State Platform of the Pennsylvania Prohibition Party
Examined and approved by the members, February, 2023
Preamble
We, the Pennsylvania Prohibition Party, are advocates of effective government and social responsibility. We recommend the following policies to maintain and improve the lives of Pennsylvanians:
Good Government
Pennsylvania has a poor reputation in regard to districting and in regard to legislative process. The latest re-districting maps are an improvement over previous maps, but more needs to be done to create competitive (instead of “safe”) districts and to eliminate gerrymandering. There are too many procedural obstacles to bringing up popular bills in the legislature for a floor vote.
Education
We recognize the value of inclusive public schools in ensuring that young people from different economic and social backgrounds learn to work together. However, we believe that many public schools these days are more concerned with process than with results. Private schools inject competition into the education industry. We therefore advocate making vouchers available to all parents, to be used at any school of their choice whose course offerings meet basic state requirements and whose pupils demonstrate command of the subject matter.
We deplore the emphasis placed on extra-mural sports; we believe that the money now spent on athletic facilities and equipment would be better spent on academic needs and on teachers’ salaries.
We would increase state subsidies for K-12 schools in preference to raising property taxes.
We would not allow military recruiters to participate in school-sponsored job fairs.
Agriculture
Industrial-scale farming in Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, is forcing small farmers into bankruptcy, de-populating rural communities, degrading the environment, and diminishing the effectiveness of anti-biotics, as well as confining animals under inhumane conditions. The Pennsylvania Prohibition Party will protect small farmers and will base its policies on stewardship of the land rather than on exploitation.
Labor
We believe that freedom of association is a basic right of American citizens. No person can be required to belong to a certain lodge or to a certain church in order to be employed; neither should he be required to belong to a certain union. We therefore support right-to-work laws.
At the same time, workers must be free to voluntarily organize and join unions without facing dismissal from their jobs or other union-busting tactics by employers.
Environment
Pennsylvania already is an environmentally conscious state. The Pennsylvania Prohibition Party will strengthen existing laws and regulations in order to ensure that our posterity inherits a livable land and sufficient mineral resources.
We advocate the adoption of zoning laws, to inhibit the conversion of farm and forest land to residential and industrial uses.
Health
The loss of small hospitals and the weakening of emergency services is a major concern in keeping Pennsylvania a good place to live. Part of this problem has been created by increasingly expensive state and federal regulations. The Pennsylvania Prohibition Party will not allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good when doing so makes social services unaffordable.
Addictions
The signature issue of the Prohibition Party is opposition to beverage alcohol. By the same reasoning, we also oppose the use of tobacco and other recreational drugs, generally: Much research has shown that the tax revenue from “sin taxes” is less than the tax expenditure of repairing the damage caused by sinning.
The appropriate use of any drug is for a necessary and legitimate medical goal when drug-free methods are not effective. All drugs should be regulated by the FDA (including alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana), which should be adequately funded and staffed for this critical area.
We oppose criminalizing the use of recreational drugs. Doing so protects traffickers’ profits, fills prisons with victims, and has supported generations of social workers, without much affecting the volume of use. Criminalizing the manufacture, transportation, and sale of drugs does restrict the volume of use.