William Koenig for President 2008
A brand new candidate announces...
http://www.williamkoenig.com/
Bill Koenig's website: http://www.watch.org/
12-Point Platform
1. Our Nation
The United States is a Constitutional Republic. A Republic protects the individual's rights without regard to social or economic circumstances. We must stop classifying our citizens by socioeconomic and ethnic classes, which leads with certainty to economic and racial division. We are all Americans and we celebrate our common heritage as a proud nation of immigrants who have come together to become American citizens, building and maintaining the greatest nation on earth.
2. Take Our Enemies Seriously
Radical Islam critically threatens the interests of the United States at home and abroad. This threat is not a perception; it is openly celebrated in the streets of militant countries who proclaim their hatred of the United States and call on their citizens to live with harmful intent toward America and her citizens. The actions they have taken and the actions they vow to take must be taken seriously. If the U.S. leaves the Middle East, Iran and terrorist organizations will intensify their aggressive action and override the entire region, trampling the Palestinians along with the peoples of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, and other Middle Eastern countries. This action will certainly jeopardize and possibly destroy U.S. interests in the Middle East, disrupting oil delivery and greatly impacting world economies.
In addition to the radical Islam threat to U.S. interests, many other factors affect Middle East security. After a twenty-year absence, Russia is rising to a position of increasing political and military activity in the Middle East. Russia and China are proactively arming Iran, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries.
Internally, Muslim is pitted against Muslim, resulting in serious sectarian conflicts in many Middle Eastern countries. Clearly, dividing Israel’s land and giving it to her enemies is not the key to world and Middle East peace.
3. American’s Financial Future
We must help people to better prepare for their financial future through fiscal planning and savings incentives.
American families are under financial fire, experiencing unprecedented increased costs in energy, health care, insurance, prescription drugs, mortgage interest, and education. At the same time, American families approach a dangerous dilemma of record low savings and record high levels of consumer debt.
We urge companies to think ethically and consider the negative consequences of aggressive and exploitative business practices. While self-regulation and moderation are not popular approaches, the converse option of more federal government intrusion and restrictive regulation is not a desirable solution.
4. Federal Government Accountability
Americans do not need or desire excess federal regulation and oversight that complicate their lives and increase the costs of products and services. The federal government must be downsized.
The U.S. Tax Code, consisting of nine million words on 65,000 pages, must undergo a dramatic reduction, paring down to a fair and equitable tax system, eventually adoptinga flat tax that treats citizens equally.
Corporate tax laws must be simplified so that small- and medium-size companies can fairly compete with larger corporations. Taxes on estates at death must be permanently eliminated.
The federal government must adopt Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles (GAAP) to accurately report the nation’s financial picture.
5. Health Care System
We call for a world-class health care system that is disinfected of greed, inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, costly hospital stays, inflated prices, mismanagement, inadequate care, waste, and fraud. These routinely accepted abuses significantly increase the cost of medical care and health insurance for employers and workers, negatively affecting the financial security of our families. We will evaluate a prudent and wise way to insure all Americans, providing access to crucial health services that strengthen our country by increasing the vitality of her citizens.
6. National Energy Plan
We must establish a comprehensive energy plan. The lack of an effective plan has greatly complicated and unnecessarily burdens our national and financial security, causing us to continually suffer the consequences of inaction or short-term solutions without consideration of their long-term effects.
Democratic led Congressional actions and environmental restrictions ceased oil exploration programs and halted pipeline and refinery construction on Federal and private land. These actions significantly increased energy costs while introducing unproven and costly alternatives, causing an unwise and precarious reliance on foreign oil and the countries that possess the majority of the world's oil: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Russia.
7. Education: Perfect the Basics
We must return to the basics so students will be well equipped to take positions in society as productive citizens who are trained to think for themselves. This emphasis on the basics squarely rests on reading, writing, math, science, and phonics. All high school students should be required to take one semester of financial management to prepare them for responsible decision-making. Standardized tests should not be the sole criterion for advancement. Educational decisions and accountability should be returned to the states.
8. Immigration
For thirty years immigration laws have seen ineffective enforcement. During this time, American businesses learned to effectively utilize hard working, low skilled and low-cost illegal immigrants and American consumers benefit greatly from this practice. We must develop a humane and legally appropriate solution; this isn’t a zero sum game. Enforcement delays greatly complicated the problem, creating deep political and ethnic divisions that will cost our nation for years. We must secure the borders, require employer cooperation, develop enforceable guest worker programs, restrict services to illegal immigrants, and acknowledge that delayed enforcement has caused an enormous problem that must be remedied humanely, justly, and without delay.
9. Social Security
Since 1965, our government raided hundreds of billions of dollars of Social Security tax revenue to help pay down annual Federal deficits. This unsustainable activity must end. Social Security taxes should be applied toward future Social Security obligations.
10. Medicare
Medicare currently accounts for one-eighth of the Federal budget, and that share will grow after 2010 as the Baby Boomers reach eligibility. Studies show that basic payment errors, through fraud or administrative mistakes, cost Medicare $12.3 billion a year, while bills for another $7 billion go uncollected. Heritage Foundation tax analyst Brian Riedl estimates that Medicare reforms could save $20 to $30 billion a year.
11. International Relationships
The United States funds approximately 25 percent of the United Nations' budget. This investment must be thoroughly evaluated.
International relations must be credible and not based on appeasement. The United States must lead by example, not by compromising our American values, integrity, or sovereignty, and not by forcing our beliefs on other nations.
12. Life and Marriage
Life must be protected from the moment of conception. Refusing to support the unborn child lessens the value of human life. More than 45 million unborn children have been terminated since Roe v Wade. This is an enormous number of people denied the right to life, the right to parenthood, and the right to become a productive citizen. We must embrace life from its beginning!
Our country's core strength lies in the family unit. We must defend the marriage union of one man and one woman.
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I have no doubt here. I have found a candidate I can fully support.
Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson
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