It is almost 2018 and the country has been hijacked by literal billionaires and white supremacists.
I want to add my voice to the political discourse in the US. This seems foolhardy given how much chatter is already going on, but if I can help even a bus load's worth of people reason about contemporary issues, that is worth it. If there is an army of like minded people out there, together we can sway national elections.
Some issue that matter to me:
Progressive Politics. Being a progressive isn't entirely or even majority about ideology. Progressive politics is about taking the best public policy advice from informed experts and implementing and updating those policies and laws based on feedback.
DNC. The DNC should run a candidate in every election. I don't mean they should fund (beyond registration fees) a candidate in every election, that would be economically irrational. Registration fees can be substantial, but still. If you don't run, you won't ever see an upset election.
Foreign governments campaigning. This should be illegal. We shouldn't tolerate large scale propaganda campaigns in the US. They should be illegal, prosecuted and result in diplomatic and military repercussions.
Health Care. There should be a single payer system that guarantees a public option for health care- this might be a re-branding of the VA Hospital system to a US Hospital system for all, or it might be Medicare for all or both.
Guns. Bullets should be regulated. The stock of guns is so large that we will never get them off the streets, but the supply of bullets is only a few years worth. Gun laws should enacted and enforced. Vigilantism should be punished, not celebrated. We shouldn't be arguing over if a lily livered, cowardly gun law is ineffective, we should be passing broad, robust gun regulations.
Police Violence. This, in my opinion, is tightly bound to the issue of guns. Cops wouldn't be executing suspects with impunity if they couldn't plausibly argue that the suspect might have a gun and was intent on killing the police officer. This loophole creates a racist police state that is the most unjust aspect of our society.
Trains. Amtrak should be funded 100 fold more than they are now. Trains should be fast enough to compete with airlines.
Religious Freedom. All religions should be taxed. State supported religion, via tax subsidies in the tax code favors the large, pre-existing religions over the small and the new. Even if you support the current set of tax funded religions in the US, you never know when the tide will turn.
Animal Rights. Meat should get a sin tax at a level comparable to alcohol and tobacco.
Antibiotics. These are overused. When the last antibiotic becomes ineffective, not only will people die from ordinary infections, but surgeries, which depend on the ability to keep bacteria from thriving in incisions, will become to dangerous to do.
School Lunches. All schools should offer a plant based option and healthy options. The transformation of of school lunches into fast food and frozen TV dinners is going to cut life spans and is a cultural disaster.
I wish I could start writing about the candidates around the country that will support these policy aims, but this is just post one. Lets see how long this experiment goes.
I want to add my voice to the political discourse in the US. This seems foolhardy given how much chatter is already going on, but if I can help even a bus load's worth of people reason about contemporary issues, that is worth it. If there is an army of like minded people out there, together we can sway national elections.
Some issue that matter to me:
Progressive Politics. Being a progressive isn't entirely or even majority about ideology. Progressive politics is about taking the best public policy advice from informed experts and implementing and updating those policies and laws based on feedback.
DNC. The DNC should run a candidate in every election. I don't mean they should fund (beyond registration fees) a candidate in every election, that would be economically irrational. Registration fees can be substantial, but still. If you don't run, you won't ever see an upset election.
Foreign governments campaigning. This should be illegal. We shouldn't tolerate large scale propaganda campaigns in the US. They should be illegal, prosecuted and result in diplomatic and military repercussions.
Health Care. There should be a single payer system that guarantees a public option for health care- this might be a re-branding of the VA Hospital system to a US Hospital system for all, or it might be Medicare for all or both.
Guns. Bullets should be regulated. The stock of guns is so large that we will never get them off the streets, but the supply of bullets is only a few years worth. Gun laws should enacted and enforced. Vigilantism should be punished, not celebrated. We shouldn't be arguing over if a lily livered, cowardly gun law is ineffective, we should be passing broad, robust gun regulations.
Police Violence. This, in my opinion, is tightly bound to the issue of guns. Cops wouldn't be executing suspects with impunity if they couldn't plausibly argue that the suspect might have a gun and was intent on killing the police officer. This loophole creates a racist police state that is the most unjust aspect of our society.
Trains. Amtrak should be funded 100 fold more than they are now. Trains should be fast enough to compete with airlines.
Religious Freedom. All religions should be taxed. State supported religion, via tax subsidies in the tax code favors the large, pre-existing religions over the small and the new. Even if you support the current set of tax funded religions in the US, you never know when the tide will turn.
Animal Rights. Meat should get a sin tax at a level comparable to alcohol and tobacco.
Antibiotics. These are overused. When the last antibiotic becomes ineffective, not only will people die from ordinary infections, but surgeries, which depend on the ability to keep bacteria from thriving in incisions, will become to dangerous to do.
School Lunches. All schools should offer a plant based option and healthy options. The transformation of of school lunches into fast food and frozen TV dinners is going to cut life spans and is a cultural disaster.
I wish I could start writing about the candidates around the country that will support these policy aims, but this is just post one. Lets see how long this experiment goes.
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