Build Fiscal Responsibility and Create a Balanced Budget
I believe in balancing the budget, saving our social safety net, ensuring American competition in trade, assessing truly fair taxes, and protecting employees and private investors.
Creating a Balanced Budget and a Fiscal Safety Net
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I will —
- support legislation requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget except in times of emergency, such as war or natural disaster recovery.
- not support tax cuts for wealthy people and corporations when doing so would increase the burden of debt on our children and their children. Nor will I support tax cuts balanced on the backs of our troops, whom I will not send into harm's way without sufficient resources.
- work to ensure the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, by placing all contributions from workers into a fund that cannot be used for any non-Social Security purposes, including national debt retirement.
- seek Social Security and Medicare solvency by allowing the fund to be loaned to FDIC-insured banks, through secured deposit instruments. The trust fund will remain solvent and insured, while funds for future payments will bear interest.
- support adjustment of the contribution eligibility cap every five years.
Trade Safeguards, Ensuring Protection of American Freedoms
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I will —
- vote to renegotiate or repeal existing bilateral treaties negotiated under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, including NAFTA and CAFTA. Trade agreements with developing countries must include provisions that provide the highest levels of protection to prevent exploitation of natural resources and workers. Trade agreements must benefit both countries, not just corporate interests that seek to maximize short-term profit while destroying natural resources, long-established communities and indigenous cultures.
- strongly support Internet Network Neutrality. The jobs, production and technological advances created by the Internet have revolutionized the world. We must not let greed stop online entrepreneurship that fosters small business growth.
Assessing a Truly Fair Tax
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I will —
- seek to form a blue-ribbon panel of tax accountants, attorneys and investors to simplify the tax code and remove loopholes and unfair giveaways while keeping the basic, progressive tax infrastructure that created the richest nation on the planet.
- Support taxes on pollution and green house gas emissions.
- work to simplify federal income tax returns and fight for a straightforward tax for all Americans. We must remove loopholes in the US Tax Code and require everyone to pay their fair share, which will decrease the budget deficit and the tax burden on the hard-working middle class.
- support fully funding the IRS fraud division, allowing investigators to do their job, making sure that all Americans pay their fair share to sustain the nation that has given them the opportunity to succeed and thrive.
Corporate Governance -- Protecting Employees and Private Investors
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I support —
- establishing a Corporate Governance Commission to revisit the extensive changes to securities laws and accounting practices. A thorough review of auditor independence and other corporate governance issues is appropriate, given the losses suffered by Enron and other corporate shareholders and recent convictions of corporate executives.
- ending the abuses of pension funds, 401(k) funds and stockholders by restoring the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- legislation that demands full disclosure of all management and administrative fees on retirement and investment accounts, such as 401(k) and IRA accounts.
