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Green Party Committees: Platform

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PLATFORM COMM

ARCHIVE

THE GP PLATFORM

M. National Debt

Since 1980, our national debt has grown from approximately $5 trillion to over $9 trillion. An unmentioned portion of that debt comes from US Treasury “borrowing” from other branches of government, such as the Social Security Trust Fund. A Trust fund (or entitlement) means the Congress has assigned certain tax revenue for a specific purpose, not to be siphoned off for other uses. Although national debt itself is not detrimental, the current level of debt is way out of proportion to government revenue and made worse by the 20% (plus) of revenue that goes to pay interest on the debt. Servicing the debt subtracts more funds from social needs and has no public benefit. In effect, the government’s expenditure has undermined the safety net and dangerously delayed the restoration of domestic infrastructure- which becomes more imperative and expensive the longer it is delayed.

Recent administrations’ policy has blindly borrowed money to sustain our global “policeman of the world” posture and the military intrusions and wars that policy entails. Thus the debt which the public must eventually pay, gets deeper with no benefit to the American people.

The Green Party supports:
1. A comprehensive approach to debt reduction while simultaneously heeding the imperative to invest in our society’s prosperity. The administration and the Congress must put the obligation to fund domestic needs first. It must admit that the free-wheeling Free Market has resulted in stagnating domestic productive work, widening the gap between the wealthy and the average citizen and shifting the import/export ratio in our balance of payments to a very damaging negative side.
2. Cutting the Defense budget in half, ending no-bid contracts, ending support of a mercenary army, ending investment in new nuclear weapons, ending support of manned space exploration.
3. Increasing all parts of discretionary spending, especially protection of benefits for children, low-income, elderly, disabled, mentally ill and veterans benefits.
4. Rebuilding infrastructure must include funds for public housing, public transportation, public water supply, environmental protection, energy conservation and renewable energy.
We must re-write the tax code to regain balance in wealth distribution; to create a level playing field; and to reverse corporate control of the government and the economy. Political democracy cannot work without the reality of economic democracy to sustain it.
Finally, investment in public education and in free universities is essential to prepare our youth to take control of the scientific and technological advances that characterizes the workplace in contemporary society. Democracy cannot survive without an informed and educated citizenry, capable of handling questions about the direction of our society and solving the inevitable imbalances that technology creates and the oligarchical tendencies that follow it.