ENERGEIA

Party Platform

I. Economy

•    Simplify Tax Code
•    Reduce bureaucracy & regulation for small businesses. We believe small businesses are what are going to lead us out of the depression
•    Encourage investment in new technologies, US factories, hiring and training workers by cutting business and personal taxes and minimizing government hurdles
•    Keep the GWBush tax cuts until simplified tax code is enacted
•    Corporate tax breaks for companies that manufacture in the USA, emphasis on keeping US technological advances in US
•    Do away with farm subsidies; let farmers compete on the world market at a fair market price; working farms will develop new technology to increase yield and decrease costs

The American people are the most ingenious, inventive, and hardworking people on the planet. We believe that federal government bureaucracies have grown to unduly tax and interfere with economic progress. The above points are focused on reducing red tape and allowing the American Spirit to lead us out of this 2nd great depression. They also reward companies for keeping jobs in the USA, where we believe even more technological advances will be discovered by new generations of American workers.

II. National Security

•    Scale back and ultimately remove troops from Afghanistan and Iraq
o    America must scale-back its democracy-pushing agenda
o    We will remain true to our promises to assist theses countries, but the goal is to establish set conditions and timelines for removal of our troops

•    Protect our own international borders and points of entry
o    Mexico
o    Canada
o    Airports, Shipping Ports, etc.

When our country is safe and well protected, the American citizens feel safe and happy about our security. Our military forces have struggled for years to provide an opportunity for Iraq and Afghanistan to make better governments for themselves. After so many years, it is time to allow them to stand on their own. We have shown them the way. At this time of great worldwide economic struggle, the US military personnel need to be home with their families. Our own borders need to be protected. We will always protect America from attacks, both foreign and domestic, but we need to get out of the business of nation building and the idealism of creating our “brand” of government around the world.

III. Education

•    Promote competition in Education
•    Gradually reduce Federal monies that school systems compete for
•    Goal is to empower States to take control of Education within their own boundaries
o    States provide tax credits to leave failing schools
o    Merit pay, remove offending teachers from payrolls

The education of our current and rising generations is the key to our future. Therefore, we propose to gradually wean the Federal Government from managing the education process in America. The American people should be in charge of their own education at the family, community, and State levels. By removing Federal monies and requirements, we will clear the path for education to become competitive, and for States to regulate education within their own borders. We will work with party members at the state and local levels to weaken union strangleholds in the Education arena that are destroying the education process for millions of young Americans, provide tax credits to leave failing schools, and offer merit pay and other performance-based incentives to ensure our teachers and students are the best they can be.

IV. Government Reform

•    Financial Reform
o    Work to balance the budget
o    Eliminate deficit spending
o    Federal Reserve Oversight / tighter control of money supply
o    Overall Fiscal responsibility

By spending more money we have, the USA has created a debt burden for future generations that will take years to overcome. It is common sense that this cannot go on forever. Spending more than you have doesn’t work in your home, and it does not work for our country. We will strive to work from a balanced budget, eliminate deficit spending, and introduce greater oversight and transparency on the workings of the Federal Reserve System. Banks that have received billions of dollars in bailout monies will be required to pay them back. We do not advocate undermining business interests – especially during a depression. Clear steps will be taken to “follow the money” and measures will be put in place to put an end to reckless financial practices (e.g. credit default swaps) as well as create a payback schedule for all bailout monies received by these institutions.

•    Legislative Reform
o    Executive Orders
o    Nullification provides check on Judicial Activism
♣    Senators have say/States Power/Federalism

Too much money gets spent and too many laws are created outside of the legislative process. Our government cannot continue to allow the Executive Branch to wield the power of the Executive Order to create binding laws outside of our checks-and-balances system. We will work to pass an amendment making Executive Orders that spend money, and create laws and policies unconstitutional. Another problem is that once a law in passed by Congress, it is often interpreted by the Court System in a way that was never intended. This judicial activism has changed the face of America and how the Constitution is interpreted. We will work towards a system where, if a law is interpreted or enforced by the Courts in a way that was not intended by the US law-makers, the US Senate would be able to re-address the law as it stands. The Senate will have the power to re-address the legislation, or to nullify it on a per-state basis. This will provide a much-needed check on the Judicial Branch, as well as empower the States, re-introducing some of the aspects of Federalism that our country was founded upon.

V. Energy

•    Encourage energy independence and the development of new sources of clean, renewable energy
•    Drill Alaska in an environmentally sound way
•    Incentives to develop technologies to extract oil reserves in shale found throughout United States

The United States of America has the highest level of reserve energy resources of any country in the World*. Yet we struggle with rising energy costs and energy dependence on countries with unstable leadership and that often have anti-American positions. This situation can be rectified by developing environmentally safe methods to extract the natural resources within our own country. We will work to encourage and provide incentives for private companies to help the USA attain energy independence, through the extraction of existing oil reserves, as well as developing new sources of clean, renewable energy. These resources alone “represent tens of trillions of dollars in wealth and millions of American jobs.”

VI. HealthCare

•    Eliminate Federal government involvement in providing health care
•    Eliminate lobbyist / pharmaceutical interests in current ObamaCare plan
•    Private insurance companies compete to provide insurance independent of employment
•    Insurance policies need to be truly portable, also independent of employment
•    Allow insurance companies to compete across state lines in order to increase competition and provide highest service levels possible
•    Malpractice reform – better protection for Physicians is needed
•    Individual States need to be empowered to provide and regulate insurance through their tax revenues to those of the lowest income/asset levels in their State.

I believe that the healthcare decisions of the American people should be made by the American people themselves – in conjunction with the healthcare provider of their choice. It’s as simple as that. The US Government should not be involved in the business of providing healthcare. We will work towards a truly competitive market that allows insurers to compete across state lines, and allows for citizens to contract for insurance benefits outside of employment. Regulation will still be provided to guard against dishonest and deceitful practices. Individual States can provide insurance plans for the poor through tax revenues, at reduced rates from the Insurers. Does the system need to be changed? Absolutely. There are too many people going without basic healthcare in our wonderful country. But the US Government should not be in the business of providing this care.

*Congressional Research Report 2009    http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=34233
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm