Daryl Mikell Brooks For U.S. Senate 2008: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Baby Boomer Retirement Plan

Brooks will use actions, not just words, to prove to our seniors that there is no such thing as a spare New Jerseyan, and to build a nation where seniors are treated with fairness when it comes to taxes, retirement security and health care. Our government must take the lead in making America the most senior-friendly nation. We need leadership that works to increase the independence of and secure the retirements of older Americans.

Paths to Progress
As America’s next US Senator, Daryl Mikell Brooks will fight for:

• Provide Statewide Prescription Drug Assistance. Brooks will work to help seniors afford their prescription drugs and implement a statewide program to help seniors navigate the confusing Medicare prescription drug plan.

• Strengthen New Jersey Retirement Security. Brooks supports the strengthening New Jersey state employee retirement system, protect private-sector pensions, and make smart investments to guarantee the financial security of our retirees.

• Preserve Financial Independence. Brooks will fight for tax relief to adults who are covering their own health care expenses independently of Medicaid. Brooks also supports expanding individual and employer credits for long-term care insurance, developing caregiver tax credits, and special assistance for custodial grandparents.

• Support Families with Older Adults. Brooks supports family leave policies for state employees so that they can take time off to care for their parents and grandparents without worrying about losing their job.

IRAQ BRING TROOPS HOME NOW!!!!!

Daryl Mikell Brooks believes that we should keep pushing for a positive outcome in Iraq, while preparing for a handoff. He believes that we should tell the Iraqis that we are not pulling out immediately, but neither are we staying indefinitely. The Iraqis must build up their army and police forces, because the day is coming when Iraqis must take charge of Iraq.

Our mission in Iraq has been plagued from the start by poor intelligence, poor planning for the post-war, and a disdain for the advice of our allies and our own military leaders. The Army's chief of staff was ignored, and too few troops were deployed. The Administration failed to foresee the insurgency that followed the war, and many of our servicemen and women who were deployed were not properly equipped with body armor or armored vehicles. Troops were forced to improvise in the field and assigned to duty for which they were not trained. These and other errors in judgment have cost us casualties and made the insurgency more intractable.

What should we do? First, we must supply our troops in Iraq with everything they need to suppress the insurgency and secure the country. Second, we must step up the training of Iraqi security forces – army, border guards, building guards, police and special counter-terrorism units – so that we can turn over to Iraqis the responsibility for securing their own country. Third, we should help the Iraqi forces protect themselves through the provision of better armor and smarter security where recruits gather. Fourth, we must assist Iraqis in forming a functioning representative government, in which all ethnic groups have a voice. And fifth, we must enlist greater allied assistance in protecting Iraq 's borders and preventing the infiltration of foreign terrorists.

JOBS & TRADE

Jobs & Trade
Good jobs and fair trade are the bottom line of a nation's prosperity, and that prosperity is how we pay for the defense of our ideals. Many communities in New Jersey and across America have been hit hard by unfair trade policies and conservative legislation that have made it increasingly attractive for businesses to pack up and move out of the country with the federal government's blessings and tax relief support. This has placed many talented, trained, and dedicated workers on the unemployment rolls almost overnight. The President's tax cuts to the wealthiest one-and-a-half percent of this country have crippled the ability of social services programs to provide aid to our neighbors, friends, and relatives when they need it most. Our current trade policies need to be amended to allow fair trade and protect the workforce of America. Any future legislation needs to consider foremost the impact it will have on the welfare of all Americans.

Full-time workers should have the right to earn a living wage and we must pass fair trade initiatives to protect them. We must change trade and tax policies to favor and reward businesses that create jobs in the US, especially in the awarding of government contracts, while doing all we can to discourage businesses that outsource or set up offshore addresses to avoid paying taxes. We must also create a favorable environment for small businesses even as we correct our corporate welfare policies.

New Jersey must develop incentive packages, better infrastructure, and a dedicated workforce to position itself to lobby immediately for new business and to encourage existing employers to expand their operations within New Jersey. We have some of the largest Pharmaceutical research companies in the nation in our own backyard. By creating a favorable environment for the development of service, manufacturing, and satellite office communities, we can make the most of this natural advantage.

We should also plan for the future by encouraging investment in businesses focused on new energy technologies and renewable energy resources. Manufacturing, transport, and application of these technologies for New Jersey and the Nations can certainly be developed here, while agriculture can benefit from producing biofuel and ethanol products.

Technical training and support-service education can be administered through the community college system. Online education and support will provide even greater access, which will expand the capabilities of the community college system, cementing its role in every community.

ENVIROMENT

Environment
America's promise will not mean much if our environment is not secure. The international community of climate scientists believe the evidence for global warming is "unequivocal" and that human activity is the likely cause. A report released recently by some of our top retired military leaders warns that the result of climate changes from global warming will pose a "serious threat to America's national security." If our environment is not secure, neither are we. This is a moral issue as much as it is a security issue. Can we afford to bet our children's future on the consequences of inaction? The time to act is now.

We must invest in a new energy economy that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and other non-renewable resources that are polluting our environment. By encouraging the development of renewable, non-polluting energy sources, we can create new business and job opportunities in New jersey that stimulate the economy even as we move towards securing our energy independence and the environment.

We must take steps to conserve energy and manage its use more efficiently and effectively. We must work to reduce and cap greenhouse gas pollution and plan for the future.

Because pollution anywhere can potentially create problems everywhere, we must lead the way in formulating a new international treaty on climate change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale.