The PSD Party

[MagicHero3]

Without labels, lets just pick each issue and come to a stance what we all think about it in a paragraph. we can create our own super-candidate.
Here are some major issues and how I feel... and ill admit, im not very "into" politics so these stances might be ignorant.

Abortion
Should be allowed. according to Freakonomics, abortion plays a huge role in keeping the crime rate down. Obviously, we wont be going out giving free abortions, there would need to be stipulations. I think the Gov't should only fund it in cases of rape and incest, depending on how they can prove it. other than that, the $ should come from insurance or out of the ppl's pockets. Should also be limited to the amount they can have.

Welfare
We need to have really strict policies for this. It should be out there, but only within a certain timeframe and under very strict conditions. Of course, we all probably agree, that we should be drug testing ppl on it.

Economy
The inequality of income in the U.S. is the highest out of any country in the world. I know the argument that gov't should be TOO involved, but something needs to be done to fix the inequality of income. Corp CEO's shouldnt be able to fire thousands of people just so they dont have to cut their pay/bonuses. Needs to be regulated internally, and create a moral guideline. Outsourcing should be regulated too, esp when the unemployment rate is ridiulous.

Energy
we need to move away from our oil dependency. Assist all the oil companies in moving toward new renewable energies. Imagine, instead of a BP oil drilling business, you'll have BP's windmill energy farm. Oil should be conserved and hybrid cars/vehicles should be available at a reasonable price to all.

Education
Quality, not quantity. Increase teacher/professor pay but also increase the qualifications and penalties. Pay them more, but be more strict on them. Dont make it a competition between schools, all schools should have similar opportunities for all the children.

Those are some views, some are way off ill admit, but its an example. Im hoping some more educated people can get on here and give their 2 cents. here are some more issues...

Homeland Security
Healthcare
Nuclear energy/missles
Stem Cell Research
Taxes
Environment
War/Foreign Relations
Political Corruption** We need to find a way to eliminate this, even tho it seems impossible

[homestarunner93]

This should be interesting...will take a lot of compromise to get PSD to agree on anything political.

Abortion
No government funding. Life begins at conception, so abortion is murder. Only allow in cases of rape and when the mother's life is in absolute peril.

Welfare
Drastically cut welfare. Too much federal government spending.

Economy
Deregulate, deregulate, deregulate. We need more free market principles to create competition. Stop the stupid federal government spending that doesn't work like the idiotic economic stimulus.

Energy
Off-shore drilling, while also encouraging and incentivizing the private sector to do research for alternate energy.

Education
Get the federal government out of education. Allow states to create better competition among schools to raise the standards of our schools.

Homeland Security
No more military intervention. Drastically cut the defense budget. Close most off-shore bases.

Healthcare
You're on your own. The federal government should not force people to buy healthcare, nor should people be forced to pay for other people's healthcare.

Nuclear Energy/Missiles
I think this is pretty much covered in Homeland Security and Energy.

Stem Cell Research
No federal government funded stem cell research.

Taxes
A flat tax is the fairest system for this country. At the very least, simplify the current tax system.

Environment
Not a foremost concern, although we have to begin to examine how we can decrease humanity's negative impact on the planet. Global Warming is not as dire as some want to think it is.

War/Foreign Relations
Pretty much covered this in Homeland Security.

Gay Marriage
I added this one. I say allow states to decide how to implement this. Preferably, this will be implemented similar to what Maryland and other states did last night -- allow the people of the state to vote on it.

[natelpete]

Due to cost, I don't think too many people on here will agree that drug testing welfare recipients is a good idea.

[Buckwheat]

Just make welfare recipients due SOMETHING. If they're able to, make them do a laboring community service. In the end, I believe that we'd eventually see people thinking "Hey, I could be making more money for less work somewhere else. **** this." It probably will never happen and it's hard to get rid of a program simply because some abuse it when others really do need it to stay afloat.

And the drug testing thing blows. It's not that cost efficient and what happens when they fail it? Then what? We just let their kids go hungry, as mommy is strung out on an eight ball in the bathroom?

