What do you start out with

I like the 50% research bonus always.
The rest of my points I'll adjust depending on what strategy I think I'll use
So far in GC2 I've put points into morale bonus (+20%)
I think there's a point left over that I generally choose economy or something
Then I play the party that gives a +20% to social and military production (Federalists?).

To play this way, you kind of have to build economic improvements to stay competitive, but you will always be ahead in techs.

hehe

its Populists for the Win. +20 morale +20 diplomacy
I also take creativity ,defense +30 and trade routes + 1

So far I have just been playing as Human. I spend the spare 4 credits on getting a 50% boost to military production. I choose the technology party for the research and sensor boost. I played and won the first part of the campain on level tough.

I set my spending at 100% and leave my tax rate at 33%. I focus on building up my infastructure (researching teches for advanced factories, lab, trade centers, and farms and building them on my planets), expanding, and getting warp tech (this gives a 2 sector/turn boost to all your ships, even those without engines), and colonizing the best planets. Then I start researching weapons/defenses; when I reach a given point I start building my fleet and switch to researching planetary invasion. When my starting war chest is exhausted I up my tax rate to around 40-50% and cut back on my spending so that I'm break even or at a small surplus.

I am playing as human and I spread my points between research, diplomacy, happiness and millitarization. I also chose the tech party, for it seems to me that if you don't tech up fast enough you are the patzy of the universe and you don't last, for every race more powerfull will want a piece of you.