1996 Natural Law Party Platform
(24,010 words, 76 pages)
Draft Copy June 1996
Natural Law Party Solutions
ECONOMY
THE NATURAL LAW PARTY envisions a flourishing national economy in which no citizen suffers from unemployment, recession, runaway inflation, or any other economic hardship; in which America's businesses are highly competitive in the international marketplace; in which the crippling national debt is reduced and eventually eliminated; and in which the tax burden is significantly decreased, enabling everyone to enjoy greater prosperity and a higher standard of living.
The Problem
A healthy economy is the key to America's domestic strength and international leadership. Without industrial and corporate might, the U.S. cannot remain competitive in world markets, satisfy domestic needs, or continue to play a major role in world events. America needs a strong economy, but our economy faces serious challenges.
America is $5 trillion in debt--about $20,000 per citizen--and the interest payments alone cost taxpayers $235 billion in 1995. This debt undermines the vitality of our nation and threatens its long-term economic stability. Congress failed to pass a balanced budget amendment in 1995, and partisan conflict has thwarted all legislative efforts to balance the budget--even in the face of governmental shutdowns [1].
Moreover, although profits and productivity have increased during the past two decades, the purchasing power of the average American has declined significantly. For example, in 1993, the average American worker had to spend 26 weeks' worth of wages to buy a car, as compared to 17 weeks' in 1973. Many wage-earners--especially those in lower income brackets--have limited resources, no opportunity to save, little job security, and no way to cope with emergency medical needs. Many families cannot afford a home or even the basic amenities of life [2]. For a substantial portion of our population, the American dream has faded.
Excessive taxes and a burdensome, overly complex, and punitive tax code stifle economic growth. The seven-million-word tax code is so convoluted that the Internal Revenue Service itself has trouble understanding it, and corporations spend four times as much on tax compliance as they do on taxes [3]. In addition, special interest groups have successfully manipulated the tax code by creating loopholes to benefit specific businesses--a practice that results in corporate welfare and creates disincentives to economic growth.
In the words of the Kemp commission, the present tax code "is beyond repair--it is impossibly complex, outrageously expensive, overly intrusive, economically destructive, and manifestly unfair. . . . We believe [it] cannot be revised, should not be reinvented, and must not be retained" [4].
American businesses are saddled by the highest health costs in the world. Health benefits have become the third largest expense after raw materials and straight-time pay for most manufacturers, and the second largest expense for most service businesses. For many employers, the cost of corporate health benefits precludes real salary increases for employees, and many otherwise profitable businesses are driven into bankruptcy by these spiraling expenses.
Finally, to maintain our technological edge in the competitive international marketplace, American businesses require highly skilled workers. Alarmingly, our high school students score near the bottom in international comparisons of industrialized nations: 28% of youths entering the U.S. job market are high school drop-outs [5], and the number of Americans earning doctoral degrees has declined in recent years--yet Congress has cut funding for student loans. America therefore faces a creativity challenge that must be solved for our country to maintain its domestic and economic strength.
The Solution
Boosting national creativity--In today's information-based economy, intelligence and creativity (i.e., innovation and ideas) drive economic growth. Clearly, America's most precious natural resource is our human resource--the unlimited creative potential of our 260 million citizens. Given today's low test scores and high drop-out rates, the most crucial economic strategy that government can adopt is to harness America's untapped creativity. The Natural Law Party strongly advocates proven educational, job training, and apprenticeship programs that develop intelligence and creativity, prevent school drop-outs, and bring life into accord with natural law. Only the full utilization of our human resource through the Natural Law Party's fundamental commitment to education will ensure America's competitiveness and future leadership in the family of nations. (For a complete discussion of the Natural Law Party's educational programs, see our "Education" section.)
Lowering taxes--The most powerful fiscal action our government can take to stimulate the economy is to lower taxes. The Natural Law Party can cut taxes deeply--and responsibly--without adding to the deficit or cutting essential services. Many parties have promised lower taxes, but have been unable to fulfill these promises due to the depth and complexity of problems faced by government. The Natural Law Party, through its cost-effective solutions to crime, spiraling health costs, and other costly social problems, will save the nation hundreds of billions of dollars annually. On this basis, the Natural Law Party can offer a realistic strategy for significant tax reduction that protects the integrity of our important social programs.
One simple and viable way to implement across-the-board tax cuts is through a low flat tax. The Natural Law Party has designed a low flat tax that includes an exemption for America's poor and lower-income families. Beginning in 1997 at 18%, our tax rate would fall to 10% by 2002 as the Natural Law Party's cost-effective solutions to the nation's problems began to bear fruit [6] (see table). The Natural Law Party's low flat tax would propel the economy into a growth phase. This strong economic growth, with its associated increase in government revenues, combined with the savings from our cost-effective solutions, would balance the budget by 1999. This proposal would also reduce the size and scope of the IRS, eliminate loopholes for the wealthy, and put an end to corporate welfare.
In addition to our flat tax proposal, the Natural Law Party is also continuing to study alternative tax options, such as a consumption tax, that might decrease the tax burden for Americans. We concur with the Kemp commission's fundamental requirements for a new tax code: fairness, simplicity, neutrality, visibility, and stability [7].
Overhauling the Federal Reserve Board--Since recent administrations have been unwilling to employ meaningful fiscal policy through tax cuts and reduced spending, monetary policy has been the only available means of controlling both economic growth and inflation. Thus, in an effort to control inflation, the Federal Reserve Board has used monetary policy (primarily the manipulation of interest rates) to prevent economic growth of more than 2.5% per year. This sluggish growth rate is responsible for economic stagnation, unemployment, and the declining real wage for most American workers.
By cutting taxes, the Natural Law Party offers a strong fiscal stimulus to economic growth while keeping inflation in check with appropriate monetary policy, thereby ensuring price stability. Unaccustomed to meaningful fiscal policy, the Fed will have to be overhauled in order to allow the economy to grow at a rate greater than 2.5%, which is crucial to the prosperity and economic security of all Americans. Creating new jobs through economic growth is far more effective than mere welfare reform in putting America to work again.
Enterprise zones--The Natural Law Party supports the use of federally guaranteed loans to stimulate capital investment for start-up industries in urban "enterprise zones." By targeting economically deprived urban areas, we can stimulate economic growth where it is most needed, thereby creating more jobs, a stronger sense of community, and therevitalization of our inner cities.
Cutting corporate health costs--The enormous burden of corporate health care expenditures can best be reduced by improving employee health. Research shows that appropriate preventive health care programs improve health and reduce health care costs [8], thereby freeing financial resources for greater productivity, profit, and investment. Therefore, a Natural Law Party government would encourage businesses to implement such programs to improve corporate health and productivity and to reduce employee stress and substance abuse [9].
Creating macroeconomic stability through increased social coherence--The Natural Law Party also supports programs that have been shown to dissolve social stress and conflict, thereby providing a more positive and stable environment for economic growth and prosperity. Most analysts are aware of how businesses are influenced by macroeconomic factors such as inflation, unemployment, economic cycles, and the threat of international conflict. However, businesses are also in a position to change macro- economic trends in a positive direction for the benefit of the organization and society as a whole. For example, research has found that even a single group of 7,000 to 10,000 practitioners of Transcendental Meditation and its advanced programs can produce a significant decrease in inflation and unemployment rates, as well as improvements in other economic indicators [10]. Businesses that incorporate such programs into their employee benefits packages help ensure economic stability by creating a more coherent and stable society.Sharing the benefit--As the economyi mproves, we anticipate higher pay, better working conditions, shorter work hours, and a shorter work week. We believe that the American work force should reap the benefits of a powerful economy through a higher standard of living.
Through cost-effective solutions to the nation's problems, responsible tax reduction, and proven programs to boost national intelligence and creativity, the Natural Law Party will propel the economy into a sustained growth phase. This pro-growth policy willsimultaneously create jobs, reduce unemployment, balance the budget through increased government revenues, and retire the national debt. Only the Natural Law Party offers a comprehensive, viable strategy to accomplish these goals.
Notes
1. All political parties agree on the need to reduce the national debt, and the passage of the balanced budget amendment in the House of Representatives in January 1995 was hailed as the first triumph of the Republicans' Contract with America. But the failure of the amendment in the Senate underscored its inadequacies as a fiscal policy: much government spending remained exempt; noncompliance was virtually assured by legislative overrides; and a shift in the tax burden could mask large deficits in governmental operations. Most important, the amendment failed to address the underlying, costly social problems that have driven deficit spending.
2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (1995), 14.5% of all Americans live below the poverty level. Many Americans go hungry, and many are homeless.
3. In its January 1996 report, the Kemp commission provides specifics about the enormous cost of tax compliance (Unleashing America's Potential: A Pro-Growth, Pro-Family Tax System for the 21st Century, The National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform, January 1996, p. 7):
In 1991, the Tax Foundation reported that small corporations spent a minimum of $382 in compliance costs for every $100 they paid in income taxes. According to 1995 I.R.S. estimates, businesses will spend about 3.4 billion hours and individuals will spend about 1.7 billion hours embroiled in tax-related paperwork. That means nearly three million people--more people than serve in the U.S. armed forces--work full time all year just to comply with tax laws, at a cost of about $200 billion a year, according to the Tax Foundation.
4. Ibid., p. 5.
5. "The Dropout Problem: Can Schools Meet the Challenge?" NASSP Bulletin 78 (565): 74-80, 1994.
6. The Natural Law Party's flat tax proposal maintains charitable deductions but does not maintain the mortgage deduction. A mortgage deduction increases the tax on all Americans by at least 2% and unfairly penalizes those who use their earnings for other purposes--for example, to send their children to college. The mortgage deduction, pushed by the housing industry, amounts to a form of corporate welfare for that industry. The Natural Law Party believes that taxes should be used to finance government, not to shape social and economic agendas by favoring some businesses over others.
Our flat tax proposal would maintain charitable deductions to promote an increase in charitable giving. Local philanthropic activities are more effective, more rewarding, and less wasteful than federally administered, socialized charity. The Natural Law Party would therefore like to see a shift in the responsibility for charitable giving from the government back to the individual. More Americans will be inspired to give once they have more wealth as a result of lower taxes and our pro-growth economic policies.
Capital gains (indexed for inflation) and interest will be taxed as normal income under the Natural Law Party's proposal, but double taxation (e.g., a tax on dividend income) will be avoided.
The Natural Law Party proposes a tax floor of $25,500 for a family of four, below which Americans would pay no taxes. While this floor is lower than that proposed by some others, the Natural Law Party believes that most citizens should contribute something to society--to our schools, our roads, and our national security. Most important, however, with our low 10% tax rate, all Americans will pay significantly less tax than they do today.
7. Unleashing America's Potential, op. cit., pp. 11-14.
8. A program designed by Dr. Dean Ornish and used in a number of American hospitals has consistently shown that systematic use of diet, exercise, and meditation, in combination, can clear clogged arteries--promising large savings over the average $20,000-$50,000 cost of angioplasty and bypass surgery (see Journal of the American Medical Association 274:894-901, 1995; Lancet 336:129-133, 1990; and American Journal of Cardiology 69: 845-853, 1992).
In addition, a five-year study of health insurance statistics on over 2,000 persons practicing one of the prevention programs endorsed by the Natural Law Party--the Transcendental Meditation program--found that their doctor visits and hospitalizations were less than half that of other groups of comparable age, sex, and profession. Improvements were observed in all disease categories, including an 87% drop in cardiovascular illness (Psychosomatic Medicine 49:493, 1987). A longitudinal study of 677 health insurance enrollees in Quebec showed that health care utilization declined between 5% and 7% per year after the subjects learned the Transcendental Meditation program (American Journal of Health Promotion 10(3): 208-216, 1995). A recent study on hypertension in elderly African-Americans found that Transcendental Meditation was twice as effective in reducing high blood pressure as progressive muscle relaxation and was comparable to medication (Hypertension 26 (5):820-827, 1995).
9. Drug and alcohol abuse cost America an estimated $166 billion a year. Stress has a negative impact on personal and corporate productivity, and costs U.S. business $150-$200 billion each year. See "Healthy Mind; Healthy Organization--A Pro-active Approach to Occupational Stress," Human Relations 47 (4):455-471, 1994; and United Nations International Labor Organization, "Stress at Work," World Labor Report 6, Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations International Labor Office, 1993.
10. A recent study found a sizable reduction in Okun's Misery Index--defined as the sum of the inflation rate and the unemployment rate--from implementation of the national coherence-creating program proposed by the Natural Law Party (American Statistical Association, Business and Economics Statistics Section, 1987, 799; 1988, 491; 1989, 565).
Economic Model of Savings and Growth from theNatural Law Party:A Proposed United States Government Budget
The Natural Law Party would implement a pro-growth economic policy, with a balanced budget by 1999 and a low flat tax of 10% by 2002. Only the Natural Law Party can cut taxes deeply--and responsibly--while protecting the integrity of our important social programs through the hundreds of billions of dollars saved annually by our cost-effective solutions to crime, spiraling health care costs, and other costly social problems. Simultaneously, by propelling the economy into a growth phase without creating inflation,
our policy will create jobs, reduce unemployment, and strengthen job security.
Adjusted for inflation; in billions of dollars--------------------------
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
NLP Flat Tax: N.A. N.A. 18% 16% 14% 12% 11% 10%
GDP Projections** 7248 7363 7624 7895 8175 8466 8766 9077
Revenues: 1390 1386 1473 1443 1410 1372 1376 1377
Outlays: Discretionary
*National Defense 272 254 242 230 218 207 203 200
*Other Discretionary 282 262 249 237 225 214 210 205
TotalDiscretionary 554 517 491 466 443 421 413 405
Mandatory
SocialSecurity 333 338 344 352 359 365 376 385
*Medicare 177 190 181 172 163 155 150 150
*Medicaid 90 93 89 84 80 76 74 72
Civilian/Military Retire. &Dis.;
75 75 76 77 77 80 81 83
*Other 158 150 143 136 129 123 116 111
Mandatory Subtotal 833 847 833 821 808 798 798 800
Net Interest 240 233 235 231 228 223 222 224
Offsetting Receipts -77 -74 -71 -71 -71 -71 -73 -75
Total Outlays: 1550 1522 1488 1448 1408 1370 1360 1354
Deficit/Surplus -160 -136 -15 -4 2 2 15 23
The NLP flat tax computations follow Hall and Rabushka, The Flat Tax, 2nd ed., Stanford, CA: Hoover Institute, 1995. Baseline data (1995-96) based on Congressional Budget Office projections. This model assumes that 1) capital gains and other income are treated the same, 2) all businesses and individuals are taxed according to the same flat rate, 3) no income above the basic allowance is exempt from the flat tax, 4) basic allowance is $16,500 for married filing jointly; $8,250 for single; $4,500 for dependents, 5) individuals and families below poverty level pay no income taxes, 6) the flat tax would not replace Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, 7) no income would be taxed twice. All data are expressed in constant 1995 dollars.
