Financial Freedom
The American economy should serve the people who built this country and not the financial engineers who extract our wealth. The days of a single income family have given way to a system where credit card and mortgage debt have become essential for maintaining living standards. Our debt-based system encourages borrowing while our economic system relies on rampant consumer spending. For the American worker, who finds themselves in this cycle of debt, it is difficult to see a way out.
We believe it is essential for Americans to free themselves of perpetual financial servitude. We support the return to an economic system where a single income can support a family. There are many steps needed to achieve this but, we believe this type of financial freedom is essential to restoring a healthy republic. Our elected representatives should take the steps we outline below so that citizens start to see tangible results in the economy. A nation that taxes its workers lightly, protects their money, restrains predatory finance, keeps living costs reasonable and honors its commitments to seniors is a nation that is worth fighting to save.
Lower Income Taxes
We believe that a family who works hard should be able to achieve real economic progress. The tax code must finally start working for Americans instead of against them. By lowering income tax rates and expanding the standard deduction, working families will be able to keep more of what they earn. We support dramatically reducing taxes on overtime, tips, and small business income. The people who put in the extra hours and take the risks should not be punished for it.
Always in Cash
Physical cash must serve as one of the transaction options and always remain a form of legal tender. If physical cash is not a key component of the financial system, central banks will be able to track and tax every transaction through their digital currency system. Elected representatives must pass legislation which guarantees that no citizen can be forced into a purely digital payment system. These policies would insist that merchants accept cash and that banks remain available in all communities. It is imperative to our liberty that the ability to transact in physical money remains an option for all Americans.
Reduce National Debt
Our national debt has now eclipsed $40 trillion. Continuing to pile it higher is nothing less than a betrayal to our future generations. Spending restraint and ending the systemic fraud should be a non-negotiable item for this country. Any new program must be paid for with actual cuts elsewhere and not by adding more debt to the system. Our elected officials should prioritize the core functions of government which matter to the American people while aggressively shrinking the administrative state.
Keep Social Security Solvent
Social Security has been the social/financial compact between the American people who paid into it for decades and the politicians who promised it would remain solvent. Benefits for current retirees and those near retirement must be protected in full. People who planned their entire working lives around the promises made to them deserve a system that keeps its word to them in their retirement.
Credit Card Interest Rates
Working people should not be treated as ATM machines for the credit card industry. A national usury ceiling must be imposed so that excessive interest rates can no longer be charged as a normal business model. Banks should not be able to trap American citizens in endless revolving debt. We support free-market capitalism but stand firmly against predatory money lending. Americans deserve a financial system that serves them and not one that extracts their wages through debt and interest payments.
Support a Living Wage
The fight against the exorbitant cost of living starts by first dealing with the core issues impacting America's working class. First, we need to prioritize expanding domestic energy production so fuel and electricity prices come down for working families. Next, we need to identify any unnecessary regulatory measures that drive up the price of food, cars, and everyday goods and eliminate them.
Enforcing the labor laws already on the books and stopping mass illegal immigration will improve the wages of American workers. Immigration undercuts the bargaining power of Americans. An income sufficient to support a family is only attainable when the costs of basic needs fall and there are jobs available for our citizens.