I hope that you will take the time to read this, and see what you do or don't agree with. I hope that it will either reinforce your understanding of politics or cause you to question your assumption of my beliefs.

I stand for many specific things. I believe that we have to make decisions and hold ourselves and others to these standards if we ever expect to move from point A to point B. Standing for peace, love, and equality is not enough. That sounds pretty. Now let's get real.
There are specific and ever-changing circumstances in our cities, states, countries, and the entire world that we constantly must apply our set of beliefs to. This is why it is so essential to hold ourselves to the same code every single time we are faced with an issue. The only time a change in action or attitude is acceptable is when we are learning from our mistakes. A change is then required of us.
I understand that there are many different kinds of people in the world, and for reasons that are not always obvious to us, each and everyone is necessary.
I also understand that some people, because of my open and honest expression of what I support and do not support, may not even take the time to hear out my opinion or ever understand what it is that I support.

I do not support people, I do not support parties.
I support issues, I support actions.

If a person or a party supports my issues and the actions I want to see taken, then consequently, I support them.

Now to the good stuff: What do I stand for?

-I fully support a free market economy.
What this means to me: no government interference in the economy, except as an organization to require internal and external audits of companies to ensure ethical behavior, in order to prevent companies from abusing the rights of the individual laborer and consumer.
This also means no taxation of businesses, imports, or exports. I believe that the free market, through the mechanics of supply and demand, will handle and balance itself.

-I am a supporter of the fair tax, however.
The fair tax is flat tax on all goods above the poverty level. This would be the only national tax on citizens. Read more about what I have to say about the fair tax here.

-I am personally against abortion, but I believe that it should not be controlled by the national government.
This means that I believe it is a state's decision and responsibility to handle the issue of abortion. I believe it is the individual's right to choose, but that the government should not support the choice of abortion in any way. In fact, I believe that state and local government's should encourage methods of contraception, adoption, and life.

-I believe that the issue of marriage is related to the church, and not a decision to be made by the national government.
This means that it is the state's decision to allow or not allow gay marriage. I believe that gay couples deserve the benefits of marriage that a heterosexual couple recieves from the government. A marriage, by government's standards, is and should be a union between two people. This union should not be denied to people because of their sex.
I do not, however, feel that gay marriage should be encouraged by the government or the education system.

-I believe in the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana.
Marijuana could be taxed by the federal government and better regulated through legalization of it's production, sales, and consumption. Marijuana is not addictive, a user cannot overdose, and it's effects are much less dangerous than alcohol. It's prohibition and the government's attempt to stop the selling and use has been ineffective at best. The imprisonment of marijuana dealers and users is a complete violation of the individual's freedom as a citizen.

-I do not support the government's involvement in healthcare or education.
These issues cannot be fully explained here, perhaps I will elaborate on a further post.
However, I believe that the education system should be state run, if not mostly handled through private schooling. I support the voucher system.
I believe that healthcare is a privelege, not a right; and any interference through welfare programs should be handled by each state.

-I believe any and all social programs should be only state-run.
Running programs such as welfare, medicaid, social security, etc. on a federal level is not consitutional and proven extremely ineffective and ultimately corrupted. Handling such issues on a state level allows for less corruption, more visible and at-home results, and improvements can be more easily made.

-I absolutely support the right to bear arms.
Common sense. I will leave this country if they take away our guns. It's proven that criminals do not obey laws, hence them being criminals. Why would I put my faith in them following the law and not still hoarding weapons? And more importantly, why would I put my faith in the government to never overstep their boundaries when I don't have the most primal ability to defend myself from their abuses?

-One issue, and perhaps the only one, that I truly feel the federal government is responsible for and was formed for, is homeland security. I believe in strong homeland security.
Again, an international criminal is no different than one in our neighborhoods. They will not follow our treaties, they will not hesitate to lie and abuse us. We have to defend ourselves and it is the federal government's primary responsibility to protect our lives, and defend our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
(exception: the federal government is responsible for homeland security and regulation of the state's use of power.)

-I believe we should remove all illegal immigrants.
They recieve the benefits of schooling, healthcare, and higher minimum wage while THEY DO NOT PAY TAXES. We instead carry their financial burden through the programs they take advantage of because of our leniency. Illegal immigrants are granted the benefits of citizenship without paying for it. It is an abuse of our system and an insult to citizens that do follow the laws and/or immigrate legally.

This doesn't cover EVERYTHING, but it is quite a lot.

Let me know what you all agree, disagree with!

Love, Meg