* Natural Law Party programs applied to reduce costs in these areas. ** NLP programs applied to increase growth to 3.5% per year (inflation adjusted). Historically, 5% economic growth rates without inflation have resulted from major tax cuts (Hall and Rabushka, The Flat Tax, 2nd ed., Stanford, CA: Hoover Institute, 1995).
Natural Law Party Solutions
HEALTH
The Natural Law Party is committed to ensuring a long and healthy life for every American. By bringing life into accord with natural law, the prevention-oriented health programs proposed by the Natural Law Party will significantly reduce disease and promote the health and vitality of all Americans. As our nation's health improves, we can lift the massive burden of health care costs, thus freeing our nation's resources for greater progress and prosperity.
The Problem
Too many Americans suffer from poor health [1]: the U.S. has some of the worst health statistics of all industrialized countries [2]. Yet America has the highest per capita health care costs of any nation.
Why is the U.S. medical system such a cost-effectiveness disaster? The answer is that our health care system is really a "disease-care" system--it focuses on the management of illnesses, rather than on the prevention of disease and the promotion of health. But the vast majority of our national health is influenced by factors over which this disease-based approach has little control--such as nutrition, stress, societal problems, and environmental toxins. Consequently, in the absence of effective prevention, our present disease-care system can never create a truly healthy society.
Recent research shows that 50% of deaths and 70% of disease in America are self-inflicted--caused by an epidemic of unhealthy habits, including improper diet, inadequate exercise, smoking, and alcohol abuse [3]. Thus, the vast majority of disease is preventable [4].
Incredibly, Republicans and Democrats consistently ignore proven prevention-oriented approaches to health, and Medicare specifically bans funding for such preventive services [5].
Following the federal example, most private health insurance companies also refuse to cover prevention. No health care reform bills debated in Congress have focused on improving health; they have dealt only with problems in disease-care financing and delivery, hoping to save money by streamlining and downsizing the system.
Spiraling health care costs have dramatically increased the cost of health insurance, and 35% of U.S. citizens are now inadequately covered or have no medical insurance. Health care expenditures have also placed a heavy burden on American businesses; if employee insurance costs continue to rise, many companies will collapse by the end of the decade.
The Solution
By focusing on the prevention of disease and the promotion of health, the Natural Law Party offers a solution to the health care crisis that is comprehensive, cost-effective, and scientifically proven.
Our health care platform has two aspects.
1. We support health strategies that focus on prevention and strengthen the general health of the nation, thereby shifting our national focus from disease care to health care. These programs include prevention-oriented health education, including strategies to modify unhealthy behaviors, and prevention-oriented natural medicines. These preventive strategies have been shown by extensive research to create healthier citizens and to cut health care costs by 50% to 70%.
2. We support the introduction of financial incentives that will help prevent abuse of the health care system and ensure high-quality care. These incentives include (a) medical savings accounts for Medicare and Medicaid subscribers, which will provide financial rewards for good health [6]; and (b) vouchers enabling Medicare and Medicaid subscribers to choose any insurance plan or health care provider they desire, thereby promoting competitive costs and quality of care among medical providers. Such financial incentives will reduce demands for unnecessary care and prevent overuse of the health care system by giving greater financial control and responsibility to individual subscribers.
Through our two-pronged approach of preventive health care and financial incentives, we can rescue Medicare and Medicaid from bankruptcy, save the nation approximately $500 billion a year in health care costs, and prevent untold pain and suffering.
To structure meaningful health-benefits options for all Americans without disastrously increasing the federal budget deficit, we must responsibly decrease health care outlays per person--a particular challenge as the population ages. The most effective and humane way to achieve this goal is to prevent disease in the first place by strengthening the human immune system and eliminating the imbalances that ultimately cause disease.
The prevention programs supported by the Natural Law Party incorporate the most up-to-date knowledge of nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction, as well as use of natural herbal preparations, natural dietary supplements, and alternative medical treatment modalities. Americans favor such approaches. There are now more visits to alternative medicine practitioners than to conventional doctors [7]. Research has consistently shown that the prevention programs endorsed by the Natural Law Party significantly reduce the need for conventional medical treatment by empowering individuals to take better care of their own health [8].
Our national health care debate has degenerated into an argument over "who should pay for whose disease," with little attention given to preventing disease and improving health. Funding for proven prevention services has been denied to Americans, largely because the lobbying influence of over 1000 medical PACs (political action committees) has shaped legislation and preserved the status quo [9].
The Natural Law Party, which does not accept PAC contributions, is committed to changing this unethical and inhumane situation. During the past four years, Dr. John Hagelin and Dr. Mike Tompkins, 1996 Natural Law Party candidates for President and Vice-President, have worked closely with the U.S. Congress to introduce wording into health care bills in both the House and the Senate that would provide coverage for any scientifically verified, cost-effective, proven preventive program. This proposal has such commonsense appeal that it has gained the support of conservative and liberal members of Congress alike.
The Natural Law Party's approach to health care provides a unifying influence in the political debate by transcending surface bickering over money and solving the health crisis at its basis--by improving the health of Americans. The enormous savings generated by the Natural Law Party's prevention-oriented programs, coupled with the financial incentives created by medical vouchers and savings accounts, will allow the government to realistically extend high-quality health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans.
The programs of preventive health education advocated by the Natural Law Party are also unique in raising health care to a new level: development of the full potential of every citizen and reduction of individual and societal stress by promoting life in accord with natural law. This approach goes beyond "behavioral modifications" such as smoking cessation, which have low compliance and cannot be enforced in a free society. Research shows that stress is responsible for the persistence of life-damaging habits despite overwhelming medical evidence and governmental warnings. By neutralizing individual and social stress, the Natural Law Party can improve the effectiveness of such behavioral-modification programs by significantly enhancing compliance. In this way we can achieve a lasting social transformation toward more life-supporting, health-promoting behavior among our citizens.
The Natural Law Party is unique in offering high-quality health care for all, while providing a net cost savings for the nation.
Notes
1. The "miracles" of modern medicine have been much less effective in producing health than most Americans have assumed, according to mortality and morbidity rates in the United States (see International Journal of Health Sciences 19(2):181-208, 1989). To date, 43 million Americans suffer from high blood pressure; 7 million are afflicted with heart disease; over 75,000 will die of AIDS; almost 400,000 will die this year of smoking-related disease; and an estimated 23 million suffer from cognitive, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
2. The U.S. has the fifth highest infant mortality rate and the highest low-birthweight among the 23 industrial nations belonging to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The U.S. also ranks very low among OECD nations for life expectancy at birth--20th for males and 18th for females (Health Affairs, Fall: 100-112, 1994).
3. See Journal of the American Medical Association, 270: 2207-2212, 1993; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives, DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 91-50212, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1991; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2000: Midcourse Review and 1995 Revisions, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1995.
4. Nearly 47% of premature deaths among Americans could have been avoided by changes in individual behaviors and another 17% by reducing environmental risks, according to a 1994 assessment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In contrast, the study suggested that only 11% of premature deaths could have been prevented by improved access to medical treatment. (See CDC, Ten Leading Causes of Death in the United States, Update, Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994).
5. Only 1% of our health sector budget is used to avoid disease, while 99% is spent to treat illness after it occurs. Astonishingly, the federal government also subsidizes unhealthy influences on our nation. For example, even though tobacco use is known to cause 400,000 deaths per year, including 3,000 from passive smoking, the U.S. government subsidizes the tobacco industry. Our government also provides funding for genetic engineering and supports the nonlabeling of genetically engineered foods--despite the potentially serious health risks of such foods and the absence of research on long-term environmental effects (see our "Agriculture" section). Furthermore, the current Congress cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 27% in 1995, despite the link between industrial pollution and disease suggested by the rising incidence of cancer in American and other industrialized nations.
6. This health care option would be available to Medicare and Medicaid subscribers under a voucher system. Medical savings accounts establish an annual sum to cover subscriber health care costs; any unused portion of the account is paid directly to the subscriber each year. These accounts thus encourage savings and discourage unnecessary use of the health care system. However, this health care option also provides for catastrophic coverage at rates similar to traditional insurance plans in order to protect subscribers facing unexpected health care costs.
7. New England Journal of Medicine 328:246-252, 1993.
8. Real preventive health care averts disease before it arises--and recent studies indicate that specific programs of behavioral prevention produce large cost savings.
* A 10-year study by the University of Michigan at Steelcase Corporation reported that systematic programs of diet, exercise, and stress reduction, when targeted for subjects in high-health-risk categories, reduce total health care costs by 46% (see Medical Tribune 14, February 10, 1994).
* A program designed by Dr. Dean Ornish and used in a number of American hospitals has consistently shown that systematic use of diet, exercise, and meditation in combination can clear clogged arteries--promising large savings over the average $20,000-$50,000 cost of angioplasty and bypass surgery (see Journal of the American Medical Association 274:894-901, 1995; Lancet 336:129-133, 1990; and American Journal of Cardiology 69: 845-853, 1992).
* Research on the Transcendental Meditation program has consistently demonstrated both cross sectional and longitudinal health benefits. A five-year study of 2000 subjects has shown that people who practice TM have health care utilization more than 50% lower than matched control groups. The reductions were greatest in the oldest age group (averaging 67% lower) and in high cost areas (the TM group needed 76% less surgery and suffered 87% less heart disease) (Psychosomatic Medicine 49: 493-505, 1987). A recent study on hypertension in elderly African Americans found that Transcendental Meditation was twice as effective in reducing high blood pressure as progressive muscle relaxation and about equally as effective as medication, but without harmful side effects (Hypertension 26 (5):820-827, 1995). A further study found that Transcendental Meditation was more cost-effective in the treatment of hypertension than any of five classes of hypertensive drugs studied (American Journal of Managed Care 2(4): 427-437, 1996). And a longitudinal study of 677 health insurance enrollees in Quebec showed that health care utilization declined between 5% and 7% per year after the subjects learned the Transcendental Meditation program (American Journal of Health Promotion 10(3): 208-216, 1996).
9. The American Medical Association political action committee, known as AMPAC, is one of the largest medical PACs. For a discussion of its insidious influence on legislation, see Starr, P., The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry, New York: Basic Books, 1984 (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction); Wolinksy, H., and Brune, T., The Serpent on the Staff: The Unhealthy Politics of the American Medical Association, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1994; and Harmer, R.M., American Medical Avarice, New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1975.
Natural Law Party Solutions
EDUCATION
THE SOLUTION TO ALL OUR NATIONAL problems lies in proper education. The Natural Law Party advocates scientifically proven educational programs that can unfold the full creative potential of every student and produce ideal citizens capable of fulfilling their highest aspirations while contributing maximum to the progress of society. By harnessing America's greatest resource--the unlimited creativity of our 260 million citizens--the Natural Law Party can bring fulfillment to education and ensure America's competitiveness and continuing leadership in the family of nations.
THE PROBLEM
Education in America is not working. Even though the United States spends more money per student than any other country, our students still rank far behind most of their international peers in math and science--and well behind U.S. test scores of 20 years ago. Twenty-eight percent of our high school students drop out--the highest rate of any industrialized nation--and those who graduate are often ill prepared to enter the work force
[1].
Drug and alcohol abuse continues to undermine our nation's students and
rob them of their self esteem and self-sufficiency [2]. Moreover, juvenile
violent crime has increased markedly during the past decade, especially
gang and school violence using guns [3].
America's problems are human problems--crime, drug abuse, domestic violence, and declining health. Only through the full development of our human resource can we rise above the reach of problems. Yet research has shown that students graduating from our current educational system use at most 5-10% of their full mental potential [4]. A new and effective approach to education is clearly needed.
THE SOLUTION
Education is for enlightenment--the full development of mind, body, and behavior. The Natural Law Party promotes proven educational programs that directly increase intelligence and creativity and simultaneously improve moral reasoning, self-esteem, and mental and physical health and well-being. These programs include sound educational approaches to nutrition [5], natural, preventive health measures [6], effective drug prevention programs [7], and innovative curriculum development [8].
While focusing on dissemination of knowledge, current approaches to education ignore the most fundamental component of learning--the consciousness or intelligence of the student, which is the basis of gaining knowledge. Today's educational approaches provide no knowledge of consciousness and no scientifically proven technology to develop it. This fundamental failure is the ultimate source of the problems afflicting education today. Even current proposals to improve education most often focus on information technologies, such as computer access to the Internet, that offer larger and larger volumes of data. However, without an educational approach that can develop more than 5-10% of a student's full potential, no amount of information will ever produce truly educated, ideal citizens.
The consciousness-based approach to education advocated by the Natural Law Party develops full human potential while providing mastery of the technical skills necessary to compete in today's society. This approach combines the most advanced and successful curriculum innovations with the most thoroughly researched educational program to develop the full potential of consciousness -the Transcendental Meditation program [9]. This integrated approach to education develops knowledgeable, highly creative citizens who can fulfill their own goals while simultaneously promoting the interests of society.
The Natural Law Party proposes to upgrade the U.S. Department of Education to a Department of Educational Excellence, which would charter several federally funded model schools in which educational innovations of all kinds could be implemented and researched. Based on the success of these programs, parents and educators across the country could choose the ones they felt would be most appropriate and effective in their neighborhoods. Rather than dictate educational curricula at the local level, the Federal Government could thereby play a crucial research and leadership role in improving educational outcomes across the nation.
The Natural Law Party also supports federally funded vouchers to increase parental options for school choice and to foster competition among schools. These vouchers could be used to pay for any school of the parents' choice--public, private, or parochial--provided that the school maintains high academic performance on standardized national tests. The free-market competition that this voucher system will engender will help reverse declining educational outcomes in America.
The Natural Law Party also supports the following initiatives:
* Fully fund the Head Start program, to give all eligible children an opportunity to excel from an early age.
* Provide financial support for every student who wants to go to college. The Natural Law Party does not support the scaling back of Pell grants and student loans for higher education. Government loans should be repaid after graduation--if necessary through mandatory salary deductions or community service.
* Establish higher national standards and the practical means to achieve them. Other parties have called for higher standards but have offered no effective strategies to accomplish this goal.
* Lengthen the school year and increase the number of required subjects in high schools, as recommended by the 1984 National Commission on Excellence in Education.
* Establish ties with teachers' organizations, schools, and community interest groups to develop policies and programs that upgrade the status and skills of teachers.
* Add computer support to the National Literacy Act of 1991, to provide research and help implement computer-aided instruction, including Internet instruction, in literacy programs.
* Increase the nutritional value of school lunches--a simple but essential change that has been shown to improve educational outcomes in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
* Establish community centers of knowledge where parents can receive the latest understanding of health and nutrition for their children.
* Create national apprenticeship programs by bringing together business, labor, and educational leaders to develop a system that offers training in a valuable skill for students who are not college-bound.
Most of the educational programs promoted by the Natural Law Party have been successfully applied in diverse educational settings worldwide and have therefore been the subject of extensive scientific research. The results of such programs include the significantly improved educational outcomes mentioned above--increased intelligence, creativity, motivation, academic performance, moral reasoning, psychological maturity, and social responsibility--as well as a higher quality of life among students and faculty.
