July 2006 – Sumogirl Blog

Presidential Promises

Campaign Promises

My Five Most

Important Campaign Promises (from the American Candidate questionaire (2004))

60: PLEASE LIST YOUR FIVE MOST IMPORTANT CAMPAIGN

PROMISES:
(i) AS PRESIDENT I PROMISE TO: Uphold the wall of separation between church and state, which is essential to maintain our freedom of

religion or belief.

(ii) AS PRESIDENT I PROMISE TO:
Engage America in the global community and regain our position as a leader in

creating a peaceful and just society.

(iii) AS PRESIDENT I PROMISE TO:
Send important treaties to the senate for ratification. For far too

long we have signed international treaties and not encouraged our congress to ratify them. Some of these are important and by not ratifying these

treaties, we loose our ability to influence global politics. My first priority will be the ratification of the International Convention on the Rights of

the Child.

(iv) AS PRESIDENT I PROMISE TO:
Find a solution to the health care crisis Americans are facing. We need to figure out how to

fulfill the promise of Health Care as a Human Right will maintaining the innovation that comes from health care being a commodity. This is one of the

most important issues facing our country and so far, we have not been able to come up with an effective solution.

(v) AS PRESIDENT I PROMISE

TO:
Re-instate environmental protections that this administration took away and fully fund the EPA enforcement of existing regulations and give

them back their autonomy they need in order to properly protect Americans from environmental hazards.

Taxes

59: TAXES:
Nothing is certain but

death and taxes. Theoretically, there is an optimal level of taxes that maximizes revenues, and minimizes the negative effects that taxes have, by

creating a disincentive to creating wealth. The conservative argument is that taxes are too high, thus creating a disincentive and therefore should be

cut. I believe that taxes are currently too low and need to be raised slightly. We had a progressive tax system but are in the process of reverting to a

regressive system. Our society can easily tolerate increased taxes on the wealthiest members of society (and prominent individuals in this tax group

have indicated that they don't mind paying more). Having myself been in several different tax brackets, I can honestly say that I don't mind

paying the higher taxes as my income level rises. It has been much easier for me to pay higher taxes and still have better quality of life as my income

level has risen. It is when I was poorest that I could not afford to pay taxes. I am thrilled to pay my taxes and to be in a higher bracket. Some of our

most prominent individuals in the highest tax bracket have said that we should not cut their taxes as they can easily afford to pay, and that a tax

break to them does not provide an additional incentive to spend more to move the economy, since they are already spending their capacity to consume.

The Middle East

58: THE MIDDLE EAST:

There is a very interesting essay available on the UN website that does a great job of describing the history of the conflict going all the way back to

pre-WWI. This accurate background information is essential for anyone thinking about creating a workable solution. Unfortunately our policy towards the

Middle East has been based on misinformation, and a complete unwillingness to understand the valid concerns of the Palestinians. I am in favor of a

single state solution. This state would have the accepted international boundaries set up by the British protectorate. It would be a secular state, with

secular courts. A 2-state solution, and or any solution that does not involve making a secular state will not be able to end the violence. The problem

is that any non-Jew in Israel as a Jewish state is by definition a second-class citizen. Same with any non-Muslim in a Muslim Palestinian state. It is

impossible to have a just society when people are discriminated against, and a state that practices discrimination of any kind (including religious)

should expect violence for the people being discriminated against. And, it is this religious discrimination on the part of the Zionists that is the root

cause of this problem.

Continue reading “The Middle East”

Welfare

57: WELFARE: Necessary to prevent food

riots. Food riots are bad for the economy. A reading of Das Kapital makes it clear that the main flaw with unrestrained Capitalism is that in downturns,

the suffering of the proletariat is immense. By having a mixed economy (Capitalism with socialist elements), we have been able to improve our quality of

live and simultaneously reduce suffering. The big question for me is not which is better, but what is the proper mix.

