Wood County Democratic Executive Committee’s Platform 2004 (Outline Follows)   Mission Statement To provide strong leadership that promotes economic growth, diversity, and environmental responsibility.   Our Vision The Democratic Party envisions our country playing its part in creating a more peaceful world by promoting and establishing social justice, economic growth and environmental responsibility for our generation and for future generations.   Plank 1:          PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE AMERICAN STANDARD                         OF LIVING                Our country was founded on the principle that Americans who work hard can achieve a standard of living that those in other countries can only imagine. In order to continue the great “American Dream” Democrats support maintaining the American standard of living for citizens by:   A.        Ensuring that all Americans have the ability to earn a Living Wage.                The ability to go to work and bring home a living wage is essential to the American standard of living.  The present minimum wage is no longer adequate to provide for the needs of a family. People who work full time should not be forced to survive at or below the poverty level. Without a living wage, our citizens cannot afford healthcare, transportation and adequate housing.   B.        Ensuring that all Americans have health care.                One out of every five non-hourly adults in West Virginia does not have health insurance. The main reason is cost---45% of the 16,500 households surveyed by the West Virginia University’s Institute for Health Policy Research stated that they could not afford the cost of health insurance premiums. Non-elderly adults, those aged 19 to 64, who are uninsured represent about 220,000 West Virginians.  Without adequate health care, American citizens cannot pursue Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The Wood County Democratic Executive Committee supports responsively moving toward this goal for mandatory health care insurance for all West Virginians at a reasonable cost and with reasonable coverage.   C.        Ensuring that all Americans have adequate housing.   D.        Ensuring that all Americans have transportation.               Democrats will continue to fight aggressively for these basic necessities of life.   Plank 2            PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF OUR SENIOR CITIZENS               Our Senior citizens have earned the right to superior healthcare, stable social security and affordable taxation.               Democrats support the right of all senior citizens to access quality health care services, including prescription payment assistance. Financing of the health care system should be equitable, broad-based and affordable to all individuals. Methods of provider reimbursement should promote high quality medical care, efficient delivery of service, and should compensate providers fairly. It is important that acute, chronic and long-term care services be coordinated and integrated to insure a continuum of care throughout an individual’s lifetime.               Social Security in its current form must be protected, without privatization, since privatization has proven to be detrimental in other programs (i.e., Big Energy).  Privatization of Social Security would place all these benefits in peril. They would be subject to the whims of the stock market and traders. Our Seniors have paid into social security all of their lives, they have a right to those benefits and the Social Security system must be safeguarded for future generations.               Senior citizens should not be taxed beyond their ability to pay since many live on fixed incomes.    Plank 3            ADVOCATING FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED AND PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED               Democrats support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).               All citizens with disabilities, including senior citizens, must have unfettered access to all federal, state and local government offices. Barriers to polling places cannot be tolerated. Local evaluations must be completed to identify government offices that are not accessible and a plan for corrective action needs to be created---complete with a time table for completion and compliance. In the private sector, programs such as financial incentives need to be considered to assist and encourage small businesses in meeting ADA goals and objectives.   For links related to this topic, please click here.   Plank 4            THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS               Democrats support the constitutional right of citizens to keep and bear arms.               Our forefathers were committed to this right.  The Wood County Democratic Party will continue to support the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and will support our sportsmen.               For more information about this topic, please click here.   Plank 5            PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL GENERATIONS               Good environment is good business. Wood County Democrats love our beautiful state and want to keep it healthy and livable for generations to come.                All life on our planet is interrelated and dependent on others to survive. America was blessed with clean, healthy air, water, food and other natural resources. Through poor planning and decision-making, we have been left without many of these precious resources. Democrats believe that careful and environment –conscious decisions will lead to a healthier Wood County for the future.               