Platform of
the Reform Party of
Adopted at Convention
The Reform Party of Michigan
is truly dedicated to the premise of "Government of the People by the
People and for the People" with the clear understanding that we live in a
Among those rights are the
Freedom of Association, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Keep
and Bear Arms, and the Right to Life,
We, the members of the
Reform Party of Michigan hereby affirm our belief in the principles on which
our nation was founded...Life,
Life; which begins at conception and ends
at natural death.
The Pursuit of
Happiness; the
freedom to do what we please, without any type of governmental or other
interference, provided we do not adversely affect the
health, safety, morals, or constitutional rights of others.
This platform is presented
in two sections. Section one addresses State Issues while section two focuses on National
Issues.
Section One
STATE ISSUES
GENERAL
LICENSE PLATE FEES - In the mid 1980's
MUNICIPAL INCOME
TAXES -
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST - In theory, we have three branches
of state government, Executive, Judicial, and Legislative - none of which
should overlap. Pursuant to the separation of powers, any individual who is on
a Municipal/School payroll shall be prohibited from holding elective/appointive
public office. Attorneys are officers of and answer to the Michigan Supreme
Court. Since they are accountable to and under the Judicial branch of
government, they cannot be permitted to hold legislative or executive office at
the same time.
MICHIGAN BORDER
SECURITY -
Michigan is a border state, yet we are taking no action to protect our borders.
Henceforth, the Michigan State Police, Michigan National Guard, and local law
enforcement, where applicable, will assist the INS on Border Patrol. In
addition, Michigan shall lobby the Federal Government to provide and/or
reimburse local & state agencies for all costs incurred in doing so.
SERVICE/LICENSING
FEES - All
costs for Hunting/Fishing licenses, Professional/Service licenses, Drivers'
license, or any other type of fee requested by the State shall reflect the
actual cost to provide the license or item involved and will not include any
other funding for any other program whatsoever.
SOCIAL
MICHIGAN COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES -
Michigan families and Michigan tax dollars built Michigan's higher education
system. Accordingly, all qualified Michigan residents will be given first
opportunity to attend.
NO FAULT DIVORCE - There is no such thing as 'No
Fault Divorce'. If minor children are involved, then the party seeking the
divorce should have to demonstrate conclusive fault or no divorce will be
granted.
MARRIAGE - The Reform Party of Michigan
supports and endorses The Marriage Protection Amendment to the Michigan State
Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
CRIMINAL SENTENCE
MODIFICATION -
Every year, Michigan Prison population rises and victims are doubly harmed by
having to pay for the incarceration. Where possible, every sentence for any
crime against property shall include restitution in lieu of incarceration.
VACCINATIONS - There will be NO forced
vaccinations of any kind whatsoever, for any reason whatsoever. All decisions
of this nature will be left up to the individual, parent, or guardian. The
Michigan Department of Health will request that the Smallpox vaccination being
stored by the Federal Government be distributed to the County Health
Departments.
ENGLISH ONLY - All printing of any nature
whatsoever done at public expense shall be in English only.
MICHIGAN DRIVERS'
LICENSE/SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS - The Michigan Drivers license is not to be modified in any
nature whatsoever for use as a National ID card. The Federal Government already
provides a Passport that serves the same purpose. Social Security Numbers are
not to be used for any purpose other than a Social Security account. Michigan
institutions using either for other than the original purpose will cease
forthwith.
SHALL ISSUE - Michigan recently became a 'Shall
Issue' state regarding the right to carry a concealed piston. Michigan shall
continue along these lines as necessary in keeping with Article I, Section 6 of
the Michigan Constitution.
ECONOMIC
MUNICIPAL WATER/SEWER
FUNDS - Funds paid
into these accounts are to remain in these accounts and are to be utilized for
water/sewer purposes only. They are not to be loaned to other funds, put up for
security nor in any way encumbered. Each municipality that collects monies for
water/sewer purposes shall provide an annual budget at the cost of printing to
any party requesting it.
GAS TAX - Monies paid for fuel at the pump
is to be solely used for MDOT funding only and not to be diverted into other
uses. Michigan's gas tax is a fair way to pay for roads and it must be ensured
that it is used for solely for roads.
LOTTERY - All monies left over after
expenses are to be placed into a trust fund exclusively for schools and only
the investment interest/proceeds are to be directed to districts not receiving
adequate funding under Proposal A of 1994.
