The Socialist Party of America has a number of platform statements that might be of interest to you.I am going to list them for your reading.I don't agree with every statement but some of their platform agenda might lead us in a better direction in the near future.. We demand the immediate withdrawal of the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and oppose the creation of a widened Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). . We call for a minimum wage of $15 per hour, indexed to the cost of living. We call for a full employment policy. We support the provision of a livable guaranteed annual income. We call for a steeply graduated income tax and a steeply graduated estate tax, and a maximum income of no more than ten times the minimum. We oppose regressive taxes such as payroll tax, sales tax, and property taxes. We call for the restoration of the capital gains tax and luxury tax on a progressive, graduated scale. We support guaranteed incomes and grants for artists and performers. We call for full funding of community and school arts programs for people of all ages. We support the right of artists to join and form unions to protect their labor rights and to form collectives to advance common artistic visions.1. We call for full and equal funding of public education; for the restoration of a comprehensive K-12 curriculum, including art, music, world languages, and physical education; for an end to all public funding of private schools; and for free tuition and full-time teachers with full benefits (not "adjuncts") at the post-secondary level.We support public child care starting from infancy, and public education starting at age three, with caregivers and teachers of young children receiving training, wages, and benefits comparable to that of teachers at every other level of the educational system.. We call for an egalitarian educational system with teaching methods that accommodate the wide range of teaching and learning styles, and that provides all students with the means to obtain the post-secondary education they desire. We call a maximum of 15 students per teacher for grades K-12, and a maximum of 50 students per teacher at the post-secondary level.
Give critical support to the demand for the immediate abolition of all private health insurance companies through the creation of a single-payer health system. We see single-payer as an important step in the direction of a fully socialized national health program with full standard and alternative medical, dental, vision, and mental health coverage for all. This system would be publicly funded through progressive taxation and controlled by democratically elected assemblies of health care workers and patients. The National Health Program should improve, and replace, Medicare and Medicaid.We call for the reinstatement of funding to community mental health services so that low-cost or no-cost treatment is available on a voluntary basis, with clients' rights respected. We oppose involuntary incarceration for treatment without due process.
We call for a vast increase in Section 8 housing subsidies as one element of major public investment in the construction of low cost, scattered site, community-based, high quality housing.2. We call for rent control for all rental units, and the right of tenants to organize..We support the formation of non-profit land trusts and of socially owned, tenant controlled housing cooperatives.
We call for the creation of a fully funded high-speed national rail system with fares set low enough to be a viable alternative to the use of the automobile.
The U.S. must immediately return to participation in international agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol, limiting carbon emissions, and accept a major role in worldwide efforts to control global warming.
We oppose policies that target minority communities for placement of local landfills, toxic waste disposal sites, or incinerators.
I could continue..go to Socialist Party of America....I don't think workers and communities should own all corporations but I do feel the state or federal government should own businesses that employ citizens and create revenue.We need to create products and start buying items made in USA.
Berkley Leaf 2008
Untitled 2008
Hudson River: Saugerties Lighthouse Path
Two Alpaca at an organic farm....south of Saugerties
Dead Space...
Dead Space
Can't be used for the things we want to use it for.
Los Angeles...2009 in the dead of winter ..............
always beautiful,always fun
.
.
.
That hated and word, socialism, is a dirty word for too many people who liken it to communism and worse. At this point in history, it seems to be a superior economic system "for the people". A quick perusal of those socialistic countries will show a higher standard of living than all or most capitalist utopias. In the end, it all comes down to choosing between a governmental obligation to care for its citizenry and greed and Gordon Gekko.
ReplyDelete