Democracy-Related IssuesConstitutional Reform: Given the existing presidential system of checks and balances has been found so wanting in an era of ideologically-sorted political parties, polarized politics, and an imperial Presidency verging on creeping executive authoritarianism, I support calling a Constitutional Convention under the guidelines set by
Article V of the existing Constitution. The object of the Constitutional Convention would be the writing of a new Constitution declaring we are a federal parliamentary republic with a multi-party system, including the adoption of the doctrine of
parliamentary/legislative sovereignty, and moving the nation's capital to a more geographically central location in the Union (preferably somewhere in between Omaha and Kansas City along the Missouri River, but outside the flood plain), both because of rising sea levels, but also to represent a symbolic break with the past, and a fresh start as we fundamentally rewrite our Constitution to shape the future of our federal republic and representative democracy for generations to come.
Washington, D.C. was built from the wilderness on the backs of slave labor as a brand new capital to break with our colonial past as well as served as a compromise location between the North and South at the time; so similarly will this new capital in the American heartland, in the midst of those who feel alienated from a faraway coastal city, represent a break from the accumulated two hundred years of slavery and Jim Crow that cast an indelible shadow and legacy on the current capital city, and marked the old republic. Given the immense changes involved with changing from a presidential to a parliamentary democracy, we will need a blank canvas -a tabula rasa- hence a brand new capital with no baggage from the old existing capital city.
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At least thirty-eight out of the existing fifty states must ratify the new Constitution for it to take effect.
Here are some details I want to see included:
-The House of Representatives would be directly elected via
mixed-member proportional representation from each of their respective states, with a 5% electoral threshold for political parties. House members, who must be at least 25 years old and live as US citizens in the state they represent for at least seven years, can serve multiple four-year terms. The size of the House as a whole shall be determined by the
Founders' Rule, and the number of House members directly elected by their respective states is proportional to their state's share of the national population as determined by a constitutionally-mandated decennial Census. The powers of the US House of Representatives in this new system would be equivalent to the Australian House of Representatives.
-The Senate would remain directly elected thanks to the 17th amendment. Two senators, who must be at least 30 years old and live as US citizens in the state they represent for at least nine years, will be elected from each of their states in staggered, multiple six-year terms. So essentially the same as it is now, except that the power to filibuster would be removed. The Senate would have the powers equivalent to the Australian Senate.
-The Prime Minister -who is appointed by the President- would be the head of government and the Cabinet. He or she must be a member of the political party or coalition that has a majority in the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister would not have the power to call elections -instead, they would be subject to a default, fixed election date early in November for a general election, which would be once every four years on an even-numbered year as constitutionally mandated. Election Day would be made a quadrennial holiday to maximize voter turnout and participation. Unlike in Australia, no one will be required to vote. States would be strongly encouraged to adopt universal,
automatic voter registration, some form of proportional representation for their legislatures, and to hold elections to their legislatures on the same day.
-The President, who must be at least 35 years old and be a US citizen for at least fourteen years, would be the head of state who is elected by a two-thirds majority of both chambers of Congress for a single five-year term, and (not unlike the Governor-General in commonwealth countries) gives assent to all laws passed by Congress, acts upon the advice of the Prime Minister or other Cabinet members, and oversees foreign policy and the national defense. The Vice-President, who must also be at least 35 years old and be a US citizen for at least fourteen years, would be similarly elected (but can run for multiple five-year terms), and also serves as the President of the Senate. Following the Indian model, anyone running for President must have either been the Vice-President, Governor, or a member of the Cabinet, and be qualified for election to the House of Representatives. Anyone running for Vice-President must not hold any office of profit, and be qualified for election as a member of the Senate.
-The Supreme Court and the federal judiciary would more closely resemble the judicial system of the United Kingdom as stipulated by the
Constitutional Reform Act of 2005. In the event of a vacancy, all judicial nominations made by the President would be screened by a
Judicial Appointments Commission not unlike its UK equivalent. They then would be voted upon by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a closed hearing (and not subject to a public floor vote by the full Senate) to avoid politicization. At least two-thirds of the committee's votes are required for confirmation. Judges and justices serve for life.