MUNICIPAL BUDGETS - Since every taxpayer has a right
to know where the assets and liabilities of their community are, each
municipality shall prepare a simple balance sheet readily comprehended by the
average individual to be made available for the cost of printing to anyone who
requests it. This shall include the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
POLITICAL
TERM LIMITS - Term limits were resoundingly
passed by voters in 1992 and are just beginning to be totally phased in
statewide. Accordingly, there is no reason whatsoever to even attempt to amend
them.
PART TIME LEGISLATURE - In truth and in fact, Michigan
has a part time legislature, but with full-time pay which was recently boosted
much more than the average Michigan resident ever sees in their paychecks.
Therefore, legislative pay scales shall be reduced by 15% immediately, the
State Officers Compensation Commission abolished, and all future raises shall
be tied to and not be in excess of the Consumer Price Index.
NEW LEGISLATION - In 1978, Michigan voters passed
the Headlee Amendment which stated that any new
legislation that had a cost attached to it had to be funded by the state before
it could be imposed on any local unit of government. To keep in line with the
spirit of Headlee, all new legislation which imposes
a cost on a local unit of government shall make the estimated cost of that
legislation known along with the source of funds allocated for it,
demonstrating that funding is available.
ELECTIONS - There shall be paper ballots
which will be hand-counted at the precinct at the time the polls close, and
before being transferred to the county elections office. All election results
shall be posted at each local polling place immediately after counting takes
place. No computers shall be used to count votes. All 'Motor Voter' laws shall
be repealed, and no non-US Citizens shall be allowed to register.
ELECTION TIMES - Elections are expensive,
particularly on a local level. And since turnouts are not as high as might be
desired, there is no reason to schedule an election at any other time than
August, (primary) and November, (general & school issues). The only
exceptions will be a recall election (the requirements for which will not be
changed), or an office vacancy, due to death, resignation, retirement, or for
any other reason. Either of these shall cause a special election to be held to
fill said office for the remainder of the term. Appointments are abolished at
once.
THIRD PARTIES - All third parties who field
candidates will be included in al debates that are publicly funded in any way,
aired on public broadcasting, and/or held on public property.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
AT PARTICIPATION AT PUBLIC MEETINGS - Most municipalities and school boards have public
participation scheduled at the end of the meetings, as an afterthought.
Accordingly, all Public Participation shall be allowed at anytime during the
meeting and elected/appointed officials will be required to respond
individually if requested.
PROPERTY
PROPOSAL A - Proposal A was overwhelmingly
passed by voters in 1994 to give much needed property tax relief and now there
are hints that it should be changed. Far from it. Proposal A is doing exactly
what it was designed to do and does not need to be tampered with by those who
would raise our property taxes and drive the average Michigan resident,
especially senior citizens, out of their home.
NEW PROPERTY TAX
REVERSION LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL - In 1999 the Michigan Legislature passed Act 206,
drastically changed our property tax law which had been in effect for over 100
years. This act has stripped away basic Constitutional protections by the
taking of private property for eventual government purpose without any
compensation whatsoever being offered to the property owner. Accordingly, this
act shall and must be repealed.
FARM TAXES - Farmers are being taxed off their
land and the rate of taxes farmers pay has to be lowered to what the actual use
of the land is, and not for its 'potential'. This shall be extended to other
classifications of property as well.
GOVERNMENT
CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY - Michigan Government shall not confiscate any real or
personal property for any reason whatsoever. All laws on the books permitting
such activity shall be repealed at once.
REFUSE IMPORTING - Michigan currently accepts
garbage from other states, as well as Canada. Michigan shall immediately cease
to import any garbage and/or hazardous waste from any other state or country.
Michigan shall immediately seek an exemption from NAFTA, as it is this policy
which is polluting Michigan's environment.
STATE OWNED LANDS - All Recreational Real Estate
owned by the State shall be fully open to the general public. All Michigan DNR
personnel will cease patrolling real estate owned by the US Forest Service.
Section Two
NATIONAL ISSUES
Education:
We believe education in
this country to be in crisis characterized by centralization, political
planning and poor student achievement. We believe that education is not a
right, but an individual responsibility. Parents, and not government, are
responsible for the education of their children. We object to the state
controls evidenced in Goals 2000, School-To-Work and nationalized curriculum
and testing. Therefore, government should disengage itself from education as it
presents an inherent social conflict of interest between parents and the state.
