A. The health of the planet and the health of nations is inseparably bound to the health of our human communities. We understand that an unjust society is an unsustainable Society. When communities are stressed by poverty, violence and despair, our ability to meet the challenges of the post-industrial age are critically impaired. A future-focused perspective on how we distribute resources in this country will consider the effects of such distribution not just on our present needs, but on the needs of future generations.

B. We believe that all people have a right to adequate food, housing, medical care, a living wage job, education, and support in times of hardship.

C. We call for restoration of a federally funded entitlement program to support children, families, elderly and the disabled, with no time limit on benefits. We also need to provide unemployment benefits, or "welfare", with no time limits for those that cannot find employment. This program should be funded through the existing welfare budget, reductions in military spending of 40 to 50 percent, the elimination of corporate subsidies, and a fair progressive income tax.

D. Forcing welfare recipients to accept jobs that pay wages below a livable income (“a living wage”) drives wages down and exploits workers for private profit at public expense. We reject “workfare” as a form of slave labor.

E. All Corporations should be required to provide livable wage jobs, observe basic workers rights, and agree to policies based not just on our present needs, but on all the generations to come.

F. We support a “Minimum wage” of 10 dollars an hour, beginning immediately with no phony “phase in.” We also support a maximum wage of 50 times the lowest paid worker. That sounds like allot and it is, but CEO’s now can “earn” hundreds of times what the lowest paid worker earns.

II. Education

A. We believe that a strong public school system is fundamental to a truly democratic nation. In this light, we oppose any measure which would drain money away from public schools, subsidize private schooling with tax dollars, or blur the line which separates church and state through funneling tax dollars to sectarian institutions.

B. We oppose commercialism within our schools. This includes a ban on any advertisements, any corporate sponsored curriculum tools or media, and any sweepstakes that are self-promoting of a corporate logo or product.

C. We adamantly disagree with reliance on standardized testing which forces our teachers into the role of automatons, spoon-feeding potential test material to students. Students and teachers are routinely denied the opportunity to express creativity, engage in critical thinking, or aspire to self-motivation, as the classroom experience becomes increasingly homogenous and test-oriented. Although standardized testing is beneficial when used sparingly as an objective measurement, more research needs to be done to ensure that it is not culturally or gender-biased.

D. All students who meet minimal and reasonable educational requirements should have access to college through scholarships, tuition waivers or low-interest loans which should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings, rather than at a fixed rate. Students who opt for a vocational training should likewise have reasonable access.

E. Grants should be available at the state level to provide mandatory continuing education for our educators at regular intervals both in the areas of content and of educational practice. Teacher’s salaries should be increased as they continue this process. By utilizing a variety of teaching methods, teachers can allow students to transcend traditional learning that often aspires only to the level of memorization or simple comprehension.

F. Civic education should be mandatory for secondary school curriculum. Students should be involved in a school government that teaches them the power of democracy and the responsibility of citizenship at an early age. Student government should be used to address the ever-growing trend of emotional and psychological abuse among students that has shown in recent years to lead to violence. In this way, students should be encouraged to be part of the solution. Teachers and administrators should be compensated for any additional responsibilities related to the operation and guidance of this project.

G. More money must be expended to creative studies in the curriculum (art, drama, music, etc.), which will be available to all students without consideration of any measured ability. Curriculum should also include cultural diversity, attention to the humanities, more exposure to minority studies, and sex-education starting in high schools.

H. The Poor People’s Working Party supports equitable funding of school districts, and we support the following three goals of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding:

Goal 1: Develop a comprehensive needs assessment of current facilities.

Goal 2: Develop standards that clearly define high quality education for all Americans; establish a “per-pupil funding level” required to meet these standards; create a new system of funding which will assure each district adequate funds to meet these “per-pupil” standards and which will diverge from “excessive reliance on property tax as a funding source.”

Goal 3: Provide immediate relief to districts operating without the funds necessary to meet the new standards, based on need as opposed to the budget-based emergency assistance of the “School Solvency Assistance Program” or further reliance on property taxes.

I. All employees of the public school system are entitled to a living-wage, with adequate health and retirement benefits regardless of full-time or part-time status.

J. Day Care should be paid for and provided all families who are less than two times the federal poverty level, and a sliding scale for up to four times the federal poverty level.

