See How It Works!
Policy Ideas
| Reduce waste and fraud to save $60BN/yr More detail | |
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| We need to open new markets beyond our borders for American goods and services on terms that work for America More detail | |
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| To get China to play by the rules, we must say “no more” to a relationship that too often benefits them and harms us More detail | |
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| Reform our regulatory system to avoid onerous regulation More detail | |
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| Build a simpler, smaller, smarter government More detail | |
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| Patient-centered care will drive quality up and cost down while ensuring services provide what Americans actually want More detail | |
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| Cut spending by approximately $500BN/yr in 2016 assuming robust economic recovery with 4% annual growth More detail | |
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| Use unilateral and multilateral punitive measures to deter unfair Chinese practices More detail | |
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| Mitt’s goal will be to bring federal spending below 20% of GDP by the end of his first term More detail | |
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| Cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits More detail | |
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| Return non-security discretionary spending to below 2008 levels More detail | |
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| Consolidate agencies and streamline processes to cut costs and improve results More detail | |
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| Eliminate the Death Tax More detail | |
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| Competition can deliver higher quality at lower cost in the healthcare system, if given the chance to work More detail | |
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| Increase Customs and Border Protection (CBP) resources to prevent the illegal entry of goods into our market More detail | |
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| Develop our cornucopia of carbon-based energy resources More detail | |
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| Increase U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) resources to pursue litigation against China's unfair trade practices More detail | |
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| Pursue new trade agreements with nations committed to free enterprise and open markets More detail | |
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| Construct pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the United States More detail | |
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| Lower corporate tax rates to better compete in the global economy and to invest and create jobs at home More detail | |
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| Cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% More detail | |
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| Roll back President Obama’s government expansion by capping non-security discretionary spending below 2008 levels More detail | |
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| Social Security benefits should continue to grow but the growth rate should be lower for those with higher incomes More detail | |
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| Obama-era laws and regulations must be rolled back, and pre-existing ones must be carefully scrutinized More detail | |
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| Designate China a currency manipulator and impose countervailing duties More detail | |
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| Conduct comprehensive survey of America’s energy reserves More detail | |
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| Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process More detail | |
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| Rational and streamlined approach to regulation to facilitate the development of oil, natural gas, and nuclear resources More detail | |
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| Grant permanent residency to eligible graduates with advanced degrees in math, science, and engineering More detail | |
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| Open America’s energy reserves for development More detail | |
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| Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) More detail | |
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| Eliminate redundancy in federal retraining programs through consolidation, centering activity in a single agency More detail | |
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| Initiate review and elimination of all Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy More detail | |
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| Repeal Obamacare More detail | |
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| Empower individuals and small businesses to form purchasing pools More detail | |
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| Require congressional approval of all new “major” regulations More detail | |
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| Immigration policy designed to maximize America’s economic potential More detail | |
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| Create one-stop shop to streamline permitting process for approval of common activities More detail | |
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| Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers More detail | |
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| Cut non-security discretionary spending by 5% across the board More detail | |
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| Unshackle Health Savings Accounts by allowing funds to be used for insurance premiums More detail | |
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| Appoint to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) experienced individuals with respect for the rule of law More detail | |
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| Prevent discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions who maintain continuous coverage More detail | |
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| Ensure that our labor laws create a stable and level playing field on which businesses can operate More detail | |
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| Do not overregulate shale gas development and extraction More detail | |
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| Amend Sarbanes-Oxley to relieve mid-size companies from onerous requirements More detail | |
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| Give states authority to manage retraining programs by block granting federal funds More detail | |
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| Encourage "Consumer Reports"-type ratings of alternative insurance plans More detail | |
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| Create the Reagan Economic Zone More detail | |
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| Strengthen and make permanent the R&D tax credit More detail | |
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| Repeal the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) More detail | |
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| Discontinue U.S. government procurement from China until China commits to the WTO's government procurement agreement More detail | |
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| Fast-track procedures for companies with strong safety records to conduct pre-approved activities in pre-approved areas More detail | |
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| Encourage greater private sector involvement in retraining programs More detail | |
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| It is simply not moral to add $1 trillion per year to the debt and pass that debt on to our children and grandchildren. More detail | |
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| Establish fixed timetables for all energy resource development approvals More detail | |
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| Facilitate the creation of Personal Reemployment Accounts More detail | |
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| Use block grants to establish local control and promote innovation - savings $100BN/yr More detail | |
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| Facilitate IT interoperability in health care More detail | |
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| Reduce foreign aid by $100 million More detail | |
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| Reform legal liability system to prevent spurious litigation More detail | |
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| Expand Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) capabilities for approval of additional nuclear reactor designs More detail | |
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| Reinstate the president’s Trade Promotion Authority More detail | |
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| Invest in basic research and advanced technology without steering toward particular politically favored approaches More detail | |
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| Amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect the right of business owners to allocate their capital as they see fit More detail | |
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| Utilize long-term, apolitical funding mechanisms like ARPA-E for basic research More detail | |
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| Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act, which forces the government to pay above-market wages, to save $11BN/yr More detail | |
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| Expand opportunities for U.S. resource developers to forge partnerships with neighboring countries More detail | |
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| Align federal employee compensation with the private sector to save $47BN/yr More detail | |
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| Reverse irresponsible Obama-era defense cuts More detail | |
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| Offer innovation grants to explore non-litigation alternatives to dispute resolution More detail | |
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| Promote alternatives to "fee for service" More detail | |
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| Give each state the power to craft a health care reform plan that is best for its own citizens More detail | |
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| Block grant Medicaid and other payments to states More detail | |
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| Streamline NRC processes to ensure that licensing decisions for reactors are complete within two years More detail | |
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| Eliminate taxes for taxpayers with AGI below $200,000 on interest, dividends, and capital gains More detail | |
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| Reduce the federal workforce by 10% via attrition to save $4BN/yr More detail | |
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| Ensure flexibility to help the uninsured, including public-private partnerships, exchanges, and subsidies More detail | |
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| Ensure flexibility to help the chronically ill, including high-risk pools, reinsurance, and risk adjustment More detail | |
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| Concentrate alternative energy funding on basic research More detail | |
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| Recognize that retraining workers is an area where the federal government is particularly ill-equipped to succeed More detail | |
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| Provide multi-year lead times before companies must come into compliance with onerous new environmental regulations More detail | |
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| Complete negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership More detail | |
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| Limit federal standards and requirements on both private insurance and Medicaid coverage More detail | |
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| Repeal Dodd-Frank and replace with streamlined, modern regulatory framework More detail | |
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| Impose a regulatory cap of zero dollars on all federal agencies More detail | |
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| Maintain current tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains More detail | |
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| Lower marginal tax rates and broaden the base to secure for all Americans the economic gains from tax reform More detail | |
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| Reverse executive orders issued by President Obama that tilt the playing field toward organized labor More detail | |
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| Promote "co-insurance" products More detail | |
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| Make permanent, across-the-board 20% cut in marginal rates More detail | |
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| Switch to a territorial tax system More detail | |
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| Privatize Amtrak to save $1.6BN/yr in federal subsidies More detail | |
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| The retirement age for Social Security should be slowly increased to account for increases in longevity More detail | |
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| Reduce subsidies to National Endowments For Arts and Humanities, Public Broadcasting, and Legal Services More detail | |
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| Let Obama's tax cuts for low-income families with children expire More detail | |
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| Eliminate Title X family planning funding — savings: $300 million More detail | |
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| Amend the Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide from its purview More detail | |
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| Reform Medicare to provide a fixed-amount benefit to each senior that he or she can use to purchase an insurance plan More detail | |
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Arguments
Idea #US464 - Overturn Roe v. Wade
Immediately save lives by effectively repealing Roe v. Wade
Argument
I recognize there are two lives involved: the mom and the unborn child. And I believe that people of good conscience have chosen different paths in this regard. But I am pro-life and will intend, if I'm president of the United States, to encourage pro-life policies. I don't actually make the decision the Supreme Court makes and so they'll have to make their own decision. But, for instance, I'll reverse the president's decision on using U.S. funds to pay for abortion outside this country. I don't think also the taxpayers here should have to pay for abortion in this country. Those things I think are consistent with my pro-life position. And I hope to appoint justices for the Supreme Court that will follow the law and the constitution. And it would be my preference that they reverse Roe V. Wade and therefore they return to the people and their elected representatives the decisions with regards to this important issue.
Source: talkingpointsmemo.com
Counterarguments
Idea #US2 - Abolish Death Penalty
Congress should abolish the death penalty.
Counterargument
The appropriate response of society to terrorism carried out around the world or within our borders is to apply the death penalty. The death penalty is also appropriate in the following cases:
- Assassination of a law enforcement officer, judge, juror or prosecutor for the purpose of obstructing an ongoing criminal proceeding
- Prolonged torture or multiple murders
- Defendant has already been convicted of first-degree murder or who is serving a life sentence without parole
July 14, 2005, Testimony to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Idea #US490 - Medical Marijuana Ballots in 2012
Pass medical marijuana initiatives in AR, IL, MA, MO, NY, OH, and PA
Counterargument
Marijuana is the entry drug for people trying to get kids hooked on drugs. I don't want medicinal marijuana; there are synthetic forms of marijuana that are available for people who need it for prescription. Don't open the doorway to medicinal marijuana.
July 25, 2007, town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire
July 25, 2007, town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire
Idea #US490 - Medical Marijuana Ballots in 2012
Pass medical marijuana initiatives in AR, IL, MA, MO, NY, OH, and PA
Counterargument
The entryway into our drug culture for our young people is marijuana. Marijuana is the starter drug. And the idea of medical marijuana is designed to help get marijuana out into the public marketplace and ultimately lead to the legalization of marijuana overall. And in my view, that's the wrong way to go. I know there are some on the Democratic side of the aisle that'd be happy to get in your campaign. But I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president, you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail.
Source: huffpost.com
Idea #US82 - End Corporate Personhood
Amend the constitution to say that corporations are not people
Counterargument
Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings, my friend.
- August 2011, Iowa State Fair
Idea #US8 - Legalize It
Legalize marijuana. Current illegality is a waste of resources.
Counterargument
The entryway into our drug culture for our young people is marijuana. Marijuana is the starter drug. And the idea of medical marijuana is designed to help get marijuana out into the public marketplace and ultimately lead to the legalization of marijuana overall. And in my view, that's the wrong way to go. I know there are some on the Democratic side of the aisle that'd be happy to get in your campaign. But I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president, you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail.
Source: huffpost.com
Idea #US106 - Close the hedge fund manager tax loophole
Stop allowing hedge fund managers to treat their income as capital gains.
Counterargument
With regard to carried interest associated with venture capital, real estate, private equity, I do not believe in raising taxes. It is a capital gain because those individuals do make an investment. I would treat capital gains as capital gains instead of trying to re-categorize them as normal income.
November 1, 2007, Interview with Michael Arrington
Idea #US8 - Legalize It
Legalize marijuana. Current illegality is a waste of resources.
Counterargument
Marijuana is the entry drug for people trying to get kids hooked on drugs. I don't want medicinal marijuana; there are synthetic forms of marijuana that are available for people who need it for prescription. Don't open the doorway to medicinal marijuana.
July 25, 2007, town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire
July 25, 2007, town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire
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