Vermont Democratic Party Platform

As approved by the 2006 Platform Convention, September 16, 2006

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

Vermont Democrats believe the rights to health care, food, shelter, clean air and water, education, privacy, justice, peace and equality, the right to organize and of free speech are essential to a robust democracy. These rights are not negotiable.

Based on these principles, we stand against torture, bigotry and discrimination, forced childbirth, corruption, and the establishment of state-sponsored religion or religious doctrine.

We believe that all citizens have a responsibility to be informed, engaged participants of our democracy. We demand that all elected officials fully adhere to their oaths of office and defend the Constitutions of the United States and Vermont at all times, using all lawful means available to them through their office.

We expect elected leaders at all levels to adhere to national and international laws and treaties, as required by the Constitution, and to govern compassionately and with fiscal integrity and transparency.

As a society, we must work toward economically and environmentally sustainable communities to protect the future of our planet.

Everything we do – every policy, law, and regulation – must consider the effects of our actions on the lives and futures of the world’s children, and their children.

A. GOVERNMENT:

Government should be effective and responsive in protecting and enhancing the public interest, but cannot be the answer to all problems. Government provides basic services, protection, stability, justice and equal opportunity and should do so with efficiency and sensitivity.
All citizens are entitled to transparency, fairness, responsibility and accountability in government at all levels.

1.The War in Iraq:
a.We condemn the false claims that justify the war in Iraq, and the failure of current foreign policy to consider the historical, cultural and religious forces in the region.
b.We are committed to a sensible and clear strategy to bring those who still serve home from Iraq quickly and with dignity.
c.We are committed to an active policy to cooperate with other nations to support a financial and political commitment to stabilizing and securing Iraq.
d.All military personnel, veterans and their families must be recognized for their courage and service and are entitled to full medical, emotional and financial support.

2.Foreign policy:
a.We are committed to establishing a sensible security strategy that serves to reunite us as a nation by respecting the advice of commanders and other professionals with a goal of rebuilding our credibility and strength in the world.
b.Keeping our citizens secure from attack from without and within our borders, while respecting civil and privacy rights, is a major responsibility of government that we uphold.
c.We support the local-emergency-response mission of the Vermont National Guard and believe that they are not and should not be a regular unit of the U.S. military services, nor should they be used to advance the political agenda of any administration.

3.Sound Fiscal Policy:
a.We believe that sound fiscal policy is vital to the responsible operation of government and the maintenance of social and environmental programs.
b.Citizens and businesses should contribute to our local, county, state and national expenses in proportion to their capacity and income. We support progressive taxation, responsible spending, and the creation of protections against revenue shortfalls.
c.We will use resources wisely, avoiding harmful program cuts when revenues are down. Our social programs must be viable within the ability of the state to leverage its resources to pay for them.
d.We stand against corruption in business and in government at all levels. Government officeholders and their appointees must be accountable to taxpayers for their ethical and fiscal actions.
e.The contracting out of services is too often used as an indirect way to reduce the number of public employees, and is done with the false promise of saving money for taxpayers. Where state employees have the expertise and skill to do the work required at reasonable cost, we will avoid outsourcing jobs. Favoritism and no-bid contracts, to name two examples, are ethically and fiscally irresponsible.

4.Managing State Government:
a.We are committed to consistent, fair enforcement of regulations and to improvement in coordination among state agencies.
b.Good government means looking for creative, smart ways to make government run more efficiently, more cost effectively, and in a more coordinated fashion. This process must involve state employees as well as management and those who receive services and interact with state agencies, including local government bodies.
c.Vermont state government needs to work more closely with town government.
d.Government needs to be transparent by adhering to all open meeting, and open records laws.

5.Campaign Finance Reform and Public Financing:
We are committed to campaign finance reforms, including public financing, that will be upheld through court challenges.