III. Health Care

A. The Poor People’s Working Party considers health care a human right, and therefore supports a single-payer National Insurance program for the United States. This program would be publicly financed at the national level, administered locally, and privately delivered, i.e., private physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers would remain private and competitive, and consumers given full choice of provider. It would cover all standard medical procedures, treatment, diagnosis, etc. as well as drug treatment, dental care, medication, chronic and terminal illness, and abortion. The program must include equal coverage for treatment of mental illness. All Americans must be covered under this plan, regardless of employment, income, housing, age, or prior medical condition.

B. The Poor People’s Working Party recognizes the importance of the freedom of patients to choose their own doctors, clinics and other health care providers. National health plans must ensure this right of patients to choose.

C. The Poor People’s Working Party supports all credible measures taken to protect both Medicare and Medicaid as reliable sources of medical assistance for the poor and elderly. The PPWP supports the expansion of medical coverage to support the costs of the drugs and medicines needed by the elderly, those without health coverage or without adequate health coverage and the disabled.

D. Poor People’s Working Party’s support of universal health care does not necessarily predispose the PPWP against support of health care proposals that substantially improve the health care system even though these reforms may not be as far reaching as we might desire.

IV. Tax Justice / Fairness

A. Middle-class and poor people are paying an ever-greater proportion of federal taxes, and too often local and state taxes are unfair and regressive. The tax code is a labyrinth of deductions, loopholes, exemptions and write-offs, the result of insider- and industry-lobbying that has damaged our economy as it has served the interests of big business and financial institutions.

1. We call for system wide tax reform that acts to simplify the tax system

2. Subsidies, export incentives, tax loopholes and tax shelters that benefit large corporations now amount to hundreds of billions of dollars each year and must be cut to the bone. The high price of corporate welfare corrupts the political process by encouraging the exchange of political favors for campaign donations. Corporate tax breaks are ultimately paid for by higher taxes on the middle class; they distort the rules of the marketplace and seldom serve a larger public purpose. We call for a tax policy that moves to eliminate loopholes and other exemptions that favor powerful interests over tax justice. Small business, in particular, should not be penalized by a tax system which benefits those who can “work” the legislative tax committees for breaks and subsidies.

3. We support substantive and wide-ranging reform to simplify small business taxes. This should be designed to help create jobs, economic efficiencies and innovation within the small business community.

4. We believe fiscal and tax policies should confront and end destructive “corporate welfare” and subsidies. Smaller businesses are America’s great strength. The Poor People’s Working Party believes government should have a tax policy that encourages small- and socially responsible business.

5. Where corporations act with corporate citizenship, that is, with “fiduciary responsibility” that includes the interests of their community and employees as well as shareholders, we support appropriate tax incentives.

6. We call on new approaches to taxation, such as Environmental taxes as a partial substitute for income taxes. Taxing industrial pollution is an idea long overdue. Environmental taxes of this type, and “true-cost pricing,” will aid in transforming major industries from being non-sustainable in their use of natural resources to being sustainable in character.

7. We would raise corporate taxes. According to the Alliance for Democracy, the corporate share of taxes has fallen from 33% in the 1940’s to 15% today, while the individual share has risen from 44% to 73%.

8. The Poor People’s Working Party supports progressive taxation as a matter of principle, believing that those who benefit most from the system have a responsibility to return more, their “fair share.”

9. We believe a central goal of tax policy should be “transparency” – that is, a system that is simple, understandable, and resistant to the machinations of special interests.

10. The Poor People’s Working Party opposes the “privatization” of Social Security. Considering that the bottom 20% of American senior citizens get roughly 80% of their income from Social Security, and that without Social Security nearly 70% of black elderly and 60% of Latino elderly households would be in poverty, it is critical that the public protections of Social Security are not privatized and subjected to increased risk based on misleading projections of shortfalls.

V. Criminal Justice

A. The “prison industrial complex” in the United States has become a national disgrace. The Poor People’s Working Party raises a united voice in opposition to the terrible inequities within the criminal justice system, the systemic injustice and prejudice, the lack of adequate legal representation for the poor and under privileged, and the gross punishments mandated under punitive sentencing laws that fill the jails, prisons and penitentiaries with non-violent offenders.

1. The Poor People’s Working Party opposes the privatization of prisons.

2. Any attempt to combat crime must begin with restoration of community; positive approaches that build hope, responsibility and a sense of belonging.

3. Men and women must have access to work that pays a living wage to genuinely help people to support families and themselves.

4. We encourage our political leaders to remember that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” With the costs of maintaining a prisoner far outstripping the costs of educating a child, or the costs of providing job training, or job creation incentives, or providing adequate social services and a “social net” to those in need, we believe it is only appropriate to focus on where our societal intervention can be most successful and effective.

