• I think, currently, both parties just throw money at the same programs that don't work. Democrats want to “fund this and defund that,” while Republicans want to “fund that and defund this.” Leaders need to cross the aisle and work together to come up with new creative solutions that actually solve the problems that they are both trying to solve.

I think a thoughtful, pragmatic third party would be a good strategy to encourage the cooperation that is necessary to brainstorm innovative ideas that would actually serve the people.

• I also think we need the Forward party’s efforts in order to end governmental stagnation.

After listening to Justin Amash on the Forward podcast, I think that the House of Representatives should go back to having an open amendment process. In an open process, any representative can offer amendments to any bills, which would then be discussed and ultimately get voted on for it to be added to the bill.

I believe that the House should go back to having an open process because all representatives would have a voice in the legislation. And if the representatives actually follow the will of their constituents, then this process would allow all Americans to have a voice in legislation, instead of just the Speaker of the House, a couple important committee chairmen, and their wealthy, corporate donors.

In theory, banning open amendments to bills in Congress would increase efficiency and effectiveness since no time would be wasted drafting and debating tons of amendments, and there wouldn’t be any changes that would ruin bills’ intended effects. However, an open process allows for compromises to be made between opposing groups since they get to add and revise amendments to each other’s bills. This usually ends with a nuanced solution that has numerous stipulations that prevent the bill’s overall beneficial effects to unintentionally, negatively impact small groups in indirect ways. And this final bill ends up being acceptable to enough representatives, including a good number from the opposing side, to get it passed, thus actually achieving something and helping the American people in some way.

Now, without an open process, bills aren’t amended, so members of each party end up creating take-it-or-leave-it bills, and the other party always chooses the “leave it” option. Representatives won’t vote on something that is some extreme, pure product of their opposition, and the House is always so evenly partisan that one side cannot pass a bill on its own. Thus, pretty much all non-compromisable legislation gets automatically blocked by the other party, and that is really the only type of legislation anymore, thanks to this closed amendment system. Additionally, so much legislation doesn’t even reach the House Floor anymore because the writers know that it won’t get passed anyway. Consequently, barely any legislation is passed at all, ensuring low efficiency and effectiveness, and the American people are not being served in the ways we desperately need. Therefore, the theories that politicians use to argue for a closed amendment system are completely counterfactual in reality, and it would be much better if we went back to a fully open amendment system. 

The Forward Party is clearly in favor of going back to an open-amendment process. And with enough successes, the party can effectively implement this positive change.

• I believe our country should adopt a Universal Basic Income policy because it would cover citizens’ basic needs like rent, utilities, and food so they don’t suffer from a lack of these things. This then allows people the freedom to spend their earned capital on extra things, thus increasing economic activity and improving the overall economy. 

And, UBI policies have actually been proven to increase employment, which makes sense because, if you can now afford child-care, you can have the time to interview for jobs and even maintain one. Additionally, contrary to many objections, studies have also proven that UBI does not negatively affect productivity. So this policy, if implemented properly, could immensely benefit every citizen.

And, of course, implementing a UBI policy is one of the Forward Party’s main objectives.

• I believe the way forward for our country is to move from a costly and hostile foreign policy to a more humanitarian approach. 

I believe that diplomacy should be treated as not just the first solution(s) to try out, but as the only solutions to keep working out. As long as you are empathetic and creative with your diplomatic methods, I think diplomacy will actually work nearly every single time, no matter how complicated the situation is, nor how difficult or malevolent the people you’re trying to work with are. This is in stark contrast to making one, half-assed attempt at diplomacy and then promptly discussing and enacting violent military interventions, which is the unfortunate habit of too many Pentagon officials. I believe that the unconscionable amount of military interventions is predominantly due to the fact that most of the officials working at the Pentagon who make major decisions for those abroad, and especially those who are actually in the war room with the President, have become so entrenched in the mindsets of war over the years that they’re unable to even properly consider diplomacy.

Currently, the military industrial complex forces our government to waste about 50-60% of its entire discretionary budget on military defense each year. Instead, this funding could be used to add to so many inadequate social programs and infrastructure, and it could be used to create new social programs that the people have needed and wanted for so long, like Medicare for all, a universal basic income program, and so many others. We have constantly been denied these programs because conservative establishment-type elites think they’re too expensive to implement. And they always condescendly, rhetorically ask, “Where are you going to get the money?” expecting no answer, except for a reply about raising taxes. Well, if we cut this completely over-bloated military budget, even by just 10%, we can implement so many of these seemingly impossible programs without raising any taxes.

Also, this egregious amount of taxpayer money goes is wasted on failed trillion-dollar weapons technology projects and on regime-change wars that just make matters worse, harm all groups involved (terrorists, rebels, allies, local civilians, and our own troops), and end up creating more terrorists.

Finally, the vast resources provided to the Pentagon are wasted on bombing innocent civilians in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and Somalia. 

For a university class project, I did extensive research into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen and how our government’s actions have contributed to this travesty. 

More than 24 million Yemeni people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children. This crisis is mostly due to the efforts Saudi Arabia has been making for seven years to defeat the rebel group known as the Houthis, which experts say aren’t as much of a threat or as connected to Iran as Saudi Arabia claims. However, the Saudis haven’t stopped their attacks, and the U.S. government has been helping Saudi Arabia. So, our government has therefore been fueling this humanitarian crisis, fully knowing for years that they’re contributing to many innocent deaths and infrastructural damage.

Our government has been supplying this coalition with intelligence, logistical support, and military armaments. In November 2015, the US State Department approved the sale of 4,020 GBU-12 Paveway II bombs as part of a $1.3 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, but the US halted parts of the sale involving precision-guided munitions in December 2016. The Trump administration reversed that decision in March 2017. In June 2017, the US approved another arms agreement based on Saudi pledges to reduce civilian casualties. As of September 2018, it has been confirmed that there have been at least 11 separate incidents of coalition strikes on civilian areas using U.S. made armaments. The worst story of this is of an attack that blew up a school bus on August 9, 2018. This attack, using a missile made by Lockheed Martin, killed 40 boys aged from six to 11 who were being taken on a school trip. Another one of these attacks killed 21 people, including 11 children, which used a missile made by Raytheon. Several of the attacks have hit hospitals and water supply systems, causing Yemeni civilians to live without proper healthcare or drinking water.

I think that the Forward Party could push the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy to provide legislation that will lead to a ban on armaments given to the Saudi government, accompanied by an appropriations bill to USAID, IGOs, and NGOs that are aiding Yemeni civilians. I also think that an official committee consisting of IGO members, NGO members, and local Yemeni leaders should be formed in order to plan the sustainable development of Yemen. Additionally, I think that the Secretary of State should be urged to meet with the leaders of the Saudi Arabia coalition, as well as leaders from the Houthi movement in order to foster a diplomatic way to end the violence.

I believe that the Forward Party can push our country to adopt these more diplomatic and humanitarian policies in several ways. If the party would be able to get diplomatically-minded individuals elected into political offices, those individuals could directly change our policy through legislative means. And even if the party is not successful in elections, we can still influence public opinion and support enough to pressure the current two parties to make these positive changes, which is still an amazing outcome.

So no matter the success of the Forward party, itself, I believe supporting the party will only lead to positive outcomes for our country and the world!