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Here is where I stand on the current issues that face our country:
Our federal government has become so bloated, inefficient, and corrupt, that the best
route of action is to scale it down and invest funds into what matters: A streamlined, universal healthcare system - The safety and welfare of children, veterans, and the elderly - Relief for the working and middle classes - Protection of the environment - A scaled down military focused on defense of the homeland - Ending the crippling student loan debt that plagues millions of people. We also need to drift more into the direction of a free society when it comes to matters of body autonomy, speech, and information, and to top it all off, there are many reforms to our electoral system that are long overdue. Hopefully my platform below will help your decision.
Electoral Reform
• Make the President a Non Partisan Office: I don't think the president benefits from wearing a red or blue tie. The president's main job is to run our country in a respectful and professional way, but the constant back and forth over the most powerful office in the land has led to some shaky results to say the least.
• Incorporate Ranked Choice Voting into the Presidential Primary Process: RCV would be a great way of deciding the two candidates who will go onto the general election. It would make the "lesser of two evils" situation less likely to happen, and I am sure we are all sick of that.
• Give the DC Senator and Representative Voting Power: I believe the phrase "no taxation without representation" says it all on this issue.
• End/Reform the Filibuster: I support ending, or at least reforming the filibuster, although I only see this as truly possible during a time when the legislative and/or executive branches of government are split between both parties, as neither one will agree to end it while the other is in power.
• I will push for a "straight forward on policy" agenda prioritizing simple, clear legislation, making every representative and senator's stance much more transparent.
Tax Reform
I will always support a woman's right to choose, and I completely support the codification of Roe vs Wade via federal mandate. Body autonomy is one of the most sacred of rights!
Employer Mandates I Support
I am an advocate for expanding free speech to social media!
Things I Want to Create/Fund
• Child Tax Credit Renewal
• Universal Basic Income: UBI is the most practical way of balancing out the enormous wealth gap in this country, while giving every American a fair shot at success. A well funded UBI program would no doubt benefit the vast majority of Americans, while also stimulating the economy. A little balance can go a long way.
• Student Loan Forgiveness & Partial Refunds: I don't think it will be advantageous for us in the long run to leave a very large part of the population shackled financially by the government. While I never walked down the road of student debt myself, I do know secondhand of the tremendous amounts of stress unfairly placed on kids as they are funneled into a dysfunctional system that they have been told their entire lives is the only way towards success. I suggest a one time refund to those in debt, and a partial refund to those who have recently paid off their loans on their own accord.
Agencies I Want to Defund
Things I Want to Stop/End/Abolish
Foreign Policy
People I Will Push to See Pardoned
Other Issues
Thank you
• Term Limits on Supreme Court Justices: The president is given too much power here. Lifelong service is not necessary for a justice. This has, and no doubtably will cause more party power-plays over what is supposed to be a non-partisan position.
Our federal tax system has done nothing but drift more and more in favor of the wealthy.
I support a marginal tax bracket system that would effectively lower taxes for anyone earning under half a million dollars a year, while raising the rate for anyone making over $2,000,000. It is important to acknowledge the overtaxation that has plagued our working and middle classes for some time now. I also support raising the tax on corporate profits exceeding $100,000 from 21% to 33%.
• Raising Maternity Leave Time
• Paid Vacation Time
• Raising the Federal Minimum Wage: No matter where you stand on how helpful raising the minimum wage is in the long run, I think we can all agree that having a federal minimum wage under ten dollars ($7.25) in this day and age is simply preposterous.
If elected, I will write up legislation creating regulations on the major social media companies to protect individuals from being censored online for anything other than direct threats of violence. It is extremely important to encourage the free exchange of ideas in what has essentially become our public square, and no corporate or government power will ever be divine enough to dictate over which ideas are valid, and which aren't.
• Universal Flat Taxed Healthcare: Healthcare in any society is sacred. Having a healthy population, a strong workforce, and a simplified system to make sure everyone can get the medical attention they need, free of corporate incentives & big government inefficiency, where everyone pitches in their fair share, would be a big step in the right direction for our country.
