Green Party of the United States - National Committee Voting

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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	533
Proposal	PLATFORM: Amendment to Chapter 4 - National Debt
Presenter	GPUS Platform Committee, Green Party of California, sponsor
Floor Manager	David Strand
Phase	Closed
Discussion	08/02/2010 - 08/15/2010
Voting	08/16/2010 - 08/22/2010
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	31 0.6666
Consens Quorum	76 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

Replace 2004 GPUS section called "National Debt" with the following text.

SECTION TITLE: NATIONAL DEBT

SECTION SUBTITLE: Fairness for our children and grandchildren

OUR POSITION: Greens will reduce our national debt.

Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have irresponsibly expanded our national debt by trillions of dollars to finance tax cuts for America’s wealthiest citizens, war, corporate welfare and bailouts of Wall Street and the automotive industry. This debt and the interest that must be paid on it is not sustainable.

Working people and the small business community are bearing a disproportionate amount of the federal debt burden. Yet the federal debt is, to a large degree, the end product of tax cuts for the wealthy and big business, and the military-defense industry buildup.

For many years the federal government borrowed trillions of dollars. Money that should have been going into a better "safety net" for the poor, homes for the homeless, environmental and public lands conservation, sustainable jobs, research and development, roads and bridges, schools and the technologies of tomorrow, has been lost to servicing the national debt. We cannot ignore the consequences of our nation's past deficits and the related costs of debt service.

GREEN SOLUTIONS

1. Reduce our national debt by increasing taxes on large corporations, the super-rich and pollution; and decreasing expenditures in some areas, especially for war, armaments and corporate welfare.

2. Oppose privatization of Social Security.

3. Increase funding for green jobs, Social Security, public housing, higher education, public transportation, environmental protection, renewable energy and energy conservation.

Resources

none

References

CONTACTS
Gary Ruskin gary.ruskin@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=435.

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:

The national debt is approaching 7 trillion dollars, and the diversion to interest payments is nearly 20 percent of tax revenues. The Green Party calls for immedicate debate and action to stop this transfer of wealth from tax payers to the wealthy.

For many years the federal government borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars. Money that should have been going into a better “safety net” for the poor, homes for the homeless, environmental and public lands conservation, sustainable jobs, research and development, roads and bridges, schools and the technologies of tomorrow, has been lost to servicing the national debt. We cannot ignore the consequences of our nation’s past deficits and the related costs of debt service.

Working people and the small business community are shouldering a disproportionate amount of the debt burden. Yet the incurrence of the federal debt was, to a large degree, the end product of those who were on watch during the Cold War and military-defense industry buildup. Also, hundreds of billions were lost in the savings and loan bailout, and to loopholes, tax breaks, and multinational corporate tax avoidance. Hundreds of billions were lost due to a failed tax code that has been held prisoner to special interests and has produced historic gross inequities between corporate America and working Americans.

During the 1980s, our national debt grew from approximately $1 trillion to over $5 trillion and we refused to fund Social Security, food stamps, public housing, higher education, public transportation, and other services.

1. We must continue to move toward reduction of the national debt and compensate for the neglect that the deficits caused.

2. We believe a comprehensive approach that forms a basis for a debt reduction plan would include debt payback, increased revenues, and decreased expenditures in some areas.

3. We support increases in domestic and discretionary spending, which is our nation’s essential “safety net” to protect those most in need. We support increases in the portion of entitlement benefits (one-fifth) that go to children, the lowest income, elderly, and disabled. These include food stamps, family assistance, Medicaid, and supplemental security income.

4. We oppose privatization of Social Security. We support increased funding for Social Security, public housing, higher education, public transportation, environmental protection, renewable energy, and energy conservation.

5. To help compensate for our nation’s neglect, we support tax increases on mega-corporate and wealthy interests, defense budget reductions, and entitlement reductions for those who can most afford reductions. Entitlement spending is over one-half of the federal budget. One way to reduce entitlement costs substantially is by means testing, which is scaling back payments to the six million citizens in families with incomes over $50,000 annually.

6. We must revitalize the public sector. As taxes on working people have been unfairly increased, many important public services have been sharply reduced. Corporate-backed politicians are using the anti-government sentiment they have so carefully engineered to kill vital programs that many employers have always despised. If corporations continue to get their way, OSHA will be gutted, our environmental and labor laws will be worthless, our public health system will be dismantled, and the safety net and public universities will be only a dim memory.

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