On the Issues
Social Liberty, Economic Accountability
Social Liberty: People should be allowed to live their lives and do to their own bodies what they wish as long as they are not harming anyone else. This applies to Free Speech, Free Expression, Freedom of Religion, Civil Rights, LGBT Rights, Abortion, and the War on Drugs.
Economic Accountability: The actions of corporations effect more than just their bottom line- what corporations do effect their workers, their consumers, the environment, and the community where they reside. Our economic polices need to look at the wellbeing of all stakeholders, not just the dollar amount.
We have laws that prohibit people from harming other people, and even prohibiting people from putting society at risk. All we are asking for is laws and regulations that prohibit corporations from harming their workers, consumers, the environment, and their community.
Returning Public Service to Politics
As a former EMT, Firefighter, Reserve Sheriff's Deputy, and a current Child Welfare Worker, I understand the expectations that society has for public servants. We need to act with integrity, treat citizens with respect, and to act in the public's interest, not our own.
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Politicians are supposed to be public servants too. But we don't hold them to the same expectations. Politicians are practically expected to be liars, self-interested, and hyper-partisan. We need to raise our standards for our politicians. Pressure them to act ethically, and if they don't- vote them out.
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I support increasing transparency and accountability in politics and government, adding restrictions to lobbying, ending insider trading, getting rid of dark political contributions, and lowering the impact that money has in our elections.
Treating Every American with Dignity
I believe that every American should be treated with basic human dignity and respect. What does that look like? That means providing everyone with a roof over their heads, food, clean water, clean air, an education, and healthcare. From there, it is up to them how far they wish to succeed. The American Dream begins with human dignity, and ends wherever you desire.
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The reality is that treating people with basic human dignity is not only the moral thing to do, it is cost effective.
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It costs our country $30-50,000 a year for every homeless person that we have. It is much more cost effective to provide people with a place where they can be safe and secure.
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Additionally, our healthcare system is one of the most expensive in the world, due largely in part to profit-seeking pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment companies, and unethical private insurance companies. Switching to a single-payer healthcare system would provide every American with quality healthcare while saving the country over $2 trillion over 10 years. Compassion is cost effective.
This is just a summary of my policies. More details will be added soon.
Corruption
Whether you look at the political contributions or the legislation that gets passed, we can see that our elected officials, with the help of corporations and their lobbyists, are more concerned with benefiting themselves instead of representing the people. Term limits, bans on the "rotating door" of lobbyists, and banning of stock ownership by members of Congress is just the start of undoing the harm that corruption has had on our system. Read More
Healthcare
We pay the most for healthcare out of all industrialized countries. The high cost is not associated with higher quality, either. The reason? Private insurance companies stand as a middleman between you and your doctor. Private insurance runs significantly higher overhead costs compared to Medicare, due in part to their CEOs making millions a year while denying care to their clients. This must change. Read More
Economy
We need an economy that works for everyone. Currently, it is the working class that is driving our economy. However, they are not the ones benefiting from the fruits of their labor. Our current system is designed to reward companies who lay off employees, cut benefits, and move overseas. We need a people-based economy that recognizes that the stronger our working class is, the stronger our country is.
Foreign Policy
The United States has been at war for 228 years out of the 246 years since the founding of the country. The United States has also been intimately involved of the politics of other governments, leading to further conflict. The US needs to scale back involvement in all countries and only intervene on issues of national security. Any humanitarian crisis that may arise should only involve the United States if it is done multilaterally with the United Nations and other countries.
Civil Rights
The Constitution and The Supreme Court has codified a trove of civil rights that apply to all citizens. It is important that those rights are protected and maintained. That includes the right to vote, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, as well as protections against government overreach on issues like mass surveillance and civil asset forfeiture.
Worker's Rights
Employers hold an uneven amount of power over their workers, be it their schedule, their dress code, their pay, or their benefits. It is important that worker's rights are protected, as a way to balance out that power imbalance. Worker's rights to unionize in particular needs to be protected. It is unions that brought us the five day work week, overtime, and other important workplace protections.
Environment
The necessity for clean air and water is self-evident. These are public goods that should not be polluted or exploited. We cannot drink poisoned water or breathe in toxic air.
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We need to end government handouts to large corporations that bring in billions of dollars in profit every year and invest in energy production that will move the country forward and make us competitive with other industrialized countries.
Local Government
Democracy is the strongest at the local level. My mayor knows who I am. My state senator knows who I am. These elected officials represent tens of thousands of people instead of hundreds of thousands or even millions. For citizens to properly have their voices heard and to get involved, government needs to be local . We need to find a balance that allows local governments and states to have strong autonomy while maintaining the civil rights of all Americans.
Empowering
Third Parties
"There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution." -John Adams
I agree with John Adams, which is why I support Third Parties having just as much political access as the Democratic and Republic Parties. Read More
Right to Repair
Whether it is an iPhone or a John Deere tractor, you should have the right to repair the things that you own. Currently, manufacturers are forcing consumers to use their in-house service centers instead of being able to repair the items themselves or using a third-party repair shop. I support Congress' bill to combat these issues and to give consumers the Right to Repair.