Over the last several decades, our federal government has racked up a number of big, inefficient, and sometimes downright awful acting agencies that waste our tax money and clutter up our government. I say some scaling down is in order.
• FCC
• ICE
• CIA
• DEA
• ATF
• NSA
• Military: The colossal military budget will be receiving another $29 billion dollar increase this year, bringing the total military spending to a whopping $782 billion (Biden's proposed budget for 2023 is $813 billion). The point though, is we have by far the largest military budget in the world, so large in fact, that if you were to combine the next nine highest national budgets, it would still fall short. We have major domestic problems here that need tending to. Priorities...
• Government Spying on Citizens: In 2020 the the FBI used the NSA to conduct 1.3 million warrantless searches of US citizens. That number increased to 3.4 million in 2021. I don't see how breaking privacy rights is a good use of tax money. Plus, you know, it's unethical.
• The Patriot Act is a disgusting bypass of due process, and flat out unconstitutional. Such an act should never have seen the light of day!
• The Criminalization of Marijuana and Psilocybin Mushrooms: A lot of people don't consider the legalization of weed to be a big issue in Washington since it became legal here. Unfortunately the recent rise in pot shop robberies proves this is still far from the truth. As long as marijuana is illegal on a federal level, Marijuana dispensaries are forced to hold large amounts of cash, making them and their employees unnecessary targets for violent crime. I consider this one of my top priorities as this should have been done a long time ago.
• Corporate Subsidies
• The Federal Reserve: Is it really a good idea to have quite possibly the single most elitist of all federal (or is it private?) institutions be the the one to manage our currency? I think not. We need to get rid of this long established stain on the country and work towards a replacement, or the discussion of if there really needs to be one. This would also be a good first step to solving the inflation crisis.
• (What's left of) The Disinformation Governance Board
• Trading Within Congress: This one is simple. We can't have people who make decisions that affect the economy, also invest in stock. Mixing these incentives has made the USA more corrupt overall, and fixing this would be a nice step in the right direction.
• Federal Student Loan Interest: The government should not be profiting off of our youth's desire to improve their education. I suggest replacing interest rates with a simple adjustment for inflation upon payback.
• Bar Exam Prerequisites: These are not only unnecessary, but they also discriminate against those who would rather 'home-study' independently, free of college tuition fees, and years of constant stress. Don't believe me? Ask Abraham Lincoln!
• Armed Involvement in Foreign Wars
• Reduced Budget Focused on Actual Defense and Veteran Care
• Halt Weapon Sales to Saudi Arabia
• Move Towards Non-Interventionism: We need to work towards bringing our troops home, all of them. We do not need to try to manage the world when our country needs serious reforms and serious funds. Let us play defense for a change.
• Drug Possession Offenders
• Edward Snowden
• Julian Assange
• I support labor unions.
• I support the implementation of a gun license, including a safety course and psyche test, but I also respect the rights of responsible gun owners.
• I will always be a voice for animal rights, and better treatment of the environment as a whole, including, but not limited to climate change prevention.
• I support all marriages within the realm of consenting adults.
• I support medical freedom on the issues of, but not limited to trans rights, vaccinations, death with dignity, and reproductive rights, as everyone should have control over their own body.
• I support immigrants and a streamlined path to citizenship for all able to follow our laws.
• I support lowering prices of prescription drugs through price-capping and/or lifting of import bans.
• I support reforming the DMCA to better accommodate to the conditions of modern technology, and to protect content creators from ridiculous copyright accusations.
• I will use any electoral influence I attain to search out, support, and endorse honest and intelligent candidates running as Independent or third party. There are actually many districts where "spoiling" would not be a factor, mostly thanks to Washington and California's 'Top 2 Primary' systems, and Alaska and Maine's 'Ranked Choice Voting.'
Jesse A. James for Congress HOME