First Speech Transcript:
December 14th
Good Morning everybody.
I understand that you may not wish to hear me. I understand that you expect nothing new from me. I understand that you have been baited with the same promises year after year. Yet none of them come to be. So why should you listen to me? You shouldn’t. I will be the one listening to you. The government should be about you, the people, not the politician. For years, you’ve voted for change. For years, it hasn’t happened. For years, the same elitist politicians and corporations crush you underfoot and use your hopes for their own goals. The country is run by the 1% for the 1%.
It is time for you to change that. The United States of Omarica was founded as a democracy so that the people could live in a country run in their best interest. “A government of the people, by the people, for the people.” It's time for you to finally see your ideas reflected in the government of your own country.
The 1% needs to pay a proportional amount of taxes to the middle class, because as it is, the upper class pays far less than what they owe. Many politicians have suggested this raising taxes on the 1%, but this has always been shut down. The opposition believes that it is simply ‘not fair’ or that we should leave it as it is, or support trickle-down economics. Trickle-down economics has been proven time and time again that it simply does not work, and instead hurts the economy than it does help it. These same politicians exploit fine print and loopholes for their own gain, at the same time providing massive breaks for the wealthy. Loopholes and backdoors must be closed to reduce strain on the middle class. Capital gains taxes will be raised on the wealthy individual, as well as on the industries and corporations that practice deforestation and pollute our atmosphere. When alternatives like the ones we have today exist, there is no reason that this can go unpunished. How can we change this? How can we help the only Earth that we have without slowing us down? We have solutions like second-generation biofuel, solar, nuclear and wind energy, but the shortsighted people who run your country disregard your futures for their gain (England, Rachel). The handling of your fates by those who couldn’t care less cannot continue.
Similarly, it should not fall to these people to manage your education. It is clear that economic inequality is growing in this country. Income inequality is increasing, and upward mobility is decreasing (Belsie, Laurent). Education is the most promising way to combat this inequality. Integrating schools, and ending suffocating standards- like Common Core- which emphasize standardized testing are just a few avenues to cultivate equality.
Furthermore, today, education, specifically higher education, is viewed as another opportunity to exploit the needs of the “little guy”. Higher education is treated as a luxury, while in reality it’s crucial to the economic success of our nation. By creating incentive programs for states to raise student enrollment (and thus decrease costs), as well as lowering student loan interest rates, affordability will become a reality.
President Obama has proposed a way for students to go to community college for free for a period of time (Higher Education). Like him, I believe that it should be free, but unlike his more restrictive proposal, under our leadership, it will be free for students who have a 2.7 GPA, and maintain throughout their community college career. Community college will be free for all four years, at no cost to the student. And kindred to his proposal, the federal government will cover ¾ of the costs, while the state will cover the rest. To many this might seem to be lacking in purpose, or in effectiveness improving our future. On the contrary, granting access to higher education is an economic necessity for us as a nation to most effectively build our economy, and close drastic income inequality.
Thank You everyone. And remember: I am ronning FOR YOU, and a vote for me is a vote for your future.
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Second Speech Transcript:
December 23rd
Good Morning Everyone.
Needs, not wants, should dominate the decision making in our government. Your needs, not politicians’ should be shaping policy. Progress, not power or money, should be the priorities of the politicians running your government. Those who serve in the government are recycled and rebranded year after year, their ideas as well. And their purpose remains constant. Those who should be making decisions predicated on your safety, are making those decisions predicated on what they were paid to do. This is more evident than ever in the decision making that goes into foreign policy and healthcare. The marrying of business and war, of profits and healthcare, needs to be treated with a degree of caution not yet seen.
War is not the answer to our world’s problems. Violence and hate have no place in a world that we need to keep moving forward for the benefit of our children and grandchildren. With this in mind, how can we continually wage war as we do today? Terrorism can, and will be combatted through non-violent measures. Our means of attack will be with information and alliance, not with lead and explosives. By working with our allies abroad to go after terrorist organizations and enablers as well as cooperating at home with our tech companies to intercept communication and propaganda, we can bring this threat down without the loss of your lives. Although the safety and well being of Omarica is my first priority, it is also our responsibility as citizens of this world to aid those in need around the world. More specifically, I would like to lift restrictions on Syrian refugees, and devise programs that would assist in these refugees in assimilating into our country. Refugees are human. Refugees are humans that are escaping from places that are dangerous, in this case, downright deadly. It is our responsibility as human beings to help those that are in need. This is especially true for our great country. Since the birth of this nation we have helped those who are powerless and need a way out. Knowing this, we must work together as one unit to help aid refugees.
But, as much as we need to help the rest of the world around us, in order to do that we have to make sure that programs here at home are working to their full potential to help you. Healthcare has always been one of the most controversial arguments that has faced this nation. The Affordable Healthcare Act or commonly known as the “Obamacare” has been long debated whether what it’s doing has helped the people who weren’t covered with healthcare before, or if it has been a waste of money. But what the opposition has failed to acknowledge is that roughly 22.8 million people (Forbes) are now covered by it since the Act’s launch. What does this mean? It means that Obamacare is absolutely necessary for the Omarican people to be financially secure in the knowledge that a health problem will not turn into a financial catastrophe.
In order for Obamacare to work, we cannot have people “cheating the system” this means: buying in the healthcare only when they get sick; because if they do then the whole purpose of Obamacare working is lost. Everyone, including those that don’t currently need medical attention, must be required to purchase health insurance. If only the ill sign up then insurance companies will go bankrupt or stop selling insurance. This is why fines for not buying insurance should be increased under Obamacare to ensuret hat everyone is equally paying into the system.
Opponents to Obamacare have rightfully criticised Obamacare for having incredibly high health insurance costs. Some of these high costs are unnecessary and can be cut back on with no detriment to the Omarican people. To lower costs, Obamacare will no longer cover the numerous expensive surgeries that have been evaluated and proven to have no advantage over easy and inexpensive alternates such as medication. Your health and safety has to be the priority of your government, and they have proven that it hasn’t. Do you want someone who only cares about your needs, your health and safety?
Remember, that if you are looking for a healthy and prosperous future for you and your family, vote for the one who is ronning for you.
Thank You.