Jill Stein in OnTheIssues interviews with presidential candidates

On Civil Rights: No discrimination based on orientation whether it's LGB or T

OnTheIssues:In the wake of national same-sex marriage, what about transgender rights?

Stein: I include transgender rights in GLBT protection. Sexual orientation should not be a basis for discrimination whether it's LGB or T. In my first run for office in 2002, when this issue was first brought to my attention, I was for marriage, not just civil unions. It wasn't until 3 years ago that the leadership of the Democratic Party changed its tune--even in 2004 Hillary was still opposing gay marriage. Vice President Joe Biden finally broke the ice [by saying he was "comfortable" with gay marriage in 2012]-- by that time gay marriage was rating highly favorable in the polls--is that leadership? I believe in doing what is right and leading the way. The Democratic Party is doing the opposite of that.

On Civil Rights: "Religious Freedom" is surrogate for patriarchal domination

Stein: Yes, like Hobby Lobby. I ask, "Whose freedom?" Freedom of corporations and the economic elite, or freedom of employees and consumers? We need to be about freedom for everybody. We need to uphold the law of the land--everybody's freedom needs to be respected--if your freedom means dominating someone else, then you don't get it--businesses cannot discriminate based on gender or religion or lack thereof--businesses are public entities that exist in the public marketplace and need to respect the dignity and human rights of everyone, period.

OnTheIssues: How do you respond to Hobby Lobby's argument?

Stein: Religion is used there as a surrogate for patriarchy--usually male--to dominate women's reproductive lives. It's a misuse and an abuse of the concept of religion that is simply be used as a surrogate.

On Civil Rights: After marriage equality comes workplace equality

Stein: My sense is that we need to end discrimination in the workplace and housing. There are 28 states that have not enacted protection in the workplace. Suicides are four times elevated among LGBT youth.

OnTheIssues: You mean you're worried about same-sex couples being "Married on Sunday; fired on Monday?"

Stein: Yes that's right.

On Corporations: Privatization is an enormous step backwards

Stein: I'm not aware of any--and I am aware of lots of miserable examples of privatization--everything from prisons to the military, public transportation, judicial services, social services--privatization is an enormous step backwards. On healthcare we would save $400 billion a year if we switched to single payer--to a fully non-privatized health insurance system--with health delivery the same, but payment via public insurance. Another great example is municipal energy systems--public systems costs less, are more responsive, do faster work, and consumers can direct their energy choices. We could then make good choices for consumers and for the planet. On every front public systems are outdoing private companies.

On Education: Common Core empowers contractors over teachers

Stein: In general, high stakes testing is more than counterproductive--it is destructive. It is used as a political tool against teachers--targeting low-income and people of color. Our educational system should target lifetime learning--with full and equitable funding; and eliminating disparities by race. Testing for diagnostic purposes as part of standards [is ok, but we should have] curriculum written by teachers--not by corporate contractors.

OnTheIssues: So what about a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on Common Core, since it addresses some of those issues and not others?

Stein: It's not separable from the issues above so I'd say thumbs down. All schools and all students should have the option to opt out. And that's not enough--because so much of school curricula have been destroyed--we need to teach multi-dimensionally and make schools relevant, using the arts, engaging the community, and more.

On Education: Charter schools assault the treasure of our public schools

Stein: Public education is another example where there has been a complete scam [regarding privatization]--charter schools are not better than public schools--and in many cases they are far worse. They cherry-pick their students so they can show better test scores. The treasure of our public schools system has been assaulted by the process of privatization.

On Families & Children: Kids in poverty can't go to school in condition to learn

Stein: Education is inseparable from child health--kids living in poverty, in a food desert, their families subject to homelessness and unemployment--there's no way those kids can come to school in a condition to learn. As a first order of business, education needs to be integrated into a total system of eliminating poverty. As a first step, kids need to eat well, and should not be coming to school fed the kind of food that is inflicted on low-income communities. The prevailing wisdom is that you just need to test kids harder--it's so clueless that we've developed this concept of education as separate from the health of the child--[as if kids are] not subject to pollution exposure, food issues, dodging bullets, etc.

On Families & Children: Half-million in foster care means system is dysfunctional

Stein: First, there are half million US kids in foster care now--it's a sign that our families and our communities are in crisis, that so many children are in need of new homes. The issue here is that our families and community are continuing to be under attack. This is a red flag in the realm of public health--this is a symptom of a system in dysfunction. What needs fixing is reproductive healthcare and getting families out of crisis, and ensuring that child welfare is working so that children can be properly placed, including that LGBT rights should not be a factor in adoption.

OnTheIssues: What about adoption, and adopting from abroad?

Stein: Adopting from abroad--our first impulse should be to stabilize families, community, & the economy so that kids don't have to be put up for adoption. But [if needed, then] adoption should be done in an equitable way to ensure the health of the children.

On Families & Children: Don't assume that mothers should always get custody

Stein: Fathers should have an equal hand in their kids' lives--arrangements after divorce need to favor the child first, but once the child is protected, both mother & father should be equal. The child should be able to engage both parents unless there is some specific reason that one parent is a danger to the child--it should not be assumed that mothers should get custody and fathers should be cut out.

On Foreign Policy: Work towards neutral Ukraine; don't arm them against Russia

Stein: We should encourage Ukraine to be neutral--we helped foment a coup against a democratically-elected government, [resulting in a government] where ultra-nationalists and ex-Nazis came to power. Imagine the inverse: if Russia did that in Canada--installed a government hostile to us--we saw something like that in Cuban Missile Crisis--that would not be acceptable to us. So let's not be single-issue--instead of fomenting a hostile Ukraine we should be leading the way in establishing a neutral Ukraine that would allow Russia to not feel under attack. We've made great strides--Putin is not a hero--but as Noam Chomsky points out, the Doomsday clock has moved closer to midnight than it has been since 1983. The hostile faceoff with Russia causes that and is entirely misplaced--led by war hawks in Obama administration--especially [Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs] Victoria Nuland, who cheered on an overthrow in Ukraine.

On Foreign Policy: China provides less heavy-handed foreign aid than does US

Stein: We should deal with China like a member of global community--stop isolating and intimidating China--that is not gonna work.

OnTheIssues: What about the latest standoff in the South China Sea?

Stein: It is wrongheaded for us to deal with territorial rights on the borders of China--what I mean by dealing with China as a member of global community is not to isolate them. On US debt, they finance all sorts of 3rd-world countries in a way that is far less heavy-handed than the US--we need to compete with China on that. We do need to stand up on human rights--but we need to do that inside the US or it does not pass the laugh test. Like in our jails and in our schools and in our courts and the way that we treat immigrants--we have created them and then we criminalize them. We need to get our own house in order first--stand up for human rights in China, yes, but also in Israel and Saudi Arabia too.

On Foreign Policy: Lifting the Cuban embargo was long overdue

Stein: It was long overdue--it was time to end our economic & political warfare against Cuba. We need to be respecting their right to self-determination. We should go there without intent to interfere in their national process of deciding what kind of government, what kind of food and entertainment they have--we should respect the choices that the Cuban people have made.

OnTheIssues: And the Castros?

Stein: We should not be in the business of overturning Castro's rule. We should encourage human rights in Cuba, but we have been harboring terrorists against Cuba and we need to address human rights violations that we ourselves have been doing.

On Foreign Policy: Expanding NATO threatens Russia and breaks our promise

Stein: I think this is an issue where something does need to be said--but it's important to understand where they are coming from. The United States, under Bush 1, had an agreement when Germany joined NATO--Russia agreed with the understanding that NATO would not move one inch to the east. Since then NATO has pursued a policy of basically encircling Russia--including the threat of nukes and drones and so on.

On Foreign Policy: Focus on human rights, international law, and diplomacy

Stein: On the basis of human rights, international law, and diplomacy. We need to be a leading member of the world community--leading but not domineering, which has become the U.S. approach, dominated by endless war, which is unsustainable.

On Free Trade: TPP attacks our basic national sovereignty

Stein: The dispute resolution method allows corporations to not go to parent country--corporations can sue for lost future profits--it's a crazy concept.

OnTheIssues: To what court would corporations sue?

Stein: "Investor state dispute resolution courts." Three judges appointed by the World Bank, and heard in secret, who can overrule democratically established laws of the US or Mexico or any member of the treaty. A country can have its laws overturned by a corporation saying you are restricting my future profits by requiring that I pay workers the prevailing wage or clean up my toxic waste. It represents an attack on our basic national sovereignty. It means for example you can no longer pass a "local-preferred" policy because some agribusiness says it discriminates against their product .It would not stand the test of public scrutiny, which is why it is secret. What is not treasonous about this?

On Free Trade: Opposes Fast Track and executive action

Stein: Executive action for treaties in contrary to Constitution--they need congressional approval. We as the public should have a chance to view them, so it is dangerous for executive action to take place with international treaties. I very much oppose Fast Track.

On Free Trade: TPP is like NAFTA on steroids

Stein: Well, TPP is worse; it's like NAFTA on steroids--very little about trade and more about putting corporate profits first and creating a corporate state.

On Government Reform: Term limits end guaranteed re-election & lifetime incumbency

Stein: The issue here is that Congress barely has a 10% approval rating yet it is re-elected with a 95% probability. Something is wrong with this picture. One of the problems is that incumbency provides enormous advantages--we need to overturn this system of automatic re-election. Insuring that there will be turnover is one way to help the American people achieve a more democratic result.

OnTheIssues:And what about the number of years? One popular proposal is 12 years in either legislative chamber, which would mean 2 Senate terms or 6 House terms.

Stein: Well, the limit should be somewhere above 1 or 2 terms, but not lifetime incumbency--decades of incumbency is a problem.

On Government Reform: Confederate flag should be removed from all public locations

Stein: The Confederate flag is a terrible symbol of white supremacy and slavery. It should be removed from all public locations. But this is only a symbol. We need to go deeper to erase the institutional racism that lives on post-slavery--we've had lynchings and the Drug War and discrimination--we should address the incredible legacy of the criminal slave culture, from the criminal institution of slavery. We need to take action beyond changing flags---we need to take action on [racial disparities in] employment and housing, and an end to healthcare disparity. When you add up the impacts of those disparities, the average African American has 14 years taken off their lives. The average African American family had 10 cents on dollar wealth [compared to white families]--and under Obama that dropped to even lower.

On Government Reform: Earmarks grease the skids for corruption

Stein: Earmarks grease the skids for corruption and for returning favors to campaign donors.

OnTheIssues: Is full disclosure enough?

Stein: They should be federally overturned; not only disclosed but easily challenged and removed. Currently it's very hard to find out about earmarks.--you have to be a full-time political junkie to figure it out. Earmarks should be disclosed, but there should be a simple procedure to challenge them.

On Health Care: Tort reform becomes unneeded under Medicare-for-All

Stein: The answer is a Medicare-for-All system. Much of what motivates large settlements is the need to pay for a lifetime of chronic care. With healthcare as a human right, you no longer need to go to court to assure coverage.

OnTheIssues: How would you implement that, given that ObamaCare is here to stay?

Stein: New Zealand uses no fault malpractice insurance--there is no requirement to find intention or fault-- and no need to create a villain when dealing with just statistical risks--and they have much smaller settlements. That is something we might want to look into, but the definitive answer is Medicare-for-All. Court settlement is an important safeguard against abuse and incompetence--that right should not be curtailed--but no-fault and Medicare-for-All is the main answer. If there are to be any changes in the way the courts work, the focus should be on speeding up the process.

On Health Care: Threats like Ebola are threats to public health worldwide

Stein: It could become an issue again with SARS--we live in an age of globalized health. Threats to public health are threats to public health everywhere. We need to pay attention to incredible health injustice and enormous health disparities and address them--or they are going to come back to bite us. We need to ensure a basic level of public health and infrastructure around the world--we need to be doing that instead of bombing abroad and exporting weapons--we should replace the export of goods with the export of health & education & green energy technology. We need to treat the world like we are part of a common human family--which we are.

OnTheIssues: And travel restrictions like Chris Christie enforced for Ebola?

Stein: Travel restrict need to be established by health authorities as a technical issue by people who understand the disease. What Christie did was fear-mongering--entirely what we don't want to do

On Homeland Security: Military-industrial complex shows woes of privatization

Stein: [We've tried privatization] in everything from prisons to the military--the military-industrial complex is a poster child against privatization--where contractors' needs become the prime mover of the budget.

OnTheIssues: I think you mean such as how in Iraq, support functions such as transportation and meals were provided by private contractors, while in Vietnam and earlier , those same functions were performed by uniformed soldiers, and that the numbers of soldiers were hence artificially reduced?

Stein: I agree completely

On Homeland Security: Disarm North Korea as part of worldwide nuclear disarmament

Stein: That's a complicated problem in a society that has many issues and struggles but that also includes Korea's history of violence and imperialism, from both Japan and the US. There is a history of incredible distrust and aggression--it's important to understand that.

OnTheIssues: And what about their nuclear capability?

Stein: To build a nuclear free world--we've been addressing non-proliferation for a long time without address nuclear disarmament. Non-proliferation was supposed to be a phase through which we passed on the way to nuclear disarmament. They see nuclear weapons as essential, from their viewpoint, to defend their sovereignty.

OnTheIssues: So you mean we should lead by example?

Stein: We should lead by virtue of global agreements that also include us. We could get rid of MANY nukes as a first step because we're so far ahead [in possessing more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world].

On Homeland Security: Edward Snowden is a hero for exposing mass spying

Stein: Hero ; he has done the American people an incredible service by exposing the violations of the Constitution that have been perpetrated on us--which was taken very seriously around the world, where he has been vindicated. The kind of spying going on has not been protecting us--not one instance of a terrorist plot was found by these abuses--none, by mass spying. They initially claimed dozens of cases but it was found tat there were no none, in a Congressional investigation. Snowden should be treated as a hero---efforts to harass him and prosecute him should be declared over and done with. Charges should not be brought against him, and he should return with hero status--he could improve our national security if he were working for us

On Homeland Security: Bring troops home from 800 bases abroad

Stein: Foreign relations would be a whole lot more predictable if done by the Stein Doctrine, than when done by the current policy of military domination. For an example of a specific application, we need to bring troops home from 800 bases abroad.

On Principles & Values: Moral foundation for society good; religious basis bad

Stein: We don't live in a religious country--in the sense of having no national religion, and instead the separation of church & state--so faith should not be a public issue. But, yes, it tends to be something that people are interested in. I'm not comfortable with any narrow religious or secular view of the world. Religious societies where religion is enshrined in government are extremely problematic. I respect every faith and look for a moral and ethical foundation of how society works--but that is independent of faith or whether one has a religion at all. And that needs to be reflected in our government. Failing to separate church and state is a bad prescription.

On Principles & Values: Raised Jewish; married to a Protestant atheist

Stein: I was brought up in a reform Jewish family--where the key [aspects of faith] are community and social responsibility--I did not come away with a sense of "Jewish right & wrong" that is different from "right & wrong" period. My husband was brought up Protestant but is a practicing atheist--I bring that perspective of religious neutrality--we need to be a diverse society--that's just a condition of the modern world.

On Tax Reform: Increase inheritance taxes; use it as "Aristocracy Tax"

Stein: I'd call it the "Aristocracy Tax." We instituted an estate tax so we would not have massive inherited wealth so we would not have an aristocracy like we left behind in Europe. Now wealth disparities are greater than ever in history--we have more than an aristocracy going on. An aristocracy tax is only part of it--a couple can pass on $11 million in wealth before it's taxed--that's pretty outrageous--and it got codified under Obama--he made permanent the Bush tax cut on that aspect. We need to massively reduce the inheritance gift--the aristocracy gift--and broader tax reform so we don't have such massive accumulation of wealth in the first place. We need to restore the inheritance tax and it should be progressive at higher levels of inheritance.