Economics for Democrats

PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES:

Guidelines For Economic Decision Making

• Capitalism is a wonderful freedom-oriented and wealth-building system. It is the best economic system on earth but it is NOT PERFECT.
• Economies need checks and balances for successful operations just like the government.
• Reduce competition based on minimizing wages as it reduces the number of quality customers.
• Insure more long-range planning by business and government - i.e. infrastructure, education, and environment - long-term versus short-term profits.
• Promote competition by limiting and/or regulating monopolies and oligopolies.
• Balance the fiscal budget except for severe recessions and/or war.
• Government spending is not anti-growth it is a recirculation (redistribution) program that aids the economy. It provides for an ample supple of quality customers.
• Government policies need to encourage and not hinder business formations, operations, incentives, initiative, innovation, productivity, investment, competition, research and development.
• Government needs to insure a level playing field in the business environment to insure competition.
• Governments need to insure Property Rights are always protected while also protecting human rights and community interests (i.e. the rule of law).
• Governments should not over regulate the good but look more for the bad and increase their penalties.
• Taxation should not be based on how much one pays but how much one has left over to raise a family - be a quality customer - and save for retirement. Progressive Income and Estate taxation are the fairest taxes as they are based more on the ability to pay.
• We need to compete on a global basis by protecting the wages of our customers and encouraging other countries to do the same. This is accomplished by a change in our current tariff charges and by encouraging the formation of labor unions.
• Insure there is an ample supply and diversity of access to capital from our monetary system with interest and equity return.
• Moderate Inflation is good. Excess Inflation is bad.
• Beware of economic statistics and formulas.
• Encourage ownership and financial education by all.
• The government can fund it but it does not have to run it. Governments can fund, regulate and operate certain functions if they do not lend themselves to market competition.
• The question is not more or less government involvement in the economy but the right government involvement in the economy.
• Implement a variable maximum percentage interest that can be charged on loans, so that we can avoid usury in our credit system.