NO MORE SENSELESS WARS: I look at my nineteen year old son, so full of life and eager to learn and progress, and I think of those youngsters of the same age who enter the armed forces out of patriotism or for opportunity and end up dead , maimed, or psychologically impaired. For what? Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq— For God and nation? No, for the military industrial complex and jingoism!
NO MORE GOVERNMENT BY SPECIAL FINANCIAL INTERESTS: Given the huge amounts of money elected officials have to raise to stay in office, they cannot but be influenced by major sources of contribution, each seeking advantages through contracts of tax exemptions. We need a constitutional amendment restricting how much money can be given directly or indirectly by individuals and corporations for campaigns.
HEALTH CARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH OTHER ADVANCED NATIONS: Whether we use France, Switzerland, Japan, Germany or Canada as models, we need to break the grip of special interests and move to eliminate our current method for funding health care. We pay half again as much as others as a share of Gross Domestic Product , often twice as much per capita, and achieve mediocre results for the bulk of our population. Instead of employers supplying insurance coverage that costs around $3 per hour worked, those funds should be paid to workers. In its place, health care should be paid for by a Value Added Tax on goods and services as is the case in other nations. This will also serve to make US goods more competitive for export.
MEDICAL SCHOOL EDUCATION SHOULD BE FREE: If doctors are to be paid a good but not extravagant compensation, ranging from $125,000 to $200,000 a year with a few specialists receiving as much as $250,000, they should not have to pay off $250,000 or more in debt from their education. We want medical professionals to be focused on their profession, not on how to make money. This works elsewhere for advanced nations and studies suggest there is support for such a change among a majority of physicians today.
PUTTING PEOPLE BACK TO WORK: Long term unemployed loses skills and spirit to work and is a waste of energy and talent. Jobs should be provided by the government in furtherance of the environment and preserving of our infrastructure. We did it in the Great Depression; we should do it again until the economy substantially recovers.
MORE NATIONAL INVESTMENT: the nation should enhance its investment in infrastructure and education.
INCOME TAX RATES SHOULD BE INCREASED ON THE WEALTHY AND SUPER RICH: In the 1950s, the top individual income bracket was in the 70% to 80% range. Today it is 35% after $250,000 annually. Let increase it to 40% after $500,000, 45% after $1,000,000 and 50% after $5,000,000. This will help defray government expenditures.
DO AWAY WITH TAX LOOPHOLES: No more claiming corporations are headquartered on Caribbean islands! No more hoarding untaxed profits overseas. If they do business in the USA, they pay taxes in the USA.
CUT MILITARY SPENDING IN HALF: The danger to our nation isn’t from attack but from the deterioration of our economy and lack of preparation of our youths for the future.
PROVIDE PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION FOR EVERY CHILD: We should follow the lead of European nations by providing nursery and pre-school care for youngsters starting a three years of age. Then they will be better prepared to enter kindergarten and the first grade. Studies show children from less advantaged socio-economic households with pre-school education tend to do much better in later years. Let’s level the playing field!
REFORM METHOD OF COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY EDUCTION. We should reduce the time spent on campuses by one half to two thirds and enable students to learn from home via the Internet. A freshman year on campus followed by two months a year thereafter should be adequate. Even laboratory work could take place through pooling at a local college or university rather than on the home campus. Students cannot afford $50,000 to $100,000 in debt and it distorts their career choices. Furthermore, overpaying of faculty needs to be phased out over time.
ADOPTION OF BETTER VALUES: Studies indicate that Americans do not enjoy a level of contentment comparable do the inhabitants of other advanced nations, specially the Scandinavians. We have become addicted to materialism. The world cannot support the seven billion people if they are to emulate the USA in life style. Our values must change; our consumption become more moderate. We need to be more committed to the common good rather than unbridled individualism and greed.
The list above is not all inclusive. But it would be a great start!
We invite readers to submit their own proposals.
Good list.
As they say to the occupy movement — what’s your ONE demand!
Always a dumb question. There are so many problems created by government dominated by concentrated wealth.
KZ
In addition to limiting campaign contributions, limit the campaign period to six months. Currently the full fourth year of a President’s term is distracted by campaigning; limiting the period would allow the incumbant to focus on what he/she was elected to do: running the country and making hard decisions without regard to popularity polls.
Further, why not tax campaign contributions? A small slice of the multi-millions spent on advertising and marketing, which does little in terms of creating jobs or improving infrastructure or our country’s competitiveness, could have significant impact if invested in areas of need.