[GGGGG-Men]

So we need to debate all these major issues in one thread? No easy task.

I think we need to just research those quiz threads Cab put up a while back.

.....where the hell is Cab anyway?

[Pacerlive]

Here is mine..
Abortion

I don't think government should pay for it but I also still think it should be allowed given that it would take place regardless and with probably worse standards on the black market.

Welfare

I think it should be modified more for people actively searching for work. Food stamps need to fall into that as well but if person has a mental condition or a physical one that prevents work I think as a society welfare needs to be provided.

Economy
This comes down to regulations in the right places to me and if America wants less manufaturing and more brain jobs then they should fund the NIH and other departments more to help train young people who want to become scientisit. This is my field and right now less Americans are interested in becoming scientisit or inventors in the biotech field.

Energy
Yes please.. More oil although less off shore drilling and more nuclear power.

Education
States are all jacked up here. County by county township by township poor neighbors have worse schools and bad teachers. IF America wants to stay uneducated then do nothing.

Healthcare
Tweak Obama care so policies are more diverse and so individual polices don't have to go up 50%. Basically less cadaliac policies and more ford fusion.

Nuclear energy/missles
Don't really care as long as other countries don't have them ie Iran.

Stem Cell Research
I am assuming you mean human embyonic stem cells. Educate people on the source of ESC's and ask yourself if its right to keep freezing these cells back from fertility clinics. Right now you can't make new sources and ESC's and the potential of these cells are marginal right now.

Scientist have figured out how to reprogram cells (for example skin cells) to basically replace ESC's. IF that technology is fully funded then ESC's will no longer be used and ethics of it won't matter anymore.

Taxes
I always laugh at how we expect so much and yet don't want to tax anybody. I am open to the idea of raising the taxes but I would expect the defense budget to be cut as well. Simplify the tax code and close the loopholes.

Environment
Don't be stupid and keep screwing with something you can't control. That includes climate change and pollution in the ocean.

On a side note and never really talked about is to regulate seed companies with potentially very harmful genetic practices. I am fine with splicing in flounder (fish) genes into plant genomes as long as its not using cross pollanting plants ie corn. Having plants grow in colder climates or warmer climates is fine but don't be ignorant of how plants reproduce ie cross pollanting plants.

People don't understand that you can corrupt all plants of one species with this practice and have seeds become sterile after one use should never be allowed (In genetics we call this the tet repressor system which could be the new trend in controling farmers from reseeding). Thats very bad for 3rd world countries.

War/Foreign Relations
No more war please. Its time that other countries fund their own interest in the middle east. IF they need some missles to take down Iran nuclear sites then I am all for it but please no more boots in the desert.

[natepro]

So we need to debate all these major issues in one thread? No easy task.

I think we need to just research those quiz threads Cab put up a while back.

.....where the hell is Cab anyway?

Apparently there's a Batsignal in his house that you set off with this question.

[GGGGG-Men]

Apparently there's a Batsignal in his house that you set off with this question.

Let's try it again...

where the hell is SmthBluCitrus?

[natepro]

Abortion
Absolutely. Covered by insurance, available in clinics that receive funds from the government.

Welfare
It's always interesting to me to watch successful people come out against Welfare. It's one thing to say something is unnecessary when you've had no need of it, quite another to be eating tonight because of it. In any system there will be people that abuse it, whether welfare from the government or charity from a church. How that is an argument against the system itself, which it seems to me is unquestionably necessary, is beyond me.

Economy
I'm in favor of it? I'm not really sure what to put here. Go economy!

Energy
I break with a lot of my fellow Democrats and leftists in supporting more nuclear power, but that includes the development of better and safer nuclear reactors, and an honest discussion about the benefits and dangers. None of that is happening as it should. We should also invest, heavily, in alternative energies. Corn ethanol is a loser. Solar isn't, yet. The fact that millions of Joules of energy pours into our deserts every second of every day and it isn't soaked up by solar panels is an absurd waste, and one we should be working to fix. We need higher fuel efficiency standards, more research into "green" technology, and the ability to trust scientists when they reach a consensus on something.

