In summary, to stem our decline and rejuvenate our democracy we must carry out nothing less than a complete down-up revolution. We need to make America be the America we used to know and love. Here is some of what we must achieve:
1. Completely remove the effect of money on our government. Elections should be freed from private or corporate influence. Advertising and other expenditures by candidates running for office must be controlled and paid for only from public sources.
2. Institute a single payer system for health-care.
3. Re-establish the independence of the Forth estate and ensure that it carries out its basic function of watching the government and safeguarding the interests of the people rather than serving the interests of the rich.
4. Create a uniform national educational system that is independent of local taxes and private contributions. Admissions to institutions of higher learning must be based on only merit irrespective of race, ethnicity or economic status.
5. Liberate our foreign policy from our current imperialist view of the world. We need to develop more respect for foreign cultures and let them develop in their own ways using their own means.
6. As Paul Krugman said: "The only way we could have anything resembling a middle-class society -- a society in which ordinary citizens have a reasonable assurance of maintaining a decent life as long as they work hard and play by the rules -- would be by having a strong social safety net, one that guarantees not just health care but a minimum income, too. And with an ever-rising share of income going to capital rather than labor, that safety net would have to be paid for to an important extent via taxes on profits and/or investment income'. Our safety net must cover the basic needs of all Americans: food, healthcare and education.
7. The government should financially support those earning less than poverty level incomes to bring them up to that level. Any income, from any source, above that level would be taxed at a progressive tax rate the exact level of which would be determined in accordance with the prevailing budget needs. Corporate income should be treated the same way.
8. An inheritance tax of 80-90% should be instituted depending on the size of the inherited fortune.
9. Supreme Court Judges should be directly elected rather than appointed by the usually politically motivated presidents.
To get started, we need to start a national dialogue and agree on a list of demands for our revolution. We need to establish a centralized structure to receive and tally those demands. Then, we should demonstrate and march until our demands are met. As we watch other nations struggle to achieve political democracy, we, in the United States, need a revolution to achieve economic democracy.
As the majority, we should be able to achieve our aims peacefully. This is not going to be easy but it needs to be done for the welfare and better future for all Americans. We want our America back.
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