Would You Vote For This Republican?

A quick preface, I am a decidedly left of center voter. If you want more evidence, or my actual views, please read some of my other posts :) My goal here is to imagine what a sane, rational, and helpful Republican party might look like in America. I grew up in Mississippi, and I have many friends who are intelligent people, compassionate human beings, and Republicans. And yet at the national level, I see a conversation among and by their party that is largely morally and intellectually bankrupt. So here’s my vision of a Republican party that I wish existed, and that, as a left-of-center-but-not-far-left voter, I think America needs. This is the kind of conservatism I believe David Brooks is espousing, and that I hope many less vocal Republicans would support.

1. Climate change is real, and a huge threat to our economy and our survival. We need market-based solutions to transition our economy, such as tax deductions/rebates/breaks for companies transitioning to, constructing, or implementing clean energy technology. Current tax cuts for large energy companies will remain in place with the stipulation that the money be used for clean tech R&D.

The government should also work with private companies to develop transition plans to help offset the cost of incorporating new technology. By offering subsidies for high energy efficiency standards, the government can give businesses the tax breaks they need to offset costs in the short run and over time.

2. Poverty and wealth inequity are huge problems in our country. Democrats want to sustain poverty by keeping people at subsistence level via entitlement spending. Instead, we propose to proactively invest in the individual via spending in education, community healthcare, and micro-financing of local community job initiatives. This spending should go to local, and ideally small organizations with roots and proven results in the community. Smart business involves having an investment plan. It’s a poor bet to throw money at problems after the fact.

We also believe in means testing benefits for higher-tier wealth brackets via a plan that would assist and subsidize private retirement plans started at a young age. If, by retirement, payouts from the private account do not equal normal Social Security Benefits, then Social Security will cover the differences. This plan allows us to keep Social Security solvent while encouraging private saving and investment. In many years, the plans would outperform Social Security payments, costing the government nothing. Inevitably there will be years in which private plans under perform, but as the fund is only covering the difference money will still be saved.

If successful, this program would be expanded with the goal of encouraging individuals to start largely private, but federally subsidized, retirement accounts at a young age, therefore reaping large benefits with minimal federal expenditure and risk over the long term.

3. The first white Americans were immigrants. We should honor that heritage by welcoming others, but we do need to protect our borders, and not just the southern one; human trafficking from overseas is a major problem. To be an open, tolerant country that attracts the world’s best and brightest, but remains safe we must:

A. Actively police our borders including with US Military Special Forces (more on that later).

B. Repurpose our immigration process to make the process for citizenship include a more rigorous screening that is simpler and cleaner, and to possibly include a civil service requirement. America should encourage high-skilled immigrants to come here, but under quotas that do not cost the jobs of educated Americans. We should also allow into the country quotas of low-income, low-skill immigrants who will work hard to build opportunity for themselves and their children.

C. Allow people who are already here are here to stay, and they need a path to citizenship, but that would include a mandatory public service requirement of some type as part of the process.

D. Commit extra funding to English Language Learning programs for immigrant students, adults and children. We want immigrants to come here because they are excited about the opportunity America offers, and to help them assimilate quickly, adopt our values, and become successful, we should equip them with English language skills.

4. The Constitution guarantees the right to gun ownership, and while the problems of crime are much bigger than guns alone, we must seek to address guns as part of the larger problem. Comprehensive, universal background checks must be mandatory. As gun owners, we Republicans support these regulations as necessary to protect our right to peacefully bear arms, and ensure the 2nd Amendment does not come under attack because the wrong people obtained and used guns for the wrong reasons.

5. We acknowledge that all people deserve the same civil and human rights even if we take issue with their sexuality or sexual preference. As recognized by the government, marriage is a civil right, and we respect it as such even when we do not accept its validity on religious grounds.

6. Abortion is a very poor outcome for a pregnancy, and one that we want to avoid in most circumstances, but we do not believe that we have the right to control a woman’s body via legislation. The best way to avert abortion is through education, empowerment, and comprehensive sex education, including abstinence. Certain types of late term and partial birth abortions should be made illegal, but comprehensive sex education and access to birth control for men and women both is vital. Some of the funding allocated for small-government, community empowerment should go to to sex education training for parents.

7. America’s economy must be led by the private sector. It is the role of government to follow the path of our entrepreneurs to ensure that innovation is safe and fair for consumers and the environment. It is often easier for the private sector to foresee problems in their industry than it is for government, and therefore we propose forming exploratory Regulatory Accountability Committees. These Committees would consist of individuals from the industry in question as well as representatives of other stakeholders. Federal agents would set minimum acceptable standards, but otherwise act as arbiters to allow the Committee to come up with an acceptable plan for self-policing including standards and penalties. Federal employees would then monitor progress towards the accountability plan, and intervene if necessary. This plan fosters dialogue among the various stakeholders lobbying government officials in both parties. We believe that this process will decrease the need for legislative regulations while still putting the onus and the risk on private companies to set and adhere to high standards. Furthermore, we believe it is likely that many mutually-beneficial relationships will be formed by myriad stakeholders in this process.

8. Hardworking Americans of all income levels deserve to keep the vast bulk of their income, because much better than government they are equipped to spend it productively. In order to raise the money we need, but keep rates low we propose to overall the tax code to:

A. Simplify and shorten the process to make it easier for citizens to file their taxes by closing many of the existing loopholes. Simplifying the tax code also allows us to reduce the size of federal bureaucracy, namely the IRS.

B. Close loopholes allowing us to keep rates low at all levels. We propose lowering top rates to 27.5%, but raising rates on capital gains from 15% to 22.5% to increase revenue. Furthermore, a reevaluation of income brackets is sorely needed. Democrats propose to raise rates on top earners, a bracket that includes incomes of $250,000 or up; $250,000 is indeed a comfortable and wealthy income, but this misses the point that it is actually people in this income bracket who are the primary drivers of economic growth. A small business owner with an annual income of $400,000 should actually be taxed at very low rates to encourage reinvestment in their business. Therefore we propose that the threshold for qualifying for the top income bracket be raised substantially so that small business owners will have the capital to reinvest in their business. We also propose a drop in rates for individuals in the $250,000–$750,000 range so long as their filings proved that the money was reinvested in a business endeavor.

C. Lower rates for middle and lower income tiers, but offset this drop with moderate federal consumption taxes.

9 America must be a world leader, and we need and want the world’s strongest military, but we must reevaluate what that means. Our strength is measured by far more than the number of men and women in uniform. We propose the following design for America’s future military:

A. A significant increase in the number and scope of special forces units that can be allocated globally to fight or assist in the fight against the non-traditional threats we face. As training and out of necessity these troops could assist in border patrol measures. These forces are our front line in newer and more nimble, global, and prolonged yet sporadic conflict.

B. An increase in our cyberwarfare capabilities, both offensive and defensive. We need to assist private companies with protection of their data, costumer information, and sensitive business information. We must also have robust deterrence and cyber-reconnaissance capabilities.

C. Veterans Programs that not only provide first class healthcare, but that empower veterans via job and skills training, particularly as the growth of technology in the private sector and the use of technology by the military and government align.

So there’s my vision for the Republican party. Am I crazy?

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