A Presidential Platform I Support.

A Platform I Can Get Behind

As I look at various political parties and institutions I feel it behooves me to write down what I view as an optimal platform to secure America’s future. I’m not sure if you would call it conservative or libertarian, or maybe even nationalist, but it’s my optimal view. This is written as if I am running for President, although I will not be eligible to until 2021.

US out of the UN, UN out of the US

To my mind the UN is an organization that gives almost nothing to the US while we give a lot to the UN, 22% (not counting peace keeping mission fees) of their annual operating budget, which they assess to us, for the latest figures that’s $921,800,000. The next 2 closest contributors are Japan, at 16.6%, and Germany at 8.66%, if we withdrew from the UN, it would virtually cripple them. While it wouldn’t save us a whole lot of money, a little can go a long way.

Then there is the fact that the UN is run by a whole lot of wannabes and never weres, none of the Secretary Generals have ever been from a major power. Don’t talk to me about the UN Security Council the fact that France has a permanent seat removes all credibility that it may have had. Plus the fact that it is a committee where one third of the members have veto power makes it simply remarkable that anything gets done, rule by committee is, by it’s very nature, a quagmire of competing opinions ideas and agendas, where even a simple resolution to censor a nation for violating international law can fail miserably.

After our withdrawal from the UN we will give the UN one year to relocate from New York City to somewhere non US. If they don’t want to go, all UN diplomats will find themselves persona non grata. If that doesn’t work then I will unfortunately have to ask the governor of New York to call out the National Guard to assist in the removal of the belligerents.

Taxes

For a time I was a supporter of the so called “Fair Tax.” However as I looked at it and thought about it, I realized it really wasn’t fair. If say a person who makes $300,000 a year buys $30 in something, they are paying about 0.01% of they annual income in that transaction, while if a person who makes $30,000 a year buys they same thing they are paying 0.1% of their annual income in that transaction. I have a hard time seeing how this is fair. Instead what I believe in is a flat rate tax, set at 15%-18%, so that it will get taken out evenly, from everybody. For a better breakdown of this concept see the blog “Caveat Emptor” by Dr. Harold Black.

Fiscal Policy

My fiscal policy is based in the principles of Laissez-Faire, and reduction in government spending. (There might be holes in this I’m no economist):

Basically I would start by weaning the American people off of welfare, I would set a date probably 3-4 years down the road when all welfare payments would stop, up to that point there would be a gradual decrease in the amount of welfare money given out till it reached the null point. I would be inclined to offer (during the step down period) government support in attending college, or trade schools.

At this point I believe that most people realize that Social Security is failing, however I don’t know if it is fixable or not. The big problem is that the way the US population is growing, by the time I am old enough to collect Social Security experts predict that there will be so many people over the age of 55 that it will be virtually impossible for those people in the lower age brackets to support them. The only reasonable idea that I can come up with is to set up something along the lines of “All persons who are over 40 by year XXXX will be eligible for social security benefits” and any person who is under 40 will not be eligible to receive social security.

As for companies that are failing and asking for bailouts, I believe that if they are doing so bad as to find it necessary to ask the government to keep them from failing, there is no sound reason to believe that any help we give them in the long run will actually keep them in business, if the corporate leadership is bad. It’s like the captain of a ship saying “Hey can I borrow your boat? I ran my last one into an iceberg.”

Foreign Policy

I’m tired of countries decrying the US as an “imperial and expansionistic power.” If they don’t like us that much, let’s bring the troops home, from EVERYWHERE with the exception of maybe South Korea. Let’s see how the economies around US Military bases in Germany, Italy, England, Iraq, Japan, and more stand up when the last transport departs. Let’s see if those countries take the US military for granted then.

I believe that since there is no singular institution that is above everybody, and acts to maintain balance and security in the world, that roll must be played by the United States, since the UN is incapable of doing so. The decision as to whether or not this means by military force or by economic coercion will depend on the situation. We will no longer participate in UN Peace Keeping Missions, nor will we put American Soldiers under the command of other nations.

I believe in acting first in the best interests of the United States, then the world, as any American leader should.

Defense

My defense policy is probably harder to explain than anything else. I believe that if there is credible intelligence that somebody is going to attack us we have every right to, warn them off and then launch a preemptive strike, designed to deter the threat. If they do attack the United States of American needs to operate on the principle that you must respond, an attack on American soil and American citizens demands a response. I believe in the principle that if they hit you once you hit them until they can’t hit back, if you have to destroy the government and military, so be it. As stated above we will no longer participate in UN Peace Keeping Missions, nor will we put American Soldiers under the command of other nations. However, under appropriate circumstances, we may be favorably disposed to send peace keeping missions out, with or without allies, but under American command.

Legislation

My policy for signing legislation would be along the lines of trying to keep government out of as many things as possible, while extending personal freedoms. I would veto any bill that would allow Washington DC to obtain voting seats in Congress and the Senate; I believe that they are fairly well represented by the Senators and Congressmen who live there. At the same time I will never allow a bill full of pork barrels to pass my desk as a law. There needs to be some control over excessive government spending. Almost any thing that increases the size of the Federal Government is out of the question

Abortion

While I am personally against abortion I would probably sign a bill that legalizes abortion, but provides that both parents of the fetus must be in agreement or the parents of the parents, if the people involved are under 18. If one parent decides that they don’t want an abortion, then they should bear the burden of raising and supporting the resulting child, unless the other parent decides that they want to a) get married, or b) share custody.

Immigration

The problem concerning immigration that faces America today is a grave one. There are many solutions that get thrown around by politicians but there is little that gets acted upon or implemented. I can understand and appreciate that there are many people around the world who wish to escape from wherever they are and come to live in America, however they must understand that Americans value the law, and therefore it is important to get off on the right foot by obeying the immigration laws. While I can appreciate that there are a vast multitude of people that wish to enter the USA I believe that it behooves us to be at least a little selective as to whom we let into the country. It is important that they enter the country with the ability to support themselves, either by having family they can live with while they get their feet under them, or by having either and assured job, or sufficient funds to exist for a period of time unsupported, this is so that they don’t stretch the resources of the State. It would also be preferable for people to enter the country with a basic grasp of the English language. It’s not that I want people to forget where they come from, I just want to be sure that they are able to understand police officers, road signs, and find decent work. While I accept that there is no “official” language of the United States, English is the Lingua Franca.

As for the people whom are already here illegally, I would present them with 2 options. Option One: within one year they must register with the US government, and begin paying back a fine of $5,000, as well as to begin to pay taxes.

Option Two: If they don’t register within the one year period they will be deported to their country of origin and not be allowed to reenter the US by legal means. Realizing that they may give a false name their fingerprints, photographs and other biometric information will be recorded.

To aid in the implementation of option two, I would ask congress to pass a law allowing/requiring law enforcement to check on the immigration status of people that they encounter in routine traffic stops, that they consider to be of questionable immigration status (i.e. they don’t have id, they can’t communicate with the officers etc.), as well as to require potential employers to check on the immigration status of people who are not US citizens and do not present a work visa, or proof of legitimate residency inside the United States. If the employer is found to have illegal’s working for him they will be subject to a fine proportional to the number of illegal’s that work for them.

As far as illegal’s who commit crimes inside the United States, I feel that they should be punished according to American law and then deported to their country of origin.

Questions and request for clarification are welcome.