Chapter 19
The Platform
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        Since Jennifer Gardner saw fit to expose Joseph Adamson, the campaign felt it best he make no personal appearance for awhile and dwell on the sympathy, and apparent identity, that many Americans feel for the situation he explained soon after the expose'.  At the outset, the plan had been for candidates of The Restoration to conduct their campaigns largely through newspaper adds and television spots.  To do otherwise would detract from its position against large fund-raising activities with huge sums of money being spent on something that had no public benefit.  Rubenstein, therefore, decided on an opening announcement through newspapers in a restatement of the goals of the movement in concise, clearly stated declarations.

Uniform Platform Of All Candidates Of The Restoration

General Thesis
The Restoration personifies the previous traditional beliefs of the Holy Catholic Church:
    -It is the sole, legitimate representative of Christ in the United States.
    -It's major responsibilities are to develop the general premise of nationalism through:
        -One Church.
        -Ultimately, one political party.
        -Merger of Church and state into one governing body.
        -The breaking down of social and economic divisions within the country through the spirit of nationalism and dedication to the doctrine of Christ.
        -Promoting a greater willingness for all to volunteer skills and monetary contributions towards the worthwhile Crusades and programs of Church and government.

Funding Of Church And Government Programs And Crusades
Due to the present fragmentation of government, power of the Church and government must be centralized in Washington and a uniformity for all states established in administering:
    -Social assistance programs for the unemployed and poor.
    -Medical advances made by The Restoration.
    -Opening levels of access to economic and medical programs to those in the greatest need.

Funding Of Church And Government Programs
For individuals, there will be a uniform sales tax, to replace the present income tax system, administered as follows:
    -Each year, when an individual files his or her income tax, a magnetic card will be issued based on that individual's taxable income.  This card will be programmed to enter a sales tax percentage based on that individual's last reported income each time a purchase is made and will operate much in the same manner as a credit card.  Those with lower incomes will pay less tax.  The only allowable deductions on income tax filings will be contributions, tax, interest, groceries and medical expenses.  Should a person's income increase during the year, there will be no adjustment until a new card is issued, and the increased tax will apply during the next year.  This will encourage each person to develop an incentive to improve his or herself.
    -For businesses, a graduated tax table will be developed, much the same as the present system, but with substantial credits for:
        -Contributions to religious, social assistance and medical programs of The Restoration.
        -Donation of job skills to public projects of Church and government.
Present methods of shielding income from taxes will be abolished.  Among other changes, this will include the disallowance of corporations setting up means by which labor and material expenses paid to other corporations which the parent corporations control be included as allowable business deductions.  In addition, a uniform table of material expenses will be published and any corporation participating in a public works project for Church and government will be bound by the uniform material cost.  Such a system is essential to stop the present widespread practice of excessive material costs billed to the government.  All income from public works projects will be audited each year.

Unemployment, Job Skills and Actions To Strengthen The Economy
All present federal government agencies will be audited to identify usefulness and overlapping of responsibilities.  It is a foregone conclusion that many should be abolished but the employees in these agencies will not be laid off.  They will be placed in more efficient agencies to be formed by The Restoration or in other assignments based on their past experience and job skills.  One new agency will be the Civilian Construction Coalition (CCC).  Its responsibility will be to inventory unemployed job skills that exist in each state and assist in job placement.  To accomplish this, a central data base will be developed, and each person seeking a job can log on to an Internet address to enter his past experience and skills.  Employers will be encouraged to use the Internet address to display their job openings, and an income tax credit will be allowed for each employee hired through the central data base.  Ten percent of federal income tax will be allocated to the CCC for the reconstruction of blighted areas, and jobs will be found for the unemployed based on their job skills and willingness to work.  Should local employers choose not to participate in the public works projects of The Restoration, Church and government will take over administration of the projects in those areas and pay the employees through the income tax allocation.  Additional tax credits will be allowed to local businesses that expand into the reconstructed areas and provide additional job opportunities once the construction projects are completed.

Medical Care Insurance
Recent years have seen massive increases in medical malpractice insurance for doctors and surgeons.  Many doctors have been forced to close or limit their practices due to this.  One common step is to cease accepting as new patients anyone who has Medicare.  A central contributing issue to this condition is the states' unwillingness to enact tort reform in administering malpractice suits.  Long discovery periods are required due to entanglements created by lack of uniformity among states, and much of the ultimate settlements are consumed by attorney fees.  Lack of uniformity in hospital records systems contributes to the length of the discovery periods.  Privacy laws created to shield homosexual medical records impose additional procedures and delays.  During the restructuring of federal agencies, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare will cease to administer any medical procedures, and a new agency known as the Medical Assistance Administration (MAA) will be established.  This administration shall first of all, recover doctors who have left the profession and place them in strategic locations throughout the country in clinics where they can care for the ill who do not have medical insurance.  The public donations fund already established by The Restoration will fund the establishment of these clinics.  Public contributions as a result of The Church's cancer research have been much larger than anticipated and the fund now has well over one billion dollars.  Doctors and surgeons under the plan already announced will continue to be encouraged to donate one day per week to assist patients requiring hospitalization and surgery.  Repair of the present medical system is expected to require years, and it is recognized this will create disappointment, and unfortunately, many patients in need of assistance will die before this can be accomplished.  This fact only adds urgency to the need the program be placed in motion immediately.

Political Campaign Reform
There shall be a contributions cap placed on all campaigns while the country is still operating under multiple political parties.  Funds over the cap will be placed in an audited account under the candidate's name.  After elections, both successful and unsuccessful candidates will draw from the fund to finance community service projects in their districts - hopefully, based on needs identified and addressed during the campaigns.  This will achieve a fairer election process and remove the unwarranted advantage from candidates who have greater means to raise funds.  The elections will then become more likely to be determined based on the issues and not advertising time.  Such a system will also afford unsuccessful candidates a means to implement their own platforms and give the voting public a more objective basis on which to re-elect the successful candidates or consider the unsuccessful ones based on their efforts between elections in administering their funds.  Failure to be elected does not relieve a candidate from this responsibility.

Issues Regarding Life And Right To Life
Life begins at the moment of conception.  Pregnancy termination is not in the same category as pregnancy prevention through contraception.  In the case of the latter, there has been no conception, and life is not destroyed.  There shall be no Church policy against contraception but any form of abortion is prohibited.  In general terms, incurable illness can only bring pain and suffering; and during such illness, there is a point that life, as a person would have it, may end long before death.  Many terminal patients hope for death.  A living will should permit euthanasia which must remain one's right to a painless and peaceful death.

Activities After Restoration Of National Stability
It has long been the position of The Restoration that before any religious plan is launched, the homeless must be sheltered, the unemployed must find jobs and the sick must be given some hope outside the thoughtless system of pain management.  Some degree of obligation to nationalism must first be established to unite social and racial divisions, and it is only then one can reasonably expect such factions to develop kind concern for each other.  When someone is off the streets, no longer hungry and has some hope for peace of mind and only modest fulfillment in his or her remaining life, resent and rebellion can be cast out from their hearts that can then be opened to the forgiving love that was the doctrine of Christ and remains the ultimate mission of The Restoration.

    After the restatement of the policy and goals of The Restoration, newspapers and television news broadcasts feasted on its content with scathing editorials against what was described as "an emerging dictatorship of fascists." Many editorial cartoons appeared in newspapers.  One was entitled "roadway to the White House" and showed a map between Atlanta and Washington with silhouettes of necked women at various places noting the locations of whore houses along the way, all with swastikas on their mailboxes.