There are few things we can leave our children and future generations that are more important than clean waters, healthy forests and breathable air. Poor local leadership and business decisions in the past have led to ill health and death in thousands of our families. Good leadership decisions will lead to both a healthy environment and healthy community. Healthy citizens are more likely to be happy, productive people with healthy families.               The best businesses will go to healthy environmental areas because they will prosper. We must start electing officials who put government to work to protect our environmental health so our community will be more prosperous, healthy and happy.               Prosperity, health and good environment go hand in hand. GOOD ENVIRONMENT is GOOD BUSINNESS.               For more information about this topic, please click here.   Plank 6            FAIR AND CLEAN ELECTIONS               Take our government off the auction block! We support campaign finance reform.               To protect Wood County citizens, we must get big money out of politics. We need public funding of elections and limitations on the value of gifts given to candidates and elected officials.               Almost without exception, candidates are dependent on outside sources to fund their campaigns. Much of their time and energy is spent raising money to get elected or to get re-elected. Many powerful industries and special interest groups contribute large sums of money in the political process---not necessarily because they are benevolent benefactors, but to further special interests. As a result, the candidate field is limited, representation is compromised, and the public bears the burden of legislation that is not in their best interest.  The Wood County Democratic Executive Committee therefore believes it is in the best interest of the citizens of Wood County and of West Virginia to get big money out of politics.   Plank 7            RESPONSIBLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT               Democrats support sustainable economic development that financially benefits Wood County.               Economic development should benefit our citizens by boosting the economy, creating jobs, and increasing property tax revenue and business tax revenue. Individuals who are employed can spend their money. Their purchases increase the quality of life for the individual and increases business revenue which, in turn, increases business tax revenue. The use of physical facilities generates property tax revenue. Sales by these new economic development companies generate business income tax revenue as well. These increases in tax revenue reduce the tax burden on citizens.               When economic development brings in non-sustainable, low-income jobs that do not improve the quality of life and do not enhance purchasing power, the individual as well as business revenues suffer. The tax burden on citizens has been increased, not decreased.  “Corporate welfare” and tax breaks for new business makes this problem even worse.   Plank 8            HONORING AND REMEMBERING OUR VETERANS               Democrats support our veterans and believe that they should be remembered and honored for their service to our country.               Democrats honor America’s veterans for their selfless willingness to defend the United States and promote human values around the world.  The United States military is the best trained, best equipped, most capable and most ready fighting force in the world. Democrats understand we must ensure that our Armed Forces remain the best.               Health care for all eligible veterans must be guaranteed. Wartime illnesses such as those suffered by Viet Nam and Gulf War veterans must not be ignored, and research on diseases caused by exposure to toxic battlefields must be done.               The hemorrhage of the spending of our tax dollars to the defense industry must be reigned in so that funds can be available for our deserving veterans.               For more information about this topic, please click here.   Plank 9            THE  RIGHTS OF ALL CITIZENS               The United States Constitution has always protected the rights of citizens to make personal choices that improve family and personal conditions while also making a better national quality of life. Most Democrats, indeed most citizens of the United States, believe that better educational opportunities, health care availability, job opportunities, and freedom from poverty and crime are goals most Americans strive for. The Wood County Democratic Party therefore supports each and every one of our constitutionally protected liberties, and upholds the right of all persons, regardless of sex, age, color, creed, religion, ethnicity or other “category” to enjoy those rights and freedoms.   Plank 10          ENSURING SAFE COMMUNITIES                                   Wood County Citizens have the right to feel safe in their homes and their communities.               In this day and age when a rising crime rate continues to plague many communities, violent offenders and repeat offenders must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  Law enforcement must be provided with sufficient resources and training. However, our principles of equal justice require that favoritism should play no role in our criminal justice system.  Further, our hard-fought constitutional rights and freedoms should not be sacrificed because of fear or political expediency.   Plank 11          OPEN AND FAIR GOVERNMENT               Democrats believe that all elected governing bodies should be open and responsive to public input and opinions.               