Michael Bloomberg (D)

Mike will get it done.

Bloomberg is a businessman and a former New York City mayor, an office he held for three consecutive terms, from 2002 to 2013.

He graduated from John Hopkins University and Harvard Business School. He began his career in brokerage and started his own company “Bloomberg LP,” as of 2019, he is the 14th richest person in the world. Bloomberg is a believer of strong leadership and data-driven decision making which resulted in a 32% drop in crime and a 14% reduction in carbon emissions in New York City during his reign as Mayor. 

Mike’s Signature Issues

As Mayor, he created almost 500,000 jobs, built affordable housing for nearly 500,000 people and reduced NYC’S carbon footprint and reduced the incarceration rate by almost 40%, as president he aims to-

• Many Americans who do not go to college leave high school unprepared for the workforce. He intends to invest in technical education and create new opportunities and access to well-paying jobs for all Americans.
• Ensure the federal government leads an ambitious plan to accelerate the U.S. toward a clean energy economy, putting us on the pathway to full decarbonization before mid-century.
• Mike’s plan lays out a path to the creation of 1 million new Black homeowners and 100,000 new Black-owned businesses in the next decade. His plan also includes a $70 billion investment in the country’s 100 most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Issues That Matter

Economy

It may be attributed to Mike’s philanthropic attitude that he seeks to take up the issue of economic disparity in America. He stresses on the fact that economic growth is concentrated in a relatively small number of hands. Keeping the ongoing struggles faced by industries, he aims to host a series of initiatives which would help generate jobs and growth. 

• To create jobs of the future, Mike will launch a significant R&D initiative to generate up to 30 new growth hubs. 
• He has promised to create a housing proposal and revise the Earned Income Tax Credit and aims to raise the incomes of low- wage workers. 
• He is determined to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. 
• He will help communities to set up the most effective hub for entrepreneurs by investing in local ideas that work.

Health Care

Mike claims that the cost of healthcare is almost double in the US as compared to other well-to-do countries. He aims to achieve universal health coverage via various means. While he was the Mayor of New York City, he had urged a ban on smoking in all restaurants and bars. 

• He promises to create a Medicare-such as public insurance option, primarily benefiting people with average means who buy the public option. 
• He talks about restricting the sale of health plans that don’t meet ACA standards. 
• He has promised to lower drug prices and ban surprise medical bills. 
• Mike has planned to change rural hospital payment models to make them receive a fixed, capitated annual budget. This, in turn, aims to make them less dependent on the number of patients. 
• He will double the federal funding for Community Health Centres along with expanding broadband access to rural areas and increasing the reach of telemedicine services. 

Cybersecurity

Mike himself is a firm believer in data-driven decision making and has been practicing the same for over 12 years as he held the office of Mayor of New York City. His administration brought down the crime by 32% and played a massive role in reducing carbon emission by 14%.

Criminal Justice

Michael Bloomberg is determined to reduce incarceration and make the criminal justice system fair for everyone. His reign as a Mayor of New York City brought success in the same by making it the safest big city in America. 

• He looks forward to investing in innovative community-led partnerships and violence intervention programs like Cure Violence. 
• He also plans to raise the standard for the use of force, early intervention systems, and independent police oversight, thus delivering smart & fair policing. 
• He will fund $2.5 billion over 10 years for public defense, ensuring pay parity, workload limits, and fair representation. 
• Mike will decriminalize the use and possession of marijuana worldwide. 
• He will launch a Department of Justice reform hub to evaluate and fund state-level criminal justice reform initiatives.  
• He promises to start a federal work program for the formerly incarcerated. 
• He will also invest in building family justice centers and make it convenient to seek justice. He aims to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and make hate crimes and human trafficking a top federal priority. 
• His plan also includes an investment of $100 million annually in the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative that would focus on creating opportunities while preventing entry into the criminal justice system. 

Education

Bloomberg believes that a family’s finances should never obstruct higher education for any student. He thus will guarantee that students have access to affordable, quality higher education. 

