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PLATFORM

Our Key Issues

Equal Pay for Women

The wage gap between men and women has been a problem in the United States for decades. There have been great efforts made in the past to help solve this problem, however these efforts fall short as pay discrimination still exists in our society. We believe that this is a real and current issue that surrounds American women, and that they deserved to be paid equally. Our plan involves identifying how and where this discrimination is occurring, and putting an end to it by instituting new regulations. Some of these regulations would include requiring employers to be more transparent when it comes to salaries, and making it necessary for them to report that information. Additionally, we want to ensure equal pay for equal work, and require employers to prove that any salary disparities exist solely because of job-related aspects and not because of gender. The institution of these new laws would help stimulate more progress towards closing the gender wage gap. 

COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus has been sweeping the nation at an alarming rate as thousands of Americans are infected and many have lost their lives. Methods such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders have been put into place in order to help slow the spread of the virus. Lately, these restrictions are being lifted because businesses need to reopen in order to allow the economy to recover. As a result, more people are congregating and not following social distancing rules because they believe the worst of this virus is over. However, that is a dangerous mindset, and the virus still continues to rage across America. Excessive congregating will only enable this virus to spread more, but the economy needs to be able to recover during this crisis. There needs to be a safer option to accomplish both of these goals. If Norton is elected, we would work towards keeping businesses open, while still being attentive to the safety and health of the public. Social distancing rules would be more heavily enforced, so that people can continue with their lives, just at a safer distance away from each other. This will allow the economy to grow, and help the virus not to spread as quickly. 

Abortion

Supporting pro-life is supporting a child and his or her journey through life. Supporting pro-life gives the unborn child a chance to succeed and have a life. Within the mother, there is a light that shines brightly and there is a little heartbeat that deserves a chance. Conducting an abortion is murder and murder is unethical and illegal. Harming a small soul, so innocent as that, would be morally incorrect. Abortion will not just put the baby in danger but put the mom in danger as well. Pro-life will save all and allow a child to grow and develop without any risk.  

Lack of Economic Opportunity and Unemployment

Poverty in the United States, one of the world's most wealthy and prosperous nations, is persistently high. Despite a complex array of social insurance programs in place, 43.1 million people remain in poverty. Because unemployment is a strong predictor of poverty, we propose a permanent federal job guarantee for all Americans. The program would provide full-time employment for any American over eighteen, offering at least non poverty wages plus benefits. Such a program will constitute a direct route to producing full employment by eradicating involuntary unemployment. It also will substantially increase worker bargaining power by removing the employer threat of unemployment. To make the case that the federal job guarantee is viable, this paper includes responses to five common criticisms lodged against programs of this type.

Education

Education accounts for approximately one-third of state and local government spending. Perhaps no other item exerts a greater impact on our quality of life and economic future. If students are developing skills, acquiring knowledge, and preparing themselves for life in the modern world, our economic future is bright. On the other hand, declining basic skill levels are a prelude to economic stagnation . Thus, success in education is vitally important to every American.

Spending

With an economy that’s strong, that creates opportunities and grows wages, people are experiencing the American Dream. But this dream is in danger of becoming the American Nightmare. The future looks bleak: job losses, lower wages for those lucky enough to keep a job, and massive tax increases on average Americans. For many families, that could mean tighter budgets, less money to buy food and clothes, and little prospect for a family vacation or being able to improve their financial situation in the future. We propose to focus on funding the constitutionally mandated duties of the federal government, first and foremost national defense. The federal government should return control of many programs to the private sector and state and local governments. Programs often work best and cost less when they’re run by those closest to the people affected by them. Second, reform the biggest social programs in the budget, from Social Security to health care, to return control over health care and retirement decisions to Americans while protecting the most vulnerable. And finally, keep taxes low and eliminate thousands of heavy-handed regulations that just grow government and siphon away our money and our freedoms. The recent tax cuts and deregulation are allowing the economy to flourish, which leads to more jobs and rising wages.

Safety & Security / Welfare

Across this country, too many Americans feel that their government has forgotten them. Instead of fighting for their needs, their representatives give special deals to special interests, and everyday citizens are left to foot the bill. Our current welfare system is structured to disincentivize self-improvement and the reaching of full potentials. If a couple gets married, they are penalized and lose benefits. In addition, most welfare programs provide able-bodied individuals with benefits without requiring the recipient either to hold a job or to search or prepare for work. This encourages idleness, the exact opposite of what our welfare system should do. To improve the well-being of the poor, the welfare system should promote rather than penalize marriage and encourage work rather than idleness. That’s why Norton would pass a bill to help. This bill would fix the incentive structure for the federal food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under our bill, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) would be required to get a part-time or full-time job, be in school, be in job training, or be actively looking for a job in order to receive SNAP benefits. Far from punishing those who need help, this requirement would partner with unemployed or underemployed individuals to make sure that they are getting the education or training they need in order to compete in today’s marketplace. For those applying for work, professionals would supervise their search to make sure that it ended in employment instead of a string of demoralizing rejection letters.

Healthcare

The lack of meaningful information to consumers in the healthcare industry, particularly for chronic illnesses, has caused a market failure with gross inefficiencies.  Moreover, as long as practitioners, manufacturers, guidance bodies, insurance carriers and government practices and policies are not moving in the same direction, healthcare services will have excessive costs and the well-being of the overall public will remain inadequate. The cost and inefficiencies are largest in the area of chronic illnesses.  In the private sector, management science teaches us that there is no better way to solve a problem then by putting the spotlight on it, and then developing, communicating and executing a plan to fix the problem. This is why we believe the public and its representatives in Congress should endorse a National Healthcare Standards Organization that builds on the seeds that are already blossoming in the fields of cancer.  The National Health Standards Organization should focus on the Top 10 chronic illnesses to ensure all of the components of the healthcare industry are working in lock step and reflect the best interests of the public regarding these illnesses.

Mexican Drug Cartels

Illegal drugs, from the drug cartels, have been present in the United States for far too long. Currently, there are laws against the producing and dealing of the illegal drugs. There is boarder patrol to search cars and people, who are coming into the States, to prevent them from trying to smuggle the drugs. Even in these attempts, drugs are still heavily dealt in the streets of this country. We want to put a stop to the distribution of these drugs and create a situation where the cartels make little to no money, so they realize that making/selling their drugs just is not worth it in the end. We will set stricter laws or sentences into place, hopefully reducing the drugs that are throughout the entire country.

Immigration

Build a generous and well-functioning legal immigration system that can be responsive to the nation’s changing needs. This would include realistic and independent evidence-based avenues for immigration that allow families to stay together and businesses to get the workers they need, while enhancing all workers’ rights to fair and increasing wages, safe working conditions, and the opportunity to thrive together. The rules of such a system would be designed to recognize the fact that the only way to have an immigration system that works is to more closely align supply and demand, rather than force the system to adhere to artificial caps, untethered from reality and revisited only once in a generation at best. Importantly, if immigration were successfully channeled through a functioning regulatory system, enforcement resources could instead be dedicated to preventing individuals from entering the country outside of that system and to appropriate enforcement actions necessary to maintain the integrity of that system and U.S. borders, which remain central to the very notion of national sovereignty. 

Establish a humane asylum and refugee system that honors the nation’s historic commitment to be a place of refuge, as well as ensures that those in need of humanitarian protection receive fair and efficient adjudication of their claims without sacrificing due process.

Commit to proportionality, accountability, and due process in immigration enforcement. This would do away with the current one-size-fits-all approach, in which banishment from the country is the only sanction on the table and opportunities for relief are few, and instead allow for a range of potential penalties to fit the offense and the individual. Likewise, such a system would have real due process; be administered through independent immigration courts that consider cases with the ultimate goal of rendering fair and just outcomes;9 and incorporate important aspects of the rule of law long found in the U.S. criminal justice system, including the notion that sanctions should be subject to statutes of limitations.

Create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and other individuals long residing in the country. This would allow people to come forward, register with the government, pass a background check, and be put on a path to permanent residence and eventual citizenship. Building a functioning immigration system, as described above, will go a long way toward ensuring that people no longer have to come into the country outside the law or remain outside the law in the future. 

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