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domestic.html
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Domestic Policy</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css">
</head>
<body>
<header><h1>Crystal for President</h1></header>
<section>
<aside>
<h2>Issues</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="domestic.html">Domestic Policy</a>
<ul>
<li>Healthcare</li>
<li>Poverty</li>
<li>Civil Rights</li>
<li>Spending</li>
<li>Safety Net Programs</li>
<li>Education</li>
<li>Economy</li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="foreign.html">Foreign Policy</a>
<ul><li>Immigration</li>
<li>Fighting Terrorism</li>
<li>Building International Relationships</li>
<li>Trade Policy</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
</aside>
<main>
<h2>Domestic Policy</h2>
<p>The government exists to serve its citizens--to support them, to protect them, and to perform services deemed by the people to be in their interest. The government should be empowered to do what the people want it to do, while allowing individuals the freedom to govern their own lives, and the pursuit of their own happiness. The government also has a responsibility to balance services rendered with responsible fiscal policy. The government also has a core responsibility to regulate negative externalities and guide free markets toward net positive outcomes where free markets alone will not allow for those outcomes.</p>
<p>In general, people should be encouraged to be self-reliant and to serve their neighbors. The world would be a better place if individuals and families took the time to watch out for their neighbors and the community. Government programs should seek to support these relationships and efforts, not replace them.</p>
<p>Government officials have a responsibility to be honest to the American people. Though some commentators have labelled our era the "post-truth" world, citizens everywhere should reject the idea of "alternative facts" and hold leaders accountable for reality. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, we cannot build a successful society without the foundation of reality and truth. While some world issues do not have clear-cut answers, policy decisions should be made on the basis of facts and research wherever possible.</p>
<h3>Healthcare</h3>
<p>Inequity in healthcare access should be of concern to any compassionate American citizen. Our healthcare system is fundamentally broken, with skyrocketing costs doing little to ensure outcomes. Promises of innovative technology driving down costs and improving quality remain largely unfulfilled, despite billions of dollars of both public and private investment. Universal access to preventive and routine care is a critical first step in changing healthcare from a system which incentivizes illness to one which rewards sustained health. While rising premiums are a critical concern for all Americans, a continued emphasis on this preventive care and spreading risk across both sick and healthy populations is critical to long-term sustainability. The individual mandate, while unpopular, is vital to the success of long-term healthcare reform, and should be reinstated while other policy efforts continue to evolve. Additionally, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), should retain funding to lower emergency-room spending and keep our nation's youth healthy.</p>
<p>We also need to encourage more Americans to own their own health. While many health challenges are attributable to genetics and seem to strike indiscriminately, other critical illnesses can be largely explained by poor health decisions. We need to take action to encourage healthy eating and consistent physical activity, especially among the rising generation. These changes often need to begin in the home, rather than as a result of government intervention. However, there are steps that can be taken to improve America's overall health and wellness, and decrease the strain on a floundering healthcare system.</p>
<h3>Poverty</h3>
<p>Efforts to alleviate poverty often occur very effectively at the local level, where unique community needs can be evaluated. Effective poverty programs should include an emphasis on treating the root causes and providing social support to struggling individuals and families.</p>
<p>Much of poverty and suffering can be alleviated by people being good neighbors. If every citizen took the time to check in on their neighbors regularly, a lot of loneliness and suffering would be alleviated. Through the simple awareness of the needs of those around them, many people would find opportunities to serve, help, and lift those who are impoverished. While public programs can be a helpful source of resources, they will never effectively replace the efforts of individuals and communities to reach out and support one another.</p>
<h3>Civil Rights</h3>
<p>While America has come a long way since Civil Rights era in the 1960s, many Americans still struggle with racism, discrimination, and unequal opportunity. This is unacceptable. Alleviating discrepancies among the population is a challenge that requires the efforts of every citizen. I propose beginning our efforts with:</p>
<ul>
<li>An open national dialogue about the diverse American experience. Creating safe forums for diverse individuals to meet and express their concerns is of critical importance, both at the local and national level.</li>