6.Voting Rights:
a.Voting is both the responsibility and right of each Vermonter. Voting is the foundation on which a free society stands, thus we support measures to encourage all citizens to exercise their right and fulfill their responsibility to vote including same-day voter registration.
b.We are committed to changing the Vermont Constitution to promptly accomplish the election of statewide officers to fairly reflect the will of the electorate when no candidate receives over 50 percent of the votes cast.
c.We insist upon free and fair elections with accountability for all electoral votes with clear paper trails to verify voter choices in voting machines.

B. BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES:

We believe that the areas of education, health care, housing, and other essential human services are essential components of healthy Vermont communities.

1.Children and Childcare:
a.Our children and their needs will be considered when crafting all programs, policies and regulations.
b.We are committed to creating affordable, quality childcare.

2.Education:
a.Because public education is essential to democracy and freedom, we will provide equal opportunities for a quality public education to all Vermonters. These opportunities extend to early childhood education, affordable and accessible higher education, and continuing education for adults.
b.We support the existing law that currently provides for public high school choice, as well as community-based public funding for non-sectarian schools in communities that do not have their own public schools.
c.We condemn the administration’s current implementation of No Child Left Behind and support the repeal of the act.
d.We demand that the federal government fully fund any mandates for education.
e.The goal of the educational system should be to educate students to become informed, thoughtful citizens, productive workers, and caring members of their communities. We encourage innovative approaches designed to improve the quality of education and school accountability.

3.Health Care:
a.We believe that every human being – every child, adolescent and every adult, – must have access to appropriate, quality medical care.
b.We are committed to reducing costs and improving services with a health care system where every Vermonter is covered with access to health care, prescription drugs and long-term care without regard to employment.
c.The system must offer a choice of health care providers, be based on ability to pay, and be accountable to the public for financial performance and quality of service.
d.We will explore a single-payer health care system, and the treatment of chronic conditions through prevention and early intervention. Catamount health care is a significant step toward the realization of these goals.

4.Aging population:
a.Significant demographic changes in our nation and state will dramatically change the context of our social needs and economic reality into the future. With Vermont’s over 65 population doubling in the next decade, we must prepare for the impact of a shrinking proportion of the population in the workforce.
b.We will strive to provide for the health, security, and social well being of our seniors with compassion, so that Vermonters can live with independence, grace and dignity.

5.Crime Prevention:
We will protect all our citizens and communities by focusing on the causes of crime and prevention through education, drug treatment, and deterrence.

6.Housing:
a.We will work to promote home ownership and housing for all through the construction of affordable housing and moderately priced homes as well as housing that is accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities. We will work to uphold minimum housing standards throughout the state.
b.We are committed to restoring funding for Section 8 and other programs to subsidize low-income rental housing.

7.Human Services:
We have an obligation to provide services that protect the well being and preserve the dignity of Vermonters in need. We will constantly seek to improve the responsiveness and quality of Human Services programs.

C. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS:

We stand for the separation of powers among the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of government as defined in the Constitution, held to account by a free press and media. We support individual liberty and the community of citizens caring for and about each other. We stand against torture, the use of secret prisons, the detention of people without charge or judicial rights, and warrantless monitoring, searches, and seizures.

1.Equality Before the Law:
a.Great social progress has been made toward this national goal, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, over the last decades towards a more just society. We acknowledge that the goals of the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, and the labor movement, have not yet been realized.
b.We reject efforts to reverse progress toward a more just society. We will work toward continued advancement on these fronts and act unapologetically with affirmative action when necessary.
c.We support the addition of equal rights amendments to the United States and Vermont Constitutions and the protection of all citizens, regardless of race, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, military service, or creed.

2.Health Care:
We believe, as do most of the industrialized nations of the world, that health care is a basic human right without regard to employment. We will continue to develop innovative strategies to provide quality, affordable universal health care, and reasonably priced prescription medications for all Americans.

