The Middle Ground
We must find The Middle Ground in
our country. Start from the extreme
arguments on both ends of every situation and work towards a solution that
works for the short and long term. Use
what works, get constant feedback from all sources, and continually evolve each
system as needed. Keep things
simple. Tax things that go against what
works, and use those taxes to subsidize things that work. We should have a user-friendly
government, happy kids, safe and secure elderly, jobs for everyone (designed,
manufactured, built, and maintained right here in the USA), a clean
environment, and a place for all animals. By having a
long-term goal of true growth for the entire country, our people can be proud
of what we’re all working towards, and can work together to rebuild our country
the way it was meant to be.
We need to figure out what it will all
cost, and then tax the people and businesses a percentage that pays for it,
plus some overage room for inflation and unexpected costs. At the end of the year, balance it out. This would cost a lot of money, but there
are three things you need to consider:
1.
Much, if not all, of this would be spread out
over a long period of time.
2.
Much, if not all, of this spending would help
save much more money in the future.
Money invested in education, job creation, safety, environment, etc.
will help curb expensive costs in jails, crimes, health problems, teenage
pregnancy, unemployment, fixing infrastructure, etc.
3.
A major long-term investment in our own country
would go a very long way into long-term stability in our economy.
I know this is far from perfect,
but I believe there are some good ideas here, both liberal and conservative,
that I have borrowed from many different sources.
User Friendly
Government
1.
Flat Tax
a.
Citizens
b.
Businesses
c.
No more confusion
d.
No more loopholes
e.
Everyone pays the same percentage
f.
Working up or moving down doesn’t affect your
percentage
2.
Rewrite every single law
a.
In layman’s terms
b.
Separate unrelated issues into different laws
i. No
unrelated add-ons
ii. Funded
separately or part of a larger tax
3.
No Loopholes
a.
No offshore HQ’s
b.
If you have businesses here, you pay like the
rest of us
c.
No tax breaks
d.
No competition between states and cities
4.
End the lack of representation
a.
Reduce government salaries
b.
No benefits for life
c.
Publicize all government official salaries
d.
End all no-bid contracts
i. Open,
transparent bidding
ii. Made
public
1.
Before
2.
During
3.
After
e.
Fix Voting
i. Require
ID’s to vote
ii. Open
Ballots
1.
Shouldn’t have spend millions just to get on a
ballot
iii. Party
affiliation not listed on ballots
1.
People should actually know what the person
stands for
2.
Not just vote party lines
f.
3-term limits for congress and senate
g.
End all gifts in any way from anyone
i. Lobbyists
ii. Business
men
iii. Other
countries
1.
Representatives can accept the gift, but…
2.
These gifts end up belonging to the country
h.
Only American citizens can donate up to $10,000
per year towards campaigns
i. No
businesses donate
ii. No
PAC’s
i.
Government website
i. User
friendly
ii. Looks
the same for every single representative
iii. All
representatives must vote on every law
1.
Can’t abstain
2.
Must state reason for every decision
iv. List
every meeting every representative has
1.
Who is in meeting
2.
Who each person represents
j.
Monthly Updates
i. Presidents
ii. Governors
iii. Senators
iv. Congress
5.
Social Responsibility Law
a.
If you do something you are responsible, period!
i. Unless
gross negligence on other’s part
b.
If you collect welfare you must work to pay for
it
c.
If you commit a crime and are in prison, you
lose many rights
i. Frivolous
cases
ii. T.V.,
cigarettes, porn, etc.
d.
If you are an immigrant you must pay your share
in taxes
6.
Fair Business Act
a.
Total transparency in businesses
i. Everyone’s
salary becomes public knowledge
ii. Encourage
or mandate executives to take pay cuts during hard times instead of laying off
employees
7.
Citizens as 4th Checks and Balance
a.
Website to discuss all government situations
i. Bills
ii. Laws
iii. Court
cases
iv. Presidential
decisions
v. Forum
to build a consensus of what the people most agree on
1.
