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Disclaimer: many of these have no chance of getting through any congress - democrat or republican, so consider it a wish list.
1. Day one - the repeal of every executive order issued under the previous administration, the end to the unconstitutional and criminal theory of the "unitary executive" and the return of a three-independent-branch system of check and balances for the United States, with the people's branch - CONGRESS - wielding the most power.
2. Day two - and end to government secrecy. Instead of the government hiding everything from the public unless compelled by extraordinary measures not to do so, the opposite would be true. The Executive Branch would have to go to congress - possibly to the intelligence committed - to get congressional (or committee) approval to withhold information from the public. Of course of this approval would be broad. For example, much of the work of the CIA, even when it is behaving as it should, would need to be approved to remain secret. But even that is only approved at the pleasure of the elected representatives of the people, and it is not a blank check. The philosophy would be that the people have the freedom to get all information on the workings of its government, unless representatives of the executive and the legislative branch have met and specifically authorized a national security exemption. The judicial branch would be charged with making sure these principles were followed and not broken.
3. The regulation of the television, print and radio media markets - market monopolies would be broken. The equal time doctrine would be restored. Stations labeling themselves as "news" stations or "news" programs and not entertainment would be required to be licensed and subject to stricter standards and regulations. Stations and programs would be required to clearly identify themselves as entertainment or news with licensing information.
4. Publicly funded federal elections for all representatives, senators, and the office of the president. Federal law mandating states have public funded elections as well, from their budget. Zero money contributions will be allowed to any candidate for any public office. Money is not speech.
5. Demolish the existing tax code, and replace with a tax code for the new century. The biggest feature of the new tax code would be the elimination of most exemptions. Taxes would be income-based, however this would include taxation on corporate profits. If corporations are legally defined as persons under the law, then their revenue is "income" subject to "income" tax. What corporations pay out in dividends to shareholders are simply "living expenses" of the corporate person - thus the argument about "double taxation" is bunk. In 2004, 61% of all US based corporations paid zero in taxes, according to the Government Accounting Office's own report. That would end.
The tax system would be progressive - upper class who are currently taxed at the 35% rate would see their rate of tax reduced (however, the would actually pay more due to the elimination of most tax exemptions. Right now people in the 35% tax bracket pay on average about 11%). Taxes would NOT be raised on that rarely talked about fourth class: the "uber" wealthy. However, with the closure of most tax breaks, the uber wealthy would effectively pay more. Tax breaks / incentives to the middle class and poor would be examined, and tax rates would be adjusted downward proportionate to any eliminated loopholes.
6. Mandatory federal budget spending quotas and spending caps. Defense spending would be capped at 20% of the total federal budget, never to exceed that amount again - this would require an overhauled foreign policy, and military doctrine. More on that later.
Federal education spending would be required to be no less than 20% of the total federal budget - the debate about whether states better no how to spend money on local education that the federal government can continue, and my administration would be willing to consider federal money disbursed to states who might have greater discretion in how to spend the money - up to a point. Those details can be worked out along the way.
Domestic Welfare spending which would include, but not be limited to: universal health care, sustainable social security, the RETURN of responsible yet compassionate welfare (starting with a repeal of 1996's personal responsibility and work authorization act), housing assistance, and genuine work training and work finding programs (in the spirit of the Public Works Administration of the past century) --- all that would be mandated to be a minimum of 40% of the budget.
7. An Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America effectively repealing the decade of the 1980s and its destruction of organized labor - and guaranteeing, in the strongest and most specific of possible terms, a series of permanent rights for labor, unions and collective bargaining. This would include the repeal of "right to work" in every state where it is law.
8. The establishment of a new governmental department: the Department of Corporate Accountability and Consumer Protection (CACP). The director of this department would be a cabinet level position. The responsibility of this department would be to enforce corporate regulations and ensure that corporate "Persons" were responsible citizens. Their ultimate weapon would be the long-forgotten corporate charter. Every corporation has one, and they can be revoked. Remember Corporations are people? Well, then Corporations would be subject to mandatory minimum sentencing. You can't "jail" a corporation, but you can impose fines. Fines would not be fixed, but would be a percentage. Fines for breaking the law would be x percent of that companies reported earnings for the last fiscal year. Fines are pointless unless they actually serve a punitive purpose (i.e. stings the offender and provides genuine disincentive for breaking the law.)
Additionally, Corporations -- again being legal "persons" -- would be subject to Three Strikes You're Out laws. First case of violating federal regulations or the law would be a percentage fine established for the regulation or law broken. The second case would be a doubling of that fine. The third case would result in the immediate revocation of the Corporate Charter. The offending corporation's assets would be liquidated, its property sized and auctioned. It's money could either be given to the top rated responsible corporation within the same market sector - or, if that is problematic to healthy market competition, could be dispersed in other ways to be discussed in the future.
9. The creation of just, responsible trade policy - in part as a supplement to stronger unionization and tougher corporate regulation. Free Trade would be completely dismantled. In its place, the United States would work multilaterally with not just first-world but also developing countries to develop a new vision of "globalization" that was inclusive to people and not exclusively benefiting and handful of transnational corporations. Fair trade would become the rule of the day. Moreover, the United States would move back to a modified protectionism - protectionism-light, if you will, in which corporations moving capital out of the United States would suffer tariffs in imports into the United States. Corporations which move their offices off-short to avoid laws or taxes would be subject to off-setting tariffs. Trade policy with any country would be linked to human-rights records of those countries.
10. The dismantling of preemptive, hegemonic foreign policy. Military spending would be capped at 20% of the federal budget. In partnership with this, the United States would rescind its current doctrine of "preemption" and adopt a true Defense policy. The ultimate doctrine of the new Department of Defense would truly be "homeland" defense with a philosophy of protecting our actual nation from actual military attack on our soil. Defense philosophy would shift from "big" to "smart."
In partnership with this massive shift away from over fifty years of aggressive foreign policy, a new Department, the Department of Peace would be created. Since it was his idea, I would ask Dennis Kucinich to run it. His position would be a cabinet level position equal with the Secretary of Defense. The task of the Department of Peace in my first year would be massive, massive diplomacy all over the world - to spread the message of a change in America's direction in the world, a turn towards multi-lateral policy, and even an admission of our grave mistakes in world affairs in the past. The Department of Peace - NOT the Department of Defense, would have a major role in foreign affairs, in partnership with the State Department (really the state department and the department of peace could be combined - but I want the name to be the Department of Peace, because I think its important).
-- The United States would vote in favor of the numerous UN resolutions it has blocked
-- The United States would sign key international treaties and honor them
-- The United States would support the world criminal court
-- It would no longer be the policy of the United States to ally with our give foreign or military aid to countries that defy international law, violate United Nations Resolutions, or have a documented record of human rights abuses, and yes, as much as it pains me to say this, this includes Israel.
11. The United States Government would immediately end subsidies to Big Energy. The government would take the money currently going to Big Energy and instead offer it to any corporation ready to shift from production of Oil to development, production and distribution of renewable energy alternatives. In other words, the government would pay for Big Oil to stay in business but change its product... I don't like it, but really - that's the only way its going to work. The United States would immediately declare a National State of Emergency due to the critical threat of Global Warming which constitutes a clear and present danger to the security and prosperity of the United States.
To that end, it would become law that emissions standards nationally meet or exceed the best standards in the world in five years. Yes five. To that end, the United States under my leadership declares and unconditional War on Global Warming, and will bring the full resources of the United States to bear on curbing our horrific waste. The United States will become a GREEN COUNTRY in ONE DECADE - 2018.
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