Obama Calls for "Opportunity for All": 8 Policies to Make It Happen

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/30



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1. House the homeless.

While some cities are criminalizing homelessness, the state of Utah has chosen a simple and compassionate approach: giving people homes. With a roof over their heads, people can take on substance abuse, recover from domestic violence, look for work or attend school. There are no strings attached. These residents are not required to be sober or to get help, although they are encouraged to do so. The result: a 78 percent reduction in homelessness, and the state expects to have ended homelessness by 2015.

2. A debt-free college education.

A college degree should not require decades of indebtedness. The average student debt now sits at just under $30,000. Oregon has found a good solution. By a unanimous vote, the legislature adopted a plan call "Pay it Forward, Pay it Back," which creates a special fund that will allow students to attend state universities tuition-free. In exchange, they will pay 3 percent of their salaries for up to 24 years after graduation. This plan lowers the barriers for anyone who is willing to work hard for an education.

3. Medicare for all.

President Obama's Affordable Care Act was designed to allow insurance companies to continue profiting from our health care system. The result is a system bogged down in bureaucracy, with multiple plans offering benefits and expenses at different levels and a complex system of subsidies designed to make private insurance affordable.

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4. End the war on drugs.

The United States imprisons its people at the highest rate in the world; more than 2 million Americans are now behind bars. This is devastating to impoverished families and communities, especially communities of color. And it costs taxpayers on average over $30,000 per year per inmate—much of which goes to a private prison system that lobbies for tougher prison terms to keep their facilities full.

[Mass]

1. Thanks for posting a truly progressive perspective...

[xchrom]

3. ...

[G_j]

2. now we're talking!

yes!

[KoKo]

4. This is a good read and "To Do" list.. Need to get it in our Dem Party Platform

It's worth a try and we have a couple of years to work on it. Also, to find a candidate who will use those 8 Policies as a foundation for their Campaign for 2016.

[NuclearDem]

5. Huh, I hadn't heard of Oregon's college program.

That's a really good idea.