Essay:Duce's political and policy views

A list of policy ideas and political views supported by DuceMoosolini. Based on TheUmbilicalCordGuy's userpage (with some ideas taken verbatim). Subject to change.

Agriculture policy

 * End the ethanol fuel mandate.
 * GMOs are good.
 * Support local farms over factory mega-farms.
 * Bust agribusiness giants.

Abortion

 * I'm in the "safe, legal, and rare" camp when it comes to abortion.
 * Pass a law federally defending reproductive rights nationwide. I'd like to see an Amendment too, but I know that ain't happening.
 * End the global gag rule.
 * Ban abortion after the third trimester unless critically necessary; it's not like third trimester abortions even really happen anyways.
 * Increase funding to Planned Parenthood.
 * Allow private health plans to cover abortion and contraceptives nationwide.
 * End the Hyde Amendment and the Helms Amendment.
 * Free-at-access abortion is a bridge too far for me.

Speech

 * I take a broad interpretation of what should be considered free speech.

Protest

 * Save for specific circumstances involving emergency services or another party's rights, there should be no geographical limitations on where people can protest.
 * Non-violent protests should never be met with violence or arrests by police. Protest organizers deliberately inciting violence prosecuted and given a fair trial.
 * It should never be illegal to use profanity against institutions or persons during protest.
 * All violence by police directed at protesters must be investigated by an independent party and prosecuted if necessary.
 * Flag burning/desecration should always be legal.

Journalism

 * Freedom of press is an essential value.
 * Pass a federal shield law to protect reporters from being compelled to reveal sources.
 * Ban federal and state governments from spying on journalists.

Expression

 * "Obscenity" laws should be repealed.
 * Unless actively advocating for violence, books should never be banned or barred from being published.
 * Books should never be banned from classrooms unless they are legit porn/erotica.
 * Revenge porn and child porn must be illegal and criminalized, both for production and possession.

Surveillance

 * End unwarranted domestic surveillance.
 * Abolish the NSA.
 * Gut the bloated and ineffective TSA; implement modified Israel-style security plans instead.
 * Do not require tech companies to create "backdoors" into their products.
 * Do not allow cops to search phones or computers without a warrant.
 * Do not allow cops to use thermal imaging without a warrant.
 * Pardon Snowden and other idealistic whistleblowers.

Consumer privacy

 * Require all companies to notify people if their data is breached or exposed to unauthorized parties.
 * Require companies to obtain permission before selling or sharing someone's data.
 * Ban companies from discriminating against people who exercise their privacy rights.
 * Require that companies only save the minimum data necessary to provide their services.
 * Create a consumer privacy enforcement agency like the one California has.
 * Allow consumers to sue companies over data breaches.
 * Allow consumers to sue companies over privacy violations.

Other

 * Legalize prostitution and all sex work between consenting adults.
 * Allow voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill.
 * Allow state contractors to boycott whomever they like.

Capital punishment

 * I'm not against executing really heinous offenders, but too many innocent people end up on death row.
 * So, abolish.
 * Instead, place heinous and dangerous offenders in harsh supermax facilities like the ADX Florence.

Cops

 * Allow civilian recording of on-duty police officers at any time.
 * Remove qualified immunity for police officers.
 * Establish civilian review boards for all police departments.
 * Ban stop-and-frisk.
 * Ban racial profiling.
 * Ban no-knock raids.
 * Use special prosecutors in police misconduct investigations.
 * Mandate increased de-escalation training for all police departments.
 * Create a national database of officers responsible for misconduct and ban other departments from hiring them.
 * Remove military equipment from police departments.

Prisons

 * End cash bail.
 * End mandatory minimums and drastically reduce sentences for most non violent offenses.
 * End non-unanimous jury convictions nationwide.
 * End the use of private prisons; transfer all prisoners to federal and state facilities once new ones are built to accommodate them.
 * Build more prisons to end overcrowding. Refurbish existing prisons to ensure humane living standards.
 * Ban the practice of making prisoners pay for amenities.
 * Respect religious rights of prisoners: allow access to religious texts and clergy.

Drug policy

 * Decriminalize marijuana for personal use on the federal level.
 * Pardon people for nonviolent drug offenses.
 * Provide mandatory counseling and addiction services instead of sending people to prison.

Enemy combatants

 * Never ever summarily execute captured enemy combatants.
 * Ban the use of torture against any captured enemy.
 * Do not send captured enemies to other countries to circumvent torture bans.
 * Mandate that all enemy combatants be treated humanely, regardless of whether they are lawful or unlawful.

Other

 * End civil asset forfeiture.
 * Decriminalize homelessness.

Overall

 * I am a staunch anti-communist'.
 * I support a market economy in which federal and local governments provide extensive welfare safety nets and control certain industries.

