Tier one: Support social security and medicare. Support wage and hour laws, child labor laws, safety regs, minimum wage laws, unemployment benefits, and workers’ comp. Basic regulations like FDA, FTC.
Tier two,for those who want to walk on the wilder side. Slowly increase minwages to livable wages. Reinstate Glass Stegall. Raise tax rates on wealthy. Regulate derivatives and Wall Street in general.
Tier three, which is where even I start to have fears, stronger tariffs to support American jobs. Increased power for unions. Revise corporate laws to prevent executives from running big companies for their own benefit.
Where I get po’ed at the Libertarian influence is they don’t even want tier one. Tier two, is pretty much a slam dunk IMHO, but I could see discussion there. Tier three would be a big jump that would really have to be done carefully.
FWIW, I also think those who receive welfare should have to work some, period. I also think education spending needs to be cut and education revamped to comport with reality.
parsy, who laid it out.
What you’ve described here is the basic platform of the “Third Way” Democrat- the Bill Clinton type who used this platform as a marketing position to appeal to moderates. It is one that moderate Republicans also take when they feel they must be compassionate. I’ll respond in more detail later on each of these. It may be an interesting discussion.
M, who thanks Parsi for being honest.
There is not Constitutional authority for either of these programs.
We're kind of stuck with SS now as some people who are depending on it are too old to change to another plan. It should be privatized (Is it Brazil who privatized their system and people are seeing much, much better results? Someone down there has done it)
Medicare is one of the cost drivers pushing health care costs up. Just about everyone I know who is on medicare is an abuser of the system. They go to the doctor for entertainment as it costs them nothing.
Taking care of the widows and orphans is the Church's job, not the government's.
Support wage and hour laws,
Direct violation of the first ammendment. (Freedom to peaceably assemble). What Constitutional right does the government have to interfere in private contracts (which do not affect any one but the parties involved)? None.
child labor laws, safety regs,
Agreed.
minimum wage laws,
See wage and hour laws.
unemployment benefits, and workers’ comp.
See social security
Basic regulations like FDA, FTC.
Agree with some, disagree with others. If the regulation is in place to insure fair trade (most FDA regs etc) then it's cool. If the reg is in place to affect behavior (most ATF regs for example) then disagree.
Tier two,for those who want to walk on the wilder side. Slowly increase minwages to livable wages.
There is no such thing as a minimum wage livable wage. As minimum wage increases so does the cost of everything else. Minimum wage jobs are not WORTHY of being paid "livable" wages as they do not produce enough to be worth that much.
You may as well arbitrarily set the minimum wage at $100/hr. The economy will adjust in a very short time and these people will find themselves in EXACTLY the same state they are in now (compared to those who are producing).
Reinstate Glass Stegall.
Far better would be to stop forcing banks to lend money to those who cannot repay it.
Raise tax rates on wealthy.
Why? Why remove working capital from people who are creating jobs with it? The only fair tax is one that taxes everyone the same. Why should people who made something of themselves be punished for it? And why should we destroy our economy even further by raising taxes at all?
Tier three, which is where even I start to have fears, stronger tariffs to support American jobs.
Smoot Hawley!! Worked so well the first time that it really should be tried again. A worldwide depression would reset the whole economy. Good thinking!
NOT
Increased power for unions.
Why should groups of employees be allowed to blackmail and steal from their employer? Again this violates 1st ammendment. The assembling of an employer and his employees is no one's business but theirs. (As long as they both honor any contract they both agree to at signing)
Revise corporate laws to prevent executives from running big companies for their own benefit.
This is impossible to do. Everyone does everything they do for their own benefit.
Where I get po’ed at the Libertarian influence is they don’t even want tier one.
I'm not a libertarian and I don't want tier one. The government has no authority to do most of that.
FWIW, I also think those who receive welfare should have to work some, period.
This I agree with. If they are physically able to work they should be working 40 hours a week for whatever they get. Even if it's just shovelling snow or sweeping streets. If we are going to pay them we should get something back from them.