NOTES
1. The U.S. spends over $270 billion per year on public and elementary education, and expenditures per pupil, adjusted for inflation, have increased more than 25% over the past ten years. Yet America is falling behind in the knowledge race. Recent National Educational Goals Panel statistics (see U.S News and World Report, April 1, 1996) included the following:
* Among U.S. high school seniors, 60% could not meet suggested national educational standards; 76% spend less than five hours per week on homework, compared with 35% of seniors in Japan
* U.S. high school students spend less than half as much class time studying math, history and science as do students in Japan, France, and Germany
* Only 4.4% of U.S. students pass advanced placement exams, compared to 33% in France, Germany , Israel, and Japan
* A comparison of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Scotland, Canada, and the U.S. found that the U.S. has the shortest school year--62 days shorter than Japan's
2. A 1994 survey found that at least one third of all school children have used an illicit drug other than marijuana or alcohol before graduation from high school. Furthermore, it is estimated that one out of four American high school students has a serious drinking problem.
3. According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice, murder arrests among 10- to 17-year olds have doubled since 1983, and the actual murder rate among 14- to 17-year-olds has risen 165% since 1984. Crimes in and around American public schools have increased significantly; well over 100,000 students now carry a gun to school. A recent U.S. Justice Department found that juvenile arrests for gun charges have doubled since 1985, and gunshot wounds have become the second leading cause of death among high school students.
4. Developmental psychologists have outlined specific, natural stages of psychological growth in children. The final stage, termed "formal operations" by Piaget, is associated with adolescence and represents the level of mental functioning in which abstract thinking becomes stabilized. Due to the inadequacies of our educational system, the majority of our students never achieve this stage of normal adolescent mental development across cognitive domains--let alone their full potential. (For a more comprehensive treatment of this topic, see Alexander, Charles N., and Langer, Ellen J. (eds.), Higher Stages of Human Development: Perspectives on Adult Growth, New York: Oxford, 1990.)
5. A series of recent studies has found a correlation between nutrition and academic performance (Personality and Individual Differences, 4:343 &;361, 1991). These studies found that in several hundred schools in New York, there was a 16% gain in academic performance resulting from improved nutrition. The study suggested that many students experience malnutrition, too slight for clinical signs, but which nevertheless affected their intelligence and academic performance. This impairment can be corrected through improved nutrition.
6. These prevention-oriented health care programs include Maharishi Ayur-Veda--a natural system of health care that promotes balance in mind, body, and behavior and that has been shown to significantly reduce medical utilization by producing better health in its practitioners. These programs strengthen mind and body and reduce anxiety, thereby enhancing receptivity and the capacity for learning.
7. Research confirms a marked improvement in student health and a reduction in drug abuse, alcohol use, and cigarette use through programs proposed by the Natural Law Party (Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11 (1/2,3/4), 1994; International Journal of Addictions 12:729, 1977; Bulletin on Narcotics 40:50, 1988; Journal of Addictions 14:147, 1981; 26:293, 1991; American Journal of Psychiatry 131:60, 1974).
8. In the U.S., model institutions incorporating educational programs endorsed by the Natural Law Party include Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, and its award-winning laboratory school from preschool to 12th grade. In addition to a strong traditional academic program, students at these institutions gain an integrated vision of all aspects of life through their study and experience of the laws of nature, which structure and uphold growth and progress in their own lives and on all levels of the environment. Such an approach to education develops student awareness of and curiosity about the deeper functioning of nature's intelligence.
9. Extensive scientific research on one program endorsed by the Natural Law Party--the Transcendental Meditation program--has consistently demonstrated its capacity to unfold student potential and thereby fulfill the highest goals of education:
For decades, IQ was thought to be static, a measured quantity that was fixed after a certain age. However, research indicates that the practice of Transcendental Meditation significantly increases IQ (Educational Technology 19:7, 1979; Personality and Individual Differences 12:1105, 1991; College Student Journal 15:140, 1981; Perceptual and Motor Skills 62:731, 1986).
Other scientific studies have shown that practice of Transcendental Meditation increases learning ability, improves memory, and enhances orderliness of brain functioning (Memory and Cognition 10:205, 1982; International Journal of Neuroscience 14:147, 1981; Psychosomatic Medicine 46 (3):267, 1984); reduces stress and exam anxiety (Journal of Clinical Psychology 45:957, 1989); stimulates ego development, motivation, and moral reasoning (Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6:189, 1991; Journal of Moral Education 12:166, 1983); and results in significant improvements in analytic intelligence, self-concept, and general school performance among inner city youths ("Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program with Low-Income Inner-City Children," presented at the 98th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Boston, Massachusetts, August 1990).
Natural Law Party Solutions
CRIME AND REHABILITATION
THE NATURAL LAW PARTY envisions an America free of crime, where all citizens live fully in accord with both natural law and national law; where people freely move on the streets without fear; and where Americans live and work together harmoniously for both their own fulfillment and the national good.
The Problem
Crime costs Americans $450 billion annually [1]. Despite two decades of "get tough" policies- with longer, often mandatory prison sentences--the rate of violent crime in America has risen almost 30% in the last ten years [2]. Of gravest concern, juvenile violent crime has spiraled during the past decade--especially urban gang and school violence using guns [3]. The FBI's most recent crime report concluded that "every American has a realistic chance of being murdered because of the random nature [that] crime has assumed."
America's criminal justice system is under constant strain. Courts, police, probation and parole agencies, and prisons are overworked and inadequate to deal with the high level of crime [4].
Clearly, a "get-tough" policy is not enough. Effective crime prevention is also crucial. Yet despite the dismal track record of "get-tough" approaches, Republican and Democratic legislators ignore proven preventive strategies and press for more police, more prisons, and stiffer punishment. Consider the following:
* Building more prisons has not worked. The U.S. already has 1.3 million citizens in jail--the highest percentage of any country in the world [5]. Incarceration acts like a quarantine, preventing a faster acceleration of crime, but fails to eradicate the source of the crime epidemic. California, for example, spent $3.8 billion on prison construction from 1980 to 1992 and quadrupled its prison population, yet violent crimes continued to rise [6].
* The threat of punishment is not enough. Most violent crime is "an impulsive response to an immediate stressful situation," often committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol--not a rational, considered action [7].
* Many experts feel that prisons train inmates to be better criminals [8]. Most violent crime is committed by hard-core repeat offenders: the majority of all prisoners commit new crimes and are arrested within three years of release.
* More police on the street does not lower crime. Published reports indicate that increased police patrols in major U.S. cities have had little effect on crime rates [9]. Washington, D.C., for example, has the highest police/population ratio in the nation--and one of the highest violent crime rates. The new $25 billion crime bill designed to deploy 100,000 more police represents merely a drop in the bucket and is hardly cost-effective.
Increasing recognition of the need for prevention has led to experimental approaches such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) and midnight basketball. Unfortunately, long-term scientific studies have found no significant effects on crime and drug abuse from such programs [10].
The Solution
The Natural Law Party believes that these "bandaid" approaches do not work because they fail to address the root cause of crime--the epidemic of stress throughout society. During the past two decades, medical science has documented the alarming rise of stress-related illness such as hypertension, stroke, and heart disease. This same build-up of stress is responsible for a similar rise in social illnesses--crime, drug abuse, domestic violence, and family disintegration.
Current crime prevention programs overlook the psychological and physiological devastation wrought by constant, traumatic stress. Stress causes a complex psychophysiological chain reaction that makes the nervous system hyperexcited and unstable [11]. Chronic, acute stress leads to serious physiological malfunction. Among other effects, the body's neurochemical balance is distorted, producing abnormally high levels of cortisol (a primary stress hormone) and low levels of serotonin (a key neurotransmitter) [12]. This out-of-balance biochemistry has been linked with anxiety, fear, anger, impulsive violent behavior, and substance abuse [13].
Moreover, the combined stress of all the individuals in society builds up and creates a dangerous, criminal atmosphere in the whole community. This societal stress and tension becomes a breeding ground for more crime and violence. Thus, to reduce crime, stress must be reduced in at-risk individuals and throughout society.
Reducing social stress--In addition to a tough penal code as a deterrent to crime, the Natural Law Party offers systematic, scientifically proven programs to reduce stress in the individual and throughout society--thus eliminating the root cause of crime. At least one such program, the Transcendental Meditation program, has been scientifically shown to (1) reduce individual and social stress; (2) reduce cortisol and increase serotonin production in the body, thus counteracting the neurochemical imbalances produced by stress; and (3) decrease anxiety, hostility, and anger, and improve psychological development and moral reasoning [14].
Forty-three published scientific studies have shown that large groups practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program in one location reduce social stress and violence. These studies, which have investigated the impact of such groups on communities, cities, and entire nations, have consistently found decreases in crime, war deaths, and other negative social indicators, as well as improvements in economy and national mood [15]. This innovative approach offers a highly cost effective, scientifically proven strategy to eliminate the fundamental cause of crime through reducing individual and societal stress.
Effective prison rehabilitation--The most cost-effective prevention strategy is to target those individuals who are at highest risk for crime--the current prison inmate population, 90% of whom will be released from prison. A five-year Harvard study investigated the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique in a maximum security prison. Inmates who learned the practice decreased significantly in stress, aggression, and mental disorders. Violence throughout the prison decreased, and the rate of return to prison among participating inmates was 30-35% less than for four other treatment groups [16]. Similar studies in 28 other maximum security prisons have shown equally impressive results [17]. (Current rehabilitation strategies put the cart before the horse. They try to reeducate and reform inmates without first changing inmates from within by ridding them of the stress that makes them uninterested in education or incapable of being reformed [18].)
Community policing--In New York City, a new initiative called computer-assisted community policing has been credited with reducing crime by 40% during the last two years. In this approach, police are assigned to high-crime neighborhoods identified by computer tracking, work closely with these neighborhoods, and are rewarded for preventing crime. According to statistics from the New York Police Department, murder in New York City dropped 31% during the first half of 1995 compared to the first six months of 1994, with similar reductions in other categories of violent crime. This striking improvement led one journalist to refer to New York as "the suddenly safer city" [19].
Urban revitalization--Our overcrowded, decaying urban centers obviously contribute to the rise of stress and crime. Any program to reduce crime must involve a comprehensive plan to revitalize the inner cities, as laid out in our "Revitalizing Our Inner Cities" section.
Drug and alcohol rehabilitation--A high proportion of crimes are committed under the influence of alcohol and drugs. A recent study of crime in New York City found that tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse cost the city's taxpayers and corporations $20 billion in 1994--21 cents of every tax dollar [20]. The Natural Law Party would introduce programs proven to reduce drug dependency, eliminate stress, and promote mental and physical health [21].
Preventing youth crime--School drop-outs are at highest risk for crime and drug abuse. The Natural Law Party strongly supports more effective educational programs to keep children in school, off the streets, and out of the reach of crime. Our proven educational programs unfold greater creativity and intelligence and develop ideal citizenship by raising life to be in accord with natural law and national law (see our "Education" section). The Natural Law Party's strong educational focus is the true, long-term solution to the pervasive problem of crime.
The Natural Law Party is the only political party with a truly comprehensive, scientifically proven strategy to reduce crime. Our approach is the most hard-headed and hard-hitting, since it focuses on scientifically proven programs that work. Our prevention-oriented approach will save the nation hundreds of billions of dollars and prevent immeasurable anguish and suffering in the lives of millions of Americans who are victims of crime each year.
Notes
1. See Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look, a comprehensive survey just published by the National Institute of Justice (the research branch of the Justice Department). This report is the first to include cost estimates for reduced qualify of life for victims. The report excludes the $40 billion cost of running America's prisons, jails, and parole and problation systems--which would bring the total annual cost of crime to almost $500 billion.
2. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States 1994, Uniform Crime Reports, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1995, p. 58.
3. According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice (1995), the murder rate among 14- to 17 year-olds increased 165% during the last ten years, and the number of arrests for violent crime among 10- to 17-year-olds doubled. In addition, according to USA Today (November 13, 1995, p. 1A), the number of teenage arrests on weapons charges has doubled since 1985.
4. America leads the industrialized world in murders--almost four times the annual U.S. casualty rate during the Vietnam War (see Wilson, J., Commentary, September 1994, p. 25). The most recent FBI annual crime statistics for the U.S. reported 23,300 murders, 102,000 forcible rapes, 618,000 robberies, 1,120,000 aggravated assaults, and 2,712,000 burglaries. (See Federal Bureau of Investigation, op. cit.)
5. Moreover, U.S. Department of Justice figures (press release, August 27, 1995) indicate that 5.1 million Americans are under some form of correctional supervision--prison, jail, parole, or probation. Bob Dole's recent proposal to eliminate parole would raise the number of citizens in jail by almost 60%.
6. See Petersilia, J., "Crime and Punishment in California: Full Cells, Empty Pockets, and Questionable Benefits," CPS Brief, Berkeley, CA: California Policy Seminars, May 1993. The high cost of incarceration also argues against more prisons. In 1995, the average annual cost per maximum-security inmate in America was $35,000 (Directory of Juvenile and Adult Correctional Depts., Institutions, and Paroling Authorities 1995, Laurel, MD: American Correctional Association, 1995), and the projected costs of "three strikes and you're out" legislation are so staggering ($5.5 billion annually in California) that few states will ever implement them. See Greenwood, P., et al., "Three Strikes and You're Out: Estimated Benefits and Costs of California's New Mandatory Sentencing Law," Santa Monica: RAND, 1994.
7. Petersilia, op. cit., p. 9.
8. Petersilia, op. cit., p. 10; Sampson, R., and Laub, C., Crime in the Making, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993, p. 255.
9. The Newark Foot Patrol Experiment, 1981; The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment: A Summary Report, Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 1974. See also Wilson, James Q., "What to Do About Crime," Commentary, 1994, pp. 215-234.
10. Social Problems 41(3):448-472, 1994.
11. Sapolsky, R., Stress, the Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992.
12. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11:89-117, 1994.
13. Archives of General Psychiatry 49:436-441, 1992; Archives of General Psychiatry 49:429 435, 1992; Life Sciences 33:2609-2614, 1983.
14. Journal of Clinical Psychology 45: 957-974, 1989; Society of Neuroscience Abstracts 18:1541, 1992; Journal of Neural Transmission 39:257-267, 1976; Criminal Justice and Behavior 5:3-20, 1978; and Dissertation Abstracts International, 51:5048, 1991.
15. The most recent of these studies, a National Demonstration Project conducted in Washington, D.C., from June 7 to July 30, 1993, tested the efficacy of groups of experts in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program for reducing crime and social stress and improving the effectiveness of government. By the end of the Project, when the group was largest, actual crime as measured by FBI Uniform Crime Statistics decreased sharply below the level predicted without the coherence-creating group. The approximately 20% decrease in crime was highly statistically significant (p = .00008). (See Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, Fairfield, Iowa, Technical Report ITR-94:1, 1994.)
