who's my candidate?

i found this dealy on the SA forums. my results:

1. Your ideal theoretical candidate. (100%)
2. Cobb, David - Green Party (78%)
3. Nader, Ralph - Independent (78%)
4. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (77%)
5. Clark, Retired General Wesley K., AR - Democrat (71%)
6. Brown, Walt - Socialist Party (69%)
7. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (64%)
8. Kucinich, Rep. Dennis, OH - Democrat (64%)
9. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (63%)
10. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol, IL - Democrat (62%)
11. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat (62%)
12. Gephardt, Rep. Dick, MO - Democrat (61%)
13. Lieberman, Senator Joe, CT - Democrat (43%)
14. Badnarik, Michael - Libertarian (40%)
15. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat (32%)
16. Bush, President George W. - Republican (24%)
17. Peroutka, Michael - Constitution Party (15%)

well, i know i'm not green party, the greens have more than a few dealbreakers. they call for a minimum wage of $12.50 and the implementation of a 30 hour work week. that's just dumb. if you've taken introductory econ, you know that that is dumb. they're also opposed to school vouchers, and for affirmative action. my vote is not going to be a vote for the green party.

i think i'll list what i believe, the platform i'd publish if i were a candidate:

taxes and spending: maintain a healthy level of government spending that may exceed tax revenue. economists have shown that government spending is beneficial to gdp and the economy, even if it does generate a deficit. spending out to be tied to the business cycle, with more spending in recessions and less spending during expansionary periods. something kind of like an automatic 'new deal' program that kicks in when needed - spending could be limited to hiring the unemployed for public works projects. any deficit could be eliminated during the next expansion. i would maintain a minimum wage similar to what we have now. a person ought to be able to support themselves working forty hours a week on minimum wage, but they ought not be able to support a family of four.

social services funding: i oppose bush's faith-based initatives. church and state ought to be kept separate. partnering with churches amounts to an endorsement of religion. aid ought to be secular - a person down on their luck shouldn't be made to feel unwelcome at an institution that receives federal funds to help the needy.

welfare: welfare that is necessary ought to be maintained. those who aren't working, but are able to work, ought to receive unemployment insurance. if they can work, they ought to be seeking work - not seeking to have another child to inflate their welfare check.

security and terrorism: we ought not compromise national security to maintain a politically correct image. if the fbi can successfully profile serial murders, we ought to be able to profile terrorists. at the same time, we should never trample the bill of rights to achieve our goal of national security. remember, "those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither."

foreign affairs: the united states should honor any treaties it has with another nation, and ought to abide by the rules of any organization of which it is a member. the united states should recognize that it is the most powerful nation in the world, and should recognize its responsibility to intervene, when logistically possible, in situations of humanitarian injustice.

education: higher education should be guranteed to all those accepted to instituions of higher education. our current system is quite good - i believe that the financial aid available should be advertised better, though. i might be at cornell right now if i hadn't though i wouldn't have been able to afford it. currently, one can never be too poor to attend school, only not poor enough. middle class kids find themselves with parents who could make sacrifices in order to send them to school, but don't. i see no way to solve this problem outside of making public universities free, but i fear that that could lead to a decline in the quality of education available at public universities. the best solution i can think of at the moment is making subsidized loans (only up to the cost of attendance) available to all students, regardless of income levels.

healthcare: healthcare ought to be free to all american citizens. a person should never have to weigh the possible benefits of a doctor's visit with the financial hit their bank account would suffer because of it. a person should never find themselves in inescapable debt because of circumstances that were beyond their control.

social security: i've always wondered where privatization proponents think that this money to be invested in the stock market would come from. the way social security works is tha the working public pays taxes which are issued to retirees on their social security checks. taking money out of that loop would mean less money for retirees today. the current system works - social security was never created to allow retirees to live in luxury. as long as retirees are not starving, the system does not need to be changed.

illicit drugs: the war on drugs is more of an unwinnable situation than ending hatred between palestinians and jews. certain drugs (those that can't easily kill or maim; inhalant parlors ought to be illegal) should be available to adults. we ought to eliminate the black market and use the revenue that used to belong to it to better our country's schools, fund universal healthcare, and help our police to tackle real criminals.

trade: trade ought to be kept as free as possible, and only restricted in clear cases of market failure. unemployment is not a market failure, but a natural part of an evolving economy. those who decry outsourcing are only making emotional appeals to those that have lost their jobs. my automatic new deal program would reduce the severity of structural unemployment more than trade restrictions would.

gun policy: gun registration is not a bad idea - there are too many guns bought and sold without proper records. it is law that auto sales must be reported to the federal government, why shouldn't sales of firearms have the same requirement? with a tighter record of which guns are where, we wouldn't need so many restrictions on what types of firearms are available to the public. with a good tracking system, the only way for someone to get a firearm and not have the government know that they have it would be to steal it - a person who tries to steal from a man with assault rifles just might find himself in the hospital. people ought to be able to keep semi-automatic assault rifles if they wish. i have no doubts that all terrorists fear that their plans to attack america could be derailed by an american with a gun. if al-qaeda ever wanted to attack a town in middle america, i would be pleased to know that responsible citizens were able to defend his town thanks to the availability of semi-automatic rifles with large magazines.

abortion policy: the issue of abortion rests entirely on whether or not fetuses are sentient, viable humans or not. we know that a zygote does not think, while we know that a fetus in the third trimester can survive outside the womb. until we know for sure, we ought to play it safe and only allow abortions during the first four months of pregnancy. any sane woman would seek a pregnancy test after she misses her period, and we shouldn't allow a person's laziness or indecisiveness to take precedence over human life. abortions outside that time period would only be allowed for rape victims (who may be too mentally scarred to admit to themselves that they are pregnant, or who may have been frightened of coming out about the rape) and when the mother's life is in danger.

environmental policy: my administration would expand funding for alternative fuels research. fossil fuels emissions aren't only damaging in the long-term, but are immediately dentrimental to the health of everyone who breathes air. i would also subsidize tree farms in order to make tree farms more profitable than clear cutting. clear cutters would be required to replant the land they've harvested from. a limited number of acres would be allowed to be cut during each year, and lumber companies would have to bid for a piece of the quota. the revenue that the government takes in from this bidding would be used for environmental research, cleanup, and restoration.

minority issues: affirmative action is racism. race should never be a factor for employers, universities, or any other such institution. if two candidates are equally qualified on paper, a decision should be made either by interviewing the two candidates or flipping a coin. racism should not be tolerated among employers, universities, banks, landlords, etc.

so booyah, there is my theoretical presidential platform. too bad i was born in germany and am thus ineligible to be president.