No need to design one from scratch- this is what a viable progressive platform looks like: [View all]

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Healthcare: VPP Platform

Progressives believe health care is a human right, and support single-payer health care, birth to death, free of private corporate interests (insurance companies), provided through a nonprofit, publicly financed system. We will work to:

Implement full-spectrum single-payer health care, including preventive and mental health care.
Establish community health centers to deliver medical and mental healthcare services.
Subsidize medical school tuition at UVM for students who agree to practice in Vermont after graduation.



Education: VPP Platform

Progressives believe public education is the essential and most inclusive institution in our communities, offering opportunities for all to participate. We will work to:

Promote a public education system, Pre-K–12, that provides equal and equitable opportunities for all our children.
Replace the residential education property tax with a progressive income tax.
Increase the State of Vermont’s share of special-education funding and improve the quality of services offered.
Reduce postsecondary tuition costs for Vermonters; include free housing at Vermont state colleges for Vermont students.
Repeal the Federal No Child Left Behind Act with its excessive emphasis on standardized testing.
Oppose voucher programs, which undercut public education.
Support educator efforts at fair, constructive, and comprehensive evaluation and review.

Criminal Justice: VPP Platform

Progressives are committed to public safety. We will work to:

Invest in prevention and anti violence programs.
Discontinue the failed “war on drugs.”
Fund drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.
Limit incarceration to offenders who pose a threat to public safety.
Create effective penalties against driving under the influence to ensure public safety.
Work to provide in-state placements and treatment (rather than out-of-state).
Advocate for vocational and workplace training for offenders and youth at risk.
Provide education and literacy support in all corrections settings.

Civil Rights: VPP Platform

Progressives will preserve Vermont’s national leadership as a champion of civil rights, in the tradition of Vermont’s history as the first state to outlaw slavery. Progressives believe our right to personal privacy, guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, is unconditional. We will work to:

Support marriage equity for same-sex couples.
Ensure women’s rights to control their bodies and their choices.
Establish a Zero-Tolerance standard statewide toward all forms of discrimination and harassment (e.g., sexual) in schools and workplaces.
Protect the confidentiality of commercial transactions and medical information.
Restrict the ability of the state, cities, and towns to eavesdrop on private citizens.

Economy: VPP Platform

Progressives believe that a vibrant and sustainable economy is one that recognizes preeminence of the “quality of life” concept and insists on a decent standard of living for all Vermonters. We will work to:

Establish and guarantee that the minimum wage must be a livable wage.
Advocate for the rights of workers to unionize and require all state contracts to be awarded only to businesses that pay a livable wage.
Insist that Vermont contract only with responsible employers that hire local employees.
Require that state-funded institutions buy products and services from Vermont farms and businesses wherever feasible.
Promote cooperative, worker-owned, and publicly owned enterprises as an alternative to huge profit-driven multinational corporations.
Calculate the economic impact resulting from the degradation of Vermont’s natural resources when evaluating the state’s economic development.
Change from Gross Domestic Product to another measure such as the Genuine Progress Indicator or Gross National Happiness indicator.
Fight to reverse the doctrine of “corporate personhood.”
Guarantee employment opportunity at a living wage to all working-age Vermonters.
Support the concept of a state bank.

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http://www.progressiveparty.org/issues/platform


The Vermont Progressive Party is the only viable third party in the country. It's been electing people to office on the state and local level for the past 3 decades.

We are the nation's most successful third party, electing more state legislators than all others combined. We fight for our core principles of social justice and economic equity. We accept no corporate donations, so are free of the big money influence that dominates the other two parties. We run strategically, win elections, and legislate change. - See more at: http://www.progressiveparty.org/organize/state-officeholders#sthash.sVQdfd2C.dpuf