Jotham Stein

Government Reform In my first two weeks in office, I will propose to Congress a Constitutional Amendment to limit Senators to two terms (12 years) and Congressmen to 5 terms (10 years). That’s enough. After that, they should go back to their communities and get a real job. Healthcare We should change the law to require the Federal Trade Commission or Federal Drug Administration to make it a top priority to enforce the new requirement that all pharma chain players look out first and foremost for the patient’s best interest, the best interests of we the people. Government Reform We need a Constitutional Amendment to get the big money out of politics, to protect our democracy for all of us. In my first two weeks in office, I will propose to Congress a Constitutional Amendment to get the money out of politics, to reform our campaign finance laws for federal elections. Government Reform Do you trust Members of Congress who buy and sell stocks? I don’t. They are too close to power, they are the decision makers whose actions can move whole industries, and certainly individual companies. I’ve got no problem with Members of Congress investing in American business, but it should be done fairly, which means no trading in individual companies while in office. Taxes / Budget Eliminate the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax. Healthcare As an Independent, I’ll work with everyone to make our healthcare system better for all of us. As your Congressman, I will task at least one Congressional staffer to work exclusively on healthcare until I can offer you and Congress a complete fix. Taxes / Budget My Social Security fix comes in three parts, and my fixes use solvency calculations from the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Not only that, my plan comes with a new basic minimum benefit, which will “significantly reduce the poverty rate among retirees,” according to the Committee for a Responsible Budget. Taxes / Budget Increase the normal retirement age from 67 to 69 over time and then index the retirement age to life expectancy, but keep 62 as the first year we can receive (reduced) Social Security benefits. Healthcare I propose a No More Junk Patents Act. The No More Junk Patents Act will prohibit the United States Patent and Trademark Office from granting “junk patents” to drug manufacturers. Drug manufacturers use “junk patents” to extend the patent protections for their prescription drugs, thereby allowing them to charge whatever price they want for a longer time. Healthcare We should change the law to required everyone up and down the pharma chain, including the middlemen Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBM”), to look out first and foremost for the patient’s (our) best interest. Requiring all pharma chain players to look out for the patient’s interest first will end the corrupt side payments (and other nefarious practices) that drive up the costs of our prescription drugs. Healthcare We should enact a law requiring drug and insurance companies to provide us a simple, easy-to-read Patient Price Guide for Medicines, just like the nutrition guides on the back of cereal boxes. The Patient Price Guide should tell us the out-of-pocket cost for a prescription drug with insurance, the cash price (without insurance), whether a generic is available, whether there are any restrictions (e.g., is prior insurance-company authorization required), and what comparable drugs our doctor might consider. This information is available now electronically; there’s just no mandate requiring that the information be made available to patients (you and me). A Patient Price Guide should help us reduce the cost of our prescription drugs. Government Reform If Congress can’t get along and shuts down the government, then those same Representatives should not get paid. That’s only fair. In the last shutdown, Congressional paychecks kept coming, even though the government stopped paying millions of federal workers. What’s good for our federal workers is good for Congress. Taxes / Budget End the step-up basis for estate assets at time of death for all estates above 100 million, taxing the excess as capital gains. Taxes / Budget Cover all newly-hired state and local workers with Social Security. Government Reform In my first two weeks in office, I will propose to Congress a Constitutional Amendment requiring all Congressional districts in the country to be drawn up by a non-partisan computer program or by independent citizens commissions.