Welfare policy

 * Keep Social Security alive.
 * Expand food stamp eligibility.
 * Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Corporate finance

 * Pass a 2% tax on corporate stock buybacks.
 * Require corporations to compile and release reports disclosing:
 * Total annual revenue and percentage kept as profit,
 * Government contracts and payments,
 * Tax breaks,
 * Total employee compensation as percentage of revenue,
 * Total executive compensation as percentage of revenue,
 * CEO compensation as percentage of revenue,
 * Total non-executive/employee shareholder compensation as percentage of revenue.

Personal finance

 * Establish a free, publicly-run credit reporting agency.
 * Implement the Sanders/Cortez plan to cap credit card interest at 15%, but allow interest rates to rise for 18 months if necessary.
 * Reestablish the Postal Savings System to provide public, low-cost banking services through Post Offices.
 * Discharge or substantially reduce all debts during bankruptcy proceedings. No more BS permanent debt for student loans and mortgages.

Taxation

 * Create a free public online tax filing and preparation system with maximum returns and an option for automatic tax filing.
 * Zero income tax below $30,000
 * Establish a wealth tax like the one proposed by Senator Warren.
 * 2% wealth tax on households with net worths of $50 million and over.
 * 3% wealth tax on households with net worths of $1 billion and over.
 * Hike the estate tax on millionaires and billionaires in accordance with Senator Sanders' plan.
 * 45% between $3.5 and $10 million.
 * 50% between $10 million and $50 million.
 * 55% between $50 million and $1 billion.
 * 77% for $1 billion and over.
 * Increase capital gains and corporate taxes.
 * Set maximum capital gains tax rate back to 40%.
 * Set maximum corporate tax rate back to 52%.
 * Don’t tax lawsuit winnings.

Currency

 * Pass a law to remove the penny from circulation and direct the US Mint to stop making them.
 * Make it legal for businesses and individuals to melt down pennies for their metals or sell them off to businesses that will.

Education policy

 * Fund universal preschool.

K-12

 * Stop relying on property taxes to fund public schools.
 * Provide tutors for under-performing students.
 * Provide free breakfast and lunch for students at all income levels and cancel student lunch debt. End "lunch shaming".
 * Move to a 9-to-5 school day to match parents' schedules.
 * Pay teachers properly, like at least $50k a year.
 * Expand teacher residency programs to give new educators experience teaching under a mentor.
 * Every school should have a counselor, nurse, and social worker.
 * Provide personal computers for students to use during the school year.
 * End standardized testing.
 * Increase sex education.
 * Stop subsidizing private schools.
 * Make sure that evolution, vaccines, and climate science are taught in all schools.
 * Decriminalize truancy.
 * These courses should be required by the end of high school:
 * Personal economics.
 * Macroeconomics.
 * Civics and government.
 * Comparative government.
 * Computers/typing.
 * International issues and relations.

Higher education

 * Tuition-free public colleges and trade schools.
 * Cancel student loan debt for people going to public colleges.
 * Increase college mentorship programs.

Environmental policy

 * Institute a carbon tax on businesses.
 * Require coal plants to transition to natural gas.
 * Fund carbon sequestration.
 * Fund ocean trash clean-up efforts.
 * Fund the creation of wave-energy-conversion power plants.
 * Fund the EPA.
 * Always publish climate science data.
 * Build more nuclear power plants.
 * Fund the creation of wind farms throughout the Midwest.

Voters

 * Institute automatic voter registration nationwide.
 * I'm honestly fine with voter ID laws.
 * Offer mail ballots to all voters.
 * Offer early in-person voting to all voters in the week prior to Election Day.

Procedures

 * Election Day should be a federal holiday.
 * Have congressional district lines drawn by a nonpartisan entity.
 * Abolish the Electoral College; elect presidents with a ranked-choice system.
 * Improve elections cybersecurity.
 * Invalidate state laws that discourage or prevent recounts. Every voter has the right to have their vote counted.
 * Pass laws to prevent state legislatures from interfering with the rightful selection of Electors.

Eligibility

 * People who've been a naturalized citizen for, say, 20 years should be eligible for the presidency.
 * A past crime should not invalidate people from running for office as long as it was not a felony, violent, financial, or sexual crime.
 * Citizens naturalized at birth should be unequivocally announced as eligible for the presidency.

Term limits

 * Limit Senators to two terms and Representatives to six terms.

Foreign policy

 * Focus on soft power. Countries are more likely to listen to their friends and trading partners. No war or threats needed.
 * Increase staffing for the State Department and create diplomatic training programs and scholarships for university students.
 * Close foreign US military bases except for the ones in East Asia and Eastern Europe. Basically, if the base is not protecting a threatened ally, then it should go.
 * Join the International Criminal Court.

Africa

 * Recognize Somaliland as an independent state.
 * Cut off Uganda from security aid.

