“I come from the slums of Audubon and I know what it is like to grow up without all of the necessities of life. As workers like me toiled around in job after job, the repulsiveness of our work increased, yet our wages decreased. It is time this stopped, for us common people have nothing to lose but our chains. Instead we have the whole world to win. I will make sure that every man, woman, and child has the food, shelter, and health care they need to survive. Workingmen of the states, unite for a better future! For I am not just your comrade; I’m EVERYONE’S comrade.”
LIST OF ISSUES
The Baseline Program
Josh’s campaign is centered around the idea that all Americans deserve to have a baseline standard of living. To that end, his signature policy calls for a government program to provide essentials vouchers each month to every household, to pay for food, housing, clothes, medical care, and other necessary expenses. This will guarantee that no person or family will struggle because they are unable to buy food or pay their rent while encouraging people to spend responsibly.
Tax Program
Josh believes in responsible government spending, which is why the baseline program will be fully paid for by a set of new tax reforms.
The baseline tax is designed based on data showing that the average American spends 50% of their income on necessities. Thus, in order to pay for the baseline program, a flat 50% tax will replace our current income tax brackets, more than doubling our income tax revenue. This tax, while being a flat tax, will not be a regressive tax, because lower-income families spend more money on necessities. So, a wealthy family that would normally spend 35% of their income on necessities will instead pay 50% in the baseline tax, while a family in poverty that normally spends 75% of their income on essentials will only have to spend 50% as well.
Corporate taxes will be raised to 50% as well. This will more than double our current corporate tax revenue. This will gradually increase yearly, first by 5% after the first 5 years, then 4% after the next 5 years, and so on. This added revenue will be designated to go towards paying off the national debt.
Payroll taxes will be replaced with a flat 10% tax that will pay into a fund for those whose necessary expenses are higher due to age, disability, disaster, or other outside circumstances.
Josh’s plan will also institute a national property tax. The revenue will be used to provide grants to the states to increase funding to public schools, while the tax will encourage the use of smaller residences and public housing, decreasing our land usage and our carbon footprint. Part of our property tax increase will be the skyscraper tax, which taxes owners of buildings over 300 feet tall and added 5% of their value for every additional 20 feet. This tax will make our property tax system more progressive.
Capital gains taxes will also be increased to 25% for all people making over $60,000 a year. This will decrease financial speculation and the owning of unnecessary property.
Minimum Wage
Josh believes that even with the basic necessities taken care of, there is still value and importance to hard work, and hard working Americans of all economic levels should be rewarded fairly for there work. That is why under the baseline program, the minimum wage will be increased to $14 an hour. This means that even with an increased income tax, minimum wage earners will still make more money annually after taxes than with the current minimum wage. This will be adjusted yearly for inflation.
Environment
Protecting the environment is key to protecting our nation and a good quality of life for the American people. Josh’s housing policy will decrease our use of space and resources, preserving nature and decreasing our carbon footprint. Josh will also implement a fine on businesses that get less than 20% of their energy from renewable sources. The revenue from this fine will then be used to pay for renewable energy installation for public buildings and low-income families. The soon-to-expire wind and solar tax credits will be continued and enhanced, to make up in part for the increased corporate tax. Businesses and individuals will be able to write off 60% of any wind or solar installation, instead of 30%.
Immigration
America cannot achieve equality and fairness without finding a solution for millions of undocumented immigrants. Josh will put and end to family separation, and supports a program through which illegal immigrants can obtain citizenship, similar to the 2013 bill, although with a wait time of only 5 years and more funds allocated towards vetting immigrants, rather than border security. The family-based immigration limits will be expanded to grandparents, married children and their immediate families. The diversity lottery will be replaced with a lottery open to all other countries offering 100,000 green cards annually.
Mental Health
Mental health is a key aspect of one's quality of life. America today is experiencing a mental health crisis. In order to deal with that, Josh believes in starting in schools, implementing positive education, a method of teaching which uses positive reinforcement and teaches character, emotional wellbeing, and the importance of each of our unique skills, alongside traditional subjects. Josh also will set aside funding for community-based mental health care, which emphasizes primary care facilities and supported housing over hospitalization, decreasing the stigma around mental illness while allowing people to hold jobs while they undergo treatment.