STEWARDSHIP

U.N. SDG 6, 7, 11-15: Clean Water & Energy | Sustainable Communities | Responsible Consumption & Production | Climate Action | Life Below Water & On Land
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Health | Freedom of Movement | Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

THE GREEN NEW DEAL is a comprehensive green energy transition plan to help protect all of humanity from irreversible environmental catastrophe and create millions of good paying jobs in the process. The Green New Deal mobilizes every aspect of American society to 100% clean and renewable energy, while providing a just transition for energy sector workers in the next 10 years. We must divest from the fossil fuel industry, make our production green, and ensure the protection of the vulnerable communities affected by climate change, particularly indigenous peoples and refugees.

As one of the world’s largest global polluters, the U.S. plays an outsized responsibility in helping the Global South achieve global climate goals. The U.S. must make good on its contributions to the Global Climate Fund and shift its military and development aid dollars into green infrastructure funding and export of green technology and labor, or risk losing the entire global market share to Europe and China. We must also work to restore vital ecosystems and biodiversity and protect nature's balance to prevent the collapse of our food chain.

DIGNITY

U.N. SDG 10 : Reduced Inequalities
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Freedom of Movement | Freedom of Non-citizens from Arbitrary Expulsion

WELCOME IMMIGRANTS WITH DIGNITY. As a nation of immigrants, we must live up to our ideal of treating all migrants with dignity and respect. Welcoming immigrants means demilitarizing our borders, eliminating ICE, and transforming our immigration system into a humane one that centers civil and human rights. We must remove barriers that are illegal under federal and international law and provide legal means to resettlement for migrants seeking refuge from violence or political instability. We must also create a fair pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people who reside in the U.S. and bring our nation unique experiences and skills.

Current punitive policies that result in the profit-based mass detention of migrants, the tearing apart of families, and the placement of children in cages along the border have done nothing to stop migrants from seeking opportunity in the United States. Dignified immigration policy is interlinked with global justice policies that prevent the need for migration, working across borders to uplift our neighbors with development investments, preventing climate catastrophe, and enabling fair trade. The US must bring an end to its long history of destabilizing countries in the Global South, which along with the climate crisis, is a key driver of migration to the U.S.

PEACE

U.N. SDG 16 : Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Liberty and Security of Person | Freedom from Hunger | Right to Your Life

STOP THE ENDLESS WARS. The U.S. is a major driver of armed conflict around the globe while most politicians are beholden to special interest dollars of arms dealers and war profiteers. We spend more on war than China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, and Ukraine — combined. The U.S. Department of Defense is the single largest polluter on the planet. Maintenance of at least 750 military bases in over 80 countries comes at a tremendous cost to US taxpayers who receive nothing in return while national debt skyrockets. The U.S. battled in 11 major wars and led countless military operations over the last century, yet we have not officially declared war on any nation since WWII. A corrupt revolving door between members of Congress and the war industry enables a wealthy few to reap billions of dollars off of endless wars paid for by our tax dollars, while the U.S. is unable to provide basic human rights such as healthcare and education or maintain its crumbling infrastructure. We must audit the Pentagon and rapidly shift our tax dollars from destructive potential to a regenerative future.

Furthermore, our tax dollars should not be used to arm chronic human rights abusers, such as Israel’s brutal apartheid regime. A foreign policy largely dependent on military aid and arms sales merely perpetuates conflict, wastes precious American tax dollars, empowers tyrannical regimes overseas, and disrupts world peace. We must instead invest in domestic needs, achieving human rights, a green transition at home and abroad, diplomacy, fair trade, and peacebuilding worldwide.

VITALITY

U.N. SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Health

MEDICARE FOR ALL is the solution to a broken healthcare system beholden to pharmaceutical and healthcare corporation lobbyists in the United States. Healthcare is a human right and everyone deserves access to the care they need without financial or discriminatory barriers. Well-being and access to healthcare affects every aspect of our lives, including economic security, family life, and career longevity. Yet, healthcare remains unaffordable for many Americans. Millions of Americans are uninsured or underinsured with nearly 1 in 10 adults owing significant medical debt. It is unacceptable that healthcare debts are a leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States.

Pharmaceutical companies rake in record profits by price gouging instead of lowering the cost of prescription drugs that people need. Our country has the capacity to provide free, quality healthcare to all Americans and enable us to make decisions about our well-being with medical professionals without barriers. Medicare For All can eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare, and improve health outcomes for all Americans.