5. We recommend establishing effective, independent CIVILIAN REVIEW of complaints of police misconduct.

6. We support the ‘Brady Bill’ and thoughtful, carefully considered GUN CONTROL.

7. We endorse prison education and job training, including post-release help in education, training and finding gainful employment.

8. We support innovative approaches to rehabilitation, and transitioning of non-violent criminals back into their communities. Drug problems should be addressed by helping individuals overcome addiction rather than incarceration, unless individuals have already been through such programs repeatedly. We should have sympathy, but not turn a blind eye and excuse every behavior that is or is called drug related.

9. We support JUDICIAL REFORM that opens up the court system, makes it affordable and convenient to ordinary citizens, and provides for more efficient administration of justice.

10. When people are led to assume that anyone charged with a crime must be guilty, it undermines freedom and Democracy. Far too many people have been victims of this attitude. If even one person is imprisoned falsely, it reflects on our Society itself. Everyone accused of a crime should be provided adequate legal council.

11. Even when someone is incarcerated, they should have some right to privacy, and they should have adequate protections from other inmates.

12. The power judges have to hold someone in contempt is being regularly abused. It has the effect of stifling free speech instead of keeping order. Judges have too much discretionary power as to what is allowed in evidence or said. Therefore their own personal prejudices sometimes get in the way of true justice. The whole judicial system needs major reform. It has become “fast food” justice. We need to demand justice and eliminate all unnecessary judicial, legislative, and regulatory rules that get in the way of it.

13. Prisoners should have prisoner review rights so that they are not unfairly accused and punished without just cause.

14. We support the death penalty only as it pertains to treason committed by public officials. Treason would include going to war under false circumstances.

VI Civil Rights

A. The Poor People’s Working Party abhors punitive discrimination in any form, and thus condemns the practice of those law enforcement agencies in the country which are guilty of discriminatory “racial profiling,” stopping motorists, harassing individuals, or using unwarranted violence against suspects with no other justification than race or ethnic background.

B. Feminism and Women's Rights

1. The PPWP believes that we have inherited a social system based corporate domination. We call for a system designed to improve the human condition instead of profits over people.

2. Women's rights must be protected and expanded to guarantee each woman’s right to be a full participant in society, free from sexual harassment, or job discrimination. Women who file complaints must not be persecuted and should be protected under federal and state law. We must enshrine in law the basic principle that women have the same rights as men, and promote gender equality and fairness in the work force to ensure women receive equal pay for jobs of equal worth.

3. We call for more attention to be given to women's health issues, including reproductive rights and family planning. We believe in the right of a woman to control her own body. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. However, if adequate funding is not made available for poor women to have abortions at state expense, then the “right” really does not exist for poor women. Moreover, the Poor People’s Working Party heartily welcomes people who disagree with abortion. We believe in a more just society, with equal access to health care and more economic parity, issues such as abortion can be more readily and calmly discussed, and solutions to unwanted pregnancies devised. Still, abortions should be available for women who feel they are necessary, and it should be a personal and private choice.

C. We support the rights of people to be treated equally in housing and jobs, and the right to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their sexuality.

D. Supreme Court rulings have “watered down” many fundamental civil rights. For instance, the First Amendment “guaranteeing” the right to peaceably assemble and the right of free speech. These have been pushed aside in many instances by laws that allow their suppression for Corporate benefit. The drug war has caused people to lose their possessions without trial or a finding of guilt. The Supreme Court should be required to appear by law in public forums every 90 days and explain rulings by a daylong (8-hour) question and answer session. These public forums should be held at various locations throughout the United States.

E. We believe in affirmative action.

VII. Agriculture

A. We believe this country should return to the family farm and agribusiness practices should be outlawed as inhumane. The Government should encourage agriculture to be environmentally responsible. We should encourage organic farming and discourage pesticides.

B. We generally oppose the patenting of life forms, including gene-splicing techniques, and call for a moratorium on agricultural genetic engineering while an evaluation of its effects on ecological and social sustainability is carried out. The implications of a corporate takeover, and resulting monopolization of genetic “intellectual property” by the bioengineering industry, are immense. With the introduction of the world’s first genetically engineered (and duly patented) tomato, we need to re-examine our government’s oversight of this untested, unproven field.

