Policy Ideas

Employment

An economy that works for everyone is an economy where everyone is working. It takes an awful lot of work to make a truly great nation, and the People of the United States are yearning to make this nation great. Therefore, anyone who wants to make such a contribution to America should be able to get a job. The catch is not that there is not enough work to do, but rather that not everyone is competent at every job.

I therefore propose a human infrastructure bill that focuses on matching unemployed persons with newly created jobs in their communities, and offering paid training opportunities for those who need to hone their skills and/or develop new ones.

I further propose the appointment of a special commission to examine and make recommendations on how to best ensure that people diagnosed with disabilities have full employment opportunities that are adapted to meet their accommodation needs.

Economic Contribution (Federal Taxes)

Just like the People they serve, every government needs a steady and sustainable income to support its existence and perform the many necessary functions that it must fulfil for the People’s benefit. Therefore, every government must be expected to collect taxes among the People.

The problem with the federal tax system today is that it has been completely perverted, corrupted, and weaponized by the special interests of both political parties. The main substance of the problem is that the wealthy receive all kinds of tax breaks, the poor have to be paid by the government just to survive, and the working middle class are stuck paying all the bills.

The two parties have corruptly weaponized tax policies to turn Americans against their fellow Americans for the benefit of their respective parties. The Democrats have turned a segment of the working class and the poor against the wealthy, while the Republicans have turned a different segment of the working class and the wealthy against the poor. This weaponization of economic strife is by far the most potent engine driving the division and polarization of the American People today. This can – and MUST – change!

I therefore propose a complete and total repeal and replace of all existing federal income tax codes.

I propose that a just and humane federal income tax be developed and adopted into law– and that it may ultimately be enshrined in our Constitution. A humane tax system is fair and a just tax system is without exception. This means that there can be no tax loopholes for anyone. Then the People can – and likely will – be truly proud to pay their fair share of taxes.

I propose a simple-to-understand federal personal income tax code that provides for a consistently progressive tax scale that begins at a 1% tax rate for incomes above the federal living wage standard and gradually increases on a steady slope to a maximum of a 50% tax rate for the wealthiest taxpayers (i.e.: incomes over 100 times the federal living wage).

I propose a separate but similar tax structure for a federal corporate tax code, but provides for a 100% tax exemption for all wages paid to all employees receiving the federal living wage standard and above.

I further propose that a cap be placed for tax deductions on all wages paid greater than a prescribed number of times above (i.e.: 10 times above) the federal living wage standard, in order to disincentivize corporations from paying exorbitant and grotesquely high wages to corporate executives.

Expenditures (Federal Budget)

Just like the People they serve, a government must have revenue that is equal to – or greater than – its expenditures in order to remain solvent.

I therefore propose federal legislation, that may ultimately be enshrined in our Constitution, that the annual budget of the United States Government must not exceed its annual revenue.

I propose that the United States Government has a responsibility for the economic security of future generations of Americans and shall not borrow from them.

I further propose that the only exception to the above policies shall be to defend the People from a direct and imminent existential threat, such as defending the People against the catastrophic impact of an incoming asteroid.

The Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the land, has one of the most solemn and consequential responsibilities in the nation – to make decisions on whether or not the rights and liberties of the People will be protected based on their interpretation of a 233-year-old (outdated and partisan) document with 27 amendments. Thus, the Supreme Court should be composed of nine of the wisest and most unprejudiced legal minds in the nation.

But alas, today’s Supreme Court is composed of some of the most prejudiced partisan political ideologues in the nation. This can – and MUST – change!

I therefore propose that all Justices to the Supreme Court be nominated by a Non-Partisan Judicial Commission and confirmed by a non-partisan president, as opposed to the partisan presidential nominations and partisan Senate confirmations established by our current constitution.

I propose that all nominees to the Supreme Court shall not be a member of any political party, and must not have been a member of any political party for at least the last five years prior to their nomination.

I propose that Justices on the Supreme Court use their wisdom, humility, and collaborative abilities to arrive at a single unanimous decision based on consensus, as opposed to merely stating their individual opinions and then taking a vote on whether the rights and the liberties of the People will be protected. Dissenting opinions may and should be expressed during deliberations, but they have no place in the final decision of the Court.

Since no single person should make such consequential decisions for more than a single generation, I propose that all appointments to the Supreme Court shall be limited to a twenty-year term.

I further propose that the non-partisan judicial commission also be tasked with decisions regarding the recusal of Justices who may have real or perceived conflicts of interest on matters pending before the Supreme Court.

Presidential Pardons

Our nation was founded on the principle that all human beings are equal before the law. There is no more egregious violation of this principal than the presidential pardon which allows a president to corruptly pardon his or her partners in crime and corruptly dangle future pardons to manipulate co-conspirators to cover up their crimes.

