Which issue(s) do you want Harris/Walz to champion during Harris' presidency? (serious)
Looking for @mozz@mbin.grits.dev to help lay out how they will implement the changes for the policies or issues the voters want.
Looking for @mozz@mbin.grits.dev to help lay out how they will implement the changes for the policies or issues the voters want.
Codify Roe
Enact nationwide RCV at all levels of elections (anyone who is going to argue they can't, if Trump can destroy things you thought couldn't be destroyed, we can do the opposite)
SCOTUS term limits and packing (expand it from 1 court to multiple courts, have each case only seen by 1 court, split the incumbent fascists across the multiple courts so their extremist views only ever amount to a minority dissent)
Pardon all non-violent drug offenders at every level of incarceration (play hardball with state officials who don't cooperate)
Mandate all government buildings get their power 100% from renewables
Nooooo SCOTUS can't have term limits or else they'll align with corporate backers to get a nice "consulting" job when their term is up. Now without term limits, they are immune to external influence, and rule fairly for the people. \s
how about we quit dancing around those territories that should be states like washingtondc and puerto rico
Tax the rich & corporations based on their income, remove 90% of the tax deductions they can take. Make all businesses that do business in US borders pay taxes, no exceptions, even if they are located in another country. Regulate internet & cell providers like public utilities. Create strict privacy laws for all citizens. We are not a product to be exploited. Pass Human Rights laws for all Americans. Change the law to provide/allow personal banking from the central bank/Federal Reserve. Fix the USPS retirement funding requirement to allow a profit and growth of services. Tax churches. They are not 'providing support to the community' any longer. They are a business.
I feel a little weird about being your dancing monkey in terms of answering this question just because you singled me out and told me to, but sure:
The platform is a pretty good start; there's a lot in there about economic inequality and working on climate change which are two key priorities.
Most urgent things I would add to that:
There are some other big things but that all is the most urgent I think. Even that is a pretty fuckin big list to be able to do.
Maybe something about internet propaganda, but I honestly don't see a real clear government-involved solution to that that I have any confidence in, is the only reason it's not on the list.
Fix the fucking election system... No more gerrymandering, money out, make voting day a holiday, make mail in easy, zero bullshit restrictions making voting harder, ranked choice, no electoral college, get a handle on primaries too
Rent caps, ownership of property caps (it should be illegal to make a business off owning so many homes and raising the price to the point that most can't afford a home as its a basic need just like water). Taxing the ever living shit out of the rich. Better funding for public schools and actually holding superintendents accountable for their actions and capping their pay based off of average pay of the other staff such as teachers/custodians/IT/maintenance in public schools. Price of groceries, then if theirs time price of almost everything else after COVID. It's not a free market it's controlled by the rich so control it back at this point.
Build some damn trains! Our cities are sprawling car-infested shitholes compared to more modern city designs around the world.
A single freeway interchange costs as much as a big light rail network for a medium sized city. It would transformative to build some modern infrastructure for once.
Combine that with educating city councils on how zoning laws and architectural rules determine how a city's space is used (usually very inefficiently and with ugly buildings). We're making a sprawling, bland wasteland out of the beautiful American landscape by sheer ignorance and short sighted greed.
I think it was CityNerd whose video I recently watched where one of the points was too many local flights still in Acela corridor.
Acela is the closest US has to a high speed train and connects cities with huge populations, transit and the right distance for hsr. It’s hugely popular and has taken many flights out of the air and cars off the road, but it’s not enough. It’s still the most congested airspace in the US and there are 450 flights/day between major cities within the Acela service area. Current Acela levels of service are way below what people are demanding and it’s not enough. Nowhere near enough. Those 450 flights every day entirely within the Acela service area shouldn’t exist. We need train service good enough to start banning local flights
Single payer healthcare.
Criminal justice reform (e.g., reform rather than punishment).
Overturning the NFA of 1934 and the GCA, strengthening the PLCAA.
Wealth taxes.
Returning the marginal tax rates to pre-1970 levels.
Eliminating SS tax caps.
Seriously address climate change.
Unwinding all book bans.
Enshrining reproductive rights in the constitution.
It sure would be nice if we got some trains and other practical solutions to carbon emissions
#1: wealth inequality
#2: climate change/environmental conservation
Other high priorities: bodily autonomy/abortion, police and prison reform (yeah, I know, never going to happen), strengthening voting rights and democratic institutions, replacement of aging infrastructure, support for Ukraine, SCOTUS reform, universal healthcare
Same number 1 but also address congressional reform on ethics and insider trading, but switch 2 to Supreme Court reform in the wake of Roe being overturned
Realistically, a lot of it could just be continuation of existing Biden policy:
Some Biden policies need to be bolstered with a combination of both continued executive action and new laws passed through Congress:
Abortion, contraception, and family planning in general needs a combination of both strong executive action and new legislation:
These are all pretty modest, but very important. The actual machinery of government is immensely important, and we need people who are effective at making sure everything is working for the people.
My wishlist is basically:
Tackle corporate overreach and monopolization both via urging strong legislation in Congress