Dear Politicians

I have been following your voting record and that of many others in government for a long time now. Most of the time, I am not happy with the votes nor with the Democratic stance – or non-stance – on the issues so I want to be sure that you, my representative, are clear on what is important to me:

• Voting reform: all votes must be counted and there must be a paper trail
  
• End the war in Iraq – now.
  
• Campaign financing: political campaigns must be financed by eligible voters through taxes and/or voluntary contributions.
  
• Corporate responsibility: must pay at least a living wage (as opposed to a minimum wage) and pensions must be fully funded and non-revocable.
  
• Health care: a universal single payer health plan for every United States citizen.
  
• Income tax reform: a more progressive income tax, a tax on unearned income at the earned income rate and no repeal of the estate tax.
  
• Exportation of jobs: taxes that encourage off-shoring must be repealed; the hardship on displaced U.S. workers must be alleviated.
  
• Reproductive rights of women: this is a personal issue, not a governmental issue; get the government out of the equation.
  
• “War on Drugs”: if consumers are eliminated, the supply chain will disappear; this can only be done through drug treatment programs and addressing the root causes of human misery that leads to drug use in the first place; putting more Americans in jail for non-violent crimes and giving more money to corrupt governments in Columbia and other countries is like pouring gasoline onto a fire.
  
• Balance the budget: not by cutting social programs for poor people, by raising taxes on the rich.
  

These issues matter to me. From this day forward, I will not vote for, nor support any candidate or party who does not make public their support for these issues and their plan to accomplish these reforms. Party affiliation is of no concern – only issues and my grandchildren’s future.  ¶ |