Convince me

But I was just reading an interview and this section is in the ballpark of addressing your concerns.

(starts with tail end of National Initiave discussion)

Gravel: That's right. I'll be long gone... I want to give the Libertarians a tool that then will help them bring about what Libertarian is really all about. And that is for the people to be free. And how do you become free, is as Cicero said, you participate in power. If you can't participate in power, you cannot be free... 

And I hear what you're saying about education. I got the same views. Like I say, I can say it with a clear conscience: fire all the damn school boards!

We've fractured our educational system. I see the countries that are succeeding in education flies right in the face of your views on libertarianism: Finland, Sweden, Spain—they all have national standards and they all fund education for the student's entire life, all the way up to the Ph.D.

Maymin: They also have school choice, which we don't have.

Gravel: They do?

Maymin: I think a lot of them do. They have a voucher program and so there's some...

Gravel: Oh, well, no, the voucher program, that's it for me. That's for sure. That's a given. That's a given.

Maymin: Then you have at least some competition so you go back to at least a little bit of...

Gravel: That's a given. I wouldn't even argue that point. I assume that. When I talk about getting rid of the damn unions, I'm talking about that.

The voucher. And see, the voucher, you could pay your mother to teach you full time, if she's qualified. And as long as you could pass some tests.

Here, I would pay people—like if you got a sick mother, rather than have you go get on welfare or Medicare, Medicaid, whatever, if you're going to stay home and take care of your parents, you should be able to—if we're going to pay other people to do that, why not pay you to do it, rather than you go to work, and then pay your taxes, and then we have your taxes pay somebody else to do it. Here again, it's common sense, that if we had a lot of that, and people have this creativity.

If we would just get the government out of the way.

Maymin: Yeah.

Gravel:

But people will do that. We talk of, you want less government? You will never, never get less government until you put the people in power.

http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=7006

From what I remember of Citizen Power, Gravel is not in favor of a one-size-fits-all education system.  He sees that in No Child Left Behind and cannot support it.

What Gravel wants is to make sure that public education works very well, and works efficiently, so as not to waste tax payer money on stupid things like standardized tests.  He wants to ensure that every American is getting the basic education they deserve, but without mandating what that education consists of.

 Here's a description of Mike Gravel's "Health Security System" that I compiled at the Mike Gravel Wiki from various sources. If there are any inaccuracies, I certainly hope someone will correct me.

-------------------------------

Senator Gravel advocates a National Health Care Voucher plan, called the HEALTH SECURITY SYSTEM, that will give every American health care. Using a voucher paid for by the government, Americans will remain free to choose their own doctor.

Medicine and medical technology in the United States are the finest in the world. However, it is also one of the leading causes of bankruptcies. With the rising cost of health care, it is time to rethink our approach.

The Senator’s plan provides each American with an annual healthcare certificate that covers basic medical services. Each American uses their certificate to purchase a BASIC HEALTH SERVICE PLAN from either a limited number of private health insurance providers or a government “Medicare type” service plan. In all, Americans will be able to purchase any one of six health care plans with the Health Care Voucher.

The difference is the private health insurance providers compete on administrative costs and efficiencies -- not on the kinds of health services that are provided.

The government will define the basic services that the plans must offer. No American is denied healthcare, and the costs would not be placed on the backs of businesses.

The government will finance the plan from revenues received from what Mike Gravel refers to as “The Fair Green Tax,”: a sales tax on consumption, that will replace the federal income tax, eliminating the tax code and the IRS.

References

• Mike Gravel - Issues Paper

• Inside the U.S. Presidential Campaign Trail: Senator Mike Gravel's Vision for America - by Mindi Iden, Official California Coordinator of the Gravel 2008 Campaign. The Canadian National Newspaper.

• Dem candidates share ideas about small-business issues: Full Responses - published in www.nhbr.com, Nov 23, 2007

--------------------------------

Jason

National Staff

Volunteer Moderator

Jason@Gravel2008.us

Ladygaura,

I was very glad to find there was a discussion about Mike's stance on this site already. And he doesn't disappoint, being his usual open-minded self. I don't have much use for allopathic medicine anymore, either.

http://www.gravel2008.us/node/2548

"ANY compulsory, one-size -fits-a-few education system is not one I can support."

This is not at all what Gravel is proposing.  His system would give greater room for more options and alternatives.  He has a chapter on education in his book Citizen Power, so he says it better than I ever could.  I can't remember if he specifically addressed homeschooling.  I'll have to check it out.  I hope you take up Skyler's offer. 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

In response to Ladyguara -- Gravel has spent years trumpeting a concept that is fundamental to the notion of freedom.  He is advocating that America break the shackles of the corrupting influences that are endemic to our current "system" and take on the active role of deciding matters of public policy for OURSELVES -- as in WE THE PEOPLE. 

I posit an analogy -- healthcare.  In traditional medicine, you have a doctor who is the final authority, the gatekeeper.  He/she is supposed to be expert and will act in our best interest.   But the idea of the MD as being the provider of choice is not the correct one for millions of people who want to take responsibility for his/her own health.  No, when people are provided with accurate and truthful information, they will come to their own informed judgment about what's right for that particualr individual.   It may include alternatives to conventional medicine -- whatever.  But it's should be up to the individual to make that determination.  Not a gatekeeper.

I suggest that Mike's argument is that government should work the same way.  America is ready to shed its civic adolescence.  Collectively, we should be able to weigh in on the crucial issues that affect our country's well-being without going through Congress -- who MAY listen when they're up for re-election -- or the bloated federal bureaucracy.

It's time for fundamental change in which we, the people, set policy.  We need to control government, not the other way around.  And that's the essence of Gravel's campaign.  He's been fighting the "system" for generations.  And his message of fundamental systemic change should resonate with those who are enrolled in the LP and thereafter with the millions of Americans who are fed up by the corrupt nature of the two party machine.

That's the way I see it and that's why the LP convention is so important.  The LP can nominate a proven champion of and for the people!  What a breath of fresh air!  Imagine America emerging from this national (indeed international nightmare) by taking an historic step this election.  That step can be taken, not by electing a woman or an African-American -- but by reigning in government and reclaiming it for ourselves.  For that, America needs Mike Gravel and the LP has a big stake in making it happen.

Thank you!

Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to go from a tax system to NO tax system with just one president.  Fairtax is just a small step in the right direction.  It will also help turn us from massive consumer whores into savers.  We are a nation of debt, but we don't have to be that way.  Places also don't HAVE to have a high cost of living.  We place too much value on homes with waterfront property, or 365 days of sunshine.  We can reduce these living costs with a program like this.

Also, I believe that the carbon tax is an important step in finding forms of energy that are more environmentally sound.  Whether or not you agree with global warming, you have to see that the pollution we produce is causing our planet undue stress.  This is the only planet we have and we have to nurture it.  If you start placing a carbon tax on businesses, they will start trying to find ways to emit LESS carbon, obviously.