If you missed my preamble, no, not those platforms.
And not that kind of party.
I’m reviewing and comparing the Democrat and Republican Party Platforms. I’m doing this because there’s more to the election than getting a new President. I already know who I want for my next President. I, like, Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times, hope that all 50 states go to one candidate.
Both Parties have rebuilding the economy and creating jobs as the first thing on their respective Agendas.
The Democratic Party has nine pages on job creation, pay, and workers. The Platform mentions Donald Trump or the Republican Party seven times in these nine pages. The Republicans have eight pages on restoring the American dream; they mention Obama/the current administration or the Democrats eleven times.
Just so I can keep everything straight, I put the information into a simple chart, like I would for corporate goals. This is also the way CoCo’s Individual Education Plans got laid out, too. Pretty easy to understand; I think: We will______________ by_____________ so that______________ happens. I added a column for how the action will be financed, too. Sadly that’s pretty empty.
So here’s the Democrats’ Plan for jobs and the economy:
| We will | By | So that | Finacing by |
| Raise workers’ incomes | Incrementally raising the minimum wage to $15/hr | Everyone can earn a living wage | Federal dollars to support employers |
| Protect workers’ rights | Allowing unions to be certified by simple majority | Workers are protected at the bargaining table | |
| Protect workers’ rights | Opposing right-to-work legislation | Workers are protected at the bargaining table | |
| Support working families | Enacting national 12 weeks paid medical & family leave | We have a strong, stable caregiving workforce | |
| Support working families | Fighting for 7 days of paid sick leave, and paid vacations | We have a strong, stable caregiving workforce | |
| Help more workers share in corporate profits | Incentivizing companies share in corporate profits with workers | Worker productivity increases |
|
| Expand access to affordable housing | Expanding incentives to ease local barriers to building. | We create millions of good-paying jobs,
Address the housing crisis. |
Increase funding for the National Housing Trust Fund |
| Expand access to home ownership | Expanding efforts like the Neighborhood Stabilization Program | We counter the Lingering effects of the foreclosure crisis are addressed | |
| Address homelessness | Expanding initiative to end veteran and family homelessness | Veterans no longer go homeless. | |
| Protect and expand Social Security | Fighting efforts to cut, privatize, or weaken Social Security. | Every American can retire with dignity | Ask those with incomes above $250,000 to pay more. |
| Ensure a secure and dignified retirement | Enacting legislation so that earned benefits will not be cut | Workers get priority and protection when pension plans are distressed. | Closing tax loopholes that benefit millionaires and billionaires |
| Create good-paying jobs | Building a better infrastructure | Millions of Americans are put back to work | Create an independent national infrastructure bank |
| Create good-paying jobs | Claw back tax breaks for jobs shipped overseas | We foster a manufacturing renaissance | |
| Create clean energy jobs | Making American manufacturing more internationally competitive | Our industries are the greenest and most efficient in the world | Invest in efficiency |
| Pursue an innovation Agenda | Supporting public and private investment in science, technology, and research | We Enhance opportunities to achieve greater self-sufficiency | |
| Pursue an innovation Agenda | Connecting every household to high-speed broadband, increase free Wi-Fi | We enable the Internet of Things and a host of transformative technologies. | |
| Support a free and open internet | Opposing roll back of net neutrality rules | ?? | |
| Expand space exploration | Strengthening support for NASA | Americans continue to push beyond the boundaries of what we know. | |
| Support small businesses and entrepreneurs | Cutting red tape | We grow jobs faster. | |
| Support small businesses and entrepreneurs | Providing targeted funding and support | We grow jobs faster. | |
| Make investments to spur the creation of millions of jobs | Creating jobs for America’s between the age of 16 and 24 | We decrease the number of young people who are unemployed (Currently 10%) | Direct federal funding for a range of locan programs |
Whew! That was a lot of work. Next up….
The Republicans’ plan for jobs and the economy:
| We will | By | So that | Finacing by |
| Not divide people into winners and losers | Eliminating as many special interest provisions and loopholes as possible and curb corporate welfare | We don’t penalize thrift and discourage investment. | |
| Level the international playing field | Lowering the corporate tax rate to be on a par with, or below the rates of other industrial nations | America is competitive. | |
| Level the international playing field | Switching to a territorial system of taxation | Profits earned and taxed abroad may be repatriated for job-creating investments. | |
| Prevent foreign governments from limiting American access to their markets while stealing our designs, patents, brands, know-how, and technology. | Broadening our trade agreements with countries which share our values and commitment to fairness | The interests of the U.S. workers are advanced. | |
| Avoid future taxpayer housing market bailouts | Scaling back the role of government in the housing market | Homeowners and lenders are responsible. | |
| Advance responsible homeownership | End government mandates to satisfy lending quotas to specific groups | We end discrimination in the mortgage industry. | |
| Advance responsible homeownership | Reviewing federal environmental regulations | We make it easier and less costly for Americans to rent, buy, or sell homes. | |
| Eliminate Federal funds for ferries, bike-share, sidewalks, recreational trails, landscaping | Remove the Highway Trust Fund programs | We end the current administration’s efforts to get people out of their cars. | |
| Eliminate Federal funds for Amtrak | Allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the northeast corridor and high-speed intercity rail across the country | American taxpayers don’t subsidize public transportation | |
| Create a partnership with individuals and industries for investment and innovation | Simplifying the tax code, reduce corporate rates, transition to a territorial system, and create incentives for investment and innovation. | We have a business climate that rewards risk and promotes innovation. | |
| Create new jobs, , give access to new markets, open opportunities to underserved populations, and expand consumer choices. | Paving the way for broadband deployment and completion on the internet and for internet services.
Encouraging the sharing economy and on-demand platforms |
We are competitive in an open market | |
| Improve the Electric Grid | Expediting siting processes and the thoughtful expansion of the grid | Our aging grid is replaced in seven to ten years. | |
| Reduce the occupational licensing laws | Overturning the Dodd-Frank law | Millions of entrepreneurial careers open. | |
| Annually audit the Federal Reserve’s activities | Advancing legislation already approved by the House | The Federal Reserve’s role is carried out in a more transparent manner. | |
| Bring labor laws into the 21st century | Supporting the States to enact Right-to-work laws. | We protect economic liberty of the modern workforce. | |
| Limit non-cash benefits of the federal workforce | Reviewing the unionization of the federal workforce for the effects on cost, quality, and performance of the civil service. | We align iFederal compensation and benefits with most American employees and expedite firing of bad workers, tax cheats, and scammers. | |
| Reduce the Federal Dept | Imposing caps on future dept, accelerate the repayment of the trillions now owed. | Our economy is strong. |
Wow!
I gotta say, that really helped me get a feel for what each party hopes to achieve and why. Neither party did much to tell me any concrete dollars saved or spent. Of course, it’s not easy to compare the two Platforms. They don’t use the same style or organization. But, I’m determined to give it my best shot.
Next up for comparison is the Environment and Global Warming.