16. Dissertation Abstracts International 43:539b, 1982.
17. The Transcendental Meditation technique has been successfully used in 28 rehabilitation programs in 15 U.S. states. Studies have shown that the Transcendental Meditation technique is more effective in reducing recidivism than other prison rehabilitation programs (Journal of Criminal Justice 15:211, 1987; International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 11:111, 1987; Dissertation Abstracts International 43:539b, 1982). In 1987-1988, the African nation of Senegal applied this rehabilitation strategy nationwide. Over 11,000 Senegalese prisoners and over 900 prison officers were instructed in the TM technique. Recidivism dropped dramatically, the prison population halved, prison violence declined, and several prisons closed while many others operated at well below capacity. See New Horizons in Criminology and Penitentiary Science: The Maharishi Unified Field Based Integrated System of Rehabilitation in Senagalese Prisons, Dacca: 12-13 February 1988.
18. For a fuller discussion of this approach to rehabilitation and crime prevention, see Marcus, Jay B., The Crime Vaccine, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Claitor's Books, 1996.
19. Horowitz, C., "The Suddenly Safer City," New York Magazine, August 14, 1995.
20. See Califano, Joseph A., Substance Abuse in Urban America: Its Impact on an American City, New York, Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Cornell University, February 1996.
21. A recent meta-analysis of programs used in the treatment of substance abuse found that those endorsed by the Natural Law Party were highly effective in decreasing the use of alcohol, cigarettes, and a wide variety of nonprescribed drugs (Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11(1/2): 13 87, 1994).
Natural Law Party Solutions
AGRICULTURE
The Natural Law Party ENVISIONS a time when American farmers will farm in full accord with the laws of nature, fully utilizing nature's creativity to yield abundant, healthy food, while protecting the environment and ensuring a vigorous, diversified, sustainable agricultural economy.
THE PROBLEM
The future of agriculture depends on its sustainability--that is, the ability of agricultural policies and practices to preserve and strengthen the farming economy, ecology, and community for future generations.
The recently passed Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (FAIR) has been heralded as a major change of direction for U.S. agriculture. But it has left many wondering whether crucial, fundamental changes have really been made in agricultural policy, and whether FAIR is fair--especially for small family farms and for the environment. FAIR does not go far enough to ensure agricultural practices that are sustainable--financially, environmentally, and socially.
1. Financially unsustainable
* Recent projections of increasing international demand for food, coupled with rapidly shrinking global food reserves, suggest that consumers will pay even more for food in the future and that poor countries will receive less U.S. food aid. The 1995 market prices of wheat, corn, and other grains reached near record highs in many cases, and international food reserves have dropped to their lowest level since 1960. Global grain consumption has outdistanced production in seven of the past nine years--a trend that will be further fueled by China's recent transition from a grain exporter to the world's second largest grain importer. Despite these realities, current U.S. farm programs restrict America's agricultural production (for example, 36 million acres have been taken out of production) while encouraging competitors to plant more [1,2].
* In 1994, the federal government spent $10.3 billion on subsidies to farmers [3]. The new farm subsidy program of FAIR, although formalizing the phasing out of government subidies over the next seven years, continues to favor the nation's largest farms.
* From 1988 to 1993, even the most economically profitable farms averaged only a 3-5% return on stockholder equity; food manufacturers, on the other hand, averaged 16.5% [4]. Clearly, farmers receive little of the "value-added" profit accruing to food manufacturers that process farm goods for the market. Farmers--especially those working small family farms--and their surrounding communities cannot survive without diversification of farm activities that keeps more of these profits close to home.
2. Environmentally unsustainable
* Conventional agriculture erodes and degrades soil [5]; it requires large-scale use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that pollute groundwater and are unhealthy for consumers and farmers. Annual pesticide use per acre on certain major crops nearly doubled from 1964 to 1992, to a total of 574 million pounds [6]. These agrichemicals pose real threats to water quality, wildlife, and human health. Recent scientific research indicates that common pesticides are estrogen mimicking and implicates them in the high incidence of breast cancer
and prostate cancer in America and in the striking decline in male sperm count. Yet FAIR continues to support chemically intensive cropping practices.
* In an attempt to protect the environment, the U.S. government last year paid farmers $1.7 billion to set aside environmentally sensitive land [7]. These programs are inadequate, however, since they indirectly encourage farmers to maximize production on remaining land through large scale use of chemical pesticides to combat weeds and insects--thus promoting environmental degradation.
* Federal agencies have decided that a few genetically engineered plant and animal products (such as recombinant bovine growth hormone--rBGH--which boosts milk production) are safe and may be commercialized, despite the concerns of some scientists. Virtually all European nations have banned rBGH and other hormone treatment in livestock, but in the U.S. it is standard practice to inject female hormones into poultry and male hormones into beef to ensure maximum weight (and thus maximum profit) at sale. Many products similar to rBGH are under review. In addition, many foods that have been genetically engineered with pig, virus, or bacteria genes are already being sold in supermarkets. Yet these genetically altered foods are not labeled as such--nor do federal agencies intend to label them.
* Some leading scientists believe that alteration of DNA--the most fundamental level of plant and animal physiology--is likely to have profound negative impacts on the environment and human life [8]. For example, altered genes from cultivated food crops may be released to wild relatives, thus compromising the "gene pool" upon which breeders of domestic crops must draw to enhance resistance to pests and disease. Unlike other products, a genetically engineered organism that has been released into the environment can never be recalled. Alarmingly, even organizations that support sustainable agriculture are now embracing genetically engineered seeds as a means to improve crop yields and increase profitability.
* The explosion of factory hog farms, cattle feedlots, and poultry operations during the last few years has increased livestock concentrations, confinement housing, and separation of animals from their natural environments. As a result, these animals are more prone to disease; therefore, they need more antibiotics; and consequently, their wastes become a health hazard instead of a natural aid to soil fertility.
* In addition, to ensure maximum weight gain in their livestock, farmers commonly inject antibiotics into healthy animals. Many scientists suspect that this practice helps create bacteria and viruses that are resistant or immune to antibiotics. Since antibiotic-resistant germs have become a major health problem in America, this practice should be stopped immediately.
3. Socially unsustainable
* Experts feel that conventional agriculture has led to "decaying communities [in] rural America that continue to lose population, business, and even their reason to exist as farms consolidate into larger units and farm families leave" [9]. Small towns are a reservoir of enterprise and traditional values that Americans cherish, and they should not be lost.
* Corporate-owned factory hog farms, cattle feedlots, and poultry operations, as well as the corporations that supply them, are becoming increasingly vertically integrated, pushing family farms and rural agribusinesses out of business and reducing farmers to corporate laborers.
* The challenges of farming today are making new demands on farmers and their families. The farmer must take into account many complex factors in making production decisions, including the weather, quality of the soil, threat of pests, available financial resources, and changing agricultural markets. Economic pressures cause stress, which affects health and well being. Research has found that farmers are also at high risk from exposure to chemical pesticides [10].
THE SOLUTION
Agriculture is more than a business; it is a way of life. The food produced by farmers is basic to our health and national security, and farmland itself is an irreplaceable resource vital to sustenance of life. Therefore, government must help ensure the long-term viability of agriculture.
The Natural Law Party supports legislation that will ensure social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture while balancing the following goals: (1) promoting health and longevity in farmers and in the population as a whole; (2) protecting natural resources and the environment; (3) enabling farmers to better pursue financial profitability; (4) cushioning farmers from the natural and financial instability unique to agriculture; (5) ensuring an economical and healthful supply of high-quality food for consumers; and (6) restoring the vitality of rural communities.
The Natural Law Party has identified solutions to the problems faced by U.S. agriculture:
1. Given the far-reaching ecological and health impacts of genetic engineering, a moratorium should be imposed on the release of genetically engineered organisms until the safety of such organisms can be firmly established. In addition, to protect the public's right to know, labeling of genetically engineered foods should be mandatory.
2. Farm policies should be redirected to expand opportunities for new and existing farmers to prosper using sustainable systems that will enhance the health of the farmers and the population as a whole. Training and apprenticeship programs, loans, grants, and other incentives should be devised to assist conventional and entry-level farmers to adopt organic or more sustainable systems. Demonstration farms, farmer-to-farmer networks and field tours, and studies of successful alternative farming systems should be used to hasten the adoption of more sustainable practices.
3. Many policy makers and farm leaders favor subsidy programs keyed to the income of the farmer, rather than the price of the crop--programs that reward, rather than penalize, resource conserving, nonpolluting practices. For example, "revenue assurance" programs, "decoupled" from commodity prices and production levels, would guarantee adequate farm incomes while reducing total program costs and minimizing the impact of government programs on commodity prices [11]. Farmers would gain more flexibility to choose what to plant, where, and when. They will be freer to rotate crops and adopt other techniques that better conserve soil and water. Transitional subsidy programs of this type will help transfer financial and administrative responsibility to the private sector (e.g., the insurance industry) as soon as possible.
4. The U.S. should change its policy focus from "cheap food for the consumer" to "quality food for the consumer on a sustainable basis." Through research and education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is in a unique position to influence (a) practices of farmers and the food-production industry, and (b) the food choices and demands of consumers:
(a) Field-tested techniques supported by scientific research, such as integrated pest management, integrated crop management, and organic farming, already exist for farming profitably on a chemical-free, sustainable basis [12]. On this basis, agrichemical use could be reduced 50% by the year 2000. The USDA should initiate and fund research into further development of alternative and chemical-free sustainable agricultural practices, with an emphasis on the development of systems and technologies that can be integrated economically and completely into all agricultural production. In addition, economists have developed accounting techniques that incorporate the costs of pollution and natural-resource depletion into agriculture's balance sheet [13]. Government legislation should make it a priority to disseminate these practices and techniques to the entire food production industry, showing farmers, producers, and consumers that sustainable food production practices are more cost-effective in the long run.
(b) Consumer demand drives agricultural supply. Changes in consumer preferences will create a shift toward less resource-intensive food production and a healthier food suppl y. The USDA should initiate and fund research investigating the impact of dietary change on health and longevity, and then launch campaigns to educate the public. For example, government should fund vigorous programs to inform consumers that chemical-free food is possible now, at a reasonable price. Moreover, scientists have recently concluded that substantial public health and environmental benefits would likely result from more widespread use of vegetables, fruit, and plant-based protein in the diet [14]. The government should educate the public about the health and environmental value of these foods in the diet.
Land-grant universities and extension services should also take the initiative to develop and disseminate sustainable agricultural practices and healthier dietary approaches.
5. Farm communities should seek new ways to keep "value-added" processes and profits as close as possible to the farm. Public policy should promote cooperative development of local processing facilities and diversification into the production of higher-value, specialized crops--including chemical-free production.
6. Family-sized farms should be protected and strengthened through more programs such as FAIR's Fund for Rural America, which supports value-added incentives, assistance for minority and beginning farmers, and other initiatives to empower farmers and rural communities to work towards revitalizing rural life. Even removing farm payment loopholes for large corporate agribusinesses would favor the viability of family-sized farms. Programs such as the Fund for Rural America should be given high priority and full funding.
7. For the above recommendations to be successful, however, it is necessary--for the individual farmer and society as a whole--to develop consciousness and gain more support of natural law. The Natural Law Party therefore recommends educational programs to develop the consciousness of the farmer and thereby reduce stress, improve the farmer's health and well-being, and promote the skills to meet new management challenges. Such programs will enable farmers to spontaneously make better decisions and better use of the environment, and will bring them greater support of natural law in all their activities [15]. Similarly, the reduction of stress in the collective consciousness of society [16], combined with the Natural Law Party's focus on education, will influence consumer choices toward higher-quality food, better health, and more life-enriching behavior--life in accord with natural law [17]. These programs will help ensure that the natural resources upon which agriculture depends will be available far into the future.
NOTES
1. "Grain Prices Head Higher," Business Week, November 20, 1995, p. 38.
2. "Another Crisis in World's Future?" Des Moines Register, November 12, 1995, p. 1J.
3. U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
4. Heffernan, W., cited in "U.S. Ag Called Feudal System," Des Moines Register, November 27, 1994.
5. On average, cropland in the U.S. loses about 7 tons of topsoil per acre per year: see "Environmental and Economic Costs of Soil Erosion and Conservation Benefits," Science 267:1117, 1995.
6. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS), Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators (December 1994), 86.
7. Through the Conservation Reserve Program; USDA/ERS, 165.
8. One is Dr. John Fagan, discussed in "Biologist Returns US Grants to Protest Genetic Research," The Boston Globe, November 16, 1994.
9. Northwest Area Foundation, A Better Row to Hoe: The Economic, Environmental, and Social Impact of Sustainable Agriculture (Dec. 1994), 1; see also USDA/ERS, 18.
10. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health 18:209-215, 1992; Journal of the American Medical Association 256(9):1141-1147, 1986; Zahm, S.H., et al., Annual Meeting of the Society for Epidemiological Research, Vancouver, Canada, June 15-17, 1988.
11. "The Budgetary and Resource Allocation Effects of Revenue Assurance: Summary of Results," Iowa Agricultural Review (March 1995), 4-7.
12. National Research Council, Board on Agriculture, Alternative Agriculture (1989); Northwest Area Foundation, 2.
13. Paying the Farm Bill: U.S. Agricultural Policy and the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture, World Resources Institute, 1991.
14. "Health Effects and Prevalence of Vegetarianism," The Western Journal of Medicine, 160: 465-471, 1994.
15. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government: Automation in Administration (Vlodrop, Holland: Maharishi Vedic University Press), 1993, 4-44, 171-172, 309 311; Vedic Knowledge for Everyone, 110-117.
16. Much of this research is summarized in The Maharishi Effect: Results of Scientific Research 1974-1990 (Fairfield, IA: MIU Press), 1990; see also The Journal of Mind and Behavior 8:67 104, 1987, and 9:457-486, 1988; Journal of Conflict Resolution 32:776-812, 1988; Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, Fairfield, Iowa, Technical Report ITR-94:1, 1994.
17. Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government, 77-79, 84-85; see also our "Government Supported by Natural Law" section.
Natural Law Party Solutions
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE NATURAL LAW PARTY will create a future in which renewable, nonpolluting, inexpensive energy is abundantly available, the air in our cities is pure and clean, and our rivers and lakes are free of pollution. We foresee a time when waste is efficiently managed; when the needless destruction of forests and species diversity has ceased; when there are many more parks, gardens, and fountains; when new jobs have been created to develop renewable energy sources, conserve energy, and protect the environment; and when global cooperation ends the threats to the future of humankind, such as ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect.
THE PROBLEM
The standard of living and the economic vitality of the United States depend on the increasing availability of inexpensive, clean, renewable sources of energy.
Until now, the U.S. has relied mainly on fossil fuels. Coal, oil, and natural gas account for the majority of energy used for electricity, heat, transportation, and industry. However, these fuels are nonrenewable and limited in supply. Their use results in air pollution, acid rain, pollution from mercury and other contaminants, the threat of global warming, and other environmental hazards that may endanger future generations with irreversible global changes [1].
The Federal Government indirectly subsidizes our dependence on fossil fuels by spending tax dollars to correct the environmental and health-related damage caused by airborne pollutants. In addition, at the earth summit in Brazil, where all nations assembled to address global environmental concerns, the U.S. government took a stand to protect economic interests that it perceived to be in conflict with environmental interests. Protecting the environment was equated with loss of jobs, increased costs of goods, and loss of economic vitality.
According to a 1995 report from the Department of Health and Human Services, environmental toxins are responsible for 14% of annual deaths in America. A 1996 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a Washington, D.C., environmental group, found that air pollution kills 64,000 Americans a year--a higher death toll than for auto accidents [2]. The indirect costs of pollution, such as those associated with health care and acid rain, are incalculable; they effect tourism, overall quality of life, and many other areas [3].
In addition to the environmental hazards posed by current energy use, the majority of our rivers and streams are still so polluted from toxic agricultural and industrial pollutants that they are unsafe for swimming. Approximately 93% of the virgin forests in the Pacific Northwest have been cut (a nonrenewable resource), and most of the remainder is scheduled to be cut in the next few years- nearly all of it on public lands. Biodiversity is being threatened at an alarming rate, not only in our vanishing forests, but in the oceans. Hundreds of thousands of sea mammals are being exterminated by drift-net fishing. Approximately 50% of our wetlands that provided habitats for wildlife have been destroyed, and overgrazed prairie lands are being increasingly eroded.
American dependence on foreign oil creates political instability between the U.S. and the Middle East. For example, the purpose of Desert Storm, with its enormous attendant costs, was primarily to defend U.S. oil interests in the Persian Gulf region. This military operation should be included in the cost of fossil fuel. Desert Storm and similar defense activities that protect oil in the Middle East are in fact a form of corporate welfare. U.S dependence on foreign oil is also responsible for almost 50% of our trade deficit.
Despite its vital importance to our economy, America's energy utilization is inefficient and often haphazard. Renewable sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, and solar power, account for only a small percentage of all power generated in the United States. America lacks a long-term plan for conservation, increasing efficiency, and conversion to sustainable sources.
THE SOLUTION
The Natural Law Party is committed to increasing both energy efficiency and the use of renewable, safe, and nonpolluting energy sources. This approach will protect our environment, create energy self-sufficiency, and add to the economic prosperity of the nation. Through programs that will create new jobs and new industries in energy conservation and renewable energy sources, the Natural Law Party will move away from the hazardous and wasteful use of fossil fuels in ways that will simultaneously benefit the environment and save the nation hundreds of billions of dollars [4].
To improve energy efficiency and self-sufficiency, the Natural Law Party will:
* Support basic research on energy efficiency, energy storage (both for large and small-scale applications), and fuel cells, in addition to electric, hydrogen, and highly energy-efficient vehicles. The newly developed zinc air battery, for example, has four times the storage density of the nickel cadmium battery and could lead to energy-efficient automobiles.
* Provide financial incentives for home-owners and industry to use available energy efficiency measures, such as insulation and compact fluorescent lighting.
* Set performance standards for energy-consuming and pollutant-emitting products in order to encourage adoption of state-of-the-art technologies and to protect responsible and innovative manufacturers from being undercut by those who produce cheaper but dirtier products.
By increasing efficiency, the U.S. can reduce energy use by approximately 2% a year, from 84.4 quadrillion BTUs in 1990 to 69.2 quads in the year 2000. For example, conservation measures such as compact fluorescent lighting can save up to $25 billion in annual fuel costs [5].
The Natural Law Party also supports the development of new energy sources, such as solar, wind, and biomass--which could be cost-competitive now if government stopped subsidizing fossil fuels. The Natural Law Party is committed to increasing the proportion of renewable, environmentally clean energy sources by the year 2000. To achieve these goals, the Natural Law Party will:
* Tax fossil fuels to reflect their real cost to the nation, including environmental clean-up, medical costs, and security costs in the Persian Gulf.
* Remove federal subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Require that construction of new electrical power plants take into account all long-term costs to the nation, such as environmental protection and health costs.
* Minimize the federal government's role as a micromanager in the energy marketplace, and ensure that the construction of major capital assets (including buildings and electric power plants) reflect the national energy policy goals over the lifetime of the assets [6].
The Natural Law Party does not support the development of nuclear energy. At present, municipalities subsidize nuclear plants and the Federal Government funds nuclear reactor construction with tax-deductible bonds. But no one can safeguard for 10,000 years the highly toxic wastes generated by these reactors--which is what the Federal Government has agreed to do. By trying to get rid of these wastes, the government has essentially agreed to yet another subsidy for pollution-generating energy sources. In addition, the known worldwide reserves of low-cost, high-grade nuclear fuel are running out, which will mandate a transition in the near future to the next generation of nuclear power plants: advanced converters and breeder reactors. These reactors have the technological advantage that they do not consume fuel--they make their own--but they produce bomb-grade fissionable materials as unavoidable by-products. In a world based on such a technology, no government could ensure nuclear containment and nonproliferation. Therefore, for both economic and security reasons, the Natural Law Party will not support further development and construction of nuclear energy plants.
It is vitally important for America to clean up its polluted air, rivers, lakes, beaches,
wetlands, and oceans. Research has consistently shown that when industrial sources of pollution are eliminated at their source, the profitability of the industry increases. Moreover, when businesses are forced to stop polluting, they frequently come up with innovative ways to make use of their polluting by-products. In Scandinavia, for example, businesses in any given region collectively decide how to use polluting wastes from one business as part of the manufacturing process of another, with the goal of zero pollution.
To eliminate toxic waste, the Natural Law Party supports research into innovative technologies such as the plasma torch, a cost-effective process that cooks contaminated soil into inert, harmless glassy rocks suitable for road gravel. A similar technology, devised for liquid nuclear waste, drains out water and salts and turns the remainder into glass logs that are safer for long-term storage.
America should lead the global effort to prevent the destruction of the earth's forests, the decimation of the diversity of species, and the potential damage from ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect. A moratorium should be declared on cutting timber in national parks, national forests, and national monuments until a sustainable management plan for cutting is instituted.
To make these changes requires flexibility and ingenuity in the development of new environmentally sound technologies--not giving up the present standard of living, but raising it through developing energy sources, industries, and modes of transportation that are in harmony with nature.
Since pollution is primarily caused by human behavior, bringing the individual and the nation into harmony with natural law provides the basis for all the above programs proposed by the Natural Law Party. The Natural Law Party therefore supports educational programs that promote broad comprehension and "pollution-free behavior"--behavior that is in accord with natural law, and does not create problems for society or the environment.
Notes
1. Engine exhaust from burning hydrocarbons in vehicles and from power generation and industrial use is a major source of air pollution. High levels of greenhouse gases may contribute to potentially hazardous global warming. Strip-mining of coal is highly disruptive to the environment, and the burning of coal discharges millions of tons of particulate ash into the atmosphere each year, thus threatening health and increasing air pollution. Air pollution in most large U.S. cities is so severe that it poses a significant health risk. Oil production--drilling, refining, and shipping--is environmentally hazardous, and devastating in the form of oil spills.
2. See Allen, Scott, "Study: Air Pollution Killing Thousands," The Des Moines Register, May 9, 1996, p. 1. Significantly, officials at the Environmental Protection Agency accepted the probable accuracy of this estimate.
3. If the real costs associated with the use of polluting fuels were appropriately distributed--for example, if the environmental costs of gasoline were included in its cost at the pump--the free market system would have eliminated fossil fuels long ago. In essence, the government is blocking free enterprise and free market competition by subsidizing fossil fuels and not their nonpolluting competitors.
4. The cost of energy to our nation is a substantial proportion of our GNP. We spent 15% of our GNP on energy in 1990, or a total of $847 billion. According to the schedule proposed by the Natural Law Party, we would spend only 10.2% by the year 2000. This would reduce energy costs from $847 billion in 1990 to $755 billion in the year 2000--while allowing an increase of our GNP from $5.5 trillion to $7.4 trillion. This schedule of reductions entails a shift to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources.
The programs supported by the Natural Law Party for cleaning up the environment and protecting it from irreversible damage will stimulate the economy--actually paying a dividend of increased energy efficiency and economic vitality. Cleaning up polluted rivers and lakes will increase fishing industries, increase tourism, and increase revenues from outdoor recreational activities. Cleaning the air will reduce medical costs of respiratory disease and lung cancer. Protecting forests and reducing exhaust emissions will avert potentially disastrous expenses of adapting to climatic changes due to global warming.
5. Research shows that existing energy-conservation technologies can cut the use of fossil fuels in half, eliminating dependence on foreign oil--the largest component of our trade deficit. One study, entitled America's Energy Choices, published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, recently concluded that the U.S. can dramatically reduce energy use and air pollution, and increase the use of renewable technologies at a significant cost savings to the nation.
According to a study by the Electric Power Research Institute, the introduction of energy conservation practices could reduce electricity use in the U.S. by as much as 55% (Romm, "The Economic Benefits of Combatting Global Warming," 1992).
6. An essay by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School contends that well-designed government regulations can promote technological advances and restrain the cost of meeting environmental goals. He cites the examples of Japan and Germany, where environmental regulations enable those countries to dominate world markets for pollution-control technologies (The Economist, May 30, 1992).
Natural Law Party Solutions
STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY
OUR NATION'S FOUNDERS strove to create a democracy that would guarantee fundamental human rights and hold the government accountable to the people. The Natural Law Party is committed to restoring this vision to the American political process and overcoming the bipartisan conflict and special-interest control that has paralyzed and subverted our government.
The Natural Law Party supports long overdue election and campaign reforms to ensure (a) equal access to the ballot, the media, and the public for all qualified candidates, (b) the elimination of PAC and soft-money funding of campaigns, and (c) a shift toward public sponsorship of campaigns in order to reduce the undue influence of special-interest money on election outcomes. Such reforms will fulfill every American's right to complete information about all candidates and their platforms while freeing elected officials to focus on serving their country rather than seeking campaign contributions.
The Natural Law Party envisions a future in which elections are a time of national celebration, free of negative campaigning--a time when the nation takes pride in its achievements and plans collectively for the future.
ELECTION REFORM
The Problem
There is no Constitutional basis for America's current two-party system. In fact, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson specifically warned against political parties, which they feared would become entrenched as elitists and servers of special interests, unresponsive to the needs and desires of the people.
Today we find ourselves in this very situation. Frustrated by political gridlock, many Americans feel that government has grown into a self-serving, self-perpetuating partisan body that neither reflects nor recognizes their desires. Recent polls indicate that 86% of Americans feel that their elected officials will never solve the nation's problems, partly because political infighting has frozen the machinery of government. Consequently, the U.S. has the lowest voter turnout of any country in the world.
Over 60% of Americans favor the formation of a new, major political party. Americans want change and are deeply frustrated with both Republican and Democratic candidates. Traditionally, third parties have introduced important new ideas, such as women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery, into our national political debate. As former Chief Justice Earl Warren commented, "All political ideas cannot and should not be channeled into the programs of our two major parties. History has amply proved the virtue of political activity by minority, dissident groups, which innumerable times have been in the vanguard of democratic thought and whose programs were ultimately accepted. The absence of such voices would be a symptom of grave illness in our society" [1]. Yet the Republican and Democratic parties continue to exert an effective stranglehold on the political process--which has been manipulated during the past century to favor those in office and to discourage new ideas from emerging via third parties and their candidates.
Current campaign laws unfairly discriminate against independent and third-party candidates. In 1996, Republicans and Democrats will receive $134 million taxpayer dollars
to run their general election campaigns--including $25 million to hold meaningless presidential nominating conventions--while independent and new-party candidates do not enjoy the same support. In most cases, access to the ballot is automatic for Republicans and Democrats, but independent and third-party candidates face the most rigid, unequal, and unwieldy procedures in the world. For example, in 1992 the number of signatures required to get a presidential candidate on the ballot in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia was 25,500 for Democrats, 49,250 for Republicans, and 770,000 for a new party candidate. In addition, to run a national slate of federal candidates in 1994, a new party would have had to gather about 3.5 million signatures--ten times more than the number required for the Democratic and Republican parties [2].
These barriers blatantly violate the 1990 international Helsinki accords that guarantee universal and equal suffrage to all adult citizens, including equal access to the ballot. Ironically, the United States is the world's foremost proponent of these accords [3].
The Solution
The Natural Law Party supports election reform that returns American democracy to the high ideals envisioned by our nation's founders. We hold that the roots of government should go deep into principles of life, of natural law, which sustains and unifies the enormous diversity of nature and society. For government to reflect these principles, it must fairly represent the views of all its citizens and candidates. Therefore, the Natural Law Party supports the following initiatives:
* Ensure ballot access fairness. Every political party and candidate should have the same requirements in every election for getting on the ballot. Incumbents should no longer have privileges over challengers with new ideas.
* Promote campaign fairness. It is the right of the American people to hear the views of every candidate on the ballot. All candidates that meet ballot access requirements should have the same access to their constituencies, including equal media access through a series of publicly sponsored televised forums, debates, and infomercials, as well as publicly sponsored mailings of voter education materials. To qualify for these privileges, candidates would be required to comply with voluntary spending limits. This structure would favor voter education over privately funded media advertising and would thereby help eliminate special-interest influence on the election process.
* Encourage all Americans to vote. Election day should be made a mandatory national holiday, as in most other nations, so that everyone has time to vote. Voter registration should be facilitated by creating uniform laws that allow same-day registration or even automatic registration.
* Shorten the campaign season. The campaign season should be reduced to four months- two months for parties to choose their candidates and two months for the general election.
* Abolish the Electoral College. Under the current system, a presidential candidate can receive a majority of the votes and still lose the election. The President should be elected by the people through direct popular vote.
* Allow national initiatives. The "public initiative" process, already enacted and in operation in 23 states, should be expanded to the national level. This process allows the collective will of our citizens to initiate legislative reform and thereby shape governmental policy more directly.
* Reconsider proportional representation. This political system, as opposed to the "winner take-all" process, has been effective in countries around the world and more fairly represents the true will of the people.
Natural Law Party Solutions
ABORTION
The Natural Law Party is committed to substantially reducing the number of abortions in America. However, the Natural Law Party holds that the best way to reduce abortions is through education- not through legislation.
The Natural Law Party supports proven educational programs to bring individual and national life into harmony with natural law. These programs develop intelligence and creativity,
improve moral reasoning, and promote farsighted thinking and actions that do not create problems. Such education alone can produce the changes in behavior that will reduce
unwanted pregnancies. Only the Natural Law Party's strong educational approach, by changing attitudes and behaviors from the inside out, can offer prevention on a realistic basis.
Our nation's history shows that it is difficult to legislate morality. Laws forbidding the manufacture and sale of alcohol during Prohibition had little effect on alcohol consumption. Instead, they led to the birth of the underground and the most murderous epoch in our nation's history. Similarly, legislation to outlaw abortions will simply lead to illegal abortions.
For this reason, the Natural Law Party believes that it is counterproductive for the Federal Government to outlaw abortion.
Furthermore, the Natural Law Party holds that the moral responsibility for this decision should be left in the hands of those whose lives are affected most--the mother, the family, and the doctor--not the Federal Government.
At the same time, the Natural Law Party encourages a shift from public to private funding of abortion--specifically, private charity by those who wish to make abortion accessible for women who cannot afford it. Over time, the government should eliminate the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion as a method of birth control, especially because such use of public funds is morally offensive to millions of taxpayers. The Natural Law Party would allow public funding of abortions in cases of rape, incest, or medical necessity.
The Natural Law Party further believes that private charity to fund abortions could be better used to support proven, community-based programs such as CareNet, which reaches out to women with crisis pregnancies to offer them both material and emotional support, and the "One Church, One Child" adoption initiative founded by Fr. George Clements, which has enabled over 50,000 children to find loving parents and a nurturing home environment.
The Natural Law Party's "antigovernment" stance regarding abortion--neither subsidizing abortions nor legislating them away--is the only defensible position from the standpoint of the U.S. Constitution, which states in the 10th Amendment that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The Natural Law Party's prevention-oriented approach to reducing the number of abortions will produce a much needed unifying influence on our nation, which has been deeply torn by this highly divisive issue. Our policy serves the interest of both those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice by (a) decreasing the number of abortions more effectively than legislation and (b) leaving moral responsibility in the hands of those whose lives are affected most. Only the Natural Law Party can solve the problem of abortion at its basis and thereby fulfill the goals of all Americans--those who emphasize the sanctity of life and those who uphold the sanctity of individual freedom.
Natural Law Party Solutions
FAMILY VALUES
THE PROBLEM
American families today are under unprecedented stress. Real wages for average American workers have decreased since 1973. Due to the much higher cost of living in 1995, most two parent families require two incomes to maintain a reasonable existence. In addition, the average American now works more hours than at any time since World War II--close to 50 hours weekly. Not surprisingly, this economic stress, coupled with the strain of long work hours, has resulted in increased tension within families, a rise in domestic violence, and a 50% divorce rate for new marriages.
Families with only one parent face even greater challenges. Over 25% of American children in single-parent families live in poverty--yet the rate of childbirth among never-married women has been increasing, up to 20% in 1994. Some studies indicate that children in single-parent families are at greater risk for crime, for drug and alcohol abuse, and for dropping out of school.
When stress and frustration increase in society, the harmony and integrity of family life, so important to the growing youth of our nation, is severely undermined. Other political parties decry domestic violence, divorce, and the breakdown of morality, but they have been unable to offer effective solutions to these problems.
THE SOLUTION
The Natural Law Party alone offers programs that address the root cause of the breakdown of family life today--epidemic stress levels throughout society, especially in urban centers. Medical researchers report an alarming rise in stress-related illness--including stroke, hypertension, and heart disease. This same epidemic of stress is responsible for the widespread growth of "social disease"--domestic violence, family decay, crime, and drug abuse. The most effective solution is therefore to reduce accumulated stress in the whole population, so that all individuals, and especially parents, are able to make the most life-supporting decisions in their personal lives and decisions that are most nourishing to the lives of their children.
The Natural Law Party would therefore support the permanent establishment of coherence-creating groups on the national, state, and local levels to dissolve communitywide tension and negativity. These programs of the Natural Law Party have been scientifically demonstrated to reduce crime, violence, and negative trends throughout society, and to create a harmonizing influence in collective consciousness, enabling diverse individual interests and tendencies to coexist without creating conflict between family members and in society as a whole.
In addition, the Natural Law Party's cost-effective solutions to the nation's problems and pro growth economic policies will create jobs, stimulate growth, and ease the financial strain experienced by so many American families (see our "Economy" section). The Natural Law Party believes that primary-care parents should not be forced by economic necessity to work, since their role as parents is vital for the strength and stability of future generations. The first five years of a child's life irrevocably shape his or her future, and every child needs loving attention from, and interaction with, both parents, especially the mother, for his or her full creativity and possibilities to blossom. The conflict between parenting and career, typified by the concept of limited "quality time" with one's children, reflects a serious drift away from the fundamental family values that have traditionally upheld and nourished our society.
The Natural Law Party would allocate a portion of the enormous savings generated through its economic and social policies toward programs to support primary caregivers for the first years of their children's lives. The Natural Law Party also strongly supports the role of the senior, most experienced members of our society as the source of wisdom and guidance for all other members of the family and the community, and regards the widespread isolation and loneliness of our senior members as a significant loss to America.
The strong educational programs endorsed by the Natural Law Party have been scientifically shown to develop intelligence, creativity, moral reasoning, and the capacity for intimacy, and to reduce anxiety, disease, and drug and alcohol abuse (see our "Education" section). These outcomes support family unity and family values, and will help different generations of a family to live together, to nourish each other, and to establish the harmony, respect, and mutual enrichment that is the ideal of family life.
Natural Law Party Solutions
FOREIGN POLICY
THE END OF THE COLD WAR ERA has brought the international community to the threshold of a new era of global peace and harmony. The Natural Law Party believes that the United States should lead the world forward in creating new relationships governed by mutual friendship and cooperation and freed from aggression and armed conflict. America is faced with a historic opportunity to help create a new world order, in which peace is perpetual and every nation upholds the flag of every other nation.
The Problem
In 1995, the U.S. spent approximately $21.2 billion on foreign aid--two thirds of which was military aid. However, these expenditures have not brought peace, economic stability, or greater economic cooperation in the family of nations. We continue to live in a dangerous world troubled by widespread violence and regional conflicts, as evidenced by the Gulf War, the ethnic violence in Bosnia, and continuing terrorism in the Middle East. Moreover, as a major supplier of the world's armaments, the U.S. has directly contributed to such conflicts.
In addition, no real consensus exists concerning the purpose, allotment, and amount of foreign economic aid now that the historical goal of containing communism is no longer an issue. There is an urgent need to address America's deteriorating relations with China, strained relationship and multibillion dollar trade deficit with Japan, and economic competition with Western Europe. These relationships are especially troubling in view of the continuing U.S. financial commitment to defending Japan, as well as Germany and Western Europe.
Americans naturally wish to help the emerging democracies of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, yet protest substantial funds given directly to Russia and other republics because of so many pressing priorities at home. U.S. aid to developing countries has also been criticized because of countless instances in which funds either were wasted on projects that did not help the people or failed to reach the people due to misuse by the recipient governments.
The Solution
The Natural Law Party would create an immediate shift in U.S. foreign policy away from military aid towards a more life-supporting policy based on the exportation of U.S. know-how. American expertise and technical assistance in such critical areas as business administration, entrepreneurship, education, sustainable agriculture, energy conservation, and emerging environmental technologies, supplemented where necessary with economic support, should replace military aid as a principal instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
This new type of life-nourishing assistance will allow many developing countries to become financially self-sufficient and eliminate hunger and poverty. Such a policy would contribute to a more affluent and fluorishing global trade and a more prosperous family of nations.
With growing peace and cooperation in the international community, America's security interests have begun to shift from military concerns to global economic and environmental issues. America is called to leadership in developing a foreign policy that most intelligently meets this challenge.
This foreign policy must respect and honor the diversity of cultures, religions, races, and economic and political systems of the world, while promoting the value of unity--so that every nation will respect and uphold the sovereignty and cultural integrity of every other nation in an unprecedented flow of economic cooperation and goodwill.
Above all, we must ensure that our precious national resources are applied effectively and not wasted through inefficiency, mishandling, or inappropriate allocation. Foreign aid decisions must be made in consultation with the people of recipient countries, from both the government and nongovernmental citizens' groups.
Fundamental to the success of all these initiatives are the coherence-creating technologies utilizing the group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program that have been proposed by the Natural Law Party. These technologies have been uniquely effective in dissolving social stress and preventing the outbreak of armed hostility and war [1]. By generating coherence in collective consciousness, they create an atmosphere in which diplomacy and other peaceful methods of conflict resolution can succeed. Such groups, established either within the U.S. or dispatched as a U.S. or U.N. peace-keeping force to specific trouble spots, could help prevent the senseless destruction and human suffering resulting from regional conflicts.
In a peaceful and harmonious world family, we can conceive of reducing our own military expenditures and realizing a significant "peace dividend," directing some of our enormous defense expenditures towards our own social programs, including investment and development as an economic superpower.
Notes
1. Extensive scientific research has been conducted on the coherence-creating technologies endorsed by the Natural Law Party, including group practice of the TM-Sidhi program. During the Lebanon conflict, these technologies were found to reduce war deaths by 75.9% (Journal of Conflict Resolution 32:776, 1988). Research has also indicated that these programs were instrumental in improving U.S.-Soviet relations (Social Science Perspectives Journal 2:80, 1988).
Natural Law Party Solutions
DEFENSE
WITH THE END OF THE COLD WAR ERA, the U.S. has an unprecedented opportunity to lead the world in creating a stable and permanent peace, free from fear of aggression and war, in which every nation enjoys invincibility and friendship with every other nation.
The Problem
With the declining threat of superpower confrontation, everyone agrees that the U.S. defense budget should be reduced. But there is no national consensus on the nature and magnitude of these cuts. Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration, commented in the November 1995 issue of Foreign Affairs that the U.S. could safely scale down defense expenditures by $40 billion a year. However, rational consideration of U.S. defense needs is consistently overshadowed by concerns about loss of jobs and rising unemployment due to military cutbacks.
Uncertainty and fear still dominate U.S. defense thinking. History has shown that neither treaties nor arms can ensure peace and security. Regional and ethnic conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe have demonstrated that even small nations can imperil world peace and stability. They can hold other nations hostage through terrorism, ecological warfare, and weapons of mass destruction.
No viable defense against nuclear weapons exists. Recent nuclear tests in China and the resumption of nuclear testing by France have stirred fears in the international community of runaway nuclear proliferation. At least 46 nuclear weapons are thought to be missing from the former Soviet arsenal [1]. Arms experts fear that rogue nations and terrorist groups might opt for "back-pack" nuclear weapons carried by foot soldiers. Even after substantial reductions in our own arsenals, thousands of nuclear weapons remain. The military faces huge environmental cleanup costs for its unused arsenals and bases.
The U.S. remains one of the world's biggest arms suppliers. In the first year of President Clinton's administration, $22.3 billion in arms transfers was approved, including $13.4 billion to nondemocratic countries. The U.S. continues its sales of arms to the Middle East, belying the government's much publicized initiative after the Gulf War to restrain the global spread of arms. On the domestic front, Congress continues to fund expensive "pork-barrel" defense contracts that the Pentagon does not even want [2].
Finally, military personnel continue to face major health concerns, including problems with stress [3], alcohol [4], and a higher rate of cigarette smoking than the civilian population. Post-traumatic stress syndrome, a continuing problem for veterans, is virtually ignored due to lack of solutions, and Gulf War syndrome has underscored the insidious influence of environmental toxins on our primary-level military personnel [5].
The Solution
The changing global political landscape mandates a broad reassessment of the purpose, scope, strategy, and financial requirements of U.S. defense. The Natural Law Party believes that these crucial issues must be decided on the basis of a revised set of priorities reflecting America's realistic defense requirements--not on the basis of short-term political considerations and "pork barrel" politics.
The Natural Law Party recognizes the need to maintain the alertness of our nation's armed forces. Consequently, the Natural Law Party believes that the U.S. should not yet implement a major reduction of defense expenditures, because the world is still dangerous and unstable. However, we believe that a smaller, more flexible force coupled with greater economic and security cooperation will serve the nation's security interests and provide the basis for a more stable world. We therefore emphasize human rather than material resources. We need research and high technology rather than massive amounts of conventional weaponry. Reductions would be made in conjunction with the best advice from the military and Joint Chiefs of Staff, to avoid decreasing the alertness and preparedness of our armed forces.
For example, the Natural Law Party believes that funding for costly, wasteful, and ineffective weapons systems could be rapidly scaled down. We would also make reasonable reductions in the research and development, operations and maintenance, and procurement budgets to eliminate waste. As part of this down-scaling, we would: (1) accelerate the decrease of U.S. nuclear arsenals, (2) immediately and permanently halt all U.S. nuclear testing and nuclear weapons research, and (3) reduce the U.S. presence in NATO and the Pacific Rim, encouraging Western Europe and Japan to contribute more toward the defense of those regions. The role of America should be to foster peace and prosperity in the family of nations, rather than to act as the world's policeman.
The Natural Law Party believes, however, that politicians who promise decreased defense spending without any program or technology to ensure world peace are not acting responsibly in the best security interests of our nation. To guarantee our security as we reduce military expenditures, the Natural Law Party offers a peace-promoting technology that will neutralize international tensions and conflict and promote stability and harmony within the family of nations. Through this peace-promoting technology, which is based upon groups of experts collectively practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, the Natural Law Party can help to ensure a peaceful world and a steadily growing "peace dividend" to support domestic programs. Only through the addition of this technology to generate an actual, physical influence of peace among the family of nations can a political party responsibly cut defense spending and divert the precious resources of the nation towards more life-supporting and humane programs at home and abroad [6].
In addition, the Natural Law Party supports the immediate creation of a "prevention wing" within the military--a group whose primary purpose would be to prevent the outbreak of war and to preserve and strengthen national and international peace. By training even 1% of U.S. military personnel in the proven programs advocated by the Natural Law Party to reduce stress in individual and national life, America can create a genuine peace-keeping force that can maintain a powerful, integrated, coherent national consciousness and thereby prevent the emergence of an enemy.
The Natural Law Party also supports new priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense. Selected military personnel and resources could quickly adapt to roles such as drug interdiction and border defense. Some of our defense savings could immediately be reinvested in education, public health, housing, the environment, and other domestic needs. We believe that economic growth, leading to new industries and jobs, is the best way to help the defense industry adjust to military downsizing. There is strong statistical evidence that more jobs are created through domestic programs than through military spending. In addition, we favor incentives to stimulate investment of private sector funds and expertise to help industries diversify into nondefense markets.
Finally, the Natural Law Party supports prevention and rehabilitation programs that have been shown to reduce stress, decrease alcohol and drug abuse, alleviate post-traumatic stress syndrome, promote better health, and enhance physical and mental performance [7].
NOTES
1. G-2, December 1994, Military 11(7):3.
2. For example, Congress has apportioned $13.4 billion for additional B-2 bombers that the Pentagon doesn't want; legislators have funded the construction of four GS cruisers, although the Navy only requested two; and the costly Seawolf project is currently funded for $700 million, even though the Navy doesn't want it at all.
3. Air Force Times, May 27, 1996, 10.
4. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, July 1995, 73; American Journal of Public Health 81(7):865 869, 1991; American Journal of Preventive Health 11(4):245-250, 1995.
