I'm not really sure how to classify myself politically. By US standards, I am incredibly liberal. There are very few places where I agree with conservative ideology, but they do exist, and I doubt that many people will completely disagree with them.
1) I believe that government's role, first and foremost, is to provide for the people what the people cannot provide for themselves. Mostly, this includes things like infrastructure, law enforcement, health care, defense against foreign threats, educational facilities, social safety nets, and what have you. I also think government has a role in protecting peoples' basic rights and liberties, and to come down hard on those who would seek to take those rights from others.
2) Taxes should scale with one's available income, so that, the richer you are, the more you are taxed. It makes no sense to shift the bulk of the tax burden onto those with the least to spare, when someone who makes $10 million a year can live just fine on half of that. I don't know about you guys, but I've never made enough where the current tax rates (or minimum wage) would let me get by one just one job. If you're making enough to buy a new car every month, you can probably live comfortably with higher tax rates.
3) Foreign policy, at least as far as it concerns aid of some kind, should be subject not just to public opinion in this country, but also in the country we "want to help". Doesn't matter if it's a military occupation or food and medicine; if Uganda, let's say, says no thanks, then we don't help them. People have the right to at least try to solve their own problems if they so choose. Any aid offered should also take into account the state of the US (jobless/homeless rates, natural disasters, etc.), and should not exceed an amount needed by our own citizens.
4) Public school curriculum should under no circumstances be subject to popular opinion, only to that of the leading experts in the subject in question. Private schools, additionally, must be held to the same academic standards, and may not peddle pseudo-science or revisionist bullshit; if they can't back up their claims, they don't get to teach them as fact.
4a) College education, at least community college, should be free up to a 4yr degree. State universities should be subsidized, at least to allow students to attend school without needing a job to make ends meet, provided they maintain good grades and academic conduct.
5) Religious institutions must pay a small tax to be allowed use of public services (police, firefighter, etc.), and may under no circumstances be allowed to participate in public political functions. Any group caught doing so will be heavily fined. Any and all donations must be recorded like any other charity to maintain the same tax benefits.
6) All drugs should be legalized and regulated, ideally at the same level as alcohol. There's no reason for that one to get special privileges among the plethora of mind-altering substances out there.
7) The military should not receive more funding than public services during peacetime. Additionally, we should not have permanent bases on our allies' soil. There is no reason to deploy our military when there are no serious threats to our safety.
8] All public elections campaigns should be financed by the government. Any 'donations' to candidates from private citizens should be considered corruption, with both parties punished accordingly. On that note, there should be more than two political parties at all times, with each one represented at a national level, according to the size of their party.
8a) The Senate is obsolete and should be done away with. There is no reason for my state (CA) to get the same representation as Wyoming, when their population is dwarfed by even on of my state's cities.
I'll probably want to expand on this more later, but I'm really effing tired right now. I think this more or less covers all the major points of my political beliefs.