The Reform Party of
Michigan believes that the Children of America are the responsibility of the
Parents of America. The Parents are the primary authority on their children’s
education.
- We call for an immediate elimination of Federal
Government involvement in all schools.
- We encourage Home Schooling, and support parental
rights to home school without any government interference.
- We encourage all parents to take an active part in
their child’s education.
Taxes:
We support a flat tax and
an elimination of the IRS.
Manufacturing:
The United States of
America has become the global power as a result of WWII. Our victory in that terrible
conflict, and the salvation of England, France and many other nations is due to
America’s awesome ability to manufacture war materials in such quantities that
we were able to supply our needs and those of the armies of our allies.
Manufacturing is the backbone of American Liberty.
The American People, by
their labor and consumption, built American industry. However, American
Corporations now like to view themselves as Multi-National Corporations because
they deal all over the world. But their dealing is mostly the transfer of
manufacturing facilities from the United States to anywhere in the world where
they can exploit totalitarian governments for their slave labor. The products
are made there and sold in the only free-trade zone in the world, the 50 States
of the United States.
Major Industries have
purged their American employees to grab cheap foreign labor. They support H1B
laws, importing foreign labor in order to compete with Americans for the jobs
that they cannot transfer out of the country. They support massive immigration
for the same purpose. Their "support" comes in the form of major
financial contributions for candidates that would sell out their country for a
fast buck or political power.
We believe that these
American (Multi-National) Corporations owe their allegiance to the United
States and its people.
We urge our fellow
Americans to reject the products of foreign manufacture dumped on the United
States by multi-national corporations and seek out products that are "Made
in the U.S.A".
Agriculture:
We believe that the Family
Farm is the cornerstone of American Agriculture and the primary reason that
Americans have been blessed with an abundant, affordable food supply. Yet, the
Family Farm has been under extreme pressure for decades and has been eroded.
Government involvement at both the State and Federal level has placed the
Farmers backs against the wall.
So-called Free Trade, Land
Banks, Agricultural Zones, Farmland Preservation programs and other gimmicks
have failed to save Family Farms. When the Family Farms of America are replaced
with Corporate Farms, we will suffer the same shortages and costs that are
experienced by the rest of the world.
The Reform Party will work
with farmers to overcome government meddling and re-write farm policy. We need
a policy that supports the Family Farm over the interests of Corporate and
Foreign owned farms.
We stand for the removal of
all Government subsidies of corporate and foreign owned farms.
There is only one way to
save Agricultural land. MAKE FARMING PROFITABLE AGAIN.
Immigration:
According to the U.S.
Census, the current rate of immigration will double the population of the
United States within 50 years. The stress on public services, infrastructure,
jobs, education, energy, and water availability are already being felt in many
areas of the country.
The government sponsored
population growth on a massive level, is already shifting political power to
the Southwest as we see Michigan lose another Congressman. It will not be long
before Michigan will be forced to give up Great Lakes water and along with it
will be higher water bills for people in Michigan as we are "taxed"
to conserve.
Diseases that have been
destroyed in the United States for decades are being reintroduced by the
illegal wave of 3rd world immigrants.
It is obvious by recent
history that we cannot adequately take care of our own citizens properly, let
alone the unprecedented numbers of immigrants. Americans are tired of facing
language issues that have been thrust upon them in recent years by a government
bent on cheap labor at the expense of American working people.
Simply put, entering the
United States illegally is a crime and should be treated as such.
The Michigan Reform Party
supports the following;
- A five-year moratorium on all immigration followed by a
return to the historical level of 250,000 a year.
- English as the official language of the United States
in order to help our new citizens assimilate into American Culture.
- Total elimination of H1B laws.
- Ending all immigration amnesty laws.
- Closing our southern border to foreign trucks.
- Ending the so-called anchor baby problem.
- Total control of our borders against, illegal
immigration and drug trafficking. If American youth can risk their lives
in order to guard the borders of foreign nations, they most certainly can
be used to defend the borders of the United States.
United Nations:
The Constitution of the
United States and the UN Charter are incompatible. We demand that the United
States remove itself from the UN and demand that the UN move itself from the
United States. We also refuse to recognize so-called "back dues" and
demand that the UN be properly billed for all past "peace keeping"
cost incurred by the American People.
