“Pearson for the People”

Dear Delaware and Randolph County Residents: I have decided to run for Indiana State Senate, District 26, as an Independent. After the holidays, I will be canvassing and collecting signatures-- I need roughly 1,000 by February 6th.

I am an educator, author and oral historian; I returned to school at 28 and received a BA in American Studies, my MA in U.S. History and my Ph.D. in Modern U.S. History. I am a poorly paid, non-tenure line professor by day, and an activist and organizer in my spare time. In my late teens and early 20s, I suffered from substance abuse and occasional homelessness, finally getting clean and sober at 26. My past experiences with poverty, addiction, recovery, debt, and financial insecurity have certainly influenced my decision to run for senate. I live on the South Side of Muncie and bear witness to the lack of services, jobs, adequate schooling, and crumbling infrastructure on a daily basis.

I believe that all Muncie residents are deserving of healthcare, housing, food, education, and dignity.

Sincerely,

Tanya Pearson

 

Policy Platform

Human Rights: Human rights are inherent for all people

  • Universal, Free Education.

Use income, property, and other taxes to fund public schools in Delaware and Randolph counties, and subsidize trade schools universities. College was once largely free before the Reagan administration initiated a shift from public funding to tuition-based models in 1967. His education advisor, Roger Freeman worried that too many educated citizens would lead to political instability. 

Sources:

https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/threat-of-educated-proletariat-created-the-student-debt-crisis/

https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-country 

  • Universal, Free Child Care.

Childcare is a public good and should be paid for with our tax dollars.

Sources:

https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/where-do-rich-countries-stand- childcare#:~:text=Only%20Belgium%2C%20Denmark%2C%20Lithuania%2C%20Norway%2C,for%20parents%20who%20work%20part%2Dtime.

  • Raise The Minimum Wage and ultimately shift to a universal basic income so that people can afford to live without working several jobs at once. If the minimum wage had been adjusted to reflect inflation, the average minimum wage would be around $25/hr. 

    Sources:

    https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4647136-heres-what-minimum-wage-would-be-if-it-kept-up-with-inflation/

  • Free Long-term Substance Abuse Treatment—decriminalize addiction.

  • Decriminalize Homelessness.

Substance use and homelessness are not crimes and should not be treated as such. The pharmaceutical industry and the irresponsible prescribing of pain killers is responsible for the opioid epidemic. Housing costs, rental fees, predatory lenders, and the exorbitant cost of living paired with a stagnant minimum wage means that people cannot afford ACCESS to shelter.  

  • Demilitarize Our Public Schools

I personally know 13 and 15 year old children who can barely read, have been handcuffed and arrested at school, or have been kicked out of school for behavior issues. We need to pay our public school teachers accordingly, get the police out of schools, and repeal SB 1 which has decimated funding for public schools. 

Healthcare

  • Legalize abortion. If we agree that the second amendment should not be infringed upon, the same protections should apply to women’s bodies. 

  • Explicitly protect transgender individual’s right to privacy and healthcare under the law. 

Civil rights: Legal rights granted by a government to its citizens that ensure equality and prevent discrimination—(civil rights are human rights!)

Voting Rights

  • Ranked Choice voting—each vote counts. End the 2 party system and give the power of choice back to voters.

  • Ban PACS, lobbyists—ensure that your representatives are not beholden to outside interests and serve their constituents. 

Immigration

  • Accountability for failed foreign policy which has created the “boarder crisis”

As a country, we need to hold ourselves accountable for creating the so-called crisis at the border. The United States–and it’s happening again in Venezuela–has initiated covert operations and deposed democratically elected leaders in Latin American and around the world for access to oil, land, minerals and other material resources. Our history is mired in  imperial processes, the blowback has led to refugees and migrants fleeing to the United States only to be trapped in bureaucratic limbo. 

Sources:

Vincent Bevins, The Jakarta Method

Stephen Kinzer, Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq 

  • Make Delaware and Franklin counties a sanctuary for migrants. Do not comply with ICE or illegal deportations. 

  • Ensure due process for those who have been illegally detained and incarcerated or deported, and expedite a path to citizenship.

1st Amendment

 

  • Ban Attorney General Todd Rokita’s “Eyes on Education” Portal which has created a culture of fear and surveillance and led to the firing of public school teachers, University administrators, and professors across the state.

  • Create a new Board of Trustees at Ball State—Trustees should not be chosen by the Governor who continues to proactively comply with the whims of the Trump administration.

  • Repeal SB 202–reinstate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and language in schools. 

  • Repeal SB 1 and use property taxes to better fund public schools.

Justice For Palestine (Sudan, and the Congo)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/indiana/article_38c79384-08b7-11ef-9e5c-f3b336056569.html

How Are We Going To Pay For This?

  • Tax corporations and the rich–we can afford to invest in our communities by taxing corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Raise Walmart’s tax rate.

  • Defund the police, and use corporate tax to subsidize local business, community care and mutual aid programs.

  •  Invest in roads and crumbling infrastructure.

  • Legalizing marijuana will provide a new source of taxed revenue.

Economy and Unions