VIII. Media

Almost all media that reach a large audience in the United States are owned by for-profit corporations--institutions that by law are obligated to put the profits of their investors ahead of all other considerations. The goal of maximizing profits is often in conflict with the practice of responsible journalism. These companies are becoming larger and fewer in number as mergers continue. This concentration of ownership reduces the diversity of media voices and puts great power in the hands of a few companies. As news outlets fall into the hands of large conglomerates with holdings in many industries, conflicts of interest inevitably interfere with reporting the truth.

A. The media is in the hands of far too few. We need to be able to form alternative media outlets. We should have the right to donate a portion of our individual federal tax dollars for the purpose the creation of non-profit media representation, to whatever media outlet one chooses by listing the name and address of that media outlet on the federal tax form. The monopolistic and corporate control of media has helped manipulate opinion and stifle debate and has had the effect of suppressing free speech.

IX. POLITICAL and CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

A. The Poor People’s Working Party proposes a COMPREHENSIVE POLITICAL REFORM AGENDA calling for real reform, accountability, and responsiveness in government.

B. We propose comprehensive CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM, including caps on spending and contributions, at the national and state level, and full or partial public financing of elections to remove undue influence in political campaigns.

C. We will work to ban or greatly limit POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES OR
PARTIES and restrict SOFT MONEY contributions.

D. We support the introduction of proportional representation voting systems to the electoral process at all levels of government. Proportional representation which is utilized by most modern democracies would greatly increase voter choice and political diversity in this nation. Furthermore it would increase the political power of minorities, women and other groups of citizens currently not well represented in American society.

E. We believe in MAJORITY RULE. Accordingly, we call for the use of INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING in chief executive races (mayor, governor, president, etc.) where voters can rank their favorite candidates (1, 2, 3, etc.) to guarantee that the winner has majority support and that voters aren't relegated to choosing between the lesser of two evils.

F. The Electoral College is an 18th century anachronism. We call for a constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College and providing for the direct election of the president by Instant Runoff Voting. Until that time, we call for a proportional allocation of delegates in state primaries.

G. We believe that the system of amending the constitution in this nation makes constitutional change too difficult. It is also undemocratic. We believe that proposed constitutional amendments supported by 60% (3/5) of the American electorate should be approved.

H. We support a range of debate on how the full democratic potential of the American nation can be realized. All U.S. institutions, even those like the U.S. Senate, should be examined so that their role in either furthering or weakening democracy can be assessed and future reforms made.

I. The Poor People’s Working Party encourages building alternative, grassroots institutions that support participatory and direct democracy at the local level in which all citizens can discuss and decide questions that immediately affect their lives, such as land use, parks, schools, and community services. We would decentralize many state functions to the county and city level and seek expanded roles for neighborhood boards and associations.

X. Corporations

Corporations are not people and they should not be treated as such by law. Civil rights are for people, not Corporations. People can love, feel, and have human emotions such as compassion and warmth, caring and remorse. To equate corporations with people is to make corporations superior, due to their influence and power. Unbridled power corrupts.

In the United States, corporations wield greater rights under law than people do. Corporations successfully claim constitutional rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. They use the protection of government to deny these rights to their employees.

Judicial and legislative decisions that have made it possible for big business to stay beyond the reach of democracy need to be re-examined. Legal doctrines must be continually revised in recognition of the changing needs of an active, democratic citizenry. Huge multi-national corporations are artificial creations, not natural persons uniquely sheltered under constitutional protections. It is time to define corporations and to prevent these entities from exercising democratic rights which are uniquely possessed by the citizens of the United States.

XI. Globalization

We feel so-called “free trade” agreements such as NAFTA, GATT, and FTAA should be repealed. They are not really about free trade at all. They are exploitive and their purpose is even more Corporate domination the world over. They are anti-Democratic and anti-Freedom. They have not helped the poor, but added to their burdens. They are about absolute power and control and the permanent entrenchment of those ends. We also demand the WTO be taken from the control of bankers and industrialists or be eliminated. Third-World debt should be forgiven totally, and this should be done immediately. We ask not these things but demand them in the name of decency and humanity.

We favor greater contact and interaction among people of the world. We favor democracy and self-governance, public ownership of the commons and clear public authority over necessities like energy, water, education, health care, food, etc. We believe that people in different communities and nations should be able to trade with one another. But we do not believe that any community or nation or group of nations or corporation should have the authority under law to dictate rules to other communities and other nations.

