In order to take back America, we think that we need to shake up the Presidential selection process. We think that a third-party candidate, who puts America ahead of him/her-self and fills a void in the political center left open by the political strategies of the Democrats and Republicans, will enable America to focus on solving problems versus fighting for political power. We believe that Mike Bloomberg can do this.
Below is a brief summary of Mike Bloomberg’s positions and accomplishments, but, in short, we advocate Mike Bloomberg for President for the following reasons.
- Leadership: Mike Bloomberg will focus on doing the right thing for America and has demonstrated his sound judgment and foresight in solving problems.
- Problem Solver: Mike Bloomberg has shown that he is willing to tackle tough issues, and because he does not have to raise money from special interest groups, he can work with people from various perspectives to figure out the best answer.
- Experience: Mike Bloomberg has run a complex government for six years after being a highly successful entrepreneur and businessman.
Economic Issues
Fiscal Responsibility
- Turned NYC's $5 billion deficit into a $4 billion surplus
- Manages a $58.5B budget and has led New York City to its highest ever bond rating
- Believes that being fiscally conservative means demanding results and holding government accountable for producing them, balancing budgets, improving the efficiency of delivering services, cutting taxes when possible and prudent to do so, raising them overall only when necessary to balance the budget and only in combination with spending cuts, saving your surpluses, and preparing for the inevitable economic downturns.
- Being a fiscal conservative is not about slashing programs that help the poor, or improve health care, or ensure a social safety net.
Economic Development
- Investing in infrastructure critical to competitiveness
- Created Building America’s Future, a non-partisan coalition for federal infrastructure investment, which includes the basic necessities communities and businesses need to survive: schools, waterlines, wastewater treatment systems, dams, flood mitigation, hospitals, energy, aviation, rail lines, and ports.
Trade
- Staunchly for free trade and against protectionism because tariffs to protect jobs end up helping foreign competitors
- Recognizes that globalization is an inevitability that presents an opportunity for America to expand the markets that we reach as well as procure less expensive goods and services. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60452ee4-a7f3-11dc-9485-0000779fd2ac.html)
- Realizes that we need to invest in the skills and knowledge of our workforce to help with their transition to an increasingly global economy.
Poverty
- Instituted $7.5B municipal affordable housing plan that aims to provide 500,000 New Yorkers with housing (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/opinion/22tue3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin)
- He also launched a program called Opportunity NYC which is the nation's first-ever conditional cash transfer pilot program designed to help New Yorkers break the cycle of poverty in the city. Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions such as enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor's office, receiving vaccinations, or the like.
Domestic Issues
Crime
- New York remains the safest big city in the country according to the FBI’s Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report for the first six months of 2007 (http://www.mikebloomberg.com/en/issues/mayor_bloomberg_and_police_commissioner_kelly_announce_new_york_city_remains_the_safest_big_city_in_america_according)
- Reduced murder rate by focusing on domestic violence which resulted in fewer homicides in NYC than any year on record
- Mandatory minimum sentencing for gun crimes because gun dealers who break the law should be held accountable and criminals who carry illegal loaded guns should serve serious time behind bars
- Formed Mayors Against Illegal Guns in May 2007, an organization made up of 210 mayors who are supportive of gun control because the 2nd Amendment doesn't prevent keeping guns from criminals
- Favors life sentence instead of the death penalty - rather lock somebody up and throw away the key and put them in hard labor
Education
- Believes that a good education is the key to unlocking the American Dream for all of our children
- Replaced school board with direct mayoral control to establish more accountability
- Ended social promotion; lengthened the school day to provide extra help for struggling students; worked to expand the number of charter schools; cut the bureaucracy and re-directed that money into the classroom; even raised teachers' salaries 43% and instituted a new program of merit pay for principals
- NYC has the most improved public school system in the country. Math and reading scores have significantly improved and graduation rates have are at their highest levels in two decades.
Healthcare
- Established a $2.5B trust fund for NYC future retirees' health care
- Believes that universal healthcare is an important goal but that it does not change the underlying reality of a health care system that is both too expensive and too ineffective.
- Moving NYC toward a 'pay-for-prevention' system of health-care that rewards primary care doctors who succeed in keeping people out of hospitals
- Banned trans fats in NYC restaurants
- Banned smoking in all commercial establishments
- Supports governmental funding for stem cell research
Environment
- Enacted "PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York" to fight global warming, protect the environment and prepare New York for the projected 1 million more people expected to be living in the city by the year 2030
- Plan to reduce NYC carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 by doing such things as converting 13,000 taxis to hybrid or high-efficiency vehicles
- To reduce carbon emissions, favors charging a fee for greenhouse gas pollutants because it would eliminate the uncertainty that companies would face in a cap-and-trade system, would be easier to implement and enforce, would prevent special interests from opening up loopholes, and would create an opportunity to cut taxes.
- Pushing for a congestion pricing system to reduce traffic (http://www.observer.com/2007/congestion-pricing-good-return-investment)
- Has added 300 acres of new parks and wants to create 2,000 more and is planting 1 million trees around the city by 2017
Social Issues
- Abortion - reproductive choice is a fundamental human right
- Marriage – supports same-sex marriage
Homeland Security & Foreign Policy
Immigration
- Supports a federal ID database that uses DNA and fingerprint technology to keep track of all citizens and to verify their legal status
- Feels that one of the strengths of America is our attraction to immigrants. Our economy needs the talent that they offer. While we need to secure our borders, we cannot deport 12M illegal immigrants and, without granting amnesty, need to find some sort of path to citizenship.
- Supporter of immigration reform to secure the rights of illegal immigrants because deportation breaks up families and scares illegal immigrants away from cooperating with law enforcement or accessing vital social services; normalize the status of otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants already present in the country.
Foreign Relations
- Need to communicate with all countries, including our enemies, even if only at a low level
- Believes that we need to reverse course on America’s go-it-alone strategy because damaged relationships hurt trade, terrorism, and the environment
Iraq War
- Nobody wants the war to continue, but plans need to consider what happens next if we pull out
- Does not favor a date certain to pull out the troops and does not think that an immediate withdrawal is practical
