Ten Concrete Things to bring Tangible Change to America, and the World
We are in crisis on so many fronts. The only adults in the room seem to be awash and lost in a sea of screaming infants and the usual reigning voice of reason seems eerily quiet. It has to be the responsibility of reasonable, educated people to implement change that will possibly and quite literally, save us all.
We must realize that while we are individuals, our decisions and policies always affect others and that our existence as we know it, is simply not possible without others. You are not successful nor do you rise solely by your own efforts. Society provides the framework for your success and without others, you would not have the opportunities you have today.
We cannot forget that we are all living, breathing humans, made of flesh and bone, all with wives, husbands, children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and we all have the basic right to exist and live the way we want because we are all human and we all deserve respect and dignity. To preserve this way of life, we owe the society which we contribute to, more than just ‘showing up.’ Our existence depends on whether we are able to adapt and make changes that are good for all of us, especially when we face new events or data that requires us to rethink the things we’ve come to know as ‘true.’ It is how we act during these times of crisis that define us, that make us the ‘good’ people we like to think of ourselves as. If our fellow citizens are mental children, then we owe them the respect to realize that they need us to be the adults, and to make hard decisions that is in theirs and our best interest. We must take the hard path. We must make the hard decisions. We must, because if we don’t, we will all suffer the grave consequences.
Let’s start here:
Ten Things for Tangible Change
1. Require public policy decisions to be evidence-based.
2. Require politicians to be elected by popular vote, not the Electoral College.
3. Disallow corporate money in politics.
a. Politicians can only receive contributions from individual donations which are capped at a level consistent with the average citizen’s income.
4. Disallow financial payments/contributions from lobbyists to politicians.
5. Tie politician’s salaries/incentives directly to meeting certain Key Performance Indicators.
a. Politicians can earn large salaries/bonuses by exceeding the KPIs.
b. Certain KPIs could disqualify the incumbent for re-election.
6. Disallow political ‘parties.’
7. Require that Supreme Court Justices be majority-elected.
8. Require bills in Congress to be voted on, line-by-line.
9. Make all majority-affecting services freely available through taxes including:
a. Healthcare
i. Invest in and redefine health management.
ii. Expand medical training and incentivize specialties that need more workers.
iii. Incentivize/subsidize/reward efficient drug/medical research.
b. Education
i. Implement education systems that evolve based on a best-in-class analysis, utilizing proven techniques learned from all educational systems world-wide.
c. Basic banking services (checking and savings)
i. Disallow the use of depositor’s money by investment banks.
ii. Enforce the separation of depositor’s banks from investment banks.
10. Redefine domestic crisis management:
a. Rebuild/repurpose police for more appropriate/specific functions than general use.
b. Build/define/train new crisis management groups that serve specific functions.
