2010 Tama County Platform

Government and Law 

1. The constitution should only be allowed to protect the rights of living human beings .  Corporate personhood should not be recognized by the constitution. 

 

2.   The Democratic party will take all measures necessary to prevent any state or federal constitutional amendment that would strip same-sex couples of the fundamental right to marry. 

 

3.  In the fall of 2008 the United States came very close to a financial meltdown.  Rules that were setup after the great depression to protect Americans had been cast aside.  The barriers between insurance companies, investment banks and commercial banks were dissolved.  Taxpayers were forced to bailout greedy bankers.  We propose regulations should be imposed on the financial industry to prevent future financial collapses like the 2008 collapse. 

 

4. The Meskwaki Nation has a special government- to- government relationship with the United States of America, both historic and present, inherent in the treaties that were ratified and approved by the Meskwaki Tribe, also known as the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa,  and the governing authorities of the United States.  Therefore be it resolved that the descendents of their nations and the citizens of the state of Iowa recognize the importance of continuing to honor, maintain, and protect the integrity of these documents as being living agreements and vital to the existence of the Meskwaki people. 

5. Due to the Supreme Court's ruling to give corporations the rights of individuals, the only way to neutralize the influence of unlimited amounts of money flowing into the election process, we must push for the public financing of all elections in all states 

6. We support the repeal of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. 

7. We oppose the use of torture by the United States Government as an instrument of persuasion. 

8. We oppose the war in Iraq and urge the U.S. Government to remove our troops as soon as possible while ensuring the safe return of our troops and support the technological and administrative aid in rebuilding the country . 

9. We support the Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections (voice) legislation. Under this law an election system will be established in which candidates could choose to no longer raise money from private sources. Instead, each participating candidate would receive a set amount of money from a publicly financed election fund. Spending by the candidate would be limited to the amount they get from the election fund. 

10. We support federal legislation allocating funds to reimburse states for purchase of optical scanners and ballot marking devices.  

11. We support the enforcement of our laws to penalize the employers of illegal immigrants. 

12. We support a new pathway by streamlining a more effective naturalization process. 

13. Be it resolved that bills brought before congress should be voted up or down. There is no need to offer amendments to embellish or diminish the true spirit of the meaning of the bill. 

14. We support increasing aid to veterans and their families to help them reconstruct their lives after they have come back from war.  Let’s provide help in all areas of their lives and families. 

15. Be it resolved that the Meskwaki Indian Settlement precinct caucus meetings during presidential election years shall be designated to be held within the Meskwaki Indian Settlement boundaries; site location to be at the discretion of Meskwaki Indian Settlement Precinct Chairperson. 

16. We need to address the problem of American companies moving factories overseas to avoid paying living wages.  

 

17.  Remove loopholes that allow corporations to hide money in offshore accounts and shell companies. 

 

18. We support the enforcement of antitrust laws and remove exemption from all corporations, including insurance companies. 

 

19.  We support the modification of the federal income tax policies so that anyone required to pay income tax in the United States who is 65 or older and makes less than $60, 000 per should pay no federal tax. 

 

Health & Human Services 

 

1. We support affordable, universal, single payer health care equal to the healthcare enjoyed by our U.S congress. 

 

2. The pharmaceutical benefit of Medicare should be modified to allow the government to negotiate the prices for drugs and pass the savings to the consumers.   

 

3. We support the elimination of the “Doughnut hole” in Medicare benefits. 

 

4. We support the elimination of Medicare HMOs which drain the Medicare system of monetary resources which should go to pay for recipient’s benefits. 

 

6. We support mental health parity in health care coverage.  

 

 

7. To reduce Iowa's over reliance on institutional based long term care we support the expansion of home and community based long term care service options for seniors and people with disabilities to help them remain in their own homes.  

8.  84% of elder abuse cases go unreported.  We support funding of programs that detect, intervene, and prevent elder abuse like Iowa's Elder Abuse Initiative. 

9. Iowa should focus additional resources on preventative health programs and services. 

10. Iowa's seniors are not receiving the mental health services they need.  We support increasing Iowa's capacity to serve seniors who have a mental illness. 

 

Agriculture & Environment 

1. We support improving the overall quality of life in our communities by rewarding systems-based solutions that optimize alternative energy sources and rebuild infrastructure in technologically advanced ways that also provide clean and safe environments. 

2.  We support the Iowa legislature pass legislation giving all Iowans the ability to exercise local control over the placement of factory farms.   

3. The federal government should put provisions in place to accelerate tax credits to allow for speedier recoupment of investments of home and small business renewable energy equipment installations. 

4. Federal and state governments should aggressively address the problem of polluted water and air.   

 

Veterans Affairs 

1.  All veterans should be eligible to receive health care benefits from the Veterans administration health care system regardless of their income or insurance status 

2. Coverage for medication, dental care, eye care, and mental health areas of the Veterans Administration should be expanded to include all non-service connected veterans.   

3. Soldiers that have Traumatic Brain Injuries should have advocates assigned or designated family members to help them make critical decisions with regard to their health care and their future. 

4. Funding for the Veterans Administration should be increased every time a war or military conflict is entered into or expanded.  Congressmen who say they are patriotic and support our troops should want to take care of them after their time in service. 

5.  The United States Government should discontinue the use of mercenaries and private contractors in their military operations anywhere in the world.  Increased pay and benefits to the Armed Forces of the United States would reduce the brain drain and loss of highly trained individuals from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. 

 

Education 

 

1. We support addressing the problem of disparity of school funding among school districts. 

 

2. Special consideration should be given to Behavior Disabled students to be placed in an environment where their behavior can be monitored and their needs can be met.  

 

3. We support streamlining the documentation responsibilities of special education teachers to allow them more time to teach.  

 

4. We oppose state-mandated school consolidation. 

 

5. We oppose the No Child Left Behind program. 

 

6. We support the use of multiple assessments to determine a students progress. 

 

7. We support class size reduction. 

 

 

Higher Education 

 

1. To address the problem of the cost of college education becoming out of reach for most Americans we propose increasing eligibility and funding for federal and state student aid. 

   

 

 

Economy, Commerce, and Labor 

 

1. We support the enforcement of prevailing wage law for Iowa workers on all government projects.  

 

2. We support international trade policies that require minimum labor, wage, and workplace condition standards so as to promote a fair trade system. 

 

3.  Government contracts should not be awarded to contractors that are not current in paying their federal or state income taxes.