Huron County Democratic Party

Issues and Action

Climate Change

Climate Protest

We believe

  • We have a duty to take care of the earth for ourselves, our children, and future generations.
  • We will make a better world by facing our problems squarely.
  • We must choose our course of action in the light of science and reason.

The problem

  • "Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth's average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels." - NASA
  • Our warmer and still-warming earth brings us ever-harsher storms, heat waves, drought and floods, more wildfires, melting glaciers, and more acidic and rising seas. Those effects stress civilization with food and water scarcity, loss of human habitat, and depletion of public treasuries.
  • The Republican Party, the only major party in the free world that has no policy to arrest global warming, stands in the way of climate action. In Ohio, it has canceled clean energy standards and support, and dampened Ohio's vibrant wind and solar energy industries.
  • The situation is dire. Greenhouse gas release is still climbing, and the earth is on course to pass the very dangerous warming level of 2C (3.6F) degrees above the average temperature before the fossil fuel era.

The solution

  • Nearly all nations of the world signed the Paris Climate Agreement to zero-out greenhouse gas release by sometime in the second half of the century, and to shoot for capping global warming at 1.5C (2.7F) degrees. The United States must meet its responsibilities in the Paris agreement.
  • A Stanford University study shows how the world can meet all its energy needs 100% from clean sources -- solar, wind and geothermal. We should build this.
  • The 2016 Democratic National Platform firmly addresses the climate emergency. It calls for such policy and actions as favoring solar, wind and other clean energy sources above any fossil fuel, for installing a half billion solar panels, for pricing greenhouse gases to reflect their negative effects, and for a world-wide summit meeting aimed at solving the climate crisis, going beyond the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Jobs

Living Wage

We believe

  • Everyone has a right to a job that can support one's family with dignity.
  • Anyone that works 40 hours a week should be able to make a decent living without falling behind.
  • Democracy does not end at the shop or office doors. Everyone has a right to join a labor union and have some say in one's workplace.
  • The prosperity of the nation should benefit all.

The problem

  • There are too few decent-paying full time jobs.
  • Many working persons get too little pay to make a decent living. A study by Oxfam showed that 22% of workers in Ohio's 4th and 7th congressional districts, which cover Huron County, would benefit by a raise in the minimum wage to just $10.10.
  • Anti-labor laws and rulings have helped drive down the union membership rate from 30% in 1953 to 11% (6% in the private sector). The median earnings of non-union workers is 80% that of union workers.
  • Since 1972 production worker wages have fallen way behind productivity gains. Meanwhile, the share of the nation's income for the top 1% of earners has grown from 9% to 22%, and they get about 200 times the income of those in the bottom 90%.

The solution

(Many of these policies can be found in the 2016 Democratic National Platform.) There is enough work to be done in this country to have full employment. And business thrives on sound infrastructure. Run a national program to:

  • Repair roads, bridges, water and sewer systems;
  • Expand reliable broadband internet to all;
  • Adapt for climate change;
  • Build out to 100% clean energy.
  • Raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
  • Knock down the barriers to forming and joining a union. Enact card check.
  • Make the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes, and use the revenue for the infrastructure program. Claw back tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, eliminate tax breaks for big oil and gas companies. Shut down tax dodges and loopholes used by those at the top. Establish a multimillionaire surtax. Restore fair taxation on multimillion dollar estates.

Education

Education

Health Care

Health Care

Principled Leadership

Principled Leadership