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Our Mission
Good government should maintain the balance where every individual may have a place if he will take it, where each
individual may find safety if he wishes it, and may attain powers with accompanying responsibility.
1. Grassroots Democracy
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore,
we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our pu blic representatives
are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which
expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.
2. Social Justice And Equal Opportunity
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the
environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and
class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the
law.
3. Ecological Wisdom
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain
an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable
society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our
generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and
live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. Non-Violence
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to
demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We
recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods
to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and
global peace.
5. Decentralization
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization.
Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled
by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible,
remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.
6. Community-based Economics And Economic Justice
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide
a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will
offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a “living wage” which reflects the real value of a person’s
work.
Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workers’
rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our “quality of life”. We support independently
owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute
resources and control to more people through democratic participation.
7. Feminism And Gender Equity
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the
cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and
gender. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral
conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving
the outcome we want.
8. Respect For Diversity
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote
the development of respectful relationships across these lines.
We believe that the many diverse elements of society should
be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally
closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation
of biodiversity.
9. Personal And Global Responsibility
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance
and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and
the health of the planet.
10. Future Focus And Sustainability
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely
disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend
on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development,
new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.
OUR POSITIONS
HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OHIOANS ACT: It's time we establish single-payer healthcare in Ohio. The only 4 NOS you will
hear:
No Co-payments, No Deductibles, No Premiums, No One Excluded.
You go to your personal physician for a visit. You pay nothing. The doctor bills the Ohio Health Care Fund (OHCF)
You have prescriptions filled by the pharmacist. You pay nothing. the pharmacist bills OHCF.
You need hospitalization. You pay nothing. The hispotal is paid by the OHCF.
You go to the emregency room. You do not wait for hours and hours. Since everyone has health care coverage, people
can see their own doctors for routine care and don't have to use the emergency room as a doctor's office.
Your care is better. You choose your own doctor, who knows you personally and understands your needs. The doctor
is part of a system that encourages phtsicians to practice medicine of the highest quality.
You sleep better. Your health care is secure. You no longer have to worry about losing your health care coverage
if you lose or change your job. Your employer no longer has to worry about the ever-increating costs of health care. You no
longer have to worry about ever-increaing deductibles and co-payments.
JOBS: It's time Ohio's Governor becomes an active participant in seeking new blue-green reneweable energy manufacturing
jobs for the buckeye state.
The city of Saginaw,Michigan is bidding to become home to a branch of the San Jose-based solar company GlobalWatt. If the
Saginaw City Council approves a brownfield redevelopment plan, the company could receive ten million dollars in tax credits.
A city in Texas has already offered an incentive package to the company should they decide to locate their new facility
there. The Texas city could be Corpus Christi, but some sources also state the location is still undisclosed.
GlobalWatt already works with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on photovoltaics research.
The company produces solar modules, photovoltaic laminators, semi-automatic production lines, and conducts research.
Their new plant will cost about $177 million to create and will manufacture solar modules for commercial, military and
residential installations.
An estimated 100 jobs will be created annually each year for five years, beginning in 2010.
Ohio could use 500 new jobs in the next five years. It's time for Ohio to have a Governor to lead the job searches for
new renewable jobs.
TAXES: Ohio Must Return to a Progressive Fair Tax System!
Low-and middle-income Ohioans pay a much greater share of their income in state and local taxes than the state’s
most affluent do, according to a study by Policy Matters Ohio.
The top 1 percent of non-elderly Ohio families by income, who earned at least $352,000 in 2007, on average pay 7.8
percent of their income in state and local taxes. By contrast, the lowest fifth, who make less than $17,000, on average pay
12.0 percent. Families in the middle fifth of the income spectrum, who make between $32,000 and $50,000, on average pay 11.0
percent. Recent changes in Ohio’s state and local tax system have increased the disparity. The report found that
Ohio ranks 28th among states in the fairness of its tax system, based on the share of their income affluent Ohioans are paying
in state and local taxes compared to that of lower- and middle-income Ohioans. Last time the study was done, which covered
the law as of 2002, Ohio ranked 14th by this measure. The national report, Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, was produced by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and released in Ohio by Policy Matters Ohio and The
Center for Community Solutions. It reviews every state’s tax system based on permanent changes in law enacted through
October 2009 and income levels from 2007 (the most recent year that necessary data is available across states). “No
one would ever design an income tax with lower tax rates for the best-off taxpayers,” noted Matthew Gardner, ITEP’s
executive director and lead author of the study. “But that is exactly what Ohio’s tax system overall does: It
allows the very wealthiest individuals to contribute less of their income, on average, than middle- and lower-income families
must pay. In other words, Ohio has an unfair, regressive tax system.”
FUNDING EDUCATION:
Nine Basic Principles to
Guide School Finance Reform
Each student has a fundamental right
to a high quality public education.
There
must be a process established to define thecomponents of a high quality education. The components must be updated on a regular
basis.
Phantom
revenue must be eliminated.
An
objective process to determine cost must be established.
School
funding is a state responsibility.
Educational
opportunities must extend from Pre-K through grade 12.
Enforceability
of the right of students high quality educational opportunities must be included in the package.