5. See U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, January 1996, p. 64. Environmental dangers cited include inhalation of sand and other airborne particles, heavy metals, depleted uranium, chemical and biological agents, pollution from hydrocarbons, and genetic and cancer risks.
6. During the Lebanon war, the group practice of the peace-creating program proposed by the Natural Law Party was found to cause a 75.9% decrease in war deaths (Journal of Conflict Resolution 32:776, 1988; 34:756, 1990), a 68% decrease in war-related injuries, a 66% increase in cooperation among antagonists, and a 48% reduction in the overall level of conflict (Dissertation Abstracts International 49:2381A, 1988).
7. Scientific research on the programs supported by the Natural Law Party has shown improved health and decreased health care costs (Psychosomatic Medicine 49:493, 1987), decreased drug abuse (Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11(1/2, 3/4), 1994; International Journal of the Addictions 12:729, 1977), decreased symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome (Journal of Counseling and Development 64:212, 1985), faster reaction time
(Personality and Individual Differences 12:1105, 1991), and increased creativity (The Journal of Creative Behavior 13:169, 1979) and intelligence (Personality and Individual Differences 12:105, 1991; Perceptual and Motor Skills 62:731, 1986).
Natural Law Party Solutions
REVITALIZING OUR INNER CITIES
THE NATURAL LAW PARTY supports a comprehensive, cost-effective plan to revitalize our inner cities. Our plan includes proven programs for education; job, technical, and management training; crime prevention; drug rehabilitation; urban revitalization; social welfare; economic development; and the development of a stronger sense of community. To guarantee the plan's success, we would supplement all these programs with scientifically validated technologies to reduce social stress and unfold the full creative potential of people of all ages.
THE PROBLEM
America's decaying urban centers are monuments to decades of flawed public policies. Billions of dollars are wasted on programs that fail to revitalize our cities because they do not go to the root of the problem. They fail to unlock the inner creative genius of the people, and they fail to reduce the alarming rise of stress in society, which is at the basis of the widespread epidemic of crime, violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and disease. For example, a recent report from the U.S. Justice Department noted that 81% of weapons arrests take place in cities, and that teenagers accounted for 23% of these arrests. University of Cincinnati criminologist Frank Cullen commented in USA Today that this trend relates "to an absence of family and social structure to support them. Together, that's a lethal combination."
Without addressing the root causes of stress at the basis of urban decay and unrest, all other efforts for economic recovery and urban renewal are destined to fail.
The Solution
The Natural Law Party offers something new--something that has been shown by scientific evidence to actually work. This approach involves two steps: (1) reduction of built-up social stress, followed by (2) implementation of practical programs to improve community life and solve costly social problems.
To reduce stress, the Natural Law Party supports the establishment of coherence-creating groups practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Extensive research, published in leading scientific journals, has found that when a small proportion of a population collectively practices this program there is a significant reduction in negative tendencies, such as crime, violence, sickness, and accidents, and a strengthening of positive social and economic trends in the population as a whole. Such programs will prevent the accumulation of stress and frustration that has erupted as violence in cities across the nation. In the more harmonious atmosphere generated by these programs, a deeper and more integrated sense of community will emerge as the best security against inner city crime and decay.
After reducing social stress and creating a more coherent social atmosphere, the Natural Law Party would introduce practical solutions to costly social problems and specific programs to promote progress in every city:
* To improve public health and curb rising health care costs, the Natural Law Party would support prevention-oriented health education and natural medicines that have been shown scientifically to prevent disease, promote health, and cut health care costs in half (see our "Health" section).
* To boost the economy, the Natural Law Party would propose significantly lower taxes, made possible through its cost-effective solutions to social problems; effective vocational and management training programs; and simplified governmental administration for reduced government waste (see our "Economy" section).
* To improve education, the Natural Law Party would support programs that develop the inner creative genius of all students, along with the ability to conduct their lives in accord with natural law. Only education that is perceived as directly relevant to the student's own life- education that unfolds full mental potential and the ability to fulfill desires in harmony with natural law--can prevent drop-outs, who become the primary targets of inner city crime and drug abuse (see our "Education" section).
* To improve public safety, the Natural Law Party would support proven, cost-effective programs that have been shown to rehabilitate criminal offenders; prevention programs that target at-risk youth before they become involved in crime; effective programs to prevent and cure alcohol and drug abuse; and a permanent coherence-creating group to reduce stress and create a more harmonious social atmosphere throughout the city (see our "Crime and Rehabilitation" section).
* To rebuild the inner city, the Natural Law Party would help plan urban infrastructure and housing that improve health, reduce crime, and restore a sense of community. The Natural Law Party would promote the development of nonpolluting automobiles and public transportation, human-scale housing that discourages crime and supports neighborhoods in which families can grow and prosper, and the development of more parks and green spaces (see our "Energy and Environment" section).
Natural Law Party Solutions
DRUG ABUSE
THE MOST EFFECTIVE DEFENSE against drugs is proper education--education that directly unfolds intelligence and creativity, builds self-confidence, eliminates stress, and raises life to be in harmony with natural law, thereby eliminating the tendency towards drug dependence.
To be effective, education must be deeply satisfying and directly relevant to a person's own life. Such education will eliminate functional and technological illiteracy and also prevent drop-outs, who become the principal targets for drugs and drug-related crime (see our "Education" section).
For those currently suffering from drug dependence, the Natural Law Party promotes programs that have been shown to dramatically reduce drug dependency and to eliminate stress and restore balance in an individual's physiology and psychology (see our "Health" section) [1].
The responsibility for stemming the drug trade currently belongs to numerous federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Border Patrol of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as many state and local agencies. This fragmented approach inevitably results in overlapping and at times self-defeating investigations, apprehensions, and prosecutions. These conflicts make administration inefficient- and sometimes result in senseless anomalies that allow known criminals to escape prosecution altogether. The Natural Law Party therefore supports procedures that will promote cooperation and coordination among the various law enforcement agencies responsible for interdicting, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals and organizations engaged in illegal drug and narcotics activities.
NOTES
1. For example, a recent meta-analysis showed that Transcendental Meditation, one of the programs advocated by the Natural Law Party, reduces alcohol, drug, and nicotine abuse significantly more than other treatment modalities (Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11(1/2,3/4), 1994). Earlier reviews suggested that Transcendental Meditation simultaneously affects several factors underlying chemical dependence by providing both relief from distress and improvements in well-being and overall psychophysiological health (Journal of Addictions 14:147, 1981; International Journal of Addictions 12:729, 1977).
Natural Law Party Solutions
GUN CONTROL
THE NATURAL LAW PARTY holds that the current debate over gun control overlooks the root cause of this issue. Although the Natural Law Party opposes recent attempts to undermine current gun control laws governing semi-automatic assault weapons, we also hold that gun control legislation alone will never eliminate the source of the problem.
The climate of fear and tension pervading America's cities and towns is largely responsible for the proliferation of guns and their use in acts of violent crime. The Natural Law Party is the only political party to offer scientifically proven programs to reduce built-up social stress and thereby reduce crime and violence (see our "Crime and Rehabilitation" section).
Within six months of the implementation of these programs, the Natural Law Party anticipates a dramatic reduction in crime rate as stress is neutralized and the whole population spontaneously becomes more in harmony with both natural law and national law. In this improved atmosphere, the perceived need for--and the actual use of--weapons will naturally diminish.
At the same time, the Natural Law Party believes that the widespread availability of guns is, in itself, a significant contributing factor to the rise of violent crime. The Natural Law Party therefore upholds existing gun-control legislation and believes that such legislation represents a suitable balance between public safety and the constitutional right to bear arms.
Natural Law Party Solutions
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
WITH THE CURRENT EPIDEMIC OF CRIME in America, capital punishment has gained broad popular support as a hoped-for deterrent to the most severe crimes. Unfortunately, experience shows that capital punishment neither effectively deters crime nor saves taxpayer money. Although the Natural Law Party supports a strong penal code, especially for specific, highly egregious violent crimes, the current effort to extend the death penalty to include a wide range of crimes is a desperate public (and highly political) reaction arising from deep frustration with present, ineffective crime-fighting strategies.
The Natural Law Party supports highly effective, proven crime prevention programs that have been shown to lower crime significantly (see our "Crime and Rehabilitation" section). We believe that the national mood will shift away from an outcry for the harshest possible punishment and towards more compassionate solutions once violent crime has been significantly reduced through the Natural Law Party's prevention-oriented approach
Natural Law Party Solutions
UPHOLDING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES
THE RIGHTS OF ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and the Natural Law Party would support any legislation deemed necessary to uphold these constitutional rights for women and for all minorities. At the same time, the Natural Law Party recognizes the difficulties in "legislating" equality: equal rights legislation has not succeeded in eliminating discrimination and has even caused further problems due to reverse discrimination.
Government cannot be present at all times and in all places to ensure that people treat each other fairly. Instead, the Natural Law Party intends to reduce prejudice and bigotry in society through more effective educational programs that develop broad comprehension, increased intelligence, and improved moral reasoning, and by reducing social stress that leads to fear and divisiveness. These programs will help create a unifying influence among our citizens and throughout society.
Natural law is that basic element in the universe that constantly nourishes the life of every individual and every living species. The Natural Law Party is the only political party that is based on this universally nourishing quality of natural law. Until now, democracy has been willing to compromise the interests of the minority for the sake of the majority. This is because democracy has so far been based on limited principles of man-made law, which are not sufficiently comprehensive to be simultaneously nourishing to everyone. When such principles compromise the interests of the minority, inevitably some segments of our population remain unfulfilled. The result is an increase in stress and frustration, which inevitably erupts as crime, sickness, and other problems throughout society.
By basing its administration on the most universal principles of natural law, the Natural Law Party offers administration through natural law, which is capable of providing universal nourishment, protection, and fulfillment to all citizens of the nation, including all the diverse groups that compose the richness and plurality of our great society.
We believe that increased participation in government by women and by minorities will bring greater strength and balance to the administration. In this context, we note that nearly one-half of the candidates running for office with the Natural Law Party are women or minority candidates.
Natural Law Party Solutions
GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED BY NATURAL LAW:
A NEW APPROACH TO NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
THE NATURAL LAW PARTY holds that natural law is the solution to problems. Government can solve problems at their basis through scientifically proven programs to bring every citizen, and the entire nation, into accord with natural law. By accessing the full range of nature's intelligence and harnessing its power, individuals and nations can govern themselves with the same perfection in administration displayed by nature's government.
THE PROBLEM
The federal government is besieged by problems--and legislation has inevitably proven inadequate to eliminate them. The American pandemic of crime, random violence and drug abuse, disintegrating families, poverty, and staggering health care costs has not responded to even the toughest legislation. Why?
Recent congressional initiatives to improve the quality of life in America have focused primarily on financial approaches--for example, shifting fiscal responsibility for the social "safety net" from the federal government to the states. But balancing the budget, reforming the tax structure, and addressing economic inequities will not stop Americans from falling ill, abusing drugs, or committing crimes (see our "Health" and "Crime and Rehabilitation" sections).
The debates over these bills have raised questions about the underlying cause of problems. In the search for answers, one theme increasingly heard is that the problem lies within--that all our problems are symptomatic of a deeper crisis of moral and spiritual values [1]. Yet no clear path to addressing this crisis has emerged.
We need to look even deeper than the family structure to strengthen the moral and spiritual fabric of our society. More stringent welfare and child support rules will not by themselves instill stronger family values, eliminate teen pregnancy, restore a thriving work ethic, and encourage charity and volunteerism. We need to identify the fundamental causes of our problems. And having done so, is there any way to create a more efficient, more effective government that can truly solve them?
NATURAL LAW AND NATIONAL LAW
From the deepest perspective, our national problems have one underlying cause--violation of natural law [2].
Natural law is the orderly principles--the laws of nature--that govern the functioning of nature everywhere, from atoms to ecosystems to galaxies. Over the past several centuries, modern science has identified many of these laws governing physical, biological, ecological, and social systems. Natural law is inherently "life-supporting": it supports the life and evolution of innumerable species.
Natural law is not a new idea in American government. Our founding fathers believed that the rights of every American citizen to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are based on immutable laws of nature. They felt that, through knowledge of natural law, both science and government would promote the goals of freedom and happiness of the people [3].
Human behaviors that promote life, liberty, and happiness are in harmony with natural law. When people live in harmony with natural law, they don't make mistakes--they spontaneously uphold higher values, and they enjoy naturally good health and a life free from problems [4].
However, the knowledge of natural law uncovered by modern science--and disseminated through our educational system--has been insufficient to enable citizens to live and act in accord with the laws of nature. Thus, the whole population is constantly violating natural law, causing problems for themselves and their communities.
"Violation of natural law" is action that fails to take natural advantage of the laws of nature, or that stimulates them in ways that cause negative repercussions. Smoking is an example of behavior that runs counter to the natural laws that support good physical health.
Violation of natural law causes stress. Stress has consequences for both mental and physical health; the majority of all disease is said to be stress-related [5]. Stress causes a complex psychophysiological chain reaction in the human body. Chronic, acute stress leads to an out-of balance biochemistry that has also been linked with anxiety, fear, anger, impulsive violent behavior, and substance abuse [6].
Moreover, the combined stress of all the individuals in society builds up and creates a dangerous, criminal atmosphere in the whole community. This epidemic of stress has rent our social fabric and threatens the lives of Americans everywhere.
The government reflects this social disorder. Government is a mirror of the nation. When the country is full of stress and crime, this chaotic atmosphere has a debilitating effect on the performance of government [7].
To deal with all the problems engendered by social stress, government responds with laws, regulations, and costly social programs designed to protect us from ourselves. Most of the activities of our government--and most of our tax dollars--are spent compensating for the violations of natural law by the population. The laws and programs, however, can't solve the problems.
We can have a smaller, more efficient and effective government, one that is capable of solving problems. Such a government would function in alliance with natural law.
THE SOLUTION
The best government is "nature's government"--natural law, which governs the universe with perfect order and without a problem. Nations can govern themselves with this same perfection in administration [8].
The most effective way governments can deal with problems is to prevent them in the first place- by enabling people to stop violating natural law. How? Not through legislation, but through education that brings the life of every citizen, and the nation as a whole, into harmony with natural law.
How does one learn to think and act in accord with natural law? Understanding specific laws of nature (for example, learning about the health risks of smoking) is helpful. But the laws of nature are too vast and complex to be fully comprehended intellectually. And intellectual understanding alone is not enough to guarantee life in accord with natural law. A new kind of education is needed that will enable every citizen to live--and every government to function--spontaneously in harmony with natural law.
The most modern and most ancient understandings of natural law describe a universal level of nature's intelligence underlying all forms and phenomena in the universe, including the human mind and body. Modern physics has glimpsed this unified source of all the laws of nature. The oldest tradition of knowledge of natural law, the Vedic tradition of India, describes this universal level of nature's intelligence and states that it can be located--and accessed--at the deepest level of the human mind, at the level of pure consciousness [9].
