Our Values
Environmental Justice
We believe in the protection of our environment for the health and safety of all Americans, and for future generations. Our land, air, and water are our most valuable shared resources. We believe in careful stewardship of our land, air, and water, and we look for bold leadership in our communities, industry, and government to protect our planet and our children from climate change and pollutants. Climate change research is an integral part of understanding how to best preserve our ecosystem; federal funding for climate research must be protected and we look for bold leadership in our communities, industry, and government to protect our planet, our children and wildlife from climate change and pollutants.
We believe America must develop renewable energy sources. We believe in investing in a renewable infrastructure and jobs program that puts millions of Americans to work and moves our country to 100% renewable energy by 2035. We believe conversion to renewable energy not only protects the climate and environment for future Americans, but also secures our nation against global conflict over increasingly scarce fossil fuels.
We believe that clean water is vital to both the health of our population and the health of the environment. All Americans must have access to clean, safe drinking water and food. We must prevent the ecological incursions that risk contaminating our water and food supplies—agricultural and industrial mismanagement, offshore drilling, fracking, and the storage of waste products. We must protect Charlotte County’s beaches, waterways, and unique ecosystems that are on the verge of collapse.
Economic Justice
We believe in a livable wage, fair compensation for all, and in building an economy that capitalizes on human potential rather than human suffering. We believe increasing wealth inequality threatens the fabric of our society and democracy. We aim to build an economy that generates healthy communities and businesses, and in which all Americans have opportunities to thrive and prosper. An economy that increasingly rewards the few at the expense of the many is neither just nor healthy. We believe it is time to live up to the social mobility promised by the American Dream. This requires secure jobs that offer dignity, work-life balance, and fulfillment of both human needs and human potential; a minimum wage that keeps up with the cost of living; and equal pay for equal work. We believe all American workers should have access to paid sick leave, paid family leave, and the right to organize and collectively bargain. We support investment in America’s public servants, including servicemen and women, teachers and first-responders, as well as in small businesses that make communities thrive. We support investment in job creation and training to support our country’s conversion to renewable clean energy sources, as well as construction of more sustainable infrastructure. We also believe in protecting prosperity for those who cannot work—including the sick, vulnerable, disabled, elderly, and those experiencing trauma or transition.
We believe everyone has the right to economic security in retirement. Social Security provides guaranteed income to millions of retirees, orphans, widow(er)s, disabled workers and their dependents. Increases in revenue from the rising minimum wage and minor adjustments, such as eliminating income-level caps, will raise benefit levels for current recipients and reassure current contributors of its solvency for their retirement.
We believe that large corporations and the wealthiest Americans should pay their fair share. We believe in closing tax loopholes and taxing Wall Street transactions so that hardworking Americans and small businesses don’t pay excess taxes to support tax breaks for the wealthiest. We believe corporations should bear financial responsibility for the cost of their impact on shared resources (e.g., our air, land, water, etc.) and their disproportionate benefit from taxpayer-funded infrastructure (e.g., roads, schools, law enforcement etc.).
Social Justice
We believe healthcare is a human right that must be guaranteed to every American. We aim to build a healthcare system that not only cares for the sick, but emphasizes health and wellness for all. We understand that overcoming current health crises—from cancer to heart disease to opioid addiction—will require transformative societal shifts, including fundamental changes to our healthcare, education, employment, nutrition, environmental protection, and criminal justice systems.
We believe all Americans have the right to a quality public education from pre-K through college. We realize that our economy depends on the expansion of an educated workforce ready to create the future, and our democracy requires an educated and well-informed electorate. We support publicly funded schools that are accountable to the community. We recognize that teachers have a vital role in raising the next generation of citizens, and we support measures that ensure they are rewarded for taking on this responsibility.
We believe in equality for all, and we realize our liberation is intrinsically interconnected. None of us is free until all of us are free. Regardless of race, belief, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, wealth, or ability—we must be free to live, love, and pursue happiness without causing suffering to one another. All people must be afforded equal rights and opportunities, and the freedom to nurture their families, however they are formed, in safe and healthy environments free from fear, oppression, and persecution. We believe the time has come for an all-inclusive Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution.**
**Adapted from the Unity Principles of the Women’s March.
We believe in building a justice system that is truly just. We must end racial profiling, disproportionate incarceration, criminalization, and police brutality toward communities of color. We oppose a for-profit justice system and demand local community oversight and demilitarization of police and prisons. Effective policing is achieved through community outreach, not through force. We oppose the death penalty not only for moral reasons, but also because it is applied unequally and is more costly for taxpayers.
Democratic Justice
We believe voting is both a right and a responsibility of every American. We endorse automatic voter registration at age 18, open primaries, a national voting holiday, nonpartisan protections from gerrymandering, and guaranteed voting rights for every American citizen.
We believe in eradicating the corrupting influence of money in politics. We believe in government of, by, and for the people; we seek to eliminate super PACs, and promote fair public financing of elections. We believe that corporations are not people, and that money is not speech. We aim to elect leaders who represent all of the people they serve, not the special interests and donors who fund their campaigns.
We believe in an immigration policy guided by love rather than fear, that honors America’s call to the world’s “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” We believe immigration enriches our country, that immigrants who contribute to our economy and society should have access to an expeditious path to citizenship, and that employers must be held accountable for exploitation of undocumented workers. We believe America should offer shelter to refugees fleeing war, persecution, and famine.
We believe peace is our best protection. At home, we support efforts to protect the vulnerable from violence, to demilitarize our police and prisons, and to disarm public spaces. We support background checks to keep guns out of the hands of those whose history of violence puts the lives of others at risk. Abroad, we seek peaceful solutions wherever possible and believe in diplomacy and international cooperation to maintain global security. We support Congressional oversight of Executive use of military force. We oppose domestic surveillance by government agencies without significant judicial oversight. We oppose torture. We support our veterans and efforts to restore health and peace to their lives and families.