PROSPERITY

U.N. SDG 4 & 8: No poverty | Decent Work & Economic Growth
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Just & Favorable Work Conditions | Right to Form Trade Unions | Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

POVERTY IS A POLICY CHOICE and we can choose to end it. We must prioritize families and workers over the mega wealthy! An American economic and tax system, supported by the 1% of the richest Americans who fund politicians and lobbyists in both parties and make use of tax loopholes, systematically extracts wealth from the 99% of Americans. This has led to vast inequality and rampant poverty. Wealth doesn't “trickle down”, but rather continues to flow upward from the poor to the rich, concentrating into the hands of a narrow few. The ultra rich and huge corporations must pay their fair share in taxes, and we must prevent corporations from artificially driving up prices of essential items and making record profits while the 99% of Americans struggle to keep up with the cost-of-living crisis.

The wealth gap continues to widen while wages have failed to increase to a living wage, harming the most marginalized communities. Despite rising costs, the minimum wage has been the same since 2009 and we must increase it to a living wage now! Workers must be protected, and we must strengthen the ability to form unions and improve working conditions.

JUSTICE

U.N. SDG 10 & 16 : Reduced Inequalities | Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Liberty and Security of Person | Right to Equality Before the Law

PROTECT & INVEST IN COMMUNITIES. We cannot allow our communities to suffer further pain and death before standing up to the gun lobby and enacting real gun control. We must work to prevent violence and implement domestic peacebuilding strategies that invest in meaningful opportunities for impacted communities so that we can end the vicious cycles of violence on our streets and in our schools.

Additionally, we continue to fund failed solutions to public safety by pouring funds into policing and mass incarceration instead of addressing systemic injustices and underlying causes of crime. Private prison companies make huge profits from taxpayer-funded mass incarceration, which disproportionately takes the liberty of poor, Black, and Brown communities. We call for an immediate end to police brutality. We must reimagine our justice system to be restorative and crime preventative. Our justice system must be consistent with the principles of equity, human rights, and public health by investing in local community needs, such as education, healthcare, and housing.

COMPASSION

U.N. SDG 1: No poverty
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

ACCESS TO HOUSING IS A BASIC HUMAN NEED. We are facing a housing crisis characterized by lack of affordable housing, rising housing and rental costs, and houselessness. We should be helping address the underlying roots of poverty instead of criminalizing the unhoused and making it next to impossible for them to meet their basic needs. People who have access to stable, affordable housing are more likely to be able to save money, raise children, invest in businesses, and build a stable and prosperous future.

If we do not stop subsidizing mega corporate developers from driving up rental and home prices this crisis will only grow worse. Federal policy can spur millions of jobs for workers, engineers, and architects to develop quality affordable housing and enable everyone to have shelter and stability. We must also address housing discrimination with fair housing standards and end exclusionary zoning practices that prevent access to homes for many. In the wealthiest country in the world, no American should be without adequate shelter!

KNOWLEDGE

U.N. SDG 4: Quality Education
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Education

MONEY SHOULD NOT BE A BARRIER TO EDUCATION. Tuition-free public college and trade schools can help address the cost-of-living crisis and economic inequality, especially for low-income students and people of color. We can provide pathways to success, rather than debt traps. No American should have to go into debt to acquire quality education and compete in a global economy. The total student loan debt in the United States was $1.76 trillion as of the end of 2022 with the average borrower owing $37,584.

Meanwhile, public schools are in trouble due to rising inequities in funding, underpaid teachers, lack of investment in students’ futures, and crumbling infrastructure. Childcare is among the highest costs for families. Investing in our public schools, universal childcare, and pre-K would provide millions of jobs and alleviate the economic burdens of working families nationwide.

INTEGRITY

U.N. SDG 10 & 16 : Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions | Reduced Inequalities
U.N. International Bill of Human Rights: Right to Participate in Public Affairs

CORPORATE MONEY DOES NOT BELONG IN POLITICS. The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC opened the door to unlimited independent spending by corporations in elections and the rise of "dark money" groups that has led to rampant corruption in the political process. This has led to representatives serving corporations and the rich instead of ordinary people. Our representatives should not be bought and our democracy should not be rigged! We must ensure there is integrity in our elections and return power to the 99% of American people rather than just the 1% representing the wealthy few.

Additionally, voter disenfranchisement through voter suppression, racist gerrymandering, and blatant attacks on the democratic processes creates barriers to the ballot. We must work to restore the historic Voting Rights Act and stop the corrupting influence of big money in politics.