XII. LABOR

A. We believe in the right to organize unions and we believe all necessary legislative measures should be instituted in order to vastly strengthen those rights. We support the right to strike without being “permanently replaced”, for instance, and we support the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act

B. U.S. workers gained the right to a 40 hour work week in the late 19th century. Since then, in spite of the fact that the U.S. economy has grown tremendously, many U.S. workers are now being forced to work more than 40 hours a week to simply survive.

The Poor People’s Working Party believes that it is time to start considering the possibility that a nationally legislated 35 hour work week for all full-time workers be established. Legislation for a 35 hour work week should contain the provision that hourly wages increase sufficiently so that workers' current incomes do not decrease.

C. We believe that women should be granted maternity leave by their employers.

XIII. LOCAL ISSUES (Columbus Ohio Area)

Many local issues have been covered in this platform in other areas. Such as tax abatements, Civilian review boards, and a living wage. We can always add to the platform and this is not meant in any way to be an all-encompassing document that addresses all issues.

A. The Poor People’s Working Party supports a program of comprehensive political reform. This reform contains two parts: comprehensive campaign finance and Political Reform.

1. Campaign Finance Reform. Currently elections to Columbus city council and the mayoral office are financed primarily by the Columbus financial and developer communities. Winning city council candidates must spend over $150,000 per city council election in order to win. Most of the monies received by Columbus city council candidates come from individual contributors with donations of $1,000 or more. Less than 1/3 of total political donations come from the hundreds of contributors who give $100 or less. Simply stated, to be elected to office in Columbus, Ohio, a candidate must be politically acceptable to the Columbus economic elite.

The Poor People’s Working Party’s response to this unjust money-dominated political regime calls for balanced campaign finance reform in which contributors and public monies will provide the largest share of candidates' campaign contributions. The proposal contains the following aspects.

2. CONTRIBUTION LIMITS for individuals, Political Action Committees, and political parties making donations to the campaigns of a candidate for city council or for mayor.

- A $1,000 limit for an individual donor

- A $2,500 limit for a Political Action Committee (PAC)

- A $10,000 limit for a political party

3. STRONG PUBLIC DISCLOSURE of contributors to mayoral and council candidates. The Amendment adds to the State requirements an extra reporting period when candidates must disclose the names of their contributors (60 days before the election). It also provides for electronic filing; making information about campaign donations more readily available to the public. Finally, it mandates timely public disclosure of independent expenditures spent in favor of or against a candidate that are raised and allocated independently of any candidate's official campaign.

4. Partial or Full PUBLIC FINANCING Tied to limiting a candidates spending

The Amendment establishes a voluntary system of partial public financing for a candidate for mayor or city council who agrees to certain requirements including a limit on campaign spending (three times the annual salary of a council member or of the mayor). Before qualifying for public financing, a candidate must raise a minimum amount of contributions ($5,000 raised from at least 150 individual contributions of $10 or more for a council candidate and $10,000 raised from at least 300 individual contributions of $10 or more for a candidate for mayor). In order to receive public financing, a candidate must also sign a written agreement to file additional contribution reports and to abide by the other conditions required by the Elections Commission. Once the qualifications for public financing are met, the candidate will receive $2 of public funds for every $1 he or she raises up to a maximum amount of $150.000.

5. AN APPOINTED CITIZEN ELECTIONS COMMISSION. The Amendment creates a citizen commission to oversee and enforce campaign finance regulations in Columbus elections. Appointed by the mayor, the commission will initially be made up of one representative from each recognized local political party and two citizens who are Independents. Commission members must be City residents who are not currently active in Columbus electoral politics or professionally involved in municipal government. The Commission will administer compliance to regulations pertaining to contributions limits, public financing, disclosure, an the filing of campaign finance reports. When it determines violations to campaign finance laws, it can impose civil fines.

B. The Poor People’s Working Party also supports a comprehensive restructuring of the way City council members represent the citizens of Columbus Ohio.

Organization of City Council and Council Positions

1. Call For a More Representative Council - Add District Based Positions. We propose a system of representation that utilizes both at-large and district based positions. This would better serve under-represented populations throughout the city and bring more direct accountability to Council members.

2. Increase the Size of Council. We propose increasing the size of council to provide better direct representation of the people. As an example, an increase to 11 council positions with 5 at-large and 6 district positions would provide improved representation for the city's diverse communities, while balancing concerns for city-wide issues and initiatives (see the Comparative Note below).