For thought and action to be in tune with natural law, it is necessary to experience and develop pure consciousness. This is not the commonly understood idea of "consciousness-raising"- becoming more sensitive to or knowledgeable about issues. Pure consciousness is the fundamental level of awareness, the basis of all thinking and behavior. It is the deepest level of natural law in the individual, which is identical with the deepest level of natural law that administers the entire universe. Developing consciousness means connecting individual life with this holistic value of natural law--with nature's government [10].
1. To bring the life of individuals into accord with natural law, education must provide a technique to give them direct access to the holistic value of natural law in pure consciousness.
One such technique identified by science is the Transcendental Meditation® program taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Transcendental Meditation technique (which originates in the Vedic tradition) is a simple, natural, effortless procedure that allows the conscious mind to settle down and directly experience pure consciousness--the simplest form of human awareness, where consciousness is open to itself.
This experience creates a unique state of restful alertness in mind and body, which dissolves accumulated stress and fatigue while developing the individual's latent creative potential and ability to think and act in tune with natural law.
Extensive scientific research has documented the many positive effects of bringing individual consciousness into harmony with natural law. More than 500 studies, conducted at over 200 independent universities and research institutions, have shown that these techniques increase individual intelligence and creativity, reduce stress and stress-related behavior such as anxiety, hostility, and aggression, and improve mental and physical health [11].
The research shows that as individuals practice this technique and gain intimate familiarity with the holistic value of natural law in their own consciousness, they spontaneously begin to think and act more in harmony with the laws of nature that support health and well-being for themselves and their social environment. They are less inclined to violate these natural laws. Relevant findings include improved health and reduced health care costs [12], decreased drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse [13], decreased criminal recidivism [14], and improved psychological and moral development [15].
The Natural Law Party strongly recommends that this program for developing consciousness be incorporated into our educational system, so that every student learns from an early age how to live in accord with natural law. In addition, rehabilitation and law enforcement agencies should immediately adopt this successful approach to reducing crime and substance abuse.
2. To fully address social problems, governments must reduce social stress by bringing the whole society into accord with natural law.
Society as a whole has a collective consciousness, which is the sum of the consciousness of all its individual members. Individual consciousness influences collective consciousness, and in turn is influenced by it [16].
If collective consciousness can be brought in tune with natural law, the whole population will cease to violate the laws of nature, social stress will be reduced, and problems such as crime and violence will automatically decrease. Moreover, the whole society will enjoy support of natural law for the health, happiness, and success of every citizen [17].
Research verifies that one powerful and successful program to reduce stress in collective consciousness and promote social harmony and well-being is practice of the TM-Sidhi program® by groups together in one location. The TM-Sidhi program is an advanced meditation program to release stress [18], which leads to improved cognitive ability [19], intelligence [20], moral development [21], cardiovascular health [22], and biochemical markers of aging [23], as well as higher levels of psychophysiological integration, shown by improved perceptual-motor performance [24] and increased EEG brain wave coherence [25].
The TM-Sidhi program is not, however, practiced solely for its beneficial effects on the individual. Its chief purpose is to produce profoundly positive effects in collective consciousness. When groups practice the TM-Sidhi program together, they powerfully enliven the deepest level of natural law throughout the whole population. The most significant research findings on this program indicate that such groups dissolve social stress and create a society-wide influence of increased social order and coherence.
Forty-two scientific studies have shown that such coherence-creating groups (comprising as little as the square root of 1% of the population) promote highly significant decreases in violent crime and other negative tendencies, and increases in positive social and economic trends. Each such study has produced consistent, statistically significant results. Nearly half have been reported in peer-reviewed journals [26].
A growing number of scientists support this research, in recognition of its rigor, scope, and statistical significance. According to a member of the independent Project Review Board that monitored the 1993 Washington study, "the claim can be made plausibly that the promised practical societal impact of this research significantly exceeds that of any other ongoing social-psychological research program" [27].
3. Government itself should function with the efficiency and effectiveness of nature's government.
The Natural Law Party promotes a new definition of government: Government should be able to prevent problems. A government without the ability to prevent problems is not a sovereign government. It becomes crisis-driven, a victim of situations and circumstances. Moreover, such a government itself becomes an unwieldy and costly problem for the nation.
To fulfill its highest goals, every government should immediately create and maintain a group professionally engaged in creating coherence throughout society. Establishing these groups at the local, state, and federal levels would quietly bring the support of natural law to national law; solve problems at their basis in individual and collective consciousness; and promote the highest level of efficiency in governmental administration [28].
4. The Natural Law Party supports the establishment of a "prevention wing" in the military--a group whose primary purpose is to prevent the outbreak of war and to preserve
and strengthen national and international peace. This can be accomplished with as few as 1-2% of military personnel, comprising one or several groups of 5,000-10,000 experts trained in the TM Sidhi program. As well as "inoculating" participating troops against the debilitating effects of combat stress, this program would help relieve stress in the nation as a whole, prevent incoherence within the government, and protect the nation from negative influences both inside and outside the country--including terrorism and war.
This is a practical, highly cost-effective, fundamental solution to our nation's problems--one that will bring both immediate and long-term results. As the government runs out of funds, our federal officials have been wrangling over short-term, essentially reactive solutions. But without bringing national law in tune with natural law, no legislative initiatives will ever succeed in eliminating social and economic problems and developing a strong moral core at the heart of our nation. For this reason, the Natural Law Party supports the use of programs to reduce societal stress and bring national life into accord with natural law.
NOTES
1. E.g., Bennett, W., The Book of Virtues (New York: Simon &;Schuster), 1993.
2. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government: Automation in Administration (Vlodrop, Holland: Maharishi Vedic University Press), 1993, 77.
3. Peterson, M., The Atlantic Monthly, December 1994, 114; Mayo, B. (ed.), Jefferson Himself (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia), 1942, 291.
4. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Life Supported by Natural Law (Fairfield, IA: MIU Press), 1986.
5. Sapolsky, R., Stress, the Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press), 1992; Weiner, H. Perturbing the Organism: The Biology of Stressful Experience (Chicago: U. of Chicago Press), 1992.
6. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11:89-117, 1994; Archives of General Psychiatry 49:436-441, 1992; Archives of General Psychiatry 49:429-435, 1992; Life Sciences 33:2609-2614, 1983.
7. Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government, 72-77.
8. Ibid., 4-93.
9. Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government.
10. Ibid.
11. Scientific Research on Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers, vol. 1 (Rheinweiler, Germany: MERU Press); vols. 2-4 (Vlodrop, Holland: MVU Press), 1989, 1990; vol. 5 (Fairfield, IA: MIU Press), 1990. Studies on specific benefits listed include: (intelligence) Personality and Individual Differences 12:1105-1116, 1991; (creativity) The Journal of Creative Behavior 13:169-180, 1979; (post-traumatic stress syndrome) Journal of Counseling and Development 64:212-215, 1985; (anxiety) Journal of Clinical Psychology 45:957-974, 1989; (hostility) Criminal Justice and Behavior 5:3-20, 1978; (aggression) Dissertation Abstracts International 43:539b, 1982; (mental health) Journal of Psychology 124: 177-197, 1990; (physical health) Psychosomatic Medicine 49:493-507, 1987.
12. Psychosomatic Medicine 49:493-507, 1987.
13. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11(1/2), 1994.
14. Dissertation Abstracts International 43:539b, 1982.
15. Dissertation Abstracts International 51:5048, 1991.
16. Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government, 74; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Creating an Ideal Society (Age of Enlightenment Press), 1976, 91, 105.
17. Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government, 78-80.
18. Modern Science and Vedic Science 1:29-87.
19. Perceptual and Motor Skills 6: 731-738, 1986.
20. Journal of Clinical Psychology 42:161-164, 1986.
21. Nidich, S.I., and D.W. Orme-Johnson, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Moral Education (Fribourg, Switzerland), 3 September 1982.
22. Psychosomatic Medicine 45(1): 41-46, 1983.
23. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 15(4):327-341, 1992.
24. See reference 20.
25. International Journal of Neuroscience 54:1-12, 1990.
26. Much of this research is summarized in The Maharishi Effect: Results of Scientific Research 1974-1990 (Fairfield, IA: MIU Press), 1990; see also The Journal of Mind and Behavior 9:457 486, 1988. Some specific examples include the following:
* A day-by-day study of a two-month coherence-creating assembly in Israel in 1983 showed that, on days when the number of participants in the assembly was high, war deaths in neighboring Lebanon dropped by 76%. During these two months, crime, traffic accidents, and fires all declined in Israel. Other possible causes (weekends, holidays, weather, etc.) were statistically controlled for (Journal of Conflict Resolution 32:776-812, 1988.)
* Coherence-creating assemblies in Manila, New Delhi, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., all corresponded with statistically significant declines in violent crime. In these studies, alternative explanations were explored and could not account for the findings (The Journal of Mind and Behavior 8:67-104, 1987.)
* The most recent replication occurred in 1993 in Washington, D.C., one of the most crime-ridden capitals in the world. In this carefully controlled two-month study, a coherence-creating group increased from 800 to 4,000 over the two-month period. Although violent crime had been steadily increasing during the first five months of the year, soon after the start of the study, violent crime began decreasing and continued to drop until the end of the experiment (maximum decrease 20%), after which it began to rise again. The effects of the group could not be attributed to other possible causes, including temperature, precipitation, weekends, and police and community anticrime activities. (See Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, Fairfield, Iowa, Technical Report ITR-94:1, 1994.).
27. Edwards, D.V., quoted in Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, Fairfield, Iowa, Technical Report ITR-94:1, 1994, addendum.
28. Paterson, N., Platform, Natural Law Party of Canada, 1993; Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government, 55-72, 78-91.
®Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as service marks of Maharishi Foundation, Ltd.
ADDITIONAL PLATFORM ISSUES
Gay Rights/Same-Sex Marriage
The Natural Law Party will support any legislation deemed necessary to prevent discrimination and uphold the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all American citizens, including all minorities. At the same time, the Party believes that legislation alone will never be able to eradicate prejudice and bigotry in society. For this we need more effective educational programs-programs advocated by the Natural Law Party that develop broad comprehension, increased intelligence, and improved moral reasoning, and that reduce the social stress that leads to fear, divisiveness, narrow mindedness, and disharmony.
The Natural Law Party also believes that, in principle, government should not attempt to legislate morality or to intervene in the private moral decisions of its citizenry; the Federal Government was not created for this purpose. Therefore, on principle, the Natural Law Party will not draft legislation to discriminate against, nor to actively support, same-sex marriage. (It should be pointed out that under the Natural Law Party's low flat federal tax plan, marriage will confer neither a tax benefit nor a tax penalty. Therefore, from the standpoint of federal tax law, there is no issue that would force the Federal Government to involve itself in this issue.)
Legalization of Drugs
Although the legalization of drugs would substantially cut drug-related crimes, only about 20% of total drug-abuse costs are crime related. The remaining 80% of costs are tied to health, absenteeism, lost productivity, etc. Therefore, the legalization of drugs, even if it increased drug use slightly, could result in increased costs that would overwhelm any crime-related savings. In Holland, for example, where drugs have been legalized, drug use and even the drug trade have increased significantly.
The Natural Law Party is fundamentally dedicated to the development of the full potential of the individual. Apart from economic considerations, long-term use of even mild hallucinogens like marijuana has been shown to decrease EEG coherence-the orderly and integrated functioning of the brain. Brain wave coherence is linked to intelligence, creativity, learning ability, academic performance, moral reasoning, psychological stability, and emotional maturity. Legalizing drugs could send the wrong signal to the youth, implying that drug use is not that harmful.
At the same time, outlawing narcotics has not proved effective in reducing their usage. To get to the heart of the drug problem, we have to reduce the desire and the demand for drugs-which the educational programs supported by the Natural Law Party have been proven to do.
Welfare
Welfare should not be a lifestyle, but a short-term safety net to assist individuals who have lost employment or who are out of work to obtain new employment. The Natural Law Party is in favor of recently enacted welfare reforms to incentivize work, including child care support and a two year limit on welfare benefits. However, it is of limited use to incentivize people to work if there are no jobs available. The Natural Law Party's pro-growth economic policies will create an abundance of good jobs which will place an ever-increasing premium on the value of the worker. In this expansionary economy, which will create more jobs than there are workers, workers will increasingly be able to dictate their terms of employment-their salary and work conditions.
Existing state and federal welfare programs should be brought under one administrative umbrella at the local level. Structures to oversee welfare administration need to involve the entire community-a partnership between local government, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community residents-with an emphasis on economic development and community self-help. Through programs to improve the financial and quality-of-life conditions at the basis of welfare, we can broaden the idea of "welfare" from a notion of cash or in-kind goods to a more expansive notion of physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Affirmative Action
The Natural Law Party believes that affirmative action is a necessary evil-a stop-gap measure to prevent discrimination in the workplace and in school admissions policies. However, the Party does not support quotas, since we feel that representatives of all sectors of society find quotas to be demeaning and a source of resentment in the workplace. The Natural Law Party upholds laws guaranteeing equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
In addition, history has shown that it is difficult to legislate equality; government cannot be present in every business and school to ensure that people are always treated fairly. Therefore, the Natural Law Party places its strongest focus on education programs that can develop broad comprehension, increased intelligence, and improved moral reasoning, thereby reducing the social stress that leads to fear, divisiveness, and narrow-mindedness.
Right-to-Work/Unions
The Natural Law Party believes that our working citizens have a right to associate and to engage in collective bargaining to ensure good working conditions and fair compensation. Therefore, unions have a role to play and will continue to play this role in the future.
However, the Natural Law Party feels that most powerful way to improve the job conditions and earnings of American workers is to stimulate job growth, which will make the American worker the prized commodity he or she should be. When, through the Natural Law Party's pro-growth economic policies, more jobs have been generated than there are workers to fill them, then America will be a seller's market from the worker's perspective. He or she will be able to pick and choose jobs and to dictate salary and conditions-and to do so far more effectively than a union can when jobs are scarce and workers are plentiful.
Trade Issues (NAFTA, GATT)
Trade is a vital aspect of a thriving U.S. economy. Given that 25% of the world's goods are made in America-with only 5% of the world's population residing here-we need access to foreign markets to sell our goods. Fair and open trade is therefore essential, and also stimulates competition that gives American consumers more choices, better product quality, and lower prices.
With reference to NAFTA, the Natural Law Party believes that any treaty so sweeping in its scope and so crucially important to our economic well-being must be constantly and vigorously renegotiated and improved so that we can compete on a truly fair playing field with our trade neighbors. But the United States, as the world's economic superpower and most creative country on earth, need not fear potential trade competitors like Mexico or China. Instead, we should unleash America's full competitive power by lifting the tax burden that drains our economy and by supporting educational programs that equip our citizens to compete in today's high-tech economy. The full creative potential of our 260 million citizens is tragically underutilized. Through the Natural Law Party's strong educational focus, we can harness the unlimited intelligence and creativity of our citizens, thereby boosting the U.S. economy into a growth phase and strengthening our international competitiveness.