3.Reproductive Education and Choice:
a.We believe in the right to seek and receive complete, accurate and science-based information on family planning, pregnancy services, and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
b.We reaffirm the universal right of women to make decisions regarding abortion and other reproductive health issues, free from harassment and interference.

4.Workers’ Rights:
a.We believe that government must ensure the rights of employees. We support the right to organize a union, bargain collectively, and to work free from discrimination in a safe, healthy and fair environment.
b.We support the enforcement of all federal, state, county and municipal laws that protect workers.

5.Civil Unions:
We continue to support Vermont’s Civil Unions law and full, equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered couples.

6.Native Americans:
We will insure the dignity, individuality, and cultural distinctiveness of Vermont’s Native American peoples and support the formal recognition of tribal status.

D. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY:

We believe economic opportunity in Vermont should be available to all its citizens. Business, government, labor and environmental groups must be collectively responsible for incorporating Vermont values to build economic opportunity for all.

1.Economic Development and Job Creation:
a.We will support efforts to create jobs that pay a livable wage, provide for a secure retirement, and occur in safe and healthy environments. We will support jobs that provide workers with the right to organize, collectively bargain livable wages and benefits, and improve the standard of living for Vermont and American workers. We support the development and growth of businesses of all sizes, with a focus on small businesses. We will pursue incentives to help small businesses which are committed and connected to Vermont, especially in the areas of the state where the local economy is struggling.
b.Addressing the health care crisis and the spiraling cost of energy in Vermont is a critical part of sound economic development strategy.
c.We oppose the elimination of the federal inheritance tax, which is leading to the concentration of the nation’s wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer families, now and into the future. This is a manifest danger to a democratic society. We support the use of a federal inheritance tax with a large deductible so that most Americans, family farms, and businesses will be unaffected by the tax, but the concentration of wealth is prevented.

2.Tax Cuts/Deficit:
a.The federal tax cuts of the last six years have disproportionately benefited the wealthiest citizens and corporate taxpayers while the resulting deficits are used to justify cuts in vital programs that benefit the majority of Americans. We will work to reverse the negative impact of those cuts on Vermonters while challenging, where feasible, the policies that turned budget surpluses into debts for our children and grandchildren.
b.We are committed to returning to a policy of fiscal responsibility with taxation based on ability to pay, investment in infrastructure and full funding for programs that support working Vermonters and the vulnerable in our society.

3.Job Displacement:
a.We will work against the migration of jobs to other countries by working for a trade policy that protects the environment, workers’ rights, and the health of local communities around the world and promotes the creation of jobs that pay a livable wage in Vermont and America.
b.We will fight against the outsourcing and privatization of jobs to non-union environments, off-shoring to other countries, and to employers that ignore the rights of workers, adversely impact the economies of local communities, and fail to protect the environment.

4.Agriculture and Forestry:
a.Agriculture and forestry are the historical and cultural foundation of Vermont and continues to shape our character as a people who hold land precious. It is central to our existence and our economy. Thriving family farms are vital to the continued success of our economy.
b.We will create programs that provide economic stability, encourage diversification, promote value-added enterprises, and foster environmental responsibility.

5.Diverse and Sustainable Economy:
a.We are committed to a diversely developed, stable economy and support broadening the spectrum of economic sectors to encourage entrepreneurial enterprises that create opportunity, meaningful work, and wealth.
b.The growing concentration of power and wealth by multinational corporations must be limited. The needs of Vermonters must come first.

6.Communications:
a.We support the preservation of net neutrality on the internet as the basis of access to the most diverse information, opinion, and artistic resources.
b.We are committed to promoting universal broadband telecommunications services statewide.
c.We support diversity in the ownership of media outlets and believe broadcast licensees should afford reasonable opportunity for discussion of conflicting views on matters of public importance.

7.Job Training:
a.We are committed to public and private investment that will provide job training to Vermonters to compete in the global economy.
b.Colleges and universities can propel our society into greater prosperity and are important to local economies throughout the state. We are committed to supporting these institutions with increased funding, and other material support.

