From Crisis to Care:
our platform
We need a California where
Health & Housing are
not stock options,
but Simple common sense solutions.
Principles
housing first
healthcare is a human right
homelessness is not a crime
DIVESTMENT is our duty
Housing First
Everyone eats before anyone gets seconds.
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Eminent domain for egregious, corrupt private appropriation of public goods.
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Progressive taxation of vacant properties - particularly corporate & private equity companies that own large numbers of such properties.
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Acquired properties would be state-managed, mixed-income, social housing operated at cost, not for profit. [1]
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Immediate rent freeze, aggressive rent control & enforcement
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Mortgage forgiveness & state first-time homeowner programs to bring homeownership back into reach.
Healthcare is
a human right
Healthcare is a human right and should be accessible to all residents of California without regard to income or zip code. With the third highest GDP in the world, California has more than enough resources to make universal healthcare a reality. We will cut out the parasitic middleman of private health insurance and use those funds which are currently going to shareholder portfolios and CEO salaries for actual healthcare. The Butch Ware campaign unequivocally supports a state based single payer healthcare system through the CalCare program. The principles of CalCare are simple:
The Seven Principles of CalCare are:
UNIVERSAL COVERAGE: Everybody in, nobody out. Everybody, regardless of race, sex, gender, country of origin, disability status, immigration status, marital status, age, and income, gets the care they need regardless of ability to pay.
A SINGLE PUBLIC PROGRAM: A single payer, publicly funded through progressive taxation, to cover all necessary care in California, eliminating billions in bloat and waste and saving people thousands on their health care costs.
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS: Includes medical, dental, hearing, vision, mental health, prescription drugs, long term care, and more. All decisions about care would be made between you and your doctors and nurses, not insurance companies.
FREEDOM TO CHOOSE YOUR CARE PROVIDER: Under CalCare, there would be no more “in network” or “out of network.” You would have the freedom to choose any doctor or hospital you’d like.
FREE AT THE POINT OF SERVICE: No more copays, premiums, or deductibles. You arrive at the doctor’s office, show them your CalCare card, and get the care you need. It’s that simple!
PATIENT CARE BASED ON PATIENT NEED: No more financial incentives to avoid providing necessary care, including “value-based” payment models for providers.
We will do this by declaring a healthcare emergency and implementing CalCare by executive order. We can no longer sit idly by while politicians give deference to their industry donors by denying healthcare reform.
CalCare does not require insurance premiums, copays, deductibles, or coinsurance. It is paid for by taxing the wealthy, taxing the profits of large corporations, and reaping the benefits of preventive care. We will also implement transitional programs to support any displaced workers in the healthcare insurance industry.
Furthermore, with our plans for tuition free state college, we will be encouraging more people to become healthcare professionals, and with the reinvestment of funds divested from genocide and other wasteful spending, we will have the resources to build more hospitals and healthcare centers, especially in low income and rural areas where current healthcare availability is lacking. With this program, no Californian will ever be without the care they need in the times they need it most.
Homelessness is
a Policy Failure
Homelessness has risen by 50% in 5 years because most spending has gone to real estate developers & NGOs.
We cannot solve homelessness by sweeps, vagrancy laws & criminalization of poverty.
A $100 increase in median rent is estimated to raise homelessness by 9%. [2]
Solutions require extending housing & care.
Building Universal Security
Universal healthcare, universal social housing & universal basic income [3] for the poorest members of our society can dramatically reduce homelessness within the first Ware Administration - at a far lower cost than the $25 billion spent by Newsom’s Administration over the last 5 years.
DIVESTMENT
It will be a top priority of the Butch Ware administration to ensure that the state of California is divested from all genocides and other war crimes globally. The people of California have a choice to make. They can have their elected officials work on behalf of the public, or on behalf of governments and corporations complicit in war crimes. Having state funds invested in atrocities will not ever be in the best interests of Californians.
An executive task force will be created to both review divestment investigative work that has already taken place, and further investigate as needed, state-based financial and political ties to both foreign regimes and corporations who are engaged in, or aiding and abetting genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other war crimes under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and the US War Crimes Act of 1996.
Examples of such investments have been identified in both the University of California system, and in the California State Teachers Retirement System.
A Butch Ware administration will:
· Veto any spending legislation that is not divested from genocide and war crimes.
· Encourage and sign legislation that is divested.
· Direct the State Treasurer and other state agencies to divest.
· Appoint board members of state agencies who will prioritize divestment.
· By executive emergency order adjust or freeze any such spending that is not divested.
· Reinvest those funds to support the immediate needs of Californians
Additionally by Executive Order, we will direct that existing anti-BDS laws not be enforced, and we will encourage the state legislature to repeal such laws.