Click on a Topic to see the Democratic Party position
SOUND ECOMONIC POLICY
A strong and secure state and nation depends on sound economic policy promoting and sustaining full, meaningful employment. Business, labor, and the public must work together to re‐establish American jobs on American soil. We support small business as a means of economic growth. We must resist outsourcing by eliminating tax breaks to employers who ship jobs overseas and creating incentives to bring jobs back to the U.S.
We support development and implementation of a strategic reindustrialization plan that identifies and supports domestic industrial capacity in key technologies.
The Federal Government should provide transitional jobs for all individuals who cannot find work and have no unemployment compensation.
WORKERS' RIGHTS AND $15/HOUR MINIMUM
Public and private workers have a right to at least $15 per hour, gender pay equity, safe and equitable workplaces, and secure benefits. Workers’ rights to organize, bargain collectively, and strike without fear of reprisal must be restored and strengthened. Election by card check reduces employer intimidation of employees’ choice of representation. Employees who benefit from union contracts should pay fair‐share dues. We support public employees’ rights to speedy mediation and binding arbitration of labor disputes. We support sectoral bargaining.
Businesses must be held accountable for contracts with their employees. “Right‐to‐work” legislation and the hiring of strikebreakers are anathema to a strong, justly compensated workforce. Pensions and other retirement funds must be strictly safeguarded and responsibly managed through regulation. In the event of bankruptcy, workers’ unpaid wages must be the first claim on remaining assets.
FAIR SHARE TAXATION
We support a tax system based on ability to pay. It is immoral to overtax those less able to pay while the wealthy are under‐taxed. The Federal Budget must reflect responsible spending and fair taxation. The State Legislature must tax corporations on par with the national average. Local jurisdictions must have authority to modernize their taxation systems.
Financial markets should be more effectively regulated to prevent fraud, excessive speculation, inappropriate compensation, predatory lending, and the need for taxpayer bailouts of mismanaged firms. We must put the needs of Main Street before the needs of Wall Street.
Mining authorizations should provide adequate tax revenue to support the affected communities in perpetuity.
American companies should be established here at home, follow our labor and environmental laws, and pay taxes for the good of the commons. We must protect our industries from competition by enforcing tariffs against nations that tolerate unfair worker conditions and environmental degradation.
America’s wealth should be measured not only by GDP and the Market but also by broad measures of well‐being that incorporate factors like health, education, literacy, employment and wages, and environmental quality.