• He plans to make two- year community college tuition-free for all. Also, he plans to make public four- year college tuition-free for low-income students and affordable for the middle class. 
• He is determined to increase the number of students who graduate from college. He will begin with micro- completion grants for at-risk students who are near to completing graduation. 
• Mike will make sure that the time spent on education is worth it and helps every person earn a job. He will thus focus on supporting them to pursue more education and enhance their skills.

Immigration

Mike belongs to a family of immigrants and thus understands that immigration is one of the greatest strengths of America. He focuses on acknowledging this fact and making America an Ocean of opportunities. His Immigration policies include:

• He vows to create an earned pathway for availing citizenship for the 11 million undocumented ones. He will implement sensible immigration enforcement to promote public safety and national security. This will include reforming Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He talks about investing in smart security measures and upgrading the ports of entry. 
• Mike focuses on implementing policies that will attract job-creating innovators and entrepreneurs.
• He aims to end travel bans, abolish family separations at the border, implement safeguard measures for children, and bring in alternative detention methods for harmless individuals. 
• He plans to set the annual refugee resettlement target at 1,25,000 and restore fairness and timeliness to the asylum process. 
• Mike wants to invest in community-based efforts to promote citizenship, English and civics courses, and legal immigration services. He will also create a federal Office of New Americans to enhance the integration of newcomers. 

Military

Mike respects the contributions and sacrifices of the veterans and realizes the potential they have to grow the economy. 

• He aims to create Centers of Excellence and Empowerment for veterans where they can connect with companies and lead ahead towards fulfilling careers. 
• He will make access to telemedicine services easy for veterans. 
• He aims to ensure that female veterans‘ particular needs are addressed and provide resources to cover IVF and other fertility services to have a family. 
• He wants to make homeless veterans get security and dignity by fully funding the federal government’s HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program. 
• Mike will work to expand the mental health services through public-private partnerships. 
• He plans to give victims of sexual assault the facility of opting for an independent military prosecutor.
• He will brush aside the ban on transgender people serving in the military. 
• He will protect families of the military from threats like deportation by providing immigrant servicemembers with a fast track to naturalization. 

Gun Control

• Gun violence has been a great concern for the government. Like a lot of Americans, Mike also supports common-sense gun safety laws. This majorly includes stronger background checks. 
• Mike plans to have a stronger background check at the point-of-sale and close its private sales. Every gun buyer will have to get a permit before buying it. 
• His plans will shut the “boyfriend loophole,” which allows domestic users to own guns. This is despite them being criminal convicts but simply because they are not married to their victims. 
• He will pass a federal red flag law that will expand extreme risk orders to 50 states. This will require gun buyers to be at least 21 years of age.
• He will fund at least $100 million annually for programs like Cure Violence for local violence intervention. It will also increase the ATF funding by up to $100 million. 
• Mike will work to reinstate the federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. He will also ban all guns in K-12 schools, colleges, and universities- except for law enforcement. 
• He will repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which will ensure that gunmakers and dealers no longer have broad immunity from civil lawsuits. 

Foreign Policy

Mike Bloomberg will work to strengthen the elements of American national power, invest in education, world-class infrastructure, and R&D. He plans to collaborate with not just nations but cities, businesses, and civil society groups to take up new challenges. 

• To rebuild the foundations of American power, Mike will invest in 21st-century infrastructure and STEM education. He will also promote innovation ecosystems across the country and will implement a more effective immigration policy. 
• Mike promises to rebuild the worn-out relationships with several nations. He will empower the State, Treasury, and Commerce Departments with resources to enhance diplomacy, promote democracy and human rights. 
• Mike will focus on restoring presidential leadership in the country. 

Electoral

The election system of America is susceptible to outside interference as we saw the same in 2016 when Russia took advantage of this. Mike will work to ensure a fair and just electoral system and its wise functioning.

