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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	532
Proposal	PLATFORM: Amendment to Chapter 4 - LIVABLE INCOME
Presenter	GPUS Platform Committee, Green Party of Connecticut, sponsor
Floor Manager	David Strand
Phase	Closed
Discussion	08/02/2010 - 08/15/2010
Voting	08/16/2010 - 08/22/2010
Result	Failed
Presens Quorum	31 0.6666
Consens Quorum	66 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

GPUS Bylaws Article IX. Platform

9-1.1 The GPUS Platform represents policies upon which most Greens would agree and serves as a basis for Green Presidential and Congressional campaigns. The Platform may only be amended as provided by this Article.

9-1.3 In even numbered years in which there is no Presidential Nominating Convention, the National Committee shall be the decision-making body responsible for amending the platform. The process shall be as established in the GPUS Rules and Procedures.

9-1.4 Amendments to the Platform may be submitted for consideration by any accredited state party or caucus, or any committee whose Mission Statement authorizes it.

Proposal

Add the following text to the section called, "Livable Income."

5. As of 2010, 2% of US citizens (6 million) own 50% of the wealth of the nation, leaving 98% of us (294 million) with only half. The Law of Diminishing Returns (LDR) states that the richer one is, the less benefit one gets from expenditures, per unit of expenditure. Because the LDR operates on a logarithmic scale, 50% of our nation’s wealth is
almost entirely wasted on the rich, leaving the real wealth of 98% of us comparable to that of the poorer countries in Europe, like Greece.
Believing that wealth should serve human needs, the U.S. Green Party asserts that the people of the US have the right to regain control of the national wealth by two primary methods: forbidding any employee of a corporation from earning more than 10 times the income of the least-paid employee, and 2) closing loopholes, increasing inheritance
and capital gains taxes, and increasing income taxes up to 100% on income brackets above $40,000 per capita, the level at which added income does not increase longevity or education. The increased tax receipts shall be used to cover free universal health care, free secondary education, and to guarantee the right to housing,employment, and income of at least 50% of the median income.

Resources

none

References

CONTACT: Richard Duffee richard.duffee@gmail.com

Marnie Glickman marnie@greenchange.org
Bruce Hinkforth bhinkforth@milwpc.net

Visit the Platform Committee webpage for this proposal at: http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/comments/?p=618.

On the webpage, you can see various formats of the proposal created by the GPUS Platform Committee and the amendment proposal sponsors including the 2004 and 2010 texts side-by-side. You can also read and respond to comments from Greens around the country, including many who are not on the Green National Committee.

Here is the 2004 text of the section being amended:

Section D: Livable Income

We affirm the importance of access to a livable income.

1. We call for a universal basic income (sometimes called a guaranteed income, negative income tax, citizen’s income, or citizen dividend). This would go to every adult regardless of health, employment, or marital status, in order to minimize government bureaucracy and intrusiveness into people’s lives. The amount should be sufficient so that anyone who is unemployed can afford basic food and shelter. State or local governments should supplement that amount from local revenues where the cost of living is high.

2. Job banks and other innovative training and employment programs which bring together the private and public sectors must become federal, state and local priorities. People who are unable to find decent work in the private sector should have options through publicly funded opportunities. Workforce development programs must aim at moving people out of poverty.

3. The growing inequities in income and wealth between rich and poor; unprecedented discrepancies in salary and benefits between corporate top executives and line workers; loss of the “American dream” by the young and middle-class – each is a symptom of decisions made by policy-makers far removed from the concerns of ordinary workers trying to keep up.

4. A clear living wage standard should serve as a foundation for trade between nations, and a “floor” of guaranteed wage protections and workers’ rights should be negotiated in future trade agreements. The United States should take the lead on this front – and not allow destructive, predatory corporate practices under the guise of “free” international trade.

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