Political Democracy Improvements

“Politics is not just about power and money games, politics is about the improvement of people’s lives, about lessening human suffering in our world, and bringing about more peace and justice.”  

– Paul Wellstone

The Problems:
  • Outdated Constitution: The current constitution does not fully address contemporary needs and democratic principles.
  • Economic and Financial Inequities: Existing policies favor corporations and the wealthy, leading to market imbalances.
  • Corruption and Influence: The influence of money in politics undermines ethical governance and accountability.
  • Imminent U.S. Bankruptcy: The U.S. Government is spending far more than it is collecting, and is about to bankrupt the country. 
  • Media Control and Misinformation: The press is largely controlled by corporations and wealthy shareholders, leading to rampant misinformation and propaganda, undermining the free press and misleading the public.
  • Overreach and Gun Violence: The overwhelming power of the government and plutocratic interests has reached unmatchable heights, threatening individuals’ rights to defend their homes and communities. Meanwhile, guns are increasingly getting into the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, posing a significant public safety risk.
  • Intellectual Property and Corporate Exploitation: Corporations exploit outdated patent, copyright, and trademark laws to entrench monopolies, stifle competition, suppress wages, and lock the public out of technologies they helped fund and build.
  • Technofascism and Digital Oppression: Governments increasingly rely on powerful, opaque surveillance and data analysis tools controlled by private corporations. Algorithmic manipulation, misinformation, and centralized digital control threaten privacy, free speech, and democratic processes.

Our Solutions:
  • Constitutional and Democratic Reform: Amend the constitution to better meet current needs and enhance democracy, potentially transitioning to a parliamentary system. Introduce mechanisms for direct democracy, like referendums, to empower citizens in decision-making.
    • Proposed Amendments:
      • Inspired by FDR, we bring forth his proposed 2nd Bill of Rights:
        • The Right to Good Jobs – Everyone should have the chance to work in a fulfilling job that pays fairly and helps support themselves and their families.
        • The Right to Earn a Living Wage – No one working full-time should struggle to afford basics like food, clothing, or the occasional break. A living wage should cover these essentials.
        • The Right of Farmers to Fair Pay – Farmers should earn enough to support their families and communities, keeping food production sustainable and rural areas strong.
        • The Right of Small Businesses to Compete Fairly – Small businesses should have a level playing field, free from monopolies and anti-competitive practices that make it hard to thrive.
        • The Right to Affordable Housing – Safe, decent housing should be within reach for everyone, no matter their income or location.
        • The Right to Health Care – Quality healthcare should be available to all, ensuring that no one is left without medical help due to cost.
        • The Right to Financial Security – Everyone should have a secure retirement and protection against poverty, especially during old age, illness, or disability.
        • The Right to Quality Education – Education should be affordable and accessible, so everyone has the chance to build a better life and contribute to society.
      • We also bring forth the following amendments:
        • End All Forms of Slavery: Update the 16th Amendment to abolish slavery without exemptions, including for prisoners.
        • Election Reforms: Implement ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, public campaign financing, and standardized congressional districting. Establish voting days as national holidays, promoting voter accessibility and participation.
        • Replace Electoral College: Replace the deciding vote for presidents to be decided by a direct popular vote.
        • Increase Legislative Representation: Adjust legislative body size to ensure one representative for every 50,000 people per state with standardized congressional districts to eliminate gerrymandering. 
        • Single Legislative Body: Combine the House of Representatives and Senate into one unified legislative chamber. 
        • Term, Age, & Salary Limits: Introduce term limits across elected and appointed government roles in all branches and set an age cap of 65 for elected officials. Introduce merit-based pay for elected and appointed officials, with base pay being the median pay in the country.
  • Fiscal Responsibility: Use the increased revenue collected through wealth and progressive taxes to spend money responsibly and operate with a surplus that will be reinvested back into the people and economy of the United States, while also paying down the government deficit. 
  • Economic and Financial Reform: Cease government bailouts for corporations and the wealthy. Implement stronger competition laws to ensure fair markets. Reform bankruptcy laws to prioritize fresh starts and address issues like student loans and derivatives.
  • Ethical Governance: Enact campaign finance reform with public financing and strict contribution limits to reduce political influence. Strengthen anti-corruption laws and create independent watchdogs for accountability.
  • Free and Ethical Press: Preserve a free press by ensuring they are run as nonprofits supported by diverse donations from individuals and small businesses in their communities. Ownership should be by the workers who run it, not by corporations or wealthy shareholders.
  • Protection of Gun Rights: Ensure that individuals have the right to own guns, provided they pass mental health and background checks, and can organize into well-regulated militias to defend their homes and communities against overwhelming government and plutocratic powers. Implement measures to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
  • Intellectual Property and Innovation Reform: Modernize patent, copyright, and trademark laws to prevent corporate monopolization and ensure fair access to innovation. Shorten the duration of corporate-held patents and copyrights while protecting individual creators’ rights. Require that technologies developed with public funding (e.g., university research grants, government R&D programs) be open-access or offered at fair licensing rates. Introduce a “Use It or Lose It” rule: if corporations sit on patents without developing products for the public good, the rights revert to the public domain. Promote cooperative licensing models and open innovation systems to foster competition, lower prices, and increase access to vital technologies.
  • Digital Rights and Resistance to Technofascism: As technology rapidly advances, we must confront the rise of techno-fascism – where surveillance, algorithmic control, misinformation, and centralized digital power threaten democracy and civil liberties. We will ban the use of undemocratic, privately controlled surveillance tools in government operations and require that all government-used software be open-source and publicly accountable. Individuals must have the right to truly own their digital assets and data, with protections against shadow-banning, manipulation through algorithmic “feeds,” and unchecked censorship by unaccountable tech monopolies. We will fight for open operating systems, software freedom, and competition in digital infrastructure to break up corporate control. Artificial intelligence must be used to improve people’s lives, not eliminate jobs. We will tie AI deployment to job guarantees, retraining programs, and shared economic benefits so technology uplifts workers instead of replacing them.

