Our Common Purpose

Two years ago, the 240-year-old American Academy of Arts and Sciences created a bipartisan commission to analyze the state of American democracy. The group [Our Common Purpose] is now issuing a report detailing 31 recommendations for how to strengthen it.  Read the summary here: https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/report/section/3

Several takeaways from the report give me hope that we are on the right path.

• Ranked-choice voting for House of Representatives. In other words – you can rank candidates in the order you approve of their polices and representation of your interests - regardless of party affiliation. The top ‘n’ candidates all go to congress. This also eliminates the ‘winner-take-all’ model that can leave as much as 50% of a district without symbolic representation.
• Congressional districts defined by the citizens themselves, rather than politicians and courts. Independent citizen redistricting commissions that are federally funded would ensure all constituents have a voice in representation.
• Establish eighteen-year terms for Supreme Court justices with appointments staggered such that one nomination comes up during each term of Congress. No more ‘loading the court’ in one election cycle.
• Amend the Constitution to authorize the regulation of election contributions and spending to eliminate undue influence of money in our political system. This is a BIG deal. It is a recommendation, in essence, to overrule the ‘Citizens United’ Supreme Court decision that allows corporations undue financial influence in elections.
• Automatic voter registration. Yea! I often wondered how the IRS new exactly who and where you were and what you owed no matter where you moved or how often you changed jobs. But yet we will send voter mail-in ballots to hundreds of long gone or dead ‘voters’.  Let’s use the same system – one Social Security # one vote – no matter where you are.
• Mandatory voting.  Yes – just like Jury Duty – it’s a required responsibility for all ‘citizens’. You can vote for ‘none of the above’ – but you must vote. If you do not vote you pay higher taxes than those that do (or a fine - I like the tax idea myself).  Love It!
• Turn Veterans Day into a national election day.  Love this too. What better way to honor veterans than to exercise the basic rights they fought for! Not to mention election day should have always been a federal holiday. Having it on a workday makes it extremely hard for the middle & lower class citizens to take off work, manage day care, commute to polling stations, etc. Of course, the entitled among us had no intention of making it easy for the rest of us.

There is much more to this than these seven points, so I hope everyone takes the time to review it in detail. And I sincerely hope our congressional leadership gives these proposals weight.

I see two formidable omissions from this report, however.

1. No mention of congressional term limits.
2. No mention of tax reform.

Now, I understand the need to focus on what is ‘possible’ with such a report, but I’m dismayed that two of the most corrupting policies in American politics were not addressed. 

On Term Limits see my post: Terms & Conditions

On Tax Reform see my post: Taxing Caesar

Let's make We The People really MEAN something!