3. Initiate Special Elections to Fill Vacancies. We propose that special elections be held to fill vacancies in Council rather than waiting until the next regularly scheduled election. The current practice favors appointed members and is undemocratic. The use of appointments has historically lead to unfair advantages to the party in power in appointing, then getting elected, members of their party due to the public exposure and experience these party selected individuals are given.

4. Make Council Positions Full-Time. We propose that Council positions be turned into full-time positions. Columbus is the 15th largest city in America and deserves a full-time council. The current part-time status restricts Council members from truly representing citizens and carrying out their duties to the fullest extent.

C. Transparent and Representative Council

1. We believe that the City Council’s use of the so-called “emergency” ordinance is being severely abused and manipulated. It needs reform. Prior to its use, the Mayor should have to certify, in writing, that due to a legitimate reason, a true emergency exists, and then City Council could use this tool.

2. We propose that Council facilitates a more participatory form of democracy in the way it conducts business. The goals of transparency, citizen participation and representation should be considered in all Council proceedings. Measures should include posting minutes of committee meetings and seeking out citizen participation. Although the City Charter specifically states that "all meetings of the council or committees thereof [shall] be public and any citizen shall have access to the minutes and records thereof at all reasonable times.", Council needs to be more proactive in encouraging citizen participation and disseminating records of their proceedings. Other initiatives should be investigated including periodic town hall meetings and better accounting, and demonstration of the utilization of citizen's input.

3. We also demand greater access to be heard at City Council by permitting more speakers to speak for longer periods of time.

D. We believe that no member of Council should be able to vote on any tax abatements, TIFS, (tax-increment financing) or other “economic development subsidies” in which the entity that received the abatement, TIF, or subsidy donated money to their last campaign. And they should be prohibited from receiving monetary Contributions of any kind from any entity that is granted such abatement, TIF, or subsidy in the term of office in which they were granted. They should be prohibited from receiving such funds for election or re-election in any city public office for a period of five years after their approval. No political party or public official should be able to give money to any local candidate if that party or public official received monetary contributions from any entity that received such tax abatement, TIF, or subsidy for a period of five years. For the Mayor to sign such legislation should be considered a vote to affirm by the Mayor and thereby means the Mayor would be held accountable by this law the same as Council. Letting it become law without a signature should be considered a vote to affirm.

E. Any public official who accepts employment or monetary contributions of any kind from any entity that received tax abatements, TIFS, or subsidies after having voted for them should be charged criminally. A statute covering this should be passed.

XIV. Centralization

A. The Poor People's Working Party thinks the idea of so-called de-centralization is naive. One of the biggest problems with our government now is it can be controlled easier by big corporations by dividing the people along the lines of "states rights." The reason voting fraud can happen so easily is the Constitution does not provide for a single method nationally. It was left up to the state by the "Founders." Now, local control has some merit in some areas. For instance, the PPWP greatly encourages locally bought fruits and vegetables instead of the present system expending wasted energy getting produce from vast distances if the produce can be grown locally.

B. The Poor People's Working Party would put together efficient, centralized, democratic mechanisms for running society. That would include universal voting procedures and paper voting systems. We have seen how easily computer voting systems can be manipulated by fraud.

XV. ENVIRONMENT

A. If we do not alter our energy use soon – and drastically – the ecological crisis may be exacerbated past a point where it can be resolved. A comprehensive energy policy must be a critical element of our environmental thinking. Investing in ENERGY EFFICIENCY and RENEWABLE ENERGY is key to sustainability.

Just as ecological materials management is governed by the concept of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” (in priority order), ecological energy management must be governed by the principle of Conservation, Efficiency, and Clean Renewable systems. Of highest importance is to use less, then to use wisely, and to have clean production of what is used.

B. Extensive conservation measures will bring huge resource savings for both the economy and the environment. Conservation, along with energy efficiency and renewable resources, is an essential part of an effective energy policy. The PPWP calls for pervasive efforts on the energy conservation front. We encourage the creation and design of human environments that are as energy-efficient as possible, recognizing that yet further conservation efforts are a significant means to meeting our future energy needs without further energy production. Similarly, we support the phasing out of the most ecologically harmful sources of energy.

C. We call for the development of STATE ENERGY POLICIES that include taxes and/or fines on energy “waste,” and the funding of energy research, including credits for alternative and sustainable energy use such as solar, and wind for examples.

D. The Poor People’s Working Party also supports enacting mandatory carbon reduction measures and setting the goal for carbon emissions at a percentage well below the best appropriate technology.