<li>Increased funding for education in inner-city schools and other areas with traditionally marginalized populations. In many cases, what is needed in these schools is not only solid teaching talent and monetary investment, but programs reaching beyond school walls to strengthen families and address social challenges that inhibit student growth. Supporting these communities will create opportunities for the next generation of American success stories.</li>
<li>Increased evaluation of pay disparities that exist for women and other minorities, including re-instating changes to EEO reporting introduced under the Obama administration.</li>
<li>Stronger reporting channels for discrimination claims that aren't appropriately handled in workplaces across the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Spending</h3>
<p>The government cannot continue to exist at its current rate of spending--the debt will become insurmountable. The waste in Washington has grown long enough, and something's got to give. While everyone agrees that the budget is a problem, few politicians are willing to dive into the weeds and eliminate waste. Government programs lack accountability and the real problems we face continue to be kicked down the road. This has to stop.</p>
<p>As president, I would push for legislation which truly evaluates the success and value added by each government programs and cuts those which aren't successfully achieving their established intent.</p>
<h3>Safety Net Programs</h3>
<p>Current entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security are obviously broken. Neither program has enough dollars stashed away to run indefinitely under current policies, but no current group is willing to take the political risk necessary to fix them.</p>
<p>The solutions here aren't simple. However, any approach must begin with the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>Raise the cap of taxable income, which is $128,400 in 2018. This means that any income beyond $128,400 is not subject to the Social Security tax. Raising this cap to $150,000 or even $200,000 would <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/increasing-payroll-taxes-would-strengthen-social-security">increase short-term solvency</a> for the Social Security system.</li>
<li>Redefine Social Security and Medicare as safety net programs, not entitlements. While denying benefits to current and near-term retirees would impact many already-struggling Americans, long-term sustainability for these programs requires that Americans turn to other sources of retirement funding. Primarily, policy should focus on simplifying retirement account rules to make retirement savings more accessible for average Americans. Strong economic and educational policy is additionally important to help Americans take care of themselves. Removing the "entitlement" mentality from these programs will help ensure that funds are available for those workers who are in truly exceptional circumstances, and in need of the safety net. In the long term, these changes will allow the overall social security payroll tax to decrease, delivering funds back into the hands of everyday Americans.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Education</h3>
<p>Education programs need to be responsive to the needs of their constituents. Often, this means that locally governed public education is more efficient and more impactful than federally mandated policies. However, some high-level oversight is helpful in a few key areas. First, curricula built upon research and nationally recognized subjects is helpful in ensuring quality and consistency from state to state. When this becomes a motivator for excessive standardized testing and eliminates the power of teachers to help their students, this curriculum becomes problematic and should be reevaluated. Second, education should be responsive to modern realities, preparing students for adult life and real-world jobs, not just debt-inducing higher education. To this end, partnerships between industry and public education systems benefit all communities and should be encouraged. Third, inflation in the prices of college tuition have left many young Americans in bondage to debt. The problem, however, is not one of financing, but one of cost. Government policy, rather than ensuring for free higher education, should instead focus on reducing the cost of quality university experiences in order to bring access to education back to the masses and pave the way for future development across America.</p>
<h3>Economy</h3>
<p>The economy operates most effectively when left alone. However, where unchecked free markets have created negative externalities, the government must step in. The trick, of course, is finding the balance between both extremes. So long as other policies create an environment in which the American people can learn, work hard, and innovate, little government intervention should be needed to directly stimulate economic growth.</p>
<p>I firmly believe that national success should not be defined by GDP growth alone, however. Rather, the goal is a nation full of successfully and gainfully employed individuals, able to support their families and provide for the necessities of life. The goal is a nation where individuals are free and able to pursue happiness. GDP growth is only important inasmuch as it supports those ends.</p>
</main>
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