-Articles
IV,
V, and
VI, of the existing Constitution would remain unchanged. I also support incorporating the original ten amendments of the Bill of Rights, as well as the three Reconstruction-era amendments plus the 19th amendment, into a new written Constitution.
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Second Amendment: The
Second Amendment was intended to be seen as protecting an individual right as with all the other original ten amendments that comprised the Bill of Rights when it was added to the Constitution. When it was originally written,
'militia' connoted the entirety of the citizenry, not just a government-created body.
Accordingly, I support concealed-carry, castle-doctrine laws, and other liberalizing measures. I strongly oppose gun-bans at any governmental level. However, as with every other amendment, there are limits.
With greater freedom comes greater responsibility in using that freedom, and it is in that spirit that I support measures like mandatory firearms training and universal background checks before any gun or permit is issued, to ensure that the unorganized citizens' militia is well-trained and well-regulated.
District of Columbia: So long as it remains our national capital, I support having the non-federal areas of DC retroceded to Maryland as the city of Washington, thereby enabling the residents within to be represented at all levels of government.
Social/Cultural Hot-Button issuesWomen's Rights: If the Supreme Court sends the
current Equal Rights Amendment back to square one, we should push for a new (and expanded) version of the Equal Rights Amendment along the lines of the Nevada version, and this time with no deadline for passage. This should be the wording of the revised resolution text of the federal Equal Rights Amendment:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
"ARTICLE —
"Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin.
"Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
"Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification."
Gay Rights: I applaud the Supreme Court
decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide, Congress passing the
Respect for Marriage Act repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and to ensure the Supreme Court doesn't backtrack, as well as supporting the passage of the
Equality Act placing the LGBTQ community under the protection of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, as well as other efforts to ensure that they are accepted as full and equal members in our society.
Race: Support the passage of the
John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect the electoral franchise of African Americans and other minorities. Support ending housing discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities, as well as fixing and preserving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (instead of scrapping them); ending the abuse of authority by law-enforcement agencies; and ending the 'War on Drugs' beginning with overturning the Controlled Substances Act,
criminal justice reform including ending mandatory minimum sentencing, and instead treat the drug war as a public health issue.
Immigration: Support comprehensive immigration reform that includes:
-completing the border wall along the US/Mexico border, as well as adding a
virtual border wall to complement it.
-easing the legal immigration process (while reaffirming unrestricted birthright citizenship) so migrants don't feel impelled to fast-track the process by jumping the border, including ending the last elements of the 1924 Immigration Act by eliminating the restrictive immigration quota system once and for all.
-reducing the legal backload in the immigration courts by hiring more judges (plus staff)
- Incorporate the
DREAM Act into any immigration reform bill.
Economic issuesSecondary Education: Favor adapting the
Finland education model to the United States, including a major expansion in after-school tutoring programs as well as universal pre-school education; and changing the traditional school year to a
year-round schedule for struggling schools.
Higher Education: Support making community colleges and vocational schools tuition-free, and encouraging prospective college students to fulfill their introductory course requirements in a community college, while subsequently completing their bachelor's and master's degrees in the four years they will spend at a traditional college/university.
Tax Code: In addition to closing tax loopholes, raising taxes on capital gains and dividends, preserving the estate tax, and setting the top individual income tax rate at 50%, I favor tax reforms including lowering the corporate income tax alongside cracking down on overseas tax havens, and introducing the
Value-Added Tax (superseding all preceding sales and use taxes) tied with cash rebates via smart cards for less affluent Americans.
Entitlement programs: I support
Medicare Extra for All so that working Americans won't lose their health insurance as well as their jobs. Until that is achieved, I support ensuring the future of Medicare and Social Security for generations to come (and perhaps even
expanding them). These are the measures I am prepared to support:
-Slow Benefit Growth for Top 20% Of Earners
-Raise Retirement Age to 69 then index to Longevity
-Index COLAs (cost of living adjustments) to "CPI-E", or the consumer price index for the elderly, it being more generous and a better hedge against inflation.
