Kyra - Speech Transcript
So far, this election process has gone on with little interference, and many of the policies have been revealed by the respective candidates. Matthew Rones and Kathryn O’Halloran have proposed to ¨slash taxes”. While this sounds promising and relieving to all, a study done by the Tax Policy Center establishes that an increase in tax cuts could add to the federal debt by almost 6 trillion dollars in the next ten years. On the other hand, I propose to increase taxes for the wealthy, or those who make more than 5 million dollars annually. By increasing the tax rates, the TPC further reiterates that this tax plan could increase revenue by about 1.4 trillion in the next 10 years and 5.4 trillion by 2036. Additionally, my tax plan will introduce new plans aimed to benefit the middle class through increased tax deductibles for caregivers. With the new tax revenue, we need to invest in the future: our children. With a balance of regulation of privatization and financial support of public institutions, we can secure a better future for our children in the changing globalized market. As for healthcare, we want to keep key aspects of the Affordable Care Act like how insurance companies are not allowed to drop clients to better benefit themselves and where men and women will be given equal health insurance. We also want to abolish certain aspects of the act like the second major mandate where states businesses are required to provide care to a specific group of employees, thereby giving relief to companies. Regarding EPA regulations, I believe that a healthy environment is vital but while EPA regulations should be enforced, there still must be room for business and economic growth, especially at this day and age. However, if we don’t help protect our environment, then politics will be null simply because of the fact that we will not even face a future, much less have the luxury to argue over one. Last but not least, we must address the issue of foreign policy. Our world is a rapidly globalizing one. While promising trade deals such as NAFTA and an expanding market are good things, threats such ISIS are on the rise, and nonintervention cannot be an option anymore. As President, I propose to send more supplies including weapons to Kurdish forces battling ISIS, bolstering our main front against the radical terrorist group. Furthermore, I would like to address another issue that has at the forefront of the world stage, but has surprisingly not been addressed fully today. Look, I don’t know if any of you all have heard, but there is a civil war going on in Syria right now. And I can’t even tell you the casualty amount because according to the Washington Post, the UN has stopped counting the death toll. In fact, a good chunk of those who have died there are civilians. Men, women, and children who have lost their lives because they got caught in the crossfire. And according to Aljazeera, Aleppo, the city where the most violence takes place, now has no hospitals. Now, I may not be able to end this conflict if I am elected President, nor am I suggesting we send American troops on to Syrian ground. However, I do want to revitalize peace talks with Russia to negotiate for a cease-fire, and I do want to establish a humanitarian zone over a specific area in Syria, which will hopefully lower the death toll of civilians. I would like mobilize and send off supplies and necessities for those trapped in the war zone to provide relief and comfort. Now, I realize that many of you may be thinking one important question. Why should we care? Why should we be spending so much beyond our borders when we could be improving our own country? And to this I would like to kindly remind the people that our country, despite popular opinion, is not the only country on the face of this planet. We are living in an increasingly interconnected world and this war in Syria is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a political one as well. I would also like to add in another statement. Many of the candidates here can agree with me on one thing: America is one of the greatest countries in the world. But what truly is greatness? Is greatness the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion? Is greatness universal healthcare and universal suffrage? Is greatness the ability to say “love is love” no matter your gender? Or is greatness a responsibility to promote the ideals of democracy? The answer is yes to all those questions, and so much more.
But before I end this, I would like to mention one more thing. In the political thriller novel All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren we see a brilliant politician -Willie Stark- with concrete and solid ideas. He is introduced as a man who lays out impressive and enticing policies such as greater access to education and greater healthcare for all. Sounds familiar, right? Willie gives his famous crowd rousing speech in which he vows to destroy the enemies of the common people. However, that’s not what I want to focus on today. After the speech, Jack Burden, his advisor, speaks to him afterward. He tells Willie, “You said your strength was their will. You said your justice was their need.” When Burden says this, he’s not just repeating Stark’s words. He’s picking them up and throwing them back to his Boss, almost accusatory. In response, Willie strikes himself in the chest twice and says that there was something inside him. Something that made him say those words. But in the end, that something which had motivated him from the very start, was consumed by another thing much more powerful and deadly. As a citizen who participated in our democratic process, I can understand that listening to inspirational speeches given by political candidates can get tedious and repetitive. But if I wanted you all to get anything out of my speech, it is this: I want my “something” to be you. I want my “something” to be the American people because I trust the American people. And I believe the greatest gift-- the greatest prize-- a politician can ever receive is not fame, not money, not even power. I don’t want to be a Willie Stark because Willie Stark never understood that a politician's greatest achievement is the trust of her people. Thank you.