Top 15 Points of Democratic Party’s 2012 Finance Platform
1. Rebuild the middle class
2. Invest in infrastructure with savings from winding down overseas wars
3. Invest in and reform education
4. Extend unemployment insurance
5. Cut taxes for the middle class (those earning less than $250,000 year)
6. Increase taxes on the wealthy (those earning more than $250,000 a year)
7. Cut taxes for small businesses that hire veterans
8. Cut taxes for companies in the US and give additional relief to companies that relocate manufacturing and research and development to the US. Discourage off-shoring.
9. Use tax credits to encourage research
10. Preserve Social Security and Medicare as a public programs
11. Support workers’ rights
12. Raise minimum wage and index to inflation
13. Maintain new regulations to restrain financial malfeasance
14. Streamline outdated regulations
15. Ensure free and fair trade
(From: Democratic Party Platform 2012)
Analysis
Like the G.O.P.’s 2012 finance platform, the Democrats’ finance platform contains no new ideas. In that sense, the two political parties are similar. The Democrats’ finance platform’s big idea is to rebuild the middle class. To fulfill this grand objective, the finance platform is made up of familiar, piecemeal measures for which Democrats are known – investing in education, preserving government programs (just make them more efficient), and giving government help to those in need. The lack of new ideas from either party is not a revelation, but confirmation of the status quo is still dispiriting. Like those of their opposition, the ideas from the Democrats’ finance platform are from the last century. These ideas do not seem to account for evolved economic and financial realities. Bold, inventive thoughts are absent in the platforms of both parties.
Yet, in theory, the two platforms offer a choice of governing principles to voters – the same choice as in the past, but a choice nonetheless. In the practice of government, it seems pragmatism, compromise, and syntheses (from which new ideas do arise) are not currently on the voter menu.
On the issue of ethics in finance, the G.O.P. finance platform ignores the role of ethical failure in the financial crisis (this near catastrophic event also is given scant acknowledgement). Apparently, for the G.O.P. there is no problem of ethics deficiency in the financial domain (but plenty of moral laxity in the social sphere, of course). At least the Democrats acknowledge that a lack of ethics contributed to the financial crisis. Unfortunately, their main solution to ethical failure is to promulgate regulations to keep financiers in line. The Democrats do not recognize the unintended consequences of financial regulations some of which lead to ethical problems. Indeed, the same refrain of, “home ownership is an achievable dream for all Americans” seems cut and pasted from past Democratic platforms. The push for home ownership and laws in pursuit of that goal led to ethical failures at Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac and their eventual financial demise.
Both political parties in the US need to realize ethics education in finance achieves Democratic and Republican principles. For Republicans who purport to value free markets and individual achievements, people can choose to act ethically, on their own, if they have a sound moral compass. This is self-driven regulation, sans government rules. For Democrats, ethical behavior is more likely if an individual is embedded in an ethically oriented milieu. In other words, the culture and community must foster ethical acts and virtuous people. Thus, ethics and ethical behavior in finance are self-driven but community supported.