E. “TRUE-COST PRICING,” which reflects the “realistic” cost of products including ecological damage and externalities caused during the manufacturing process, must be adopted to achieve accurate financial accounting. Only with a shift in the way we are seeing, can we accurately assess our energy choices and costs – and the long-term impacts of the energy decisions we are making.

F. The Poor People’s Working Party is committed to preserve, protect and restore the State and National Scenic creeks, rivers, lakes, watershed, etc., though out the United States.

I. We must expand our country’s network of rail lines, high speed regional passenger service, and urban light rail systems but they should be funded by progressive taxation methods.

J. Like all matters addressed in this platform, this is not meant to be a total list of Environmental concerns in any way, but a short list of ideas and concerns. This could be added on as we see fit.

XVI. Local Development (Columbus, Ohio)

Introduction: The local development program of the Poor People’s Working Party grows out of its analyses of the political, economic ecological, and community challenges and needs of Central Ohio. To examine those challenges and needs, it is necessary to examine the broad patterns of urban geographic and economic growth. Those patterns can be best seen by examining the urban growth patterns of Columbus and other towns such as Hilliard or Dublin, Ohio.

Columbus, Ohio, like all major cities, contains an urban core of the downtown business district and various older neighborhoods such as German Village, Italian Village, and the Linden area in various degrees of prosperity or decline. Outside of this core of urban neighborhoods is growing toward, around, and beyond the I-270 outer belt, a broad swath of suburban housing and commercial development. Some of this suburban expansion -- such as Polaris and Easton -- are contained within Columbus' expanding urban boundaries. Some of this development has overflowed into towns such as Dublin, Hilliard, Canal Winchester, and Powell.

A. This dynamically expanding suburban sector, while certainly providing jobs and often luxurious housing to many people, also holds dire consequences for Central Ohio' natural environment, the poor and moderate income people of Columbus' urban core. Briefly described, these consequences are:

1. Suburban sprawl, which continually destroys farms, green spaces, and the ecological integrity of river systems such as the watershed of the Big Darby Creek.

2. The economic marginalization of the poor and moderate income people due to the migration of business and jobs out of the cities into the suburbs.

3. Increased tax burdens on Columbus and other municipalities as they must struggle to pay for the extra infrastructural costs of sprawl development (i.e., water and sewage levies, police protection, etc.).

4. The weakening of community bonds within urban neighborhoods caused by a weakened job base and a corresponding increase in crime and poverty.

B. Modern suburban development -- made possible by the dominance of the automobile in America's transportation system -- is the result of the desire of people to escape from many of the problems of urban life such as crime, poor housing, and weak educational systems to a more abundant life of peaceable communities of a more rural nature, free of the problems commonly associated with urban life. The problem is that most modern suburbs, subdivisions, and housing developments have certain characteristics that are destructive of both the suburban combination of rural and modern environment in which some people wish to live and the economic livelihood of the low and moderate-income people of the urban core. These characteristics are:

1. Weak Population Density. Most traditional pre-World War II suburban housing development in general had a high density of houses and lots per acre and thus per square mile. Modern suburban housing developments, with their often huge houses, large yards, wide streets and parking areas, have relatively weak housing and population densities. Thus they are wasteful of land, destroying farms and green spaces as they spread. This weak population density of sprawl has consequences beyond the immediate excessive use of land however.

Modern systems of mass transit can efficiently service areas with population densities of 18 housing units per acre that are also within 1/4 of a mile from transit stops. Modern subdivision development often has population densities much lower than this. The resulting inability to be properly served by systems of mass transportation causes the residents of suburbia to be almost totally dependent on automobiles to meet their transportation needs.

2. Strict Segregation of Economic and Housing Development. Modern suburban development in general carefully separates housing from commercial, retail, and office developments, which are normally geographically segregated in shopping and strip malls, or commercial or office parks, away from suburban neighborhoods. Generally these commercial properties are separated from housing developments to such an extent that suburban residents must make multiple car trips each day to and from work, to shop, and to take care of any other needs outside the home. Seldom do these commercial developments provide jobs, groceries, retail goods or services such as libraries within simple walking distance of suburban homes. The consequence of this is that pedestrian travel is discouraged and automobile traffic and congestion is increased on commuter streets and roads.

3. Lack of Civic Spaces. Modern housing developments in general have little land and building space set aside for the development of parks, recreational and community centers, and schools, thus weakening or eliminating potential centers of community life.

