A few participants in the group expressed that they
did not want to encourage religious extremists and anti-evolution groups emerging
at public expense. I argued that overall
there would be a rich diversity of unique, more-cohesive communities with a
sense of neighborhood togetherness, something that is lacking in today's
society. Twenty years later, I retired
from teaching in the public schools, and after working with the bureaucracy and hierarchy
within the public schools, I can say I still support neighborhood control of
neighborhood schools.
The Occupy movement failed, at least in part, because
it lacked leadership and could not agree on specific demands to make of
Congress. So, I am currently thinking,
what if there can be a central clearinghouse, or several websites, that can
assimilate the results of a political survey. From that survey, progressives can find common
ground and make specific demands of Congress.
Members of Congress can then change the laws and add the new amendments,
or be voted out of office, as mass support for a powerful agenda gains
momentum.
I have my own package of ideal demands to make of
Congress, which has been made into a survey, for which on each item, participants
can choose whether they disagree, are not sure, agree if slightly modified, or
totally agree. But other surveys could easily
be used. If my survey only offers food
for thought, then I will be thankful for that. Here are my 27 ways to improve local communities,
our nation, and the world.
____ 1. Dismantle all nuclear weapons and nuclear
energy power plants, simultaneously and voluntarily, the world over as soon as
possible.
____ 2. Bring home all U.S. troops and close down
the government's 700-1000 military bases around the world. Even with such a drawdown, our nation would
retain more than enough capacity to defend its own borders. The money previously spent on the military
would be used to create jobs and rebuild our nation's infrastructure: "[A]nd
they shall turn their swords into ploughshares." (Isaiah 2:4). Military ships, submarines, and planes can be
used for low-budget travel and tourism.
____ 3. Establish Single-Payer Health Insurance with
the federal government as the single payer.
____ 4. Remove the influence of private financial
contributions and of lobbyists on members of Congress in the traditional way. The Library of Congress will create a website
that will become an online forum and clearinghouse for the advocacy of all
public policy. All positions and
arguments will be publicized. Everyone
will know who is lobbying for what and why.
Publicly provide the same finances to the political campaigns of the
seven largest, national political parties, and give all seven parties equal
public exposure.
____ 5. Elect the U.S. House of Representatives
through a system of Proportional Representation, and abolish the U.S. Senate:
Why should California and Wyoming have the same number of senators when
California's population is about 70 times greater? The seven largest, national
political parties will be empowered in a single-chambered, national
legislature. Under proportional
representation, the National Green Party may get 15 percent of the vote, for
example, in the 435-membered House of Representatives, and Indiana's population
currently allows it to have ten members in the House of Representatives. But it may be that of the seven national
political parties, the Indiana Republican Party will get to select five of Indiana's
ten representatives in the House of Representatives because Indiana is a
conservative state.
____ 6. Abolish the Electoral College System for
electing a president. A president must
win by a majority of individual votes (not just a plurality of votes) using the
method of Instant Runoff Voting, in which each voter will rank slated
candidates from most favorite to least favorite. And it may take two or more
rounds of voting to eliminate the candidate with the least amount of votes,
until eventually one of the remaining candidates captures at least 51 percent
of the vote.
____ 7. Allow Congress--not the president--to select
Supreme Court judges who will serve for 4-year terms. Judges may serve multiple terms.
____ 8. Implement a decentralized, non-hierarchical,
or grassroots, approach to public schools:
The neighbors who live within the boundaries of each public elementary,
middle, and high school will democratically establish their own school philosophy
and curriculum, using public funds. There
will no longer be federal, state, county, or township control of neighborhood
schools. This should improve
neighborhood togetherness, as neighbors ideally become tribal, in a new and
modern way.
____ 9. Abolish the Federal Reserve and allow the
Treasury Department to oversee a publicly owned banking system like the Bank of
North Dakota.
____ 10. Strive to establish a democratic world
government that provides equal pay for equal work, with no one earning more
than three times the wages of the lowest paid worker. This will eliminate the extremes of poverty
and wealth and provide adequate food, housing, and jobs for all citizens of the
world. A system of workplace democracy
will be instituted. The world map can be
divided into 500 rectangular-shaped, legislative districts of equal population.
The World Legislative Council could then make executive and judicial branch
appointments.
____ 11. Implement a Progressive income tax up to 94
percent for any income amounts over $100,000 with a simplified tax code.
____ 12. Abolish compulsory education--learning is a
choice.
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