Trade:
The Michigan Reform Party
supports Fair Trade, not Free Trade.
We demand the repeal of the
unconstitutional North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), General Agreement
on Trade & Tariffs (GATT) and an immediate withdrawal of the United States
from the World Trade Organization (WTO). We oppose all trade deals that attack
the sovereignty of the United States and make the United States dependent on
foreign powers, corporations or organizations.
Life:
We affirm the noble
principles proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence and enumerated in the
XIV amendment of the Constitution of the
That we are endowed by our
Creator with certain unalienable rights, and no state shall deprive a person of
life, liberty or property without due process of law. First and foremost among
these rights, is the right to Life, and this right transcends all other laws
that violate innocent human life.
As a result of genetic
research and advanced technology, such as DNA testing, it is an accepted
scientific fact that the life of an individual truly begins at conception. That
the individual conceived will never be reproduced again. Therefore it is
obvious that abortion takes a persons life. We affirm that every human being
has intrinsic value and shall be protected under the law at all stages of
development, from the moment of conception to his/her natural death. And, If
abortion is the taking of a person’s life, then the act of abortion is indeed
within the purview of the Federal Government Pursuant to the XIV Amendment of
1868 of the U.S. Constitution, which states specifically that a state shall not
"…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law…"
We will work to overturn Roe vs Wade, an erroneous
decision based on false testimony and insufficient scientific documentation.
We will end government funding of organizations, domestic or foreign that
disregard the sanctity of life and promote its destruction through surgical or
chemical abortion, specifically RU-486 and all other chemical abortifacients.
We oppose government funding for assisted suicide, infanticide and euthanasia
that targets the infirm, the disabled, the elderly or any human being.
Election Reform:
Elections in the United
States suffer from government and media manipulation, Soft Money from foreign
interests, and fraud. The introduction of various technologies has left the
process wide open to fraud and proposed reforms by the self-serving major
parties are guaranteed to aggravate the issue.
The Michigan Reform Party:
- Supports a statewide return to paper ballots that are
counted at the precinct. It would be cost effective and, once implemented,
fast.
- Supports any campaign finance reform that will insure
the Freedom of Speech and Association of the Citizen and limiting the power
of corporations and special interests.
- Supports severe criminal penalties for accepting
contributions from foreign corporations or countries.
- Demands a total ban on all Election Day Exit Polling.
- Demands a total ban on media reporting of Election Day
results until all poles are closed.
- Demands that the Presidential Debates include the
Presidential Candidates from all Political Parties who have qualified for
ballot access in a simple majority of states.
- Demands that the Electoral College system as written by
our Founding Fathers in the Constitution of the United States be
maintained.
- We oppose Federal standardization of rules, regulations
and procedures for all elections.
Environment:
We believe in maintaining
and protecting our natural environment, and that all modern technologies must
be utilized for that purpose.
We do not believe that
State and Federal ownership of massive amounts of land protects the
environment. There have been many examples of government mismanagement causing
environmental disasters. We stand foursquare for Property Rights.
Privacy Policy:
We believe every person is
sovereign over his or her body parts, organs, tissues and genetic (DNA)
information. Individuals must grant their informed and free consent for
authorized research and disposal practices of their medical waste, and for
accessing and sharing their medical/genetic information. We reject government
attempts to assign "unique health care identifiers" or patient ID
numbers to all Americans to electronically tag, track and monitor our personal
medical records in any computer database. We reject attempts to build an
electronic database of our children’s immunizations so that admission to day
care, school, college or even medical care could be denied to persons who have
not been injected with the government-specified number and types of shots. We
reject genetic redlining to give government the power to compel American
behavior, and to deny benefits, insurance or jobs.
Judiciary:
We acknowledge and agree
that it is the solemn Constitutional duty of the judiciary to defer to the
legislature unless the act in question is unconstitutional, and to give
legislation its plain meaning. The judiciary shall not function as an auxiliary
legislature to deprive the People of the right to self-govern by revising
statutes and manufacturing law under the guise of interpreting them. We reject
adjudication, not according to the rule of law, but rather a judge’s
overreaching ideology, preferred political position, or social whim as a threat
to American ideals of justice. When judges exercise powers not delegated to
them under the Constitution, impeachment is a proper tool.
h h h h h h h h h h h h h
OR RETURN TO à REFORM PARTY OF MICHIGAN Home page