Online NewsHour: Natural Law Party Platform



	NATURAL LAW PARTY PLATFORM
August 30, 2000

The Natural Law Party has an action plan to revitalize America. The platform is scheduled to be adopted at the party's convention in Alexandria, Va.

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Aug. 30, 2000:
A Natural Law Party profile

Aug. 30, 2000:
A biography of John Hagelin

Aug. 30, 2000:
The Natural Law Party's 2000 platform

Aug. 30, 2000:
Natural Law Party history

July 5, 2000:
Newsmaker Interview: Harry Browne

June 30, 2000:
Newsmaker Interview: Ralph Nader.

June 15, 2000:
NewsMaker Interview: Vice President Al Gore

April 27, 2000:
NewsMaker Interview: Texas Governor George W. Bush.

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The Natural Law Party

John Hagelin for President

The Reform Party

Members of the Natural Law Party generally believe in "the intelligence and infinite organizing power that silently maintains and guides the evolution of everything in the universe."

"The activity of every grain of creation and of every level of nature - from the tiniest sub-atomic particle to the vast galaxies - is governed by Natural Law with perfect efficiency so that everything in the universe functions with perfect precision and is in perfect coordination with everything else," party activists contend.

Within this general belief system, the Party has endorsed specific policies such as:

Smaller, decentralizing government
Campaign finance reform
Elimination of soft money contributions
Public financing of campaigns
Abolition of the Electoral College
10 percent flat tax
School vouchers
Moratorium on genetically modified food
Reduced reliance on agricultural pesticides
Increased use of alternative fuel
Reduced military aid abroad
Support existing gun control regulations
Abortion prevention through education
Establish immigration quotas for each nation

ABORTION
Offer prevention of abortion on a realistic basis through proven educational programs. Reduce abortions more effectively through education than through legislation. Encourage private funding of abortion from private charity who wish to make abortion accessible for women who cannot afford it. Eliminate the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion.

AGRICULTURE
Ensure high-quality, healthy food for consumers that is free from industrial and agrichemical toxins; promoting health and longevity in farmers and in the population as a whole; protecting natural resources and the environment; cushioning farmers from the natural and financial instability unique to agriculture; enable farmers to better pursue financial profitability; and restoring the vitality of family farms and rural communities.

Mandate the labeling of genetically engineered foods and declare a moratorium on the release of genetically engineered organisms until the ecological impact of such organisms is established.

Shift the U.S. policy focus from “cheap food for the consumer” to “quality food for the consumer on a sustainable basis.”

CRIME AND REHABILITATION
Support "systematic, scientifically proven programs to reduce stress in the individual and throughout society -- thus eliminating the root cause of crime."

Target individuals who are at highest risk for crime -- the current prison inmate population -- through "proven rehabilitation programs and advanced scientific methods" to assess rehabilitation and eligibility for parole.

Implementcommunity policing. Revitalize overcrowded urban centers. Introduce programs proven to reduce drug dependency and promote mental and physical health.

Support effective educational programs to keep children in school, off the streets, and out of the reach of crime.

Support procedures that will promote cooperation and coordination among the various law enforcement agencies responsible prosecuting individuals and organizations engaged in illegal drug and narcotics activities.

DEFENSE
Create a prevention wing within the military -- a group whose primary purpose is to prevent the outbreak of war and to preserve and strengthen national and international peace. Responsibly reduce defense expenditures over time by creating a smaller, more flexible force that can most effectively serve the nation’s security interests and provide the basis for a more stable world. Encourage incentives to help defense industries diversify into nondefense markets and reinvest private-sector funds and expertise.

ECONOMY
Implement a pro-growth economic policy, with a flat tax of 10 percent by 2006.

EDUCATION
Support proven educational initiatives and curriculum innovations, including the Head Start program, to help children excel from an early age. Promote developmental technologies, such as Transcendental Meditation.

Support school vouchers to increase school choice, foster competition. Create national apprenticeship programs for students who are not college bound.

Effective drug prevention in schools. Increase policies and programs to upgrade the status and skills of teachers

ELECTION REFORM
Support reforms to ensure (a) equal access to the ballot, the media, and the public for all qualified candidates, (b) the elimination of PAC and soft-money funding of campaigns, and (c) a shift toward public sponsorship of campaigns in order to reduce the undue influence of special interest groups on election outcomes.

Encourage voter participation in the election process by shortening the campaign season to two months, making election day a national holiday, and abolishing the Electoral College. Restrict lobbying and limit congressional privileges.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Support the development and use of new, environmentally clean energy sources, such as solar, wind, and biomass by removing federal subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy and taxing fossil fuels to reflect their real cost to the nation.

Improve energy efficiency and self-sufficiency by supporting basic research on energy efficiency, energy storage, and fuel cells, in addition to electric, hydrogen, and highly energy-efficient vehicles, providing financial incentives for homeowners and industry to use available energy-efficiency measures, and setting performance standards for energy-consuming and pollutant-emitting products.

Clean up America’s polluted air, rivers, wetlands, and oceans by eliminating industrial pollution at its source and using waste products productively. Lead the global effort to prevent the destruction of the earth’s forests, the decimation of the diversity of species, and the potential damage from ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect.

Create new jobs and new industries in energy conservation.

FOREIGN POLICY
Create an immediate shift in U.S. foreign policy away from military aid and towards a more life-supporting policies. Ensure that our foreign aid resources are applied effectively by making foreign aid decisions in consultation with the government and citizens of recipient countries.

HEALTH
Support health strategies that focus on prevention and strengthen the general health of the nation, thereby shifting our national focus from disease care to health care. Support the introduction of financial incentives that will help prevent abuse of the health care system and ensure high-quality care, including medical savings accounts for Medicare and Medicaid subscribers, vouchers enabling Medicare and Medicaid enrollees to choose any insurance plan or health care provider they desire.

GOVERNMENT
Prevention-oriented government: End crisis management through prevention-oriented programs that will both solve existing problems and prevent future ones from arising.

Conflict-free politics: Support an all-party government bringing together ideas, programs, and leaders from all political parties including the private sector to solve and prevent problems. The Party also supports campaign finance reform.

Government in accord with natural law: Streamline the Federal Government by reducing government waste and mismanagement, cutting pork-barrel spending, simplifying redundant bureaucracies, and encouraging decentralization and privatization wherever possible.

GUN CONTROL
Eliminate the climate of fear and tension pervading America’s cities and towns, which is largely responsible for the proliferation of guns and their use in acts of violent crime, through effective crime-prevention programs. Uphold existing gun-control legislation as an appropriate balance between public safety and the constitutional right to bear arms.

IMMIGRATION
Support “balanced immigration” by allocating immigration quotas to each nation, thereby preventing dominance of any one nationality or ethnic subculture in America's “melting pot” tradition. The concentration of subcultures in urban centers precludes acculturation, slows economic integration, and could lead to the birth of a permanent underclass.