America Can't Wait Until 2016
It's been a long six years dragging out the American political agenda to the detriment of all. Republicans have elevated
Doing Nothing to high art form. Having semi-successfully stood against everything President Obama had going, but not having limited him to one term, they need to develop plans to ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING positive to move the nation forward.
For those of you keeping score out there, the Republican-controlled House had 70 Senate-passed bills awaiting action as of 8 August, but somehow found the time to vote down ACA/Obamacare measures 54 times (most of these votes strictly symbolic), plus we are just passing the anniversary of another government shutdown courtesy of the Tea Party and their meek Republican counterparts. That's not to say the Democrats in the Senate weren't doing their best to overlook the 300 House bills sitting in their In-Box. Frankly, the pending bills are not at all out of line historically (
excellent info here),
it's
the meager list of accomplishments and blatant inaction on so many
eligible major issues that has drawn the ire of the public, and with a Democratic President and Senate, the House stands out as the biggest deterrent to progress.
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| Agent Orange doesn't just kill foliage |
The roots of this intransigence are as deep as American politics is old and from many sources, but a couple of the more modern schisms are worth mentioning:
- President Nixon and his den of iniquity. That era probably did more
to spur distrust between Democrats and Republicans, Congress and the
White House, and the American people and their representatives than any
other recent event.
- Democrats tried to Rope-a-Dope Republican presidents during the Reagan/Bush/Bush years, as did Republicans with Clinton - but some compromises did get done.
- "Borking" of court appointments wasn't collegial from the very start; neither was Senator Reid's recent exercise of the "Nuclear Option."
- With the polarization of voting districts, Republicans and Democrats are gun-shy on voting as they may be outflanked by members of their own parties in the primaries.
Republicans, naturally occupying the conservative end of the spectrum,
believe in smaller, less costly, less active government (domestically).
Getting nothing done, by-and-large, plays to their "strength." One example of this is the stringent $1.2 trillion cuts in the Sequester intended as a must-replace temporary measure now going on it's third year. More progressive politicians seeking active government intervention
would theoretically be a bit more motivated to compromise on behalf
of their constituents to get at least a few slices of a government sponsored loaf of bread.
Where to begin? With or without control of the Senate, the Republicans should lay out an agenda for the next two years to accomplish at least two of the following three items:
FREEDOM & FAIRNESS in Immigration - a comprehensive bill
- Value those who have enough drive and determination to travel thousands of miles on a dangerous journey just to be in the U.S. on the off-chance that they might become citizens
- Man up the borders and the processing - kid's cases should be adjudicated right away and nobody should be stuck in a camp for months, nor allowed to disappear into American society because we can't process them fast enough
- Swift justice - deport the trouble makers, criminals, and generally smarmy; scan biometrics and log border crossers when
they are caught and ship the repeat offenders out right away
- Establish a seven year plan to assimilate them officially into society for the 12-14 million already here
- Encourage three year military or Peace Corps forms of service - it's a great path to citizenship, perhaps a year or two earlier than others
- Require work permits (or U.S. citizenship) for all business and labor hiring to encourage all immigrants to make a choice - get in the plan or go home. Actively enforce. This will also severely decrease the motivation and means to come here and reside illegally.
- Go on the offensive and actively recruit outside the U.S. for the best and the brightest. Those with skills and those with grit.
EDUCATION
- Establish a program for the assimilation of immigrants to foster the development of American values and citizenship, and faster progression of future generations
- Raise funding for Head Start and other early education initiatives to get at risk families on track on or before age three
- Push programs for parent involvement, particularly at an early age
- Radically raise the standards to be a teacher - some of these people could not initially pass the elementary level reading or math tests that they are supposed to be teaching. Our children and our nation require more than glorified babysitters.
- Pay teachers more and advance them by evaluations, testing and reviews
- Eliminate seniority before merit; streamline the firing and hiring process
REFORM of Taxes. Extra credit for reform to Financial Regulation and minor changes to Healthcare
Slash & Burn - The U.S. Tax Code is a behemoth, approximately 74,000 pages, 23 feet tall and growing. Then, of course, there's state and local taxes. Attempts to pare it down a deduction at a time will accomplish nothing in the face of
powerful lobbies on both sides and numerous votes that politicians would have return on them like the ghosts of Christmas past.
- Instead, scrap it all and build it up from the bottom
- Aspire to one Ross Perot-sized 1040 index card; no big disparity for capital gains
- And in the end, hold an Up-or-Down vote like the Base Closure List
Similarly for corporate taxes:
- Vastly simplify and lower the base rate so the whining stops
- Encourage small businesses, the generators of jobs
- Continue down the road the President/Jack Lew established to keep US businesses in the US
This would obviously please the Tea Party and fiscal conservatives on the right while simplifying life for the vast majority of taxpaying Americans. Axing tax deductions and capital gains to equalize tax rates paid by hedge fund managers and the wealthy would please the left. The key would be in maintaining the balance for both political sides and severely restricting add-ons throughout the process.
The above suggestions are by no means an exhaustive list, nor do they reflect the justification behind the ideas or specifics given the limited platform available here. But maybe, just possibly, the Republicans who care will work with their Democratic counterparts to produce something like this. And we will all be the better for it.
Call it the
Opportunity for Freedom, Fairness, Education and Reform,
or
The (Republican) OFFER
