly progress will be set at a 1% increase in environmentally protected areas until the 50% baseline is reached.8 We all service together!
All 18-20 citizens will be automatically enrolled in the national service corps. Service will include 6 months so training and 18 months of service. All participants (corps members) will be given room and board or a basic living stipend to cover room and board. Service positions will include all branches of the Military, National guard, Americorps, and Peace Corps.
All national service corps members will receive a voucher for 1 year of tuition at an accredited institute of higher education for every year of service completed. If an individual would like to service beyond 2 years and a position is available, they will receive additional vouchers for 1 year of tuition at an accredited institute of higher education for every year of service completed and a saving credit equal to 50% of their annual stipend that will stay in an account until the end of their service.
All accredited institutions of higher education (public and private) will be required to accept the national service tuition credit if the individual meets their admissions requirements. The service credit will be the only federal aid for higher education, ending all federal grant and loan programs for higher education. In theory, after nine years of service, an individual will have enough education credits to pursue a medical or doctorate degree loan free.
9 Federal Funded Public Education
- All PreK-12 grade public education will be federally funded. on a per-student basis.
- Online education will be available for rural and home-schooled students or as a supplement for students attending brick and mortar schools.
- There will be no voucher programs for private or parochial schools
- Teacher salaries will be set at a federal level with adjustments for cost of living by location.
- A federal teacher corps will be established under Americorps to make sure all K-12 schools are adequately staffed with well-trained teachers.
10 Five Stars!
The Federal Congress is too large and unwieldy to be effective. When the country was founded there were 13 states, 26 members of the Senate, and 59 members of the house. Now there are 50 states, 100 senators and 435 members of the house. I propose that we merge states to have 5 states, each state having 4 senators for a total of 20 senators and the House of Representatives is capped at 100 seats. House seats will be distributed and district lines are drawn after each census (by an algorithm, to avoid gerrymandering).The new states will be the 4 time zones for the contiguous United States: Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern. The fifth state will be called Ocean and made up of all non-contiguous states and territories, plus Washington D.C. This will include Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Midway Atoll, Palmyra, and all the unpopulated islands as well.
11 NAFTA 2.0!
Model NAFTA after the intentions of the European Union and European Economic Area. Enable free movement of labor, goods, services, and capital within a single North American Market including at founding Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Including the freedom to choose a residence in any country within this area.
Unified Measurement: Adopt the metric system in the US to match Canada and Mexico. Adopt the US dollar as the single currency of NAFTA 2.0.
Collaborative border security:
To properly regulate the unified North American economic block, members must collaborate on border security and immigration.
12 Decriminalize Marijuana
Why not? this is a rhetorical question. :)
My campaign promise:
I may not really be running for President of the United States, but I will be the kind of guy you can sit down and have a beer with. I have heard this about Trump (who doesn't drink), W. Bush, Bush Senior, and even Bill Clinton. When discussing the merits or lack thereof, for various presidents on many occasions someone has said, "Well he just seems like a guy, you could sit down and have a beer with." If that is what you are looking for in a president, then I am your guy. I will sit down and have a beer with anyone who wants to discuss my presidential platform, as long as you are buying.
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