O’Malley says ‘we need to stop stumbling backwards.'NHConcordMonitor

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has, since announcing his presidential bid, outlined a series of specific policy goals he would pursue as president – on the environment, college affordability, the economy, substance abuse and more. Here are some of them:

On wages: O’Malley supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour nationwide. As outlined in his newly released “15 Goals to Rebuild the American Dream,” he wants to work toward cutting the gender pay gap in half by 2025, increase the nation’s median net worth by $25,000 within 10 years and “reach wage growth of 4 percent annually by 2018.”

On trade and finance: O’Malley has been a vocal opponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. At one of his stops in New Hampshire earlier this week, he said: “We need to stop stumbling backwards, blindfolded, into bad deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that sends American jobs and worker profits abroad.” The candidate also called on fellow Democrats to “stop turning a blind eye to reckless behavior on Wall Street and rampant speculation by the five big banks.”

“We need to reinstate Glass-Steagall, and we need to do it yesterday,” he said.

On college affordability: Earlier this year, O’Malley offered a plan to offer all students the ability to graduate from a public college or university debt-free within five years. To get there, he proposed freezing public tuition rates, automatically enrolling students into income-based repayment plans (with the option to opt-out) and offering students or their parents the option to refinance on student loans for which they’re responsible, according to a policy paper released in July.

On energy and the environment: O’Malley has repeatedly framed climate change as the biggest business opportunity facing the country today. His goals include making “a full, complete transition to renewable energy within 35 years.” In a climate plan rolled out in June, O’Malley took a stand against the Keystone XL pipeline and supported the development of more clean energy options – including the introduction of a “Clean Energy Job Corps” to retrofit buildings for energy efficiency and tackle other environmental tasks.

On Social Security: O’Malley has called for an expansion of Social Security benefits, warning against increasing the retirement age and a move toward privatization. His vision for Social Security would include a measure to offer a maximum of five years in “caregiver credits” to “increase the 35-year wage base for those who spend an extended period of time providing full-time care” to family members, according to his campaign.

On election reform: O’Malley has called for a move toward publicly financed congressional campaigns within five years, if elected. He also, in early August, called for a constitutional amendment to “explicitly guarantee the right to vote” – citing concerns about the proliferation of voter ID laws and other restrictions.

On substance abuse: One of O’Malley’s 15 strategic goals is to “reduce deaths from drug overdoses by 25 percent by 2020.” He has not yet released a policy outline on how to achieve this, but he has pointed to a need for better data monitoring around drug use and overdoses. He has also suggested that more could be done in hospital emergency rooms to counsel or assist people who are admitted for overdoses.

https://politics.concordmonitor.com/2015/08/opinion/on-the-issues-omalley-says-we-need-to-stop-stumbling-backwards/