Universal Basic Income
We stand on the precipice of a technological revolution that will usher in a new era of unprecedented opportunities and daunting challenges.
The rise of AI and automation promises transformative innovations, yet also harbors the potential for widespread job displacement, economic instability, and deepening social disparities.
To address this, I present a plan for a Universal Basic Income (UBI), a nationwide Universal Basic Income initiative that guarantees $1,000 per month for every adult over the age of 18.
I propose UBI for the following reasons, underpinned by recent studies and pilot programs in California:
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Economic Security: The UBI provides a financial safety net for all. This buffer protects against job market uncertainties amplified by automation and AI, and grants the liberty to adapt, retrain, or venture into new paths without the dread of financial insecurity.
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Fostering Entrepreneurship: UBI encourages risk-taking and innovation. With this safety net, we can invest in entrepreneurial endeavors, stimulating economic growth and job creation.
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Alleviating Poverty: UBI directly tackles poverty, providing a stable income that could notably reduce homelessness, food insecurity, and other socioeconomic issues, especially in California.
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Promoting Well-being: By easing financial stress and ensuring access to basic needs, UBI contributes to healthier, happier populations, leading to increased societal productivity and reduced healthcare costs.
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School 2.0
The United States is facing fierce competition from other countries in a world that is about to enter a second technological revolution.
To succeed in modern society, we need to better educate students and advance their skills.
American students are falling behind their peers in other countries in reading, math, and science proficiency scores.
Many Americans lack a basic understanding of economic and financial concepts, leading to lifelong debt and poor financial habits.
In addition, there is a mental health crisis among students, which makes personal development education and access to mental health service more critical than ever before.
As your representative, I will support:
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Reinstating Affirmative Action: The recent Supreme Court decision was a significant setback for black and brown students. Affirmative action isn't merely about diversity; it's about ensuring equal opportunities for all students by recognizing and actively addressing systemic barriers faced by certain groups.
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Curriculum Reform: We must strive for curriculum reform that includes STEM, financial literacy, and personal development as graduation requirements. This will equip students with the skills they need to succeed in modern society and ensure that they are prepared for the workforce.
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Innovative Schools: It's time to fuel the future by fostering innovation in our schools. Entrepreneurship in education needs to be encouraged. Let's incentivize entrepreneurs to bring their innovative ideas to our schools.
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Democratize knowledge: The quality of a child's education should not be determined by the depth of their parent's pockets. I stand for the expansion of access to quality online and offline education, allowing parents to choose the best possible learning environment for their children, regardless of tuition costs.
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Addressing A.I.
As we embrace these technological advancements, it becomes imperative to implement thoughtful policies, education, and support systems that foster inclusivity and adaptability.
By doing so, we can harness the benefits of AI and automation while mitigating the risks, ensuring a future where technology serves as a tool for empowerment rather than a source of division.
As your representative, I will support:
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Establishment of a National AI Research Institute: Create a centralized institution dedicated to AI research, development, and ethical considerations. This institute would collaborate with academia, industry, and government agencies.
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Public-Private Partnerships: Encourage collaborations between the government, private sector, and academic institutions to drive innovation while ensuring public interests are protected.
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Preventing Identity Theft and Copyright Infringements: AI-generated content, if misused, can lead to serious issues like identity theft and copyright infringements. Comprehensive legislation can ensure that AI technologies are used ethically and responsibly, safeguarding individuals' identities and intellectual property
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15 Minute Cities
15-minute cities alleviate the stress of long commutes and the environmental degradation caused by heavy reliance on vehicles, offering residents a more convenient, eco-friendly lifestyle with essential services just a walk or bike ride away.
Moreover, they counteract urban housing crises and foster local economies, creating cohesive communities where affordable housing and small businesses thrive, enhancing the quality of life for all residents.
I propose a 15 minute city initiative for the following reasons:
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Affordable Housing: By spreading out services, we're breaking up housing bottlenecks in busy hubs, paving the way for fair and affordable homes for all. It's a fresh take on city living, putting every necessity within a short, easy reach from your doorstep.
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Sustainable Living: 15 minute cities will shrink our carbon footprint dramatically by reshaping our neighborhoods. By bringing essential services closer to home, we pave the way for greener transportation options, ushering in a future that is both healthier and more sustainable.
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Boosting Small Businesses: 15-minute cities are a lifeline for local businesses, creating neighborhoods where they can thrive. This initiative ensures that every dollar spent circulates longer within the community, fostering economic stability and growth.
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Protecting and Elevating Women
A woman's right to choose is a fundamental human right that is essential for their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Despite the importance of this right, reproductive rights are under threat, and women face various challenges, including unequal pay, and limited access to capital for female entrepreneurs.
As your representative, I will support:
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Codifying Roe into federal law: Ensuring a woman's autonomy over her body is a crucial part of individual liberty. As your representative, I pledge to fight tirelessly to enshrine Roe's protections into federal law.
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Fighting for equal pay in the workplace: The gender pay gap is more than a statistic - it's an everyday reality for millions of hard-working women. I'm committed to championing policies that ensure equal pay for equal work.
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Supporting female entrepreneurs: From boardrooms to start-ups, let’s back our female entrepreneurs with access to resources and capital to ignite their visions.
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Safer Communities
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, a lack of police accountability that has eroded public trust in law enforcement, and a rise in crime in our communities.
I believe the more you know, the more you grow. Let's apply this philosophy to those who struggle to survive and face unimaginable circumstances that drive them to a life of crime.
Addressing these issues with smarter, comprehensive, and innovative solutions can pave the way towards safer communities and a more effective justice system.
As your representative, I will support:
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More Education, Less Incarceration: Establish a program that will allow nonviolent offenders to complete online educational courses in lieu of serving jail time or paying fines. The program would also offer participants access to social services including job training, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment, as appropriate.
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Striving for Police Excellence: Champion legislation that increases police accountability, transparency, and retraining, ensuring our law enforcement agencies are serving and protecting all residents with fairness and justice.
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Supporting Community Watch Groups: Advocate for initiatives that provide funding and resources to community watch groups. These groups should be equipped with the necessary tools to effectively monitor their neighborhoods and work in tandem with law enforcement agencies.
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Protecting Our Democracy
In an era of growing challenges to our democratic values, it is essential to protect and uphold the principles that constitute the backbone of our democracy.
This is a critical juncture, a time when our commitment to transparency, inclusivity, and fairness is tested like never before.
Our democracy, the cornerstone of our great nation, is only as robust as our collective willingness to advocate for and enact necessary reforms.
As your representative, I will support:
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Ranked Choice Voting: Our current 'winner-takes-all' voting system can often lead to polarized politics and leave many voices unheard. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, leading to more diverse and representative outcomes. It reduces the 'spoiler effect' and ensures that elected officials have broad support among their constituents.
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Ending Citizens United: The Citizens United decision has allowed for unlimited spending in politics, drowning out the voices of everyday citizens. We must aim to overturn this decision to restore the power of individual voters and limit the influence of big money in our political system.
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Campaign Finance Reform: A candidate’s ideas should matter more than their bank account. By implementing stricter campaign finance laws, and overturning Citizens United, we can limit the influence of big money in politics. By also implementing UBI, we would also enhance the financial capacity of voters to contribute to political campaigns.
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Open Primaries: An open primary system allows all voters, regardless of their party affiliation, to participate in the selection of candidates. This ensures that our elected officials are chosen by a wider, more diverse group of voters, not just a partisan few. It promotes more moderate candidates and may lead to less divisive politics.
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Hope Over Fear: Fixing Immigration
The US immigration system is broken and benefits only those who profit from its dysfunction.
More than 11 million undocumented immigrants are living in the United States. They need a path to citizenship and access to the American dream.
As your representative, I will support:
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Facilitate citizenship for undocumented immigrants: Providing a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US is crucial. In doing so, we extend to them the full range of opportunities that make up the American dream.
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Modernize border security: To bolster border security, we must leverage advanced technologies like surveillance drones, biometrics, AI, and integrated data systems, and enhance personnel training to effectively use these tools.
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Uphold the law: To uphold immigration laws effectively, we must invest into the use of advanced technologies, such as integrated data systems, biometric verification, AI, and user-friendly online platforms, to streamline processes, prevent illegal activities, and improve accessibility.
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Simplifying Healthcare
Healthcare is a basic human right that should be guaranteed to all individuals, regardless of their income or employment status. The present healthcare system in the United States, with its high costs and disparities, is unsustainable.
A comprehensive solution should be affordable, accessible, and universal. I'm an advocate for a single-payer system like Medicare for all.
As your representative, I will support:
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Simplifying the healthcare system: Through a single-payer system, we can reduce administrative costs, allowing for greater negotiation with healthcare providers, and bring down costs.
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Reducing financial barriers to healthcare: Through a single-payer system, we can ensure that everyone has access to necessary medical treatment.
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Improving health outcomes: A single-payer system would reduce the disparity in healthcare outcomes between different socioeconomic groups.
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Promoting Civil Rights For All
As a society, we must preserve legal and constitutional protections that prevent discrimination based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and disability.
Despite these protections, marginalized and disadvantaged groups still face discrimination and prejudice. Ensuring that everyone has access to the same rights and opportunities is crucial for creating a fair and just society.
As your representative, I will support:
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Policies and laws that promote equality: We need to protect the rights of marginalized and disadvantaged groups and ensure that everyone has access to the same rights and opportunities.
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Combatting discrimination and prejudice: We must promote understanding and respect among different groups and create a society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
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Fighting racial injustice: I propose the establishment of programs dedicated to reducing systemic racial disparities in areas like education, employment, and criminal justice.
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Keeping Religion Out Of Politics
It is essential that we maintain a separation of religion and politics for the benefit of all individuals, regardless of their personal beliefs.
Our religious institutions have done great things for our communities, as with many nonprofit organizations. However, the harmful effects of religious influence on politics has been evident for a long time.
To maintain a separation of religion and politics, decisions must be made based on facts, reason, and evidence rather than on religious beliefs.
I promise to prevent religious ideology from influencing legislation, especially on issues such as women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, science, and education.
As your representative, I will support:
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Establish clear guidelines to prevent religious groups from using their tax-exempt status to influence political campaigns.
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Protect reproductive rights so that access to contraceptives and abortion services are based on medical evidence and not on religious beliefs.
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Support increasing funding for STEM programs and promote the teaching of critical thinking skills in schools to help students develop the ability to evaluate evidence and think logically.
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Promote the separation of church and state by opposing legislation that seeks to impose religious values on society, such as laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
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