Asia

 * Strengthen US-Indian relations, especially when it comes to economics and countering China.
 * Strengthen economic and strategic ties with Vietnam.
 * Announce America's consent for limited Japanese rearmament against China.
 * Increase sanctions on Burma for its unacceptable persecution of the Rohingya and military coup.

Europe

 * Continue aid to Ukraine with the objective of returning to pre-2014 borders.
 * Negotiate a nice trade deal with the British post-Brexit.
 * Increase energy exports to Europe.

Middle East

 * End support for the Saudi War in Yemen and start distancing ourselves from them in general.
 * In fact, ban the sale of weapons to the Saudis.
 * Use aid money as leverage against Israel to make it improve its treatment of Palestinians.
 * Let US citizens practice BDS against Israel, as is their right.
 * Strengthen strategic ties with Jordan, especially in the realm of counter-terrorism.
 * Negotiate a new Iran Deal.

North America

 * Normalize relations with Cuba, with the exception of arms sales.
 * Invest heavily in Mexico's and Central America's economies and infrastructure to help them modernize and reduce poverty.
 * Strengthen economic and strategic ties with Brazil.
 * Continue opposition to Maduro's criminal government in Venezuela.

Foreign affairs

 * Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan deserve to remain independent.
 * Kosovo should be independent.
 * With the things the way they are, it might be for the best if Scotland leaves the UK and Ireland reunifies.
 * Focus on building trust and ending violence between Israel and Palestine. Eventual two-state or perhaps Bosnia-style one state solution in the far future.
 * Gibraltar and the Falklands should stay British.
 * The Kurdish people deserve their own nation-state.
 * Grant Kashmir pseudo-independence as a UN-mandated buffer state between India and Pakistan.
 * Indonesia should probably dissolve.
 * Outer Manchuria is rightful Chinese clay and Russia should give it back.
 * Poland and Hungary are going to shit.
 * Turkey is going to shit.
 * Chile replacing its constitution is a great thing and I hope it goes well for them.

Government

 * Offer statehood and representation to DC, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.
 * Increase Supreme Court to 13 seats in accordance with the number of federal appeals circuits.
 * Grant all Indigenous Nations a delegate seat in the House of Representatives. At least Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Kiowa, Navajo, Sioux, and Apache should have voting members.
 * Automatically remove legislators who fail to attend more than 50% of votes in a year.
 * Implement open government, in which all government documents and proceedings are accessible to the public.
 * Ban monetary lobbying
 * Bring back the 60-vote rule for Supreme Court Justice confirmations.
 * Remove references to God from currency, federal buildings, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
 * Abolish the National Day of Prayer.

Gun policy

 * To be clear, I am pro-2A but I do believe there are common-sense policies which can help keep people safe while not infringing on constitutional rights.
 * Mandate that all gun owners be required to have a federal license which includes technical competency and mental health standards.
 * Mandate universal background checks for gun purchases.
 * Mandate required waiting periods for gun purchases of at least one week.
 * Pass gun-violence restraining order statutes nationwide.
 * Prosecute people whose guns are used in mass killings if it's found they did not secure them.
 * Ban high-capacity clips for civilians.
 * Mandate that all gun sales be registered with the government.
 * Mandate that gun owners purchase liability insurance.
 * Implement an optional federal buyback program for firearms. Prices should be attractive.
 * Encourage responsible gun ownership for minority groups like blacks, Latinos, and Muslims.

Health issues

 * Crack down on the alternative medicine industry.

Healthcare industry

 * Enact Medicare for All.
 * Medicaid is good for the economy; expand eligibility.
 * Crack down on copyright abuse by pharma corporations.
 * Ban prescription drug advertising.
 * Mandate that drug companies use a cost-based pricing system instead of manipulating customers.
 * Allow the government to negotiate drug prices.
 * The government should control pricing for crucial rare drugs.
 * Ensure adequate funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
 * Expand medical school loan-forgiveness programs.
 * Lower barriers to immigration for foreign-trained physicians and allow them to practice.
 * Legalize and support telehealth and remote patient monitoring.

Immigration policy

 * Abolish ICE.
 * End family separation policies.
 * Support private sponsorship of refugees.
 * Incentivize foreign doctors and healthcare professionals to settle in the rural US.
 * Establish a pathway to citizenship plan for non-criminal illegals.
 * Remove limits on the number or "quality" of immigrants; only bar criminals from entry.
 * In general, make it easier to legally become a US citizen.

Transportation

 * Fix the highways.
 * Fix the inland waterways, dams, and canals.
 * Increase incentives for cities to create public transportation systems.
 * Build a high-speed rail system to connect the major US cities.

Telecommunications

 * Fix the electrical infrastructure.
 * Build fiber-optic internet cables to provide fiber internet access nationwide.
 * Restore net neutrality.
 * Create a public internet service provider.