Our Reasoning:
  • Modern Democracy: Reforming the constitution and introducing direct democracy mechanisms align governance with contemporary values and empower citizens.
  • Economic Responsibility: A society is much more prosperous when it manages its budget effectively and creates the ability to fund the necessary programs for Americans. 
  • Economic Fairness: Economic and financial reforms create a more equitable market and reduce undue advantages for corporations and the wealthy.
  • Integrity and Accountability: Campaign finance and anti-corruption reforms ensure that governance is transparent and accountable, reducing the influence of money in politics.
  • Informed Public: Removing a profit incentive from media and democratizing ownership will help preserve a free and ethical press that is not controlled by individuals or special interest groups. Democratically run press promotes an involved and informed public, and reduces the influence of misinformation and corporate control over media narratives.
  • Self-Defense and Liberty: Protecting gun rights ensures individuals can defend themselves and their communities against overwhelming government and plutocratic powers while safeguarding personal liberty. Measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill enhance public safety.
  • Innovation and Fairness: Reforming intellectual property laws balances rewarding creators with ensuring that innovation benefits the public. Shorter corporate monopolies encourage faster technological progress, lower consumer costs, and open new opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
  • Digital Rights: These are fundamental to democracy. We must protect privacy, ensure transparency in digital systems, break up tech monopolies, and use AI to benefit people—not threaten jobs or freedoms.

How we will accomplish the task:
  • Legislative Action: In addition to amendments, promote economic fairness, ethical governance, budget guidelines, patent reform, protection of regulated gun rights, not-for-profit press, and price negotiation in all policies, orders, rulings[1], and actions. 
    • Technology: We will regulate and require transparency for all government surveillance tools, enforce open-source standards, guarantee individual data ownership, promote competition in digital platforms, and tie AI deployment to worker protections and retraining.
  • Public Engagement: Foster public support for reforms through education campaigns and participatory decision-making processes.
  • Oversight: Establish independent bodies to oversee the implementation and enforcement of new laws and regulations.

Funding:

Political Democracy Improvements | Net increase of $5 billion in federal discretionary spending with these policies

  • Constitutional and Democratic Reform:
    • Estimated Cost: $20 billion annually (for implementing reforms and mechanisms).
    • Funding Source: Reallocate from other government reforms and discretionary spending.
  • Economic and Financial Reform:
    • Estimated Cost: $10 billion annually (for implementing stronger competition laws and bankruptcy reform).
    • Funding Source: Reallocate from existing economic and financial regulatory budgets.
  • Ethical Governance and Fiscal Responsibility:
    • Estimated Cost: $5 billion annually (for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption measures).
    • Funding Source: Increase revenue through progressive taxation and reallocate from existing oversight budgets.
  • Free and Ethical Press:
    • Estimated Cost: $10 billion annually (for supporting nonprofit press and diverse ownership).
    • Funding Source: Redirect funds from existing media subsidies.
  • Protection of Gun Rights:
    • Estimated Cost: $5 billion annually (for background checks and militia organization).
    • Funding Source: Reallocate from existing law enforcement and safety programs.
  • Intellectual Property and Innovation Reform:
    • Estimated Cost: $250 million to $1 billion annually (for administrative enforcement, legal implementation, and public access systems). Saving consumers billions. 
    • Funding Source: Reallocate from existing R&D and regulatory budgets; offset by long-term consumer and economic savings.
  • Digital Rights and Techno-Fascism Resistance:
    • Estimated Cost: $15 billion annually (for regulation, open-source initiatives, AI workforce programs, and public digital infrastructure).
    • Funding Source: Reallocate from existing government surveillance contracts and tech subsidies; offset by long-term gains in innovation, privacy protection, and economic fairness.

[1] Strike down the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.