I therefore propose that presidential pardons be rendered unlawful.

Public Education

Public education of our youth is literally a national treasure – it is the lifeblood of our nation’s future because it literally creates future opportunities for America’s youth by teaching them a repertoire of knowledge and skills that they can continue to build upon and use throughout their life.

And yet much of this national treasure is squandered through an archaic system – developed during the American Industrial Revolution – that fails to meet the educational and developmental needs of today’s youth which are necessary for them to thrive. And through this failure, our current public educational system is actually limiting the future opportunities for much of our youth instead of creating them. We must carefully and thoughtfully reimagine, reinvent, and restructure our public educational system to meet the educational and developmental needs necessary for our youth to thrive in the 21st century and beyond.

There is something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system that insists on trying to educate young people without a comprehensive consideration of their developmental needs. As a public educational system – and indeed as a society – we must do a much better job recognizing, respecting, and supporting the developmental needs of our youth.

I therefore propose a comprehensive and holistic restructuring of our public educational system to be built upon the foundational principles of healthy youth development and the broader sciences of human development.

I propose a national project to transform American schools into world-class 21st century student-centered community learning centers that are designed to support the educational and developmental needs of our youth, including the knowledge and skills necessary for them to thrive and reach their fullest potential.

I further propose that this national project be funded at the national level through a fair and just progressive individual and corporate income tax system (as discussed above) that removes the economic burden of paying for high-quality education from local tax-payers and the working middle class who rent or own a modest home.

There is something exceptionally archaic (even absurd) about a public educational system – supposedly designed to make all of our children smarter– that literally serves to make so many of our children feel so dumb about so many things. Yet this is the true legacy of the American public educational system today – a veritable educational factory that produces generations of children who believe they are somehow defective human beings. This is literally a national tragedy of epic proportions which is the direct result and natural outcome of an educational system designed to be curriculum-centered instead of student-centered.

By focusing almost exclusively on the goal of setting a mandated set of curriculum standards for all students to meet, our public educational system disregards, dismisses, and disrespects the importance of the natural variation in human abilities. Then when a student fails to learn the required curriculum standards, the system must either fail the student, lower its standards, or test and label the student with a learning disability in order to give that student extra support. Through its failure to recognize, accept, and appreciate the significance of the simple fact that everyone naturally has different strengths and weaknesses which cause natural differences in learning rates, our public educational system literally has the effect of “dumbing down” our children through a combination of failing grades, lower standards, and misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed learning disabilities. Multiply all of this dysfunction by millions of students nationwide and you may begin to see the scope of this problem.

Consider, if you will, a talented athlete who has a well-developed ability for baseball but is not so good at basketball. Should we hold that athlete to the same expectations for basketball as we do for baseball? Should we fail that athlete at basketball for not meeting those expectations? Or should we lower the basketball hoop for all the basketball players? Or should we identify that athlete with a height deficit disorder and provide extra support to try to help that athlete make the basket? Should we segregate athletes according to their height and raise and lower the basketball hoop accordingly? Or should we remain fully inclusive and provide athletes with height deficit disorder with a pair of stilts? It makes no sense, does it? How do you think all of this would make the athlete feel about basketball? And how do you think this would make the athlete feel about their own competence?

Everyone has the basic human need to feel competent at something – it adds meaning to our lives and it gives us a sense of purpose. Educators refer to this basic human need as competency development, which is a necessary component of motivational development.

I therefore propose a 21st Century student-centered public educational system specifically designed to “smarten up” our youth (instead of dumbing them down) by assisting them in identifying and assessing their individual talents and strengths as well as their weaknesses.

Intellectual, academic, and personal strengths – just like physical strengths – are an individual’s natural resources; they are assets that should be developed and may be used to bolster individual weaknesses.

I therefore propose the development of a simple, easy-to-understand, non-bureaucratic, and developmentally appropriate individual education plan for each student with strategies that support the continued development of their talents and strengths, while providing them with the support structure needed to bolster their weaknesses.

There is something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system that desperately attempts to teach a mandated curriculum to students who do not possess the foundational skills necessary for them to succeed. On what planet does it make any sense to require high school students to learn how to solve linear equations if they still don’t know that 3×4=12 or that 50% is half? And yet this is the insanity that many professional educators and children are faced with every day.

Education – like constructing a house – is about laying down a solid foundation of basic skills before moving on to more complex skills. Everyone knows that trying to build a house without a proper foundation is the quintessential recipe for a disaster. The same principle applies to education. This principle may sound like basic common sense, but it is violated every day in our public schools. Violation of this principle is like trying to build huge skyscrapers on weak soil without any foundation piers. It’s a perfect setup for failure.

