I am a social democrat, a 'small l' liberal.

The following is copied from an FB post. The original author is unknown and I have edited and added to more closely fit my own beliefs.

I am a social democrat, a 'small l' liberal.

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. A national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and will not be devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.
3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.
4. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live a decent life.
5. I believe that labour laws ought to provide for at least three weeks paid holidays plus paid statutory holidays plus earned sick leave plus at least 6 months paid maternity leave, enforce time and a half for hours over 40 per week and support creation and honest operation of unions to the point the workers have the same bargaining power as management.
6. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.
7. I don't believe LGBTQ people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you. I do not believe people who self medicate with drugs are subhuman. I believe they have a right to live whether they are able or willing to change and that we need to work on fixing the systemic problems that cause people to self medicate.
8. I believe in immigration and taking in refugees including those from America which is no longer a safe country. Undocumented immigrants should be dealt with fairly and promptly and refugee status granted for much more than fleeing from war. Newcomers to our country strengthen it and help build our economy.
9. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.
10. I believe in the enforcement of current gun laws and enacting new, common-sense gun regulations including registration of all firearms and banning of 'assault rifles", clips holding more than 5 rounds, pistols other than for licensed security, law enforcement, and shooting clubs. 
11. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it "When we know better, we do better". When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?
12. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. I believe in living in the world we have while we work to make it better. 
13. I believe that women and men should be treated as equals, with equal respect, equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work. The Public and the courts need to take into account the woman's word as truthful in the same way they now treat the word of men.
14. In summary, I think we should take care of each other.  I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

The linked article is well worth reading. 

Why do liberals believe the things that they do?

from the article