National+Issues

**The Wisdom Party's Platform of Beliefs:**
**School Vouchers **  The Wisdom Party is strongly opposed to the implementation of voucher programs. As a whole, school vouchers greatly undermine public education. The public school system is a great representation of the unification of our diverse country. With the help of vouchers, better-off middle and upper-class students would be more inclined to move towards private schools, which would then lead to more deterioration of the public school system. In addition, although they would provide help for some children, not all students would be affected by the benefits of the voucher programs. Many believe that vouchers would be valuable for students of all social classes; however, in reality, the upper-class would be greatly favored. School vouchers tend to provide an insignificant supplement in comparison to the price of attending a private school. Therefore, although a family that is not very well-off would have a couple thousand dollars as a voucher, the parents would still struggle to pay the much greater amount that is necessary to pay in order to attend the school. Wealthier families, by contrast, reap the benefits of saving a couple thousand dollars and are still not hurt by the rest of the money that comes out of their pockets.

**Draft **  The Wisdom Party strongly agrees that all armed forces should be voluntary. There should be no draft. A person should have his or her own opinion about fighting for our country and should, under no circumstances, be forced into doing so. Telling someone they have to go half way across the world and fight for our country when they disagree completely, is morally wrong. A draft is unconstitutional and biased, and goes against everything this country believes in. Freedom of speech, especially, is gone against and when someone is drafted, their rights are taken away completely. With a draft, someone could have connections or be wealthy and can be taken out of the draft but when someone is not wealthy, they are forced to do the job of someone who got out of it with no problem. This issue though commonly overlooked, should be seen as problem that we still deal with today.  **Universal Health Care **  The Wisdom Party strongly agrees that the United States needs a nationally funded system of universal health care, covering all Americans. About 15% of the population of our country is uninsured, roughly 43 million citizens. Many more are “underinsured,” with insufficient coverage on medical problems they might incur. This leads to medical expenses being the leading cause of personal debt in the U.S. Even with this faulty system, more money is spent on health care in America than in any other country in the world. While many of us may not even notice this, the United States is 50th in the world in regards to life expectancy. In the year 2000, the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. health care system as the highest in cost, first in responsiveness, 37th in overall performance, and 72nd by overall level of health (among 191 member nations included in the study). The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences says that our country is the "only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage." Perhaps the most shocking figure was found in a Harvard study published in the American Journal of Public Health, where it was printed that more than 44,800 deaths are caused in the U.S. due to citizens lacking health insurance. Unfortunately, as the health care debate in America rages on, we have seen politicians utilize tactics reminiscent of Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. Congressmen are seen daily denouncing universal health care as a “socialist system,” as if the slightest socialist measure will poison our nation’s government. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada have universal health care systems, yet keep a system of government reminiscent of ours. American citizens need to get past the scare tactics that we have grown accustomed to. It is time for a change in America, a change that might save 44,800 lives next year.

 **Foreign Aid **  As one of the most powerful, wealthy nations in the world, it is our duty to help provide for the rest of the world. We have the influence to pave the way for many other countries and in doing so, create a better world. Today, we fall far behind other leading nations in foreign aid per capita. This does not coincide with what we believe in or how our country is represented. There are many corrupted governments and poverty-stricken countries around the world that need the aid of the United States. This shouldn’t be an issue of money but rather an issue of morality. It’s a patriotic act to represent your own country while in the service of aid for another country. The issue on government spending has always been a problem throughout our history. It is important to understand what’s the best use the money could go towards. The Wisdom Party cannot think of a more virtuous act of using their money than to benefit the struggling countries of the world. From the genocide in Darfur to the recent Haiti tragedy, the United States needs to respond with a larger aid program.

**Abortion ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> The Wisdom Party strongly believes that a woman has complete choice when determining to abort her own pregnancy. When circumstances hinder the ability for a mother to properly raise a child, it is responsible for that woman to make the best decision. ProChoice is the best way to provide women the opportunity to protect their own life and potentially that of a improperly raised child. As population growth rates continue to increase, it is also responsible as a country to remain within our capacity. Unintentional or illegitimate children are partially the cause of increasing birth rates. The action of aborting an undeveloped child as a fetus is, in fact, morally acceptable when a woman has the ability to make the best choice for herself. Late term abortions, however, should only be permitted if a serious health problem is developed. Women, of course, have absolute right to their own body.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Criminal Punishment ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">

Rather than spend more money on prisons, programs that adjust criminals to normal life should be funded and instituted. The Wisdom Party strongly agrees on supporting criminals in normal life programs. Prisoners should be offered intensive programs that help to mend a violent past. With governmentally funded institutions, a prisoner could learn to support himself/herself in the "real" world. Upon strict regulations and thorough assistance, a criminal should be able to be offered a second chance. Half way houses are important, as well as job skills and education to obtain a GED. These opportunities should all be provided to criminals hoping to improve their own life and reenter into the community.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Death Penalty ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">

The Wisdom Party strongly believes that the death penalty should be abolished. There have been too many cases of a convict being executed only to have evidence of his innocence brought up years later. Any loss of innocent life is inexcusable and without the death penalty being abolished there is not a 100% way of knowing if they are truly guilty. It is morally inexcusable to absurd that a government can kill a criminal when he is there because he killed somebody.

On average per year, there are: 20,000 murders 15,000 arrests for murder (not all crimes are solved) 10,000 murder convictions 3,000 persons eligible for the DP 125 death sentences handed down 50 executions. The death penalty is not making a difference by executing only 50 people per year out of the 15,000 arrests for murder so we would be better off just abolishing the entire thing and not having the chance of killing innocents.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> We, of the Wisdom party, strongly believe in marriage equality. The present day segregation that exists in our culture is a shameful reflection of how far the U.S. still has to come to fit the dream of the fore fathers. The wisdom party will repeal the Defense of MarriageAct and fully legalize same-sex marriage on a federal level. The benefits that marriages give couples are essential for any successful modern day relationship. Civil unions are bereft of hundreds of the rights marriage ensures and therefore we do not see them as a viable option for same-sex couples. Like the Constitution says; “All men are created equal."
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Gay Marriage **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> We of the Wisdom party strongly believe in full amnesty for all law-abiding illegal immigrants. With 12 million illegal immigrants, America can not realistically think about deportation. The wisdom party is not in favor of wasting billions of federal dollars to destroy families that contribute to our society.Our country was founded by immigrants. For a society of immigrants to deport other immigrants is fundamentally hypocritical and the wise will not stand for it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Illegal Immigration **