If there is a huge difference in a law,
decision, bill, etc.
2.
Each branch of the government must reevaluate it
Modernized
Infrastructure – Everything Designed and Built in the USA!!
1.
Electrical/Phone/Cable underground
2.
Sewer system redone
3.
100 year plan for Streets, Subway, Roads, & Highways
4.
Buildings
a.
Homes
i. Solar
Radiant Heat
ii. Energy
Efficient
1.
Solar heating
2.
Wind turbines
iii. Xeriscaping
iv. Room
for Mature trees to grow
b.
Warehouses
i. Rooftop
gardens
ii. Rooftop
solar
iii. Energy
efficient
c.
City buildings
i. Underground
parking
ii. Roof
top garden
5.
High speed train
a.
100 year plan
c.
Can evolve with emerging technologies
Children
1.
Make the world better again for our children
a.
Severe punishment for crimes against children
i. Sexual
ii. Violent
iii. Neglect
b.
Neighborhood organized activities for children
i. Safe
ii. Fun
iii. Active
Elderly
2.
We need to bring back the elderly into
respectable roles as leaders
3.
We will all be lucky enough to grow old, let’s
make it a good experience for most
a.
Use their knowledge and experience
b.
Let them live out their golden years in peace
c.
Free healthcare
d.
A place to live and die
e.
Access to transportation
i. Light
rail
ii. College
students taxi service
Police Force
1.
Massive
2.
Working with citizens transparently
a.
Non-Violent
b.
Non-confrontational
c.
Problem-solving
d.
Interpersonal
e.
Walking the Beat
3.
What better way to keep our country safe than
cops who know everyone in each neighborhood, and who actually have a good
relationship with most people in their beat, and can spot when something is not
right.
Education
2.
Make education relevant for today’s society
a.
Students should have skills to be ready to enter
the work force or higher education
b.
Students should already have a passion for
something
i. Less
standardized testing
1.
Especially one-size fits all
2.
Once a year
3.
High stakes
ii. More
experiential learning
iii. More
real world experiences
iv. Less
lectures
v. More
hands-on applications
vi. Bring
back civics
1.
Personal responsibly
a.
Working
b.
Paying your bills on time
c.
Taking care of your family
d.
Checking in on your neighbors
i. Elders
ii. Sick
2.
Voting
a.
Set a goal of 90%
3.
Interpersonal skills dealing with:
a.
Friends
b.
Coaches
c.
Bosses
d.
Teachers
e.
Family
f.
Spouse
g.
Kids
h.
Employees
vii. Have
all students learn vocational skills for 1 or 2 years
1.
For some it will be a career
2.
For others it will be a fall back
3.
For the rest it will be a cool skill they
learned in H.S.
a.
Welding
b.
Auto shop
c.
Concrete
d.
Plumbing
e.
Electrical
f.
Woodworking
4.
Can move to different track after 1 or 2 years
if accepted
a.
College Prep
b.
Nursing
c.
Teaching
d.
Police, Fire & Rescue
e.
Social Work
f.
Music Production
g.
Movie Production
h.
Theater
i.
Sports
3.
Less Administration
a.
Too top heavy
b.
Too much dictated from those without teaching experience,
or long forgotten
c.
All administrators should still have to teach at
least 1 class every year
4.
More Teacher Freedom
a.
Let teachers have more creative freedom in the
classroom
b.
Let other factors decide what schools are
succeeding
i. Parent
feedback
ii. Community
feedback
iii. Student
feedback
iv. Graduation
rates
6.
Agree on a national salary
a.
Let teachers go from state to state without
losing pay scale
b.
Let each state decide how to run it
A Healthy Planet
1.
Stop talking about Climate Change, Global
Warming, etc.
2.
Phase out all toxic chemicals from earth
a.
Herbicides, Fungicides, Pesticides, etc.
b.
Subsidize non-toxic supplies with taxes on toxic
supplies (the more toxic, the higher the tax).