4. Economic Segregation. Modern housing developers generally concentrate on developing houses that meet the needs of segregated income groups. For example, one developer may build a subdivision that has houses only valued at $300,000. Another may develop a subdivision of houses worth $200,000. Another as low as $120,000. Seldom will developers create housing that can meet the housing needs of a diversity of people with differing incomes within a single project. The resulting segregation of people based on income has particularly negative effects on low and moderate-income people. They can only very seldom afford the price of housing in suburbia. Since two out of three new jobs are produced in suburban areas, this has dire economic consequences for them.

Of course suburban development does not have to occur in this manner. It does not need to be a sprawl. It does not need to be wasteful of land. Neither must it necessarily have to exclude poor and moderate-income people. Modern suburban development can also be supportive of the tax base of the urban communities from which they come.

However, for this to occur, an alternative vision of both suburban and urban development is necessary. Such an alternative vision can benefit suburban, urban, and rural residents alike. This new vision is one for which the people must struggle.

AN ALTERNATIVE PATTERN

The social program of the Poor People’s Working Party -- based on principles of ecology, economic justice, and political reform -- offers an alternative vision of development to sprawl. The Poor People’s Working Party takes to heart the many of the voices of urban civic and call for a new vision of urban development that combines both the best ideas of the traditional urban past and the latest new ideas. These ideas can most certainly be seen both as what Poor People’s Working Party’s support and oppose.

The PPWP supports:

A. The prioritization of the economic and communal needs of urban core neighborhoods. Urban neighborhoods suffering from serious economic decline should receive priority treatment in this process.

B. The economic health of the Columbus downtown business district --as the primary source of jobs in Central Ohio -- should be maintained and encouraged.

C. Central to maintaining the economic health of the downtown business district, is the creation of a comprehensive system of mass transit in which light rail could serve as a major axis. This transportation system must also provide convenient and cheap transportation to Outer belt residents to jobs and retail stores of downtown Columbus and simultaneously provide the transportation of poor and moderate income city residents to the important job centers of Columbus and Central Ohio.

D. If in developing the light rail component of the urban transportation system, government must not neglect the long-term economic and transportation needs it may well provide. Economically and ecologically sound "transit villages," founded on many of the ideas in "Traditional Neighborhood Codes," have developed around the transit centers of many large U.S. cities. Columbus should attempt to emulate the success of these new forms of urban development. It should be encouraged to fund light rail with income taxes, like all transportation needs. Income taxes are more progressive than sales or property taxes, and do not fall as disproportionately on the poor.

E. Traditional Neighborhood Codes. New residential and commercial development in the Columbus core neighborhoods and the Outer belt should be governed by the planning principles of "Traditional Neighborhood Codes" as formulated by the Congress for the New Urbanism and other modern city planners and architects. The whole pattern of building, street, and land use rules as embodied in Traditional Neighborhood Codes are the recipes of a residential and commercial development that is ecological, economically just, and that strengthens community. Instead of tax abatements for wealthy corporations, people should be hired by the city to help repair family dwellings for homeowners that otherwise could not afford to do so.

G. Preservation of Rivers, Wetlands, and Green Spaces.

1. The Poor People’s Working Party supports the preservation of remaining farmland, and wild areas and wetlands of Franklin County and Central Ohio.

2. The Poor People’s Working Party supports the full protection of the Big Darby watershed from further encroachments from urban sprawl and agricultural and commercial pollution. The PPWP supports proposals such as the PEER petition drive to provide protection for this watershed.

3. The Poor People’s Working Party supports efforts to protect the Pickerington Ponds and other such wetland areas. We fully support the efforts of communities to prevent housing development encroachment into the Ponds' ecosystem.

4. The Poor People’s Working Party supports the development of a strong waterway overlay protection ordinance for both Columbus and Central Ohio

5. The Poor People’s Working Party supports all methods to protect farm lands of Central Ohio. What we oppose can basically be seen from what we support. We support policies that would strongly discourage the building of:

(a) new shopping centers and strip malls,

(b) suburban subdivisions, and

We also oppose government economic policies of tax rebates and zoning variances that encourage these developments.

While the alternative vision of Central Ohio development supported by the PPWP is not exhaustive, it will if implemented provide an ecological, economic, and community environment in which issues such as crime and education can be solved.

CONCLUSION: As stated in this document, this is not meant to serve as everything the Poor People’s Working Party believes or all we stand for. This format expresses environmental, civil rights and social justice concerns, ect. that help to give an expanded explanation. This is in keeping with transparency in what we believe.

Contents

I. A Social Safety net.

V. Criminal Justice