It is important that all elected government bodies remember why they were elected and who they represent when making policy decisions and other decisions that affect the public. All meetings should be conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Law. This is the cornerstone of the democratic system of government and must never be compromised by an unwillingness to listen to those upon whom it legislates.   Plank 12          THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION               It is essential that our children receive the best possible education in our public schools.               In the competitive world in which we live, quality education is vitally important.  A literate citizenry is essential to American democracy and a quality public education is the most effective means toward this goal. The Wood County Board of Education must set higher achievement and learning standards for its administrators, faculty and students to ensure the highest standards and expectations for the success of Wood County students.  Citizen input is vital, from school closures to academic and athletic decisions.                  A healthy and safe environment for students and employees must be provided by school officials. All local, state, and federal guidelines should be followed regarding air quality, food, safety procedures and harassment, in order to provide an environment conducive to learning. The Wood County Schools should be a place where students from all socio-economic levels, diversities and with all ability levels learn the necessary skills to be productive citizens.   Plank 13          FAIR AND REASONABLE TAXES FOR ALL               Democrats believe that taxation must be fair and reasonable.                Bush’s tax cut has been a disaster. The AARP evaluates tax options using five guidelines: Equity— Tax revenue sources should distribute the tax burden according to people’s ability to pay and should be progressive, which is people with comparable incomes should be taxed at comparable rates. Economic neutrality — Taxes should be as neutral as possible and should not unduly encourage undertakings simply to avoid taxation. In addition, taxes should not unduly hinder economic growth, induce inflation or discourage savings. Administrative efficiency — Taxes should be as easy to collect and administer as possible and consistent with the protection of individual liberties and privacy. Revenue potential— Stable and reliable public policies and programs require an adequate and consistent source of revenues. Social and economic goals — A balance must be struck between relying on the tax system to address social and economic needs through such measures as tax expenditures or earmarking revenues and keep the system free from tax expenditures that undermine equity.   Plank 14          SMALL BUSINESSES MUST NOT BE IGNORED OR FORGOTTEN!               Democrats support small business owners and don’t want to see them disappear.               Democrats believe that small businesses are the backbone of local economy. West Virginia dollars should be spent supporting West Virginia businesses. If we were to inventory our homes in order to find out how many things we own are made in the United States, it would and should scare us all to death. The Wood County Democratic Party believes we can control our future by buying from our neighborhood businesses. If West Virginia businesses were to attempt to do business in West Virginia first, we would see a huge increase in the states’ income level across the board. Also, West Virginia unemployment would greatly drop because our businesses would need to hire more employees.               For more information about this topic, please click here.   Conclusion               The Democratic Party is the party of the People. We are the party that brought about the minimum wage law, forty hour work week, public education, Social Security, and Medicare and Medicaid. These are accomplishments of which we should be proud.               The Democratic Party advocates for all the citizens of the United States. We support Civil Rights for all citizens regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, religion or social standing. We are the defenders of freedom and equality.               We believe in efficient and fair government that enables all of our citizens to fulfill their individual potential. Democrats want government to work for its citizens, not just for big business and corporations.  For the past forty years, Democrats have been dedicated to bettering the lives of all citizens of the United States. We will continue to fight to preserve and enhance the Standard of Living for all of our citizens.   mmmmmmmmmm   Wood County Democratic Executive Committee 2004 Platform Outline   Plank 1:          PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE AMERICAN STANDARD                         OF LIVING   Plank 2            PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF OUR SENIOR CITIZENS   Plank 3            ADVOCATING FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED AND PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED   Plank 4            THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS   Plank 5            PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL GENERATIONS   Plank 6            FAIR AND CLEAN ELECTIONS   Plank 7            RESPONSIBLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT   Plank 8            HONORING AND REMEMBERING OUR VETERANS   Plank 9            THE RIGHTS OF ALL CITIZENS   Plank 10          ENSURING SAFE COMMUNITIES                        Plank 11          OPEN AND FAIR GOVERNMENT   Plank 12          THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION   Plank 13          FAIR AND REASONABLE TAXES FOR ALL   Plank 14          SMALL BUSINESSES MUST NOT BE IGNORED OR                          FORGOTTEN!