Everything from cleaning supplies, to chemicals used in fracking, can be
substituted for something less harmful.
Keep finding better substitutes.
3.
Recycling
a.
Everything that can be recycled should be
b.
Everything that can be made from recycled
materials should be
c.
Slowly convert
i. Plastics
ii. Cardboard
iii. Glass
4.
Composting
a.
Anything that can be composted should be
i. Yard
trimmings
ii. Food
scraps
b.
Everyone should be encouraged to participate or
pay a fee to opt out
i. Home
ii. Businesses
iii. Neighborhood
– you participate and get free compost
5.
Organic Farming
a.
Subsidize organic vegetables and fruit & all
healthy foods with taxes on fast food, junk food, highly processed food and all
forms of toxic spraying
b.
Subsidize humanely raised animal farms with
taxes on factory farms
c.
Subsidize Urban Farming on top of all warehouses
with taxes on
6.
Clean Water
a.
Before the industrial revolution we could drink
out of most rivers in this world
b.
Rivers
c.
Lakes
d.
Coastlines
7.
Superfund Sites
a.
This has been so brutally mismanaged it has been
wiped from the minds of the public
b.
Clean up these toxic lands once and for all
8.
Animals
a.
Predators
i. Needed
to keep entire ecosystem in check
ii. We
need to find a balance to let them live
iii. Make
private owning of large predators illegal
b.
All forms of life deserve a chance at life
c.
Being a nuisance is not a good enough reason for
killing them
d.
Maintain large ecosystems with limited human
interference
e.
Ban puppy mills
f.
Require spaying and neutering for cats and dogs
unless you have a breeder’s license
9.
Slowly Convert to Sustainable Energy
a.
Subsidize Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Tidal with
taxes on Oil, Gas & Coal
i. Open,
Transparent Bidding
ii. Not
just to the current administrations buddies
b.
Done right, don’t just buy it just because it’s
a wind turbine
c.
Design, manufacture, and build it here
d.
Base decisions on each region
i. Sunny
climates use more solar
ii. Coastal
regions use tidal
iii. Yellowstone
use geothermal
10. When
Renewables aren’t enough, make wise choices
a.
Nuclear
i. Waste
1.
Recycle as much waste as possible
2.
Store the rest onsite for 10,000 years
ii. Over-engineer
1.
Survive a 200 foot tsunami
2.
Survive a 12.0 Earthquake
b.
Natural Gas
i. Eliminate
the harmful chemicals used in fracking
ii. Find
a way to not use so much water in fracking
iii. Find
a better alternative to fracking to get the natural gas
The most difficult
subjects
1.
Child Abuse
a.
This should be priority #1 in our country
i. Automatic
life in prison for severe offense
ii. Get
kids out of bad homes now
iii. Give
them the best treatment
iv. Seriously
reduce the cycle every generation
v. Pay
social workers what they’re worth
vi. Keep
child abuse at the forefront of our lives until we fix it
2.
Healthcare
a.
Single Payer Healthcare
i. Americans
pay into a system
1.
User friendly
2.
Open-bid to operate it
ii. Citizens
are covered for anything and everything
iii. Unhealthy
living habits pay extra
1.
Smoking
2.
Eating
3.
Exercise
4.
Extreme stress
5.
Violence
6.
Addiction
iv. Smaller
copays for preventative care
1.
Sports groups
2.
Health clubs
3.
Yoga
4.
Massage
5.
Chiropractic
6.
Acupuncture
b.
Doctor
i. Less
pay, less hours
ii. More
doctors
iii. Less
liability
iv. More
transparency
v. Better
bedside manners
vi. Required
to work weekends
1.
Sorry we can’t schedule our sickness
2.
You picked this field, deal with it
c.
Nurses
i. Better
pay
ii. Better
hours
iii. More
responsibilities
d.
Eliminate HMO’s
e.
Eliminate Ads for prescription drugs
f.
Eliminate free gifts from pharmaceuticals
3.
Immigration
a.