-Tighten Social Security Disability Insurance Eligibility Criteria
-Limit Spousal Benefits for High Earners
-Create Minimum Benefit at 125% of Poverty
-Increase Benefits Across the Board
-Apply the Benefit Formula to Annual Earnings
-Increase Payroll Tax by 0.5%
-Subject All Wages to Payroll Tax
-Cover Newly-Hired State & Local Workers
-Diversify the Trust Fund to Increase Returns
Additionally, I support allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices as well as including long-term care coverage into Medicare and Medicaid,
nationalizing Medicaid so it won't be at the mercy of states reluctant to extend coverage to their most vulnerable, introducing the public option into the Affordable Care Act, as well as making the expanded Child Tax Credit permanent.
Labor Unions: I favor the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act in its entirety, and passage of the
Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
Free Trade:
Strongly support free trade, and favor the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, trans-Atlantic free trade agreements with the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the completion of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization.
Also support transforming the
African Growth and Opportunity Act into a free trade agreement.
Energy Independence: I support the federal coal-leasing program; increasing investments into clean coal technology; and strictly regulating the fracking practices of the natural gas industry.
In addition, I favor expanding research into nuclear fusion; newer forms of nuclear fission technology; increasing investments into hydrogen fuel-cell technologies, and alternative renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass among others; better battery storage technology for utilities; rebuilding our electrical grid to make it more compatible with renewables; promoting energy efficiency in government as well as in private industry, using the LEED Green Building Rating System as a model; tax credits for hybrid vehicles; and increasing fuel economy standards for newer vehicles, all the while cutting anthropogenic carbon-dioxide emissions via a
bipartisan plan that involves a gradually rising carbon fee and carbon dividends for all American taxpayers.
I also support opening Yucca Mountain as a storage site for spent nuclear waste, as well as increasing our capacity for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel so that they can be reused and to reduce the total amount of waste that would have to be sent there.
Infrastructure: To ensure sustainable economic growth for decades to come, we need to rebuild and expand our infrastructure for the 21st century and beyond. A key element of that would be the creation of a national infrastructure bank, with a portfolio covering everything from
transportation to water/sanitation systems.
Foreign PolicyAdvocate a return to the multilateralism and alliances-based system that served us so well during the post-World War 2 era. Accordingly, I support the ratification of the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a return to the Paris Climate Accord, and World Health Organization among other international organizations and agreements, and an expansion of foreign aid through the
Millennium Challenge Corporation. Advocate nurturing and cultivating our relations with India through such agreements like the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, including India under our nuclear umbrella to prevent an out-of-control nuclear arms race as China expands its nuclear arsenal, and the reversal of the 1947 Partition (with the reunification of India with Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh at least), with the ultimate objective of turning India into a formal ally of the United States alongside Japan and the United Kingdom.
As part of any peace settlement with a post-Putin Russia, Ukraine and NATO should call for Russian reparation payments to rebuild the country, the return of any and all Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity, the prompt extradition of Russian military leaders for their war crimes trials before the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the expulsion of Russian troops from Ukraine, Crimea, Transnistria, Belarus, and Georgia, the demilitarization of Kaliningrad, and a (truly) free and fair plebiscite for Crimea under United Nations auspices. Then, and only then, can Russia hope to return to the community of nations and some semblance of normalcy.
Following the signing of peace terms, I favor expanding NATO eventually to Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Belarus (once it becomes a democracy), and moving our bases in Germany and Italy to Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states as part of a broader strategy to counter and contain future Russian revanchism. Support gradually moving US military units from Okinawa to Guam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, making permanent our naval presence in Singapore, and re-establishing our naval base at Subic Bay near Manila to deter Chinese hegemonic ambitions in Southeast Asia. Support rebuilding and increasing the size of our navy, the modernization of our nuclear arsenal, expansion of our missile defense system to better protect our allies, and keeping our armed forces on the cutting edge technologically to meet any threat posed.