8.Livable Wage and Equal Pay:
a.A Livable Wage is the simple decency owed to all citizens by employers. If all employers paid a living wage, the cost of state-provided supports, including food stamps, would be drastically reduced. Vermont employees are entitled to a livable wage and a secure retirement.
b.Childcare, health care and fully funded pension benefits are important components of compensation.
c.Equal work must be recognized with equal pay.

9.Regulatory Review:
a.We will review economic development programs in order to assess their successful components, to provide accountability, and to streamline the processes when possible while preserving the right of public input and protecting the public good.
b.We will work for organizational changes that create links among agencies to foster close working partnerships in policy and economic development.

E. SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT:

Strong environmental protection is vital to a healthy economy. We are committed to cleaning up our air, water, and land and to addressing global climate change as the major environmental and economic challenge of our time. We respect private property rights while remaining aware of the value of a healthy environment in enhancing our economy, public health, and quality of life. We are committed to transparency when drafting environmental legislation and to the rigorous enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations.

1.Sprawl:
We will encourage Vermont’s working landscape and quality of life while encouraging economic vitality in community centers. We support measures intended to discourage wasteful land consumption; promote downtowns and village centers; and conserve farmland and forestland.

2.Environmental Protection:
a.We are committed to preserving Vermont’s quality of life, the biodiversity of its ecosystems, and the purity of its air, soils, and waters.
b.We support the goals of Vermont’s land use planning laws and other foundations of environmental law such as the Endangered Species Act.
c.We must establish systems to control or mitigate problematic runoff from all sources to create cleaner watersheds and enforce all applicable laws for sewage treatment and stormwater runoff.

3.Regulatory Process:
We will work to ensure that state agencies have the authority and intention to help businesses comply with necessary regulations as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. We support strict and reasonable enforcement of all regulations.

4.Sustainable Business:
a.We will promote economic development and environmental protection through environmentally friendly and sustainable businesses that are important to the future of our economy.
b.Sustainable business principles include supporting local businesses that keep profits circulating within the local community, the county and the state.

5.Transportation:
a.Investment in sensible transportation infrastructure will produce a stronger economy. We must maintain our transportation network while expanding alternative and public transportation.
b.We are committed to developing energy efficient transportation options.

6.Emerging technology:
a.Biotechnology holds great promise and has the ability to alter the structure of life. We are committed to creating strong biotechnology laws that protect the environment by erring on the side of caution.
b.The proponents of this technology should bear the burden of proof that GMOs will not harm human health or the environment.
c.We support stem cell research for the promise it holds for relieving human suffering.

7.Energy Independence:
a.Global warming is a real threat to our survival and a direct result of human activity and other factors. We are committed to sustainable energy investment, energy efficiency, and developing renewable energy resources that will make our nation more secure and our economy stronger while reducing global warming.
b.The continued dependence of our society on imported oil is a significant factor in our foreign policy, which has resulted in the loss of thousands of American lives in combat. We are committed to reducing our dependence on fossil fuel, both domestic and imported.
c.We will expand Efficiency Vermont and pursue new energy solutions such as, but not limited to: solar, geothermal, biomass, and wind. We need to provide incentives to build the alternatives that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. We stand for planning, developing, and using local, renewable sources of energy in harmony with the local ecology and economic base.
d.Nuclear power and the burning of fossil fuel both present unacceptable long-term risks to the environment and human health. Vermont must aggressively reduce its reliance on these energy sources and encourage other states to do the same. Vermont must maximize efficiency by becoming a leader in researching, developing, and deploying, clean renewable energy sources, creating good jobs while improving the environment.

We hold these principles, goals and commitments in common as members of the Vermont Democratic Party and will work together and individually, to the best of our ability, to promote them as the guiding ideology of a just and fair government.

Vermont Democratic Platform Committee
August 16, 2006