War in Iraq

56: WAR IN IRAQ: It was clear

from the get go that the Bush administration was lying about their reasons to go to war. It was equally clear that the opposition to the war was

disingenuous. I was squarely on the fence on this one. I didn't like being lied to, but I don't approve of a philosophy that said. "We

don't need to go to IRAQ because we are not in immediate danger." In the meantime, the people of IRAQ were living under an incredibly brutal

regime, the likes of which had not been seen since Hitler. The massive environmental damage that was caused by the draining of the swamp alone was

worthy of international intervention, let alone the cultural loss of a 10,000 year-old civilization that was still living in the swamps. I think that

there are good strategic reasons why we went in to IRAQ, and it upsets me that we lost the public relations battle because this administration is so

fond of lying that they lied when they didn't have to.

See essay to understand Jen's plan to deal with the current situation in Iraq

(ie: the quagmire):

Jen's Plans for Iraq

War on Terror

55: WAR ON TERRORISM: This

is unfortunately very necessary. The problem however, is not a physical war, but a war of the mind. Religious Fundamentalism of any kind (Muslim,

Jewish, Hindu, Christian, etc) is dangerous. We need to teach people to think critically about religious claims so that they are less susceptible to the

lies told by fundies about the nature of their religion, what god wants, etc. Since terrorism is a criminal act, it should be dealt with as a criminal

matter. Our world institutions are not currently sufficient to deal with this type of criminal activity effectively. We can deal with it, internally in

our own country, but inter-country terrorism must be dealt with by a global police force. The UN is inadequate to the task because the laws are only

enforced by majority vote of the Security Council, and that makes enforcement subjective instead of objective. And, whenever that happens, justice is

impossible. This is exactly why the US action against IRAQ was controversial. Certain countries had financial interests that got in the way of them

voting to enforce their own laws.

Social Security

54: SOCIAL SECURITY: Since bread riots are bad for the economy, it is important and necessary to a properly

functioning capitalist system to have a safety net so that people do not get so desperate that they riot. And, since we the people have a vested

interest in not letting people suffer on the scale that they would suffer without a social safety net, it is an appropriate role for the government to

pool our funds and administer this program for the good of all.

Education

53: EDUCATION: A proper education

is necessary for a democracy to function smoothly. People must have enough training to understand issues and to have some ability to discern between

competing claims. Additionally, children have a right to an education as the International Convention on the Rights of the Child requires, and so, it is

an appropriate role for government to pool the public resources and provide a free education to all the children of America. This education must be

secular in nature, and religious education should be kept as a private matter. We have enough experience to know that when government does not provide a

public education, religion will. Religious educations are by nature divisive to a society. The worst example of this is Pakistan. Turkey on the other

hand is a shining example of how a society can become peaceful just by instituting mandatory secular education. This is not a matter of not allowing

religious instruction. On the contrary, people must be free to practice their religion and that includes religious instruction. It is just that people

in society need to be taught and encouraged to see themselves as connected and as part of a greater whole if they are to transcend their differences.

The only venue for such instruction is a secular school since religious schools have a different agenda entirely, which is fine, we just need to make

sure that people are taught a shared larger society picture as well.

The Economy

52: THE ECONOMY: Read Das

Kapital: from Marx and "The Road to Serfdom" by FA Hayuk, add "The Mystery of Capital" by Desoto, and you will know exactly how I

think an economy should be run. Additionally, I believe that the markets and business environment in this country react to tone set by the

CEO/President. If the president is optimistic, the market is. If the president is pessimistic (as W is), the markets are

pessimistic.

See book in progress – dialectic between Marx and Hayek

For a preview – see essay:

The Environment

Environment

51: THE ENVIRONMENT: A

healthy environment is necessary to human health. We cannot be separated from the ecosystem that supports us, and like all organisms, by living, we make

our habitat uninhabitable. However, because we are humans and have the capacity and the unique ability to alter our environment and if we put our mind

to it, we will be able to beat the system so to speak. This will only be accomplished if the majority of the humans agree that it is necessary for our

survival and therefore an economic necessity. Belief systems that deny evolution, and think that god favors humans above other species (ie: human

superiority), are the main problem in moving forward with true environmental reform.