Direct Democracy

Direct Democracy

It really is the 21st century.

Because big money is the fuel for our national elections, our voice, the voice of real citizens rather than economic interests or fringe fanatics, must be heard.

And if you agree it’s time for all of America’s voice to be heard then join us in an exercise of Direct Democracy.  Let’s help create a New American Agenda.

By presidential election time in 2008 the candidates will have been bombarded by the big lobbies, big corporations, and big-mouthed interest groups for months and months.  We simply can’t allow these table bangers to control our national agenda.

American Revolutions are fueled by technology. This one is no different.  We now can gain power by democratizing it.  It’s called mass collaboration or open sourcing.  EBay, which started as an on-line garage sale is now a world-wide market place for virtually everything.  Linux software has been developed as an alternative to Microsoft through the free input of collaborating programmers around the world.  Wikipedia is an open source web encyclopedia written by thousands of people who have expertise about a particular subject.  EBay Linux, and Wikipedia have something in common.  They are self-organizing, large-scale, innovative, human systems.  University research confirms time and again that the best, most innovative ideas come from considering the greatest number of different ideas.  It doesn’t come form a few egomaniacs sitting in a wood paneled room sipping scotch.  That’s what gets us into war, bad economic policy, broken education and the other maladies of our times.

In researcher, James Surowiecki’s landmark book The Wisdom of Crowds he tells us that the best solution to big complex problems like saving the environment or ending terrorism are found by considering the widest number of different possible solutions.  He points out that maximizing group benefits for the common good happens when only self-interest expands to include community interest.  “Prosocial behavior” is called optimization theory.  Well, it’s high time to optimize.

Surowiecki goes on to tell us that citizen groups get wise when they are 1) diverse 2) independent and 3) reasonably well informed.  Crowds get stupid when driven by fear.  That’s why fear mongering is dangerous.  It leads to black and white thinking.  To war, prejudice, and injustice.

Citizen groups optimize decisions through the contest of best ideas not compromise.  When bold action or new direction is needed, it’s innovative solutions polished up through healthy friction of discussion that bring breakthroughs.  Conversely, the typical political process of compromise to build consensus typically results in a steaming stew of half-baked ideas that are no solution at all.

We have the technology for government by the people, and it’s time to use it.  It’s time for your voice to be heard.  I’m not talking mobocracy.  I’m talking about real innovative solutions to the biggest challenges facing our future.  But the solutions have to be real.  In a mobocracy every idea has the same value.  In an intelligent, open source system only the best ideas are debated, refined, and implemented.  And big open source systems do work.  EBay is largely self-policing, and Wikipedia now has a system for weeding out idiotic or dangerous entries.  So isn’t it time to take our great experiment in Democracy into the 21st century?  Here’s how.

Direct Democracy is yours.  Anyone can register and comment and you don’t have to give up your present party affiliation or independence.  We will have no stand-alone candidates.  Instead we have an agenda for America.  Our agenda is simply the eight imperatives of good government that healthy, happy societies enjoy, plus two additions:

1.    Citizen Voice
2.    Fair and Equal Enforcement of Laws
3.    Lack of Violence
4.    Leadership Accountability
5.    Dependable Government Services
6.    Absence of Corruption
7.    Effective Regulation
8.    Universal Access to Capital, Healthcare, and Education
9.    Fair and Simple Taxation
10.    Strong, Wise, and Good Foreign Policy

Citizen Voice

Our constitution guarantees citizens the right to petition the government.  And when the will of the public is galvanized our legislators listen.  Our most effective presidents have been able to amplify our voices to overwhelm the petty voices of special interest or powerful fringe groups so that we could unite for the common good.  When our voices are heard, citizens feel their engagement matters.  When our voices are ignored, we feel frustrated and powerless.  The most important element of citizen voice in a free democracy is open and equal access to our elected leaders.  We should not have to make a political contribution or stand in line behind lobbyists who have.  Lobbyists should not be able to get the prolonged attention of legislators in “educational” junkets or golf tournaments or private plane rides.  Our leaders should not participate in secret meetings or allow lobbyists to draft legislation.  We need an ethical system that creates a level playing field for every citizen.  We need to speak out with emails, letters and group gatherings to make our voices heard.  We need to make our agenda the national agenda.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Fair and Equal Enforcement of Laws

The basis of our nation is the “rule of law” in that all citizens are equal under law.  In criminal courts’ verdicts are nearly always determined by the quality of the defense attorneys and the social status of the defendant.  In civil law suits those with the deepest pockets and longest staying power have a great unequal advantage.  Reform is needed.  We need to enthrone the rule of justice even more than the rule of law.  Indeed all of us should be equally accountable to live and act responsibly.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Lack of Violence

This isn’t the Wild West or a video game.  It’s real life.  The first responsibility of government is citizen safety and security.  It is time to provide security for children in schools.  No student or teacher in America should be afraid of being hurt by simply going to school.  We need to increase the size and improve the effectiveness of law enforcement.  We need to educate and job train prison parolees so they have incentives not to commit crimes.  We need secure borders and inspected cargo.  We need sensible gun laws and background checks.   We need to be intolerant of violence and educate our children on how to negotiate and make non-violence our national  goal.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Leadership Accountability

Our President and his executive staff should not be able to hide behind executive privilege.  We’re a democracy.  Our president is a servant leader; he doesn’t have privileges; he as has responsibilities.  Members of Congress who don’t vote on legislation ought to lose their seats.  They’re elected to lead, not hide.  We should end all vestiges of executive privilege and require our representatives to vote and be accountable to all of us.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Dependable Government Services

