Independence Minnesota

Platform/principles

Responsible Government and Leadership

We believe in honesty, even when it has a political cost. We support fiscal responsibility and oppose mortgaging the future for short-term political gain. We promote policies for clean, fair and open politics. We believe that serving the interests of all the people should be a higher priority than serving the interests of a powerful few. We assure our own party’s independence from special interests by prohibiting our party and endorsed candidates from accepting contributions from Political Action Committees (PACs).

Taking Care of Our Tax Dollars

We believe in completely and straightforwardly reporting the cost of government. We believe that these costs should not be placed upon the shoulders of future generations. We believe that government should be as responsible with each and every tax dollar as would be our most financially responsible citizens.

1. We support the use of budget projections that honestly report the future costs of government programs, including future liabilities like public pensions. We believe the national debt of the United States should be reported accurately, including the sum of all debt owed to public bondholders and all debt owed to federal trust funds such as the Social Security Trust Fund.
2. We denounce the use of tricks and gimmicks, such as calling taxes “fees” and delaying expenditures until just after the end of the year in order to claim that a budget is “balanced”. We support government budgets that are structurally balanced and avoid shifting of expenses or borrowing to make them appear balanced.
3. We believe it should be a priority to gradually reduce the total national debt as a percentage of the gross national product.
4. We insist that the government fully fund the mandates it places on other units of government or otherwise allow governmental units to “opt out” of unfunded mandates.

Making Government Work for the People

Government should be accountable to its citizenry, respectful of private property, and responsible in its management of publicly-owned resources.

1. We believe the success of our government should be measured by the results it achieves. Therefore, in addition to budgeting financial expenditures, we favor associating time-specific, measurable goals with government programs and then monitoring actual progress towards achieving them.
2. We believe the government must be prudent and responsible to citizens and private landowners when it buys, sells, or leases natural resources (including land, minerals, timber, grazing, environmental carrying capacity, and broadcast airwaves). We believe that government should make every effort to assure that such transactions reflect fair market valuations and that they are conducted publicly and openly, with adequate provisions for recourse in the event of dispute.
3. Our legislature is costly, inefficient and too big to be effectively held accountable. We believe Minnesota's House and Senate (bicameral) legislature should be replaced with a single (unicameral) legislative body.
4. We believe the cost of government operations can be reduced by consolidating operations, eliminating waste, and using new technology to increase efficiency. We support the new “Drive for Excellence” law as authored by an Independence Party senator, which consolidates government services, increases the efficient government use of technology, and takes other actions to streamline government operations.

Ensuring Fair Elections

Campaign and election processes should be reformed so that government represents the people before special interests, so that public participation in the election process is maximized, and so that qualified candidates are encouraged to run for public office.

1. We support a Fair and Clean Elections Bill to expose and reduce special interest campaign financing.
2. We support Instant Runoff Voting or another runoff process that allows us to vote our conscience and ensure that winners are supported by a majority.
3. We support same-day voter registration to ensure that all eligible citizens have the ability to vote and to maintain Minnesota’s tradition of high voter turnout.
4. We support partial public funding of elections to reduce candidate dependence on fundraising, thereby making politicians more independent and responsible to voters.
5. We encourage the use of new voting technologies that will increase voter turnout and protect the integrity of the election process.
6. We support lowering the minimum age to run for state elective office to 18 years of age.
7. We support the establishment of an independent nonpartisan commission to implement legislative redistricting.

Platfrom Contiuned:
              Promoting Prosperity and the quality of Life
              Protecting Liberty, Justice and Security
              Principles

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              Core Values