The basic rationale given is that since all students learn at different rates, they will just pick it up next year. While the premise is certainly true, the sad fact is that the conclusion often is not. Unfortunately, students without a solid foundation end up paying the price for that mistake.

I therefore propose that primary schools be specifically designed to help students build a strong foundation of specific and practical academic skills – as opposed to more generalized subject matter that waters down the focus on those basic skills – that students can build upon and use throughout their life.

I further propose that public schools offer flexible and comprehensive academic support and tutoring services for all students who need it – with a central focus on primary and intermediate students who are struggling with those basic skills.

There is something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system that teaches science as a distinct subject of complicated vocabulary and esoteric theories. Science is a method for understanding the world around us. At its core, science is simply a logical way of understanding our world based on evidence. It’s really just that simple. So why must schools make it all seem so complicated?

We use science for nearly everything in life. It is a basic problem-solving skill that we use from early childhood and throughout our adult lives. Pre-schoolers use science every time they make a puzzle. They put together puzzles by forming a hypothesis of what piece to use based on its color and shape, and then they prove or disprove it based on whether it fits. Kindergarten children who can use blocks to prove that 2 + 2 = 4 are using the basic scientific method to prove it to be true.

Science is also a basic adult problem-solving skill. Auto mechanics use science every time they test out hypotheses to diagnose car problems and carpenters use science every time they check the measurements of a door frame or use a level to see if the floor is flat. Doctors use science to make a diagnosis and lawyers use science to prove their cases. And nearly every adult on planet Earth uses science nearly every day to try to solve everyday problems in their life.

I therefore propose teaching science as a foundational skill necessary for examining and understanding the world around us – not a distinct theoretical subject of study.

There is something exceptionally archaic (and ludicrous) about a public educational system that attempts to teach practically everything under the sun, sets countless high curriculum standards, and then sets a minimal learning standard of 60% to pass. In essence, American public schools have become glorified vehicles to teach our children to become students of everything under the sun and masters of nothing.

When is the last time you performed your job at a level of 60%? Would you still have that job? Imagine your auto mechanic performing at a level of 60%. Or how about your doctor, your hair dresser, or your teacher? How about a police officer or a Navy SEAL? It literally makes no sense.

Most public schools today use letter grades based on the percentage correct in an attempt to motivate students under a pass/fail system. The basic logic here is: “Everyone wants an ‘A’, right?” Wrong. Students who are already motivated and engaged with the curriculum want an ‘A’. Unmotivated and unengaged students will just take whatever grade you are willing to give them: B, C, D, F, or even G, H, I, J, or K if there was such a thing. A large population of students is just fine with just squeezing by with any grade that you are willing to give them that allows them to pass. Many others don’t even care about that.

Learning is about developing a mastery of knowledge and skills necessary to perform certain tasks. Percentage correct makes complete sense for a math test, not for meeting an educational goal.

I therefore propose that a standards-based grading system be developed to more accurately evaluate the degree of mastery of knowledge and skills that a student has – as opposed to just a letter grade based on the percentage correct.

There is something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system that fails to offer authentic opportunities for all middle school students to develop and pursue their individual interests. By focusing almost exclusively on the goal of setting a mandated curriculum for all students, our public educational system disregards, dismisses, and disrespects the importance of the natural variation in human interests.

I therefore propose that intermediate schools be specifically designed to offer all middle school students a broad range of opportunities to explore, discover, identify, and develop individual interests, while continuing to strengthen and build upon their strong foundation of knowledge and skills.

I further propose that intermediate schools offer a broad range of engaging, challenging, inspiring, and age-appropriate exploratory and interest-based experiential learning opportunities.

Such learning opportunities include – but are not limited to – the arts, music, dance, theatre, culinary arts, technology, digital photography, video game creation, woodshop, rocketry, creative writing, foreign language, American Sign Language, rock band, jewelry making, athletic and sports programs, skateboarding, fencing, karate, mountain biking, outdoor adventure programs, and so much more – basically anything and everything available in the local community that appeals to young people.

There is something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system – responsible for teaching young people knowledge and skills – that fails to teach high school students how to responsibly set and manage their own educational goals before they graduate so they will have the skills to self-direct their own educational career after they graduate.

As it becomes developmentally appropriate, high school students must gradually be granted more freedom – and responsibility – to manage their own educational goals and create their own learning path. The ability to create one’s own life by making one’s own decisions is a developmental need that every American (and every rebellious teenager) should be familiar with – liberty. Educators refer to this basic human need as self-determination or autonomous development, which is another necessary component of motivational development.