Education
The idea that education is local just strikes me as blindingly stupid. Potential in a child should not be wasted because he's born in Mississippi instead of Massachusetts. Religion, of course, has no place in the class room, and there should be zero hesitation on the part of educators to teach the science as we know. Evolution happened, climate change is happening, and students should learn these things.

Homeland Security
I don't have the answers to balance security with freedom, and I don't really know that anyone else does either.

Healthcare
The idea that other countries can give their citizens "free" health care while we cannot is short-sighted, naive, and wrong. We need to get beyond our "America is the most specialist!" attitude and look to the way other countries do things that work. The simple fact is, every time someone dies because of something that could've been treated, but wasn't due to economics, it is a tragedy. Plain and simple. There's just no reason for it. People complain about health care costs, and then don't want to pay for things like preventative care and care for the poor that could bring so much of it down. I'm sorry if keeping your neighbor healthy means you get a Tall instead of a Venti at Starbucks next time (I'm not, actually, sorry).

Nuclear Energy/Missiles
More of it.

Stem Cell Research
This sort of goes into the healthcare thing. The potential for so many therapies, treatments, and cures are in stem cells, and almost entirely for non-political, non-scientific beliefs it is being stopped. Eff that. Research the hell out of this. Research it all the time, everywhere.

Taxes
I'm not going to pretend to have even some of the answers here. I think those at the top need to be taxed more, those in the middle less. But economics is far from my strong suit, so...

Environment
Let's not do anything about it. Let's just let things take their course. Who needs polar bears and coastal cities, right?

War/Foreign Relations
I'm torn on this. Iraq was pretty clearly a mistake, Afghanistan at least a little more necessary, but both are a mess. That said, when something like Rwanda happens, I think it is our duty as members of the human race to intervene. I don't care about all this "we shouldn't be the police of the world" ********. If genocide is happening, it must be stopped. Eddie Izzard, though a comedian, hit the nail right on the head: "Kill your own people and we're pretty much fine with it. It's when you start killing other people that we have a problem." It's true, and it's ridiculous. I'm not saying we go in for decades, we start nation building, or any of that. But Rwanda, Darfur.. these things cannot happen while we sit idly by, and only afterwards say "never again!" Of course, all we really mean is "never again... until the next time it happens and we say all this over again."

Gay Marriage
I'm pretty much over talking about this. If you do not support marriage equality, you are a bigot and I'm not terribly interested in exchanging ideas on this with you. History will look back on you and shake it's head sadly, just as we do with other civil rights issues from our past.

[flea]

I disagree with that Paul Ryan avatar guy on pretty much every single issue. That's pretty rare.

[GGGGG-Men]

I'll disagree with just about all of this, but let's start with:

Welfare
Drastically cut welfare. Too much federal government spending.

1. Federal welfare programs don't amount to a big percentage of gov't spending.

2. Of welfare spending about 10% of that amount goes to nonworking poor. The rest is elderly, blind, disabled, etc.

Here's a better source: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3677

[natepro]

I'll disagree with just about all of this, but let's start with:



1. Federal welfare programs don't amount to a big percentage of gov't spending.

2. Of welfare spending about 10% of that amount goes to nonworking poor. The rest is elderly, blind, disabled, etc.

Here's a better source: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3677

It's the same sort of argument that's used against increasing NASA funding.

Hm. Actually...

[Fly]

It's the same sort of argument that's used against increasing NASA funding.

Hm. Actually...

I laugh when people say that too much money goes to NASA funding from their tax dollars, when in reality half a penny of their tax dollar goes to it.

[natepro]

Shh!

[StarvingKnick22]

Move away from oil, no need for an energy crisis. But depend on electrical cars/hybrids within 5-10 years. The Tax needs to go up. Stem Cell research can help save lives!!!