•  Mike will focus on doing away with all paperless voting machines. He will also instruct the states to conduct statistically prominent audits after every election and publish it publicly. 
• He will create an Election Resilience Command Center to protect the integrity of elections. He will also expand information-sharing efforts to various departments to foresee any threat. 
• Mike will provide funds to every state from the Election Assistance Commission to help them secure the election systems. 
• He will work to ensure that all election workers attain cybersecurity training. 

Cannabis & Marijuana

To fight with such a crisis, Mike will make sure that medications for addiction treatment are more accessible. He will focus on expanding mental healthcare, collect data, and thus use it to end the epidemic. 

• Mike wants to make sure that people who seek medication get it at the hospitals instead of getting incarcerated unless they have committed crimes. 
• He plans to remove unnecessary obstacles in the path of availing medication. He will brush aside policies that require prior authorization for medication. 
• Mike has always been a firm believer of governance by the use of data. He will use data to serve the people seeking medication. 

Climate and Energy

Unlike the present government, Mike will make climate change action a priority. He will lead the country towards a 100% clean energy future. 

• Immediately after coming to power, Mike will rejoin the Paris Agreement. 
• He plans to set limits on air and water pollution from power plants and will increase the use of clean energy. 
• He will quadruple the federal R&D investment in clean energy. 
• He focuses on ending subsidies for fossil fuels and will expand incentives to make clean energy affordable for common people.
• Mike wants to majorly consult tribes and community leaders and improve data and make environmental justice a national priority. 
• He will bring a national zero-emissions vehicle standard.
• Mike plans to invest in upgrading homes and buildings to lead towards saving energy and reducing pollution. He will set a 100% pollution-free goal for new homes by 2025.
• He aims to invest in resilience projects, mainly focusing on vulnerable low-income communities. 
• He will also work to protect natural areas like floodplains and wetlands. 
• He will create an Infrastructure Finance Corporation to protect critical infrastructure.

Trade Agriculture

Contrary to Trump’s refusal of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Mike supports it and stands against a trade war with China. Mike has records of being pro-trade, and he firmly believes that trade with China is good for both consumers and the US economy. 

His stands on trade and agriculture are:

• Mike has always been a vocal supporter of global trade and trade at a multinational level. 
• He believes that the global economy is not a one-way process or a zero-sum game but is a process of mutual benefit. This way, both the US and China can gain. 
• Mike stands for free trade and concludes that borders must be open for carrying out the same and promoting entrepreneurship. 
• Although Mike hasn’t profoundly talked about agriculture, his idea of a free and flexible trade may open ways for enhanced agricultural practices.

Social & Religious Issues

Mike has been moderate and has records of backing several social causes. Catholic activist Bill Donohue claims that “Bloomberg is one of the most radical pro-abortion politicians in American history.” Mike’s reform for Social & Religious issues include:

• Mike had appropriated $15 million from a civic facility revenue bond transaction that benefited Planned Parenthood. 
• He will work to ensure that every woman has access to reproductive health care. 
• Mike firmly believes that discrimination against blacks means the same against Jews. He is a supporter of equality and country-for-all. 
• Apart from this, Mike also supports the idea of same-sex marriages. 

Taxation

Michael Bloomberg will work to simplify the tax code. He wants to offer a fair tax code to all Americans. 

• On the same lines, he will reverse the tax cuts for high-income earners to make them pay their fair share. 
• He will place a 5% surtax on incomes above $5 million annually to fund improvements in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and more. He claims that this will affect less than 0.1% of taxpayers. 
• He wants to put the tax on the wealthy population on equal terms with workers, apart from introducing strong new measures to prevent tax avoidance. 
• To close the loophole that benefits the wealthy at the expense of working families, Mike will close the “pass-through” 20% deduction and will end the “like-kind” provision that allows real-estate investors to discourage tax indefinitely. 
• He will significantly raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and increase the minimum tax on foreign income. 
• He will apply the criteria of minimum tax on foreign income on a per-country basis rather than on global.
• He will work to prevent companies from shifting reported profits to foreign tax havens.