I therefore propose that secondary schools be specifically designed to help high school students responsibly manage their own educational goals and, as it becomes developmentally appropriate, create their own learning path through a broad range of learning opportunities such as:

1.  traditional high school courses for the more traditional student population;
2. vocational training for students who desire to learn a trade;
3. authentic interest-based experiential learning opportunities for students with well-defined interests (as described above);
4. virtual learning opportunities for students who desire more independence or courses not offered at their school;
5. individualized learning opportunities for highly self-motivated students;
6. authentic apprenticeships, internships, and cooperative education opportunities to help students prepare for post-graduation;
7. credit for authentic learning documented through volunteer and/or paid work experience for students who desire early entrance into the workforce;
8. expert community-based national service programs to engage students who are particularly vulnerable and difficult to reach;
9. Jr. ROTC programs for students interested in potential military service;
10. free dual enrollment classes through local public community colleges and state universities for students ready to begin their higher education.

Such learning opportunities are not just fluffy enrichment classes or glorified babysitting arrangements designed for the convenience of busy parents. They are serious learning endeavors and rock-solid educational methods designed for students to reach legitimate educational and developmental goals. As such, all of these learning opportunities deserve to be treated with the same degree of care and thoughtfulness in their design as traditional academic classes, and with the same degree of dignity and respect as the students themselves.

We must finally recognize and appreciate the fact that, at the micro-level, every individual student is different and has different educational and developmental needs that must be respected and supported. And backing out to the macro-level, the student population within every school community has its own set of educational and developmental needs that likewise must be respected and supported.

I therefore propose that local school districts be responsible for implementing these learning opportunities – in coordination with, and under the guidance of, federal, state, and local youth development experts and professional educators – in a manner that is best suited to meet the developmental and educational needs of their local student population.

There is something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system that religiously limits the learning time of students from 7:45 a.m. – 2:05 p.m. for 180 days out of a 365-day calendar. That seems mighty thin to me. In reality – whether we choose to admit it or not – learning never stops – for the better or for the worse. Sometimes that learning outside of school is positive and healthy; sometimes it is not.

I therefore propose that local school districts be granted the autonomy to determine the structure of their school days, school weeks, and even their school-year calendar – in coordination with, and under the guidance of, federal, state, and local youth development experts and professional educators – in a manner that is best suited to meet the developmental and educational needs of their local student population.

And finally, there is also something exceptionally archaic about a public educational system that insists on failing students who fail to thrive in an outdated educational system that fails to meet their educational and developmental needs. Education is not so much a goal to be achieved, but rather a process that must be nurtured to develop the mind, the soul, and life itself.

We squander our national treasure every time we cause a young person to perceive themselves as a failure. This does not mean that we never allow a student to fail an assignment or a course; it means that we must never allow a young person to fail at their own educational career.

I therefore propose that public primary, intermediary, and secondary education become a single, integrated, developmentally appropriate twelve-to-fifteen-year course of study in itself (preschool through senior year), where every young person who meets basic attendance requirements will be allowed to graduate based on their personal degree of mastery and competency within the bounds of each course and educational goal successfully completed – as opposed to not allowing students to graduate because they have not passed an individual course.

Political Implications

Our conception of public education is only limited by our imagination’s failure to see things differently. Educators refer to this as paradigm-shifting. For the good of our youth – and literally for the future of our great nation – we must change the paradigm of our public education system so that We the People may thrive and reach Our fullest potential.

These policy proposals are neither left nor right on the political spectrum – but our political parties will tell us they are. They are neither conservative policies nor are they liberal policies – but our political parties will tell us they are. They are simply human policies proposed in an effort to solve human problems. They are common-sense problem-solving strategies to fix and modernize a broken and archaic public educational system based on a new way of thinking about the purpose of education and supported by principles of youth development and the broader sciences of human development. It is therefore the responsibility of the People to be smarter than the political parties want us to be.

There is also something exceptionally archaic (and even inhumane) about a public educational system that is, in so many ways, a reflection of our broken political system – a system designed to serve itself and its own interests rather than supporting the human needs and interests of the Young People it is supposed to serve. Public education in America has literally become a massive self-serving educational-industrial complex designed primarily for the benefit of the grown-ups who profit from it and not for the Young People who so desperately need it.

But none of this will ever change as long as political parties remain in absolute control of our government. Thus, it is a moral imperative, as well as the Right and Duty of the People, to remove political parties from power and construct a new government that benefits and improves the lives of all the People. This includes the lives of Young People.

Public Higher Education

All young adults should have the opportunity to continue their education after high school if they choose. But that opportunity is a privilege that should require students to gradually take on more responsibility for the cost of their own education as well.

I therefore propose that all young adults who wish to continue their education through public community colleges and vocational schools be allowed to earn tuition discounts based on their grade point average. The full cost of tuition will be waived for all students for the first semester/trimester, and tuition discounts will be earned for all subsequent semesters/trimesters according to the student’s previous grade point average: