At the Farmer-Labor Policy Center, we believe policy should work for working people — not just the wealthy, not just corporations, and not just those already in power. This page lays out our core platform: the values we fight and create policy for, why they matter, and how they can make everyday life better for all of us.
These aren’t vague promises — they’re practical, community-based solutions rooted in fairness, dignity, and common sense. For each major issue, you’ll find a clear stance and the tools to learn more, take action, and stay informed.
We’re using these policies to continually build community-specific policy recommendations for our communities in Minnesota. These community-specific policy recommendations follow the platform below but are tailored to the laws, needs, and opportunities unique to each community.
Platform
Economic Renewal
Progressive Taxation and Wealth Tax: Implement a progressive tax system for higher-income individuals and introduce a wealth tax on substantial net worth to reduce income inequality and fund essential public services.
Corporate Tax Reform: Close loopholes and ensure corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Empower the IRS to strengthen tax enforcement and auditing processes, redirecting funds towards strengthening social welfare programs and supporting economic stability.
Direct Banking Option: Introduce a public banking system option that allows people to bank with the Federal Reserve directly and cease all private bank bailouts, to enhance regulatory oversight and financial sector efficiency, ensuring a stable environment for economic growth.
Tempering Globalization and Sustainable Growth: Adjust globalization policies to promote fair competition, protect domestic industries, and direct public investment towards sustainable practices and job preservation, fostering equitable and stable economic growth.
Labor Rights and Protections
Minimum Wage Increase: Raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage, ensuring all workers can afford basic necessities.
Union Support: Strengthen laws protecting the right to unionize and collectively bargain. Provide federal, state, and local support for union activities and penalize union-busting tactics.
Worker-Owned Cooperatives: Promote the establishment and growth of worker-owned cooperatives (farm and industry) through grants, tax incentives, and technical assistance.
Democratic Ownership and Wealth Redistribution: Transfer control from wealthy shareholders to workers, redistributing shares based on tenure. Allow non-controlling shareholders to sell shares back for redistribution. Shift focus from the stock market to public retirement programs, bonds, and commodities. Incentivize companies to offer defined-benefit pension plans.
Healthcare for All
Universal Healthcare: Implement a single-payer healthcare system that guarantees healthcare for all citizens. Including medical, dental, and vision services, along with pharmaceutical and compulsory personal care products.
Mental Health Services: Expand access to mental health services as part of the universal healthcare system, ensuring comprehensive care for all aspects of health.
Comprehensive Health Standards: Improve the quality of food, drugs, and water by mandating stricter FDA guidelines. Promote exercise and provide more days off for workers to enhance public health.
Education and Training
Free Public Education: Provide free, high-quality public education from preschool through university, including vocational and technical training.
Student Debt Relief: Cancel existing student debt and transition to a system where higher education is publicly funded and free at the point of use.
Adult Education Programs: Expand adult education and retraining programs to help workers adapt to changing job markets and technologies.
Affordable Housing
Fair Housing and Homeownership: Eliminate landlords and property taxes to lower home purchase and maintenance costs. Expand housing availability through cooperative, condominium, and rent-to-own options with public support.
Public Housing Investment: Increase funding for the construction and maintenance of public housing to ensure affordable, high-quality homes for all.
Homelessness Eradication: Develop comprehensive programs to provide housing and support services for the homeless, with a goal of eradicating homelessness.
Environmental Sustainability
Green New Deal: Invest in renewable energy, green infrastructure, and sustainable agriculture to combat climate change and create millions of green jobs.
Environmental Regulations: Strengthen regulations to reduce pollution, protect natural resources, and ensure environmental justice for all communities.
Land Protection: Preserve land as urban areas grow to ensure that there are plenty of resources available for farming, environmental sustainability, and outdoor recreation. Include communal farms and parks in urban development.
Economic Democracy and Public Services
Democratic Ownership of Key Industries: Transition heavily subsidized industries such as energy, transportation, and telecommunications to democratic ownership to ensure they are run for the public good.
Universal Basic Services: Provide free or low-cost access to essential services like water, electricity, internet, and public transportation.
Infrastructure Renewal: Invest in infrastructure, including developing a modern rail and bus system, along with cycling options, to enhance transportation efficiency, affordability, and environmental sustainability, while creating new job opportunities.
Strengthen Social Protection Programs: Ensure full funding and benefits for programs like Social Security.
Savings Programs: Create programs to help and teach Americans how to save.
Political Democracy Improvements
Constitutional and Democratic Reform: Amend the constitution to better meet current needs and enhance democracy, potentially transitioning to a parliamentary system. Introduce mechanisms for direct democracy, like referendums, to empower citizens in decision-making.
Economic and Financial Reform: Cease government bailouts for corporations and the wealthy. Implement stronger competition laws to ensure fair markets. Reform bankruptcy laws to prioritize fresh starts and address issues like student loans and derivatives.
Ethical Governance and Fiscal Responsibility: Enact campaign finance reform with public financing and strict contribution limits to reduce political influence. Strengthen anti-corruption laws and create independent watchdogs for accountability.
Free and Ethical Press: Preserve a free press by regulating it to ensure only documented facts are reported, preventing misleading information. The press should operate as nonprofits supported by diverse donations from individuals and small businesses in their communities. Ownership should be by the workers who run it, not by corporations or wealthy shareholders.
Protection of Gun Rights: Ensure that individuals have the right to bear arms, provided they pass mental health and background checks, and can organize into well-regulated militias to defend their homes and communities against overwhelming government and plutocratic powers. Implement measures to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
Intellectual Property and Innovation Reform: Modernize patent, copyright, and trademark laws to prevent corporate monopolization and ensure fair access to innovation. Shorten the duration of corporate-held patents and copyrights while protecting individual creators’ rights. Require that technologies developed with public funding (e.g., university research grants, government R&D programs) be open-access or offered at fair licensing rates. Introduce a “Use It or Lose It” rule: if corporations sit on patents without developing products for the public good, the rights revert to the public domain. Promote cooperative licensing models and open innovation systems to foster competition, lower prices, and increase access to vital technologies.
Digital Rights and Resistance to Technofascism: As technology rapidly advances, we must confront the rise of techno-fascism – where surveillance, algorithmic control, misinformation, and centralized digital power threaten democracy and civil liberties. We will ban the use of undemocratic, privately controlled surveillance tools in government operations and require that all government-used software be open-source and publicly accountable. Individuals must have the right to truly own their digital assets and data, with protections against shadow-banning, manipulation through algorithmic “feeds,” and unchecked censorship by unaccountable tech monopolies. We will fight for open operating systems, software freedom, and competition in digital infrastructure to break up corporate control. Artificial intelligence must be used to improve people’s lives, not eliminate jobs. We will tie AI deployment to job guarantees, retraining programs, and shared economic benefits so technology uplifts workers instead of replacing them.
Social Justice and Equality
Civil Rights and Affirmative Action: Strengthen laws to combat discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other characteristics. Enhance affirmative action to address discrimination legacies.
Protecting Reproductive Rights: Prevent government overreach into personal health decisions of the Citizenry. Ensure that everyone has full control over their bodies for reproduction by guaranteeing access to affordable contraceptives, and women have access to safe and legal abortion services.
Upholding Secular Governance: Ensure the separation of church and state, maintaining the state’s agnostic stance in all matters, especially religion, and focusing on fighting for the entire working class without ideological bias.
Justice Reform: Implement comprehensive reform to end mass incarceration, eliminate private prisons, ensure fair treatment for all, democratize access to justice, and remove financial barriers.
Immigrant Rights: Protect the rights of immigrants, provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented individuals, and ensure humane treatment of migrants.
Defense and Public Safety Reform
Military Budget Reform: Lower the budget by cutting inflated costs, focusing funds on homeland and ally defense.
Veteran Support: Provide comprehensive care and seamless transitions back to civilian life, integrating disabled veterans into social welfare programs.
Enhanced Police Training: Require police officers to complete extensive education (2+ years) on laws, de-escalation, and mental health, plus a bootcamp equivalent to military training.
Continuous Education and Fitness: Mandate that police officers stay current with laws and maintain military-level physical fitness.
Democratic Leadership and Oversight: Ensure police leadership is democratically elected and establish community oversight boards.
Community Empowerment
Local Governance: Empower local communities to have greater control over local governance and resources through participatory budgeting and community councils.
Collective Action: Support workers’ and citizens’ collective action, and promote their participation in democracy.
Community Development: Invest in community development programs that support small businesses, local infrastructure, and cultural initiatives.
Protection of Third Spaces: Ensure public libraries, community centers, and similar third spaces are fully funded, accessible, and protected as essential community hubs.
Implementation and Accountability
Transparent Governance: Ensure all government activities and spending are transparent and subject to public scrutiny.
Regular Assessments: Conduct regular assessments of all programs and policies to ensure they are meeting their goals and making necessary adjustments based on feedback and outcomes.
Public Participation: Foster a culture of public participation in governance through regular town hall meetings, public forums, and online platforms for citizen engagement.
Farmer Labor Policy Center 