The government’s obligation to its citizens is the work of providing for the common good.  The U.S. Federal budget is $3 trillion.  It’s not too much to expect our roads and bridges be safe, our air traffic be competently directed, dams and levees be able to hold back water, and if there is a disaster for the relief efforts to be timely, competent and without corruption.  These are all things we should be able to depend on.  We must insist Congress set new financial priorities to invest in our future.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Absence of Corruption

Corruption is giving special advantages like regulatory exceptions, tax breaks, subsidies, and government contracts to specific people, companies and industries in secret, usually in exchange for money, support, or future jobs.  Sometimes it is legal because politicians create loopholes allowing them to be immoral without breaking the law.  It’s still wrong.  Corruption, especially bribery and favors in any disguise cripples a society and stifles an economy.  We cannot allow the rich, powerful and wellborn to have immoral advantages over the honest, hardworking and responsible.  When corruption destroys the confidence of citizens, law is flaunted and everyone is encouraged to get away with everything they can.  When citizens become cynical, civic trust erodes.  We need strong bipartisan legislation to end all pork barreling and special interest legislation.  No loopholes.  None

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Effective Regulation

Regulations are needed because human beings tend toward selfishness and shortsightedness.  Business needs regulation to enable leaders to justify spending money on things like air pollution controls, stopping toxic discharges, and product safety that competitive businesses would not otherwise spend profits on.  Laws become the justifiable excuse used by management to do the right thing.  Regulations are meant to level the business playing field, protect the public and our children’s future.  Without regulations we would still not have seatbelts in our cars.  And with better regulations we would not have a nation in foreclosure, poisonous pet food or toys that kill.  Effective regulations are the same for everyone.  The most corrupt countries and industries use unequal regulation to crush competition and exploit consumers and employees.  Effective regulation requires politically independent leadership.  We must demand that safety and environmental regulations are reasonable, effective and universal.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Universal Access to Capital, Health Care and Education

Capital: Capital is protein in the diet of freedom.  Investment is necessary to produce sustainable growth and financial security.  America’s great original promise was the right of individuals to own land.  Land was the prized income-producing asset until the industrial revolution.  It was productive capital.  Today financial capital is necessary to become self-sufficient. As micro finance has proved in the emerging world, reasonable access to capital is the key to raising the prosperity of entire nations.  We must insure that entrepreneurs of all size have access to capital at similar terms and conditions to insure the most efficient flow of capital.  Capital means the most to people who have it the least.

Health Care: We’ve reached a time when mothers should not have to put up posters and plastic buckets in supermarkets to collect money for their child’s cancer treatments.  We have reached a time where as a nation we must be wiling to pay for catastrophic care costs for all our citizens.  Citizens must also take responsibility to insure themselves for routine sickness and small accident     costs (less than $50,000).  American citizenship should make you part of a universal group that makes us all insurable.  Insurance can be private but non-    profit.  Medical schools must train thousands more doctors. We should pay less for and buy fewer prescriptions.  And above all we need to educate and give incentives to everyone to live healthy lifestyles.

Education: The greatest single factor in improving human well-being is education.  Research reveals that the more education a person has the less likely they are to divorce, abuse family members, smoke, become overweight, suffer from addiction and depression, or be imprisoned.  The better educated make the most money, report the greatest life satisfaction, volunteer and vote the most,     and use the least public assistance.  Education is the best investment a society can make.  So how is American Education?  We are not getting much for our money.  We spend $500 billion a year K-12 and 20% of American  youth do not even earn a high school diploma.  Half of our kids who start college never finish.  For those     that do, college education has become a life long financial burden.  Is this the best we can do?  We must institute ways to raise and equalize the quality of our K-12 schools and lower the actual cost of college.  The greatest investment in our future is the wise investment we make in universal effective education.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Fair and Simple Taxation

Our tax system is complicated and unfair.  We all know that.  Individuals and businesses with very similar incomes pay very different taxes based on their tax “strategies.”  It’s all legal but unfair.  When state taxes, user fees, social security taxes, Medicare taxes, property taxes and sales taxes are counted most of us have 40-45% of our incomes going into our over $4 trillion state and federal tax machine.  And the people who pay the biggest percentage of their incomes are the poorest, those who work for a paycheck, and the middle class.  Most of us want to have a federal income flat tax and a state consumption tax that ensures every person equitably pays and every business that sells goods or services to our citizens pays.  Make it simple.  These two taxes and a legacy tax.  No social security, Medicare, or state income tax.  (The legacy tax is explained at www.americandreamproject.org/bigideas.)  And finally we need civil servants that have incentives to be efficient.  What if we distributed $1 million for every $20 million saved from public budgets as bonuses to entrepreneurial bureaucrats who are dedicated to efficiency and quality.  What’s the cumulative tax savings effect of having every letter carrier deliver mail to five extra homes than they currently are?   The only way to take the waste out of government is to reward our government employees for innovating more efficiency.  We need to raise our voices for tax reform.

This is our agenda.  And now we need you.  We need your best most thoughtful ideas about how we as a nation might create laws and establish policies to make these imperatives rise again in American life.  Every so often we’ll all vote on the best ideas and send them to our elected representatives and hold them accountable for real action. It’s past time.  Let’s put the future in our hands.

Next Page »