WHAT: Press Conference where former United States Senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska, 1969-1980) will announce his Candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States.
WHEN: Monday, April 17, 10 a.m.
Some of what he stands on....
The former senator said he decided to run for president about a year ago because of his anger over Iraq and after friends urged him to use the chance to push his two main policy goals: direct democracy and a revamped federal tax code.
Gravel advocates a constitutional amendment and federal statue establishing legislative procedures for citizens to make laws through ballot initiatives on most national and local issues.
“The American people are frustrated with the level of dysfunction of government,” Gravel said. “And if you ask the American people, they want to be empowered. But people are giving their power away on Election Day to politicians.”
He supports the Fair Tax, which would eliminate the IRS and all corporate and individual income taxes, replacing them with a 23% national sales tax on new goods and services.
“What we need to do to safeguard our economy is to turn Americans into savers rather than consumers,” Gravel said. “The United States, the biggest economy in the world, would become the biggest tax haven of the world,” he said, creating jobs and investment.
The Fair Tax Act of 2005, backed by 55 Republican Congressmen, has stalled in both houses. Critics say it is based on unreasonable assumptions about how easily it can finance government.
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