What liberal bloggers believe

Atrios has a pretty interesting post on many of the policy-wonkish things that bloggers on the left tend to believe. I can't say I have much disagreement with it:

• Undo the bankruptcy bill enacted by this administration: definitely. Many, if not a majority, of bankruptcies in this country are due to medical bills, not people going hog-wild with the credit card. However, the bill passed by Congress assumes the latter. There is no reason why a bill can't be targeted towards punishing the irresponsible, and helping those who are a victim of circumstance.
  
• Repeal the estate tax repeal: sure. The only estates that are taxed are those that are worth millions of dollars. We used to believe in egalitarianism in this country; dying with the most toys is nothing to worship. Pohlad, I'm looking in your general direction.
  
• Increase the minimum wage and index it to the CPI: if you aren't going to do away with the minimum wage, this is the only sensible solution. Inflation is real.
  
• Universal health care (obviously the devil is in the details on this one): yes. Would definitely help with the bankruptcy issue too.
  
• Increase CAFE standards. Some other environment-related regulation: yes, again. The only thing that might help our energy crisis.
  
• Pro-reproductive rights, getting rid of abstinence-only education, improving education about and access to contraception including the morning after pill, and supporting choice. On the last one there's probably some disagreement around the edges (parental notification, for example), but otherwise: yes, yes, yes. No "abstinence-only" lies. More access to contraception. Parental notification I don't like, but I can't make a good argument against it. Waiting periods, bogus "informational packets" also full of lies should go.
  
• Simplify and increase the progressivity of the tax code: again, yes. Simplify, get rid of most deductions and loopholes, and tweak the progressivity. This would benefit everybody.
  
• Kill faith-based funding. Certainly kill federal funding of anything that engages in religious discrimination: yes. No evangelism with tax dollars.
  
• Reduce corporate giveaways: yes, see tax code and my stadium rants.
  
• Have Medicare run the Medicare drug plan: what a concept! Having Medicare run it instead of the drug companies!
  
• Force companies to stop underfunding their pensions. Change corporate bankruptcy law to put workers and retirees at the head of the line with respect to their pensions: pension underfunding is a huge issue. Imagine paying for Social Security, Medicare, pensions, $10 a gallon gas, and a war with Venezuela all at the same time. Actually, don't think about it: it's too depressing.
  
• Leave the states alone on issues like medical marijuana. Generally move towards "more decriminalization" of drugs, though the details complicated there too: yes.
  
• Imprison Jeff Goldstein for crimes against humanity for his neverending stupidity: well, there are probably people who could go to the head of the line before Goldstein.
  
• Paper ballots: no more Diebold disappearing magical ballots. Optiscan works.
  
• Improve access to daycare and other pro-family policies. Obiously details matter: you can't expect single mothers to work and get off welfare without child care. You can't expect lots of two-income earner families to do this considering how expensive child care is.
  
• Raise the cap on wages covered by FICA taxes: yes. It increases the progressivity of our tax system. There is no need for a wage cap.

Other, "duh" things, really don't need a comment:

• Torture is bad
• Imprisoning citizens without charges is bad
• Playing Calvinball with the Geneva Conventions and treaties generally is bad
• Imprisoning anyone indefinitely without charges is bad
• Stating that the president can break any law he wants any time "just because" is bad

And,

• Marriage rights for all, which includes "gay marriage" and quicker transition to citizenship for the foreign spouses of citizens: get government out of the marriage business altogether. Churches marry. Governments have civil unions.

One more thing I'd like to add is treating all income the same. Please, explain to me how it is fair that a middle-class person, like a cop, teacher, manager, or any other worker can pay a marginal rate of 25% or 28% by showing up to work every day, while a millionaire can make a hundred thousand bucks on a sale of appreciated stock and pay 15% in some circumstances. Anybody? Bueller? How about treating income as income?

I seem to have attracted a troll to this blog. Notice, troll, that there is nothing radical on this list. Nothing about forced veganism, throwing paint on people wearing fur, or "butt pirating" (leave me out of your fantasies, thank you very much). Just relatively simple and common-sense things that the Republicans have completely ignored in their slavishness to corporate America and the Christian Fundamentalist wackos.