The
over-reliance on property tax must be reduced. Property tax relief must be achieved.
The
quality of education must not be a function of school district property valuation or district income.
FORECLOSURES AND FINANCE REFORM
Foreclosures and their impacts on homeowners and communities can be reduced by requiring that lenders and borrowers go
through mandatory mediation, by creating a disincentive to foreclosure by requiring banks to pay to properly maintain homes
they foreclose on, and by giving foreclosed homeowners the right to rent their homes for some years after foreclosure. Strengthening
state enforcement against fraud and other abuses, while giving whistleblower protections to employees at lending institutions,
will further help deter predatory and fraudulent practices.
Although record foreclosures are currently wreaking havoc in communities across the nation, the federal response
has been weak and has so far failed to stem the rising tide of foreclosures. Many borrowers have little or no contact with
their creditor prior to foreclosure, not to mention attempts to modify the mortgage. Mandating foreclosure mediation brings
the parties together, which will lower the number of foreclosures without allocating scarce resources. Requiring lenders foreclosing
on homes to maintain those properties and giving foreclosed homeowners the right to remain in their homes as renters for a
specific amount of time (5-10 years) will keep vacant homes from contributing to blight, and help prevent homeowners from
having their families' lives disrupted. By cracking down on illegal practices by predatory lenders, states can stop the exploitation
of moderate- and low-income communities.
Average Americans are absolutely incensed about what appears to be a rigged financial system where businesses destroy
jobs and wealth, only to be rewarded with government bailouts. Additionally, homeowners who thought themselves financially
secure are now vulnerable in a way most never even contemplated. State leaders have a political opening to take strong action
to address these concerns. Indeed much of the voter discontent that has recently been recorded is the result of anxiety from
economic problems, and voters should respond favorably to actions that are low cost, but effective in reducing foreclosures
and bankruptcies. The current economic turmoil has also sparked a significant increase in populist sentiment, which continues
to grow as major bad actors in the financial industry swing quickly to profitability and reinstate obscene pay structures.
A direct push against these institutions by empowering their workers through whistleblower protections will bring predatory
practices to light, reinforcing sentiment in favor of reform.
THE ENVIRONMENT:
Clean up Ohio's water and air! Lessen our dependence on dirty coal plants.
Bring in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy.
Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy is key to sustainability. Just as ecological materials management
is governed by the concept of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" (in priority order), ecological energy management must be governed
by the principle of Conservation, Efficiency, and clean renewables. Of highest importance is to use less, then to use wisely,
and to have clean production of what is used.
We call for the development of state energy policies that include taxes and/or fines on energy "waste," and the funding
of energy research, including credits for alternative and sustainable energy use such as solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass
or energy derived from industrial grade hemp or organic waste.
The Green Party calls for the retirement of the aging nuclear power reactors in Ohio, as soon as possible, since they
are currently deteriorating, unsafe and not economical as a source of power for Ohio.
The Green Party recognizes that there is no such thing as nuclear waste "disposal." All six of the "low-level" nuclear
waste dumps in the United States have leaked. There are no technological quick fixes which can effectively isolate nuclear
waste from the biosphere for the duration of its hazardous life. Therefore, it is essential that generation of additional
nuclear wastes be stopped. Current methods of underground storage are a danger to present and future generations. Any nuclear
waste management strategies must be above ground, continuously monitored, retrievable and repackageable.
The Green Party strongly opposes any shipment of high-level nuclear waste across Ohio to the proposed Nevada waste "repository"
at Yucca Mountain or any other centralized facility. The Green Party believes that this proposal is part of a move to re-fire
on a fast-track, the commercial nuclear industry, if they can get their unsafe waste product ``safely disposed of.''
We call for independent, public-access radiation, safety and maintenance monitoring at all nuclear facilities in Ohio.
We will require a neutral team of scientists and engineers to appraise the Davis-Besse and Perry plants.
In addition to aggressive energy conservation and efficiency measures, The Green Party of Ohio advocates the rapid and
mandatory conversion to the best available clean technology in all existing and new power plants located in Ohio.
The Green Party of Ohio advocates the reduction of solid waste creation in the state. A "bottle bill" and "litter tax"
are both elements of public policy, which are supported by the Green Party. A Green Party endorsed "bottle bill" would require
a small deposit on all containers, including jars, cans, jugs, glass and plastic bottles to be paid at the time of purchase
and to be refunded through source-based refund centers. Packaging, including wrappers, bags, boxes, etc., would be required
to bear the name of the producer or marketer of the product, and remain the property of the producer or marketer.Waste in
general needs to be reduced. Wastes, which are hazardous or toxic, need to be eliminated or minimized. The producers of waste
must bear the responsibility for the ultimate conversion, recycling or ultimate disposal of these wastes.
The Green Party of Ohio opposes the disposal within the state of Ohio, wastes which are generated outside the state of
Ohio. The challenge to any interpretation of US constitutional law, which would require Ohio to take possession of out-of-state-generated
wastes is supported by the Green Party of Ohio and should be in the program of the Secretary of State, Governor and Attorney
General. Aggressive measures need to be taken to end the use of Ohio as a dumping ground for solid and liquid wastes.
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