Let immigrants stay if they:
i. Pay
their share in taxes
ii. Don’t
commit felonies
iii. Register
for a work visa
b.
Deport immigrants if they:
i. Commit
a felony
ii. Don’t
register for a work visa
iii. Don’t
pay their share in taxes
c.
Give them a path to citizenship if they:
i. Maintain
the laws for 5 years
ii. Learn
English
iii. Pass
the citizenry test
4.
Illicit Drugs
a.
Decriminalize all drugs
b.
Treat drugs abuse as an addiction, not a crime
5.
Alcohol
a.
Stop glorifying it
b.
Eliminate ads
6.
Population Growth
a.
Target a population to work down to
i. Don’t
give tax break for children
1.
Except parents who adopt
2.
Parents that have more that two children pay an
extra tax per child that subsidize adoption
7.
Military
a.
Bring back most of our military from around the
world
b.
Go back to a ‘war as a last resort’ policy
i. Non-interventionist
ii. Stop
intentionally meddling in other countries
iii. Keep
having spies if you must
1.
But expose them to expose a corrupt government
2.
Keeping networks in place forever may not always
be the best policy
iv. Still
be there when countries ask for help
v. Go
to war when the President, the House of Representatives, and the People all
agree to do so, and with other countries
c.
A mobile and modern military
d.
Make the military court system completely
transparent
i. Come
clean with all the hard problems
1.
Suicide
2.
Sex abuse
3.
Poisoned
4.
Depression
5.
PTSD
ii. Lead the way in how a court
system should be run for the world to see
e.
Train military the right way
i. Respectful
1.
Lead the our nation and the world in how to be
citizens of a country
a.
Respectful
b.
Passionate
c.
Honest
d.
Of the highest Integrity
e.
Sense of duty
f.
Sense of honor
g.
Pride in a job well done
ii. When
we are in a foreign country we uphold the highest respect for their country,
people, and culture.
iii. Do
not enlist people who love to fight, but men and women who understand when it’s
necessary
8.
Religion
a.
The world will never know peace, until the
world’s religions can accept each other
b.
The “My way is the only way” is the wrong way to
love someone, the wrong way to be a teacher, the wrong way to be a leader, and
the wrong way to preach a religion.
c.
Atheism
i. They
need to also stop pushing back so hard
ii. Rubbing
their views in peoples faces is just as bad
iii. Most
of the world believes in God, so don’t be arrogant about your choice
9.
Gay/Indigenous/Transgender/Weird/Strange
People’s Rights
a.
I hope one day it will simply it will be a
non-issue
b.
People are people. Let them live, and the world will be a better
place
10. Abortion
a.
Stop talking about it!
b.
Those on either side give to their side’s charity
i. Planned
Parenthood
ii. Alternatives
to abortion
1.
Adoption
2.
Keeping the child
Thank you for taking the time to read
this. I earned a B.S. in political
science at Arizona State University in 1992.
I was in the private sector for 10 years in pool design and sales, and
then construction information sales. I
found my home in teaching, got my license in secondary social studies, and my
masters in educational psychology, both at the University of Colorado at
Denver. I taught at Denver Academy for 8
years, running the Experiential Education program for 6. I now teach at Third Way Center, a
residential treatment facility for abused teenagers. I also am president of Partners With
Ethiopia, a 501c-3 non-profit.
I know I am much more liberal than
conservative. But I do have conservative
values. I’m a dreamer, sometimes bleeding
heart, but I love my country. I get chills every single time I hear our
national anthem live, although I wish everyone would remain absolutely quiet
for the duration, and then cheer. That
would be so cool! I laugh a lot, I love
my life, I adore my wife, I love and respect my children, and I am so grateful
for my job, colleagues, and life. I
have the most incredible friends anyone could ever ask for. I have 100% faith in the human species. I know we can build a much better
world. In one generation we can plan
it. During the next four generations we can
implement it. Within 100 years, our
world would be completely changed for the better. It could be a blue print forever.