Housing

 * Build low-income housing.
 * Provide incentives on the state and federal levels for communities which allow more residential constructions.

Labor policy

 * Require businesses to publish their salary ranges for each position for all applicants.
 * Require businesses to provide paid leave for full- and part-time employees during the birth of a child or sick/dead family member.
 * Require businesses to pay salaried employees time-and-a-half for overtime hours. Required overtime hours should be more than 40 in a week and more than 8 in a day.
 * Part-time and full-time hourly pay must be the same rate for the same work.
 * All employees must have the right to request flexible working hours, with businesses required to explain any denials.
 * All employees must be guaranteed a paid 30 minute lunch if they work more than 5 hours in a day. Employees must be fully relieved of duty.
 * All employees must be guaranteed one paid 10 minute break every two hours. Employees must be fully relieved of duty.
 * All employees must be guaranteed double pay on federal holidays.
 * Full-time employees must be guaranteed two weeks of paid vacation per year after working at least 6 months.
 * Require businesses to provide seating for employees who remain in one area for more than half of their shift (this means cashiers).

Unions

 * Repeal the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.
 * Allow closed-shops and secondary strikes/boycotts.
 * Crack down on union-busting.

General (not generals)

 * Raise the enlistment age to 25.
 * Drastically cut military spending by reducing ground forces and relying on air and naval forces as deterrents.
 * Cut the budget even more in order to force the military to reform its own bloated bureaucracy.
 * Never, ever, order the military to conduct an operation unless it has devised a clear and realistic strategy on how to both win and withdraw.

The Army

 * The Army should be a mechanized/armored land-based hammer with few other roles beyond rear echelon support.
 * During peacetime, the Army should maintain generally maintain readiness but do little else.
 * The Army should not be an occupation force. It should be used to win defensive wars and then withdraw.
 * Eliminate almost all Army bases overseas in favor of keeping them stateside. The Army should be the heavyweights we bring in to an ongoing conflict, not rapid response.
 * Massed airborne forces seem to have only a niche utility nowadays and should be reduced.
 * It's time to refocus the Army away from counterinsurgency tactics.
 * Drastically cut down the Army Special Forces.
 * Increase funding for the Army Corps of Engineers and let them get about repairing this nation's crumbling infrastructure.

The Navy

 * The Navy is still essential for transporting military assets and waging war at sea. But its purpose should not be "power projection" by just sitting around.
 * That means ditching the "global presence" strategy. It has overstretched the Navy and failed to deter conflict.
 * Carriers are no longer the queens of the seas, and they should be reduced but not eliminated.
 * This means cancelling future Ford-class carriers and designing a smaller alternative.
 * That also means scrapping many of the Nimitz carriers.
 * For the surface, the Navy should instead focus on missile frigates and destroyers, which are harder to find and still have major firepower.
 * Missile submarines are also a good asset and even harder to find than destroyers.
 * The Navy must ensure that its seamen are well rested. Too many humiliating accidents have been caused by overwork.

The Marines

 * General David H. Berger's Force Design 2030 plan is a good starting point for reforming the bloated and politcized Marines.
 * The Marines should return to their old focus of smaller-scale amphibious landings. It should not be a second Army.
 * That means scrapping all but one or two of the Navy's flat-deck amphibious assault ships in favor of much smaller models.
 * That also means drastically cutting the Marines' air arm, which serves no unique purpose.
 * The Marines should also cease their "global response force" objective. That means closing many overseas bases.

The Air Force

 * The Air Force still serves an essential role, but many of its bases can be closed.
 * The F-35 should be phased in.

War criminals

 * Arrest all American war criminals and send them to be tried before the International Criminal Court.
 * Allow soldiers abroad who misbehave to be tried by said foreign government.

Veterans and lobbying

 * Increase funding for the VA Department.
 * Ban military leaders from lobbying positions for at least 10 years after they retire.
 * Force defense contractors to be transparent about what they're lobbying for and why.

General

 * Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
 * Replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the federal and state level.
 * Black Lives Matter is good.
 * Remove Confederate statues, replace with respectable Southerners like Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and Jimmy Carter. Heritage, not hate, right?

LGBT+

 * Allow LGBT+ adoption.
 * Ban conversion therapy.
 * Provide an "other" option for gender on government documents.
 * Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but do not exempt "small businesses".
 * Disallow gay panic and trans panic legal defenses for any crimes.
 * End the ban on trans people serving in the military.
 * No trans bathroom bans.
 * Add gender identity and sexual orientation to all non-discrimination legislation.
 * None of that "parody marriage" bullshit.

Trade policy

 * Pro-free trade in most cases.
 * Ban weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
 * Lift the trade and travel embargo on Cuba.