Hagelin page

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John Hagelin, Natural Law (Reform) Party, (analysis of Hagelin below links )
Click-on web links about Hagelin

http://www.issues2000.org/John_Hagelin.htm
http://www.hagelin.org/

Hagelin and the Issues
10 is best and 1 is worst; scores are relative to other candidates

CAMPAIGN, ELECTION REFORM 8

Hagelin advocates campaign reform in the following manner:

(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.
(c) a shift toward public sponsorship of campaigns in order to reduce the undue influence of special interest groups on election outcomes.

One unique recommendation is to encourage voter participation in the election process and to shorten the campaign season to two months and make election day a national holiday.

Abolishing the Electoral College, another recommendation, would restore the popular vote as the method of determining elections. Natural Law and Hagelin would also restrict lobbying and limit congressional privileges which could reduce the strangling influence of big contributor, special interests in congress.

JUDICIAL REFORM

Criminal 7
Hagelin prefers to focus more resources on prevention and rehabilitation which includes more in-prison rehabilitation and resources to address the root causes of crime.

He suggests a greater emphasis on rehabilitation in drug use crimes and less jail time. He also supports the medical use of marijuana.

Civil: No score

No Hagelin statements address his thinking in this area.

ENVIRONMENT 9

The Natural Law Party and Hagelin support the development and use of new, environmentally clean energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass by
(1) removing federal subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

(2) taxing fossil fuels to reflect their real cost to the nation.

They also recommend cleaning up America's polluted air, rivers, wetlands, and oceans by eliminating industrial pollution at its source and using waste products productively. This is obviously not a unique position and demands complex solutions. He more than the other candidates acknowledges its importance.

In an elegant analogy comparing nature's ability to simultaneously nourish and attend to the innumerable species in a typical forest ecosystem, Hagelin likens it to the challenge facing government's attempt to satisfy the needs of diverse populations; one in which current government has clearly failed.

The Natural Law Party is allied with the Mothers for Natural Law which challenges genetic engineering as the largest food experiment in the history of the world - without our consent. They are working to put the issue of genetic engineering of food and labeling in the forefront of the 2000 elections. Hagelin, more than the other candidates, seems to have a comprehensive knowledge in this area.

Hagelin would like to move relatively rapidly away from herbcide and pesticide based agriculture to organic practices.

ANIMAL PROTECTION 8

Hagelin statements are moderate in this area but more than the other candidates which are basically zero on this issue with the exception of some statements on endangered species by all the candidates.

John Hagelin is unique among all candidates in demonstrating an interest in animal protection by attending and speaking at the Animal Conference 2000 and is supportive of encouraging a greater percent of the population to move towards a vegetarian lifesstyle for health, environmental and ethical reasons.

BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS 6

There are not many statements related to this issue, but here are some that would indicate he partially understands this issue.

Hegelin said:
Shift foreign aid from military basis to know-how basis.
US is the merchant of death through arms sales.
US needs life-supporting foreign policy.
Peace-keeping technology needed, without guns.
Decrease military aid; shift to life-supporting policy.

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMICS 7

Statements from Hagelin that somewhat relate to this issue emphasize the increasing health problems of Americans as an impediment to sustainable economics.

Hagelin's practical approach to improved health care and lowering escalating costs places an emphasis on reducing the epidemic of "self-inflicted" disease caused by preventable unhealthy habits and offering financial rewards for good health.

Preventative medicine plays a significant role in his program and he has lobbied congress to partially shift focus to cost-effective prevention programs to reduce the $500 billion per year costs which continue to plague a very unhealthy nation.

His emphasis on sustainable agriculture also positively relates to general sustainable economics.

Hagelin's balanced trade, safeguarding rights, jobs and sovereignty coupled with his "Re-negotiate NAFTA & WTO, or withdraw..." are somewhat positively related to sustainable economics in America.

Hagelin advanced two tax change possibilities:

a) A consumptive based tax proposal to replace the current system might help with sustainability depending on the details of implementation, which were not available.

b) Even though his points about the horrible inefficiency of much of government are well taken, there is a lot of empirical data to indicate that his flat-tax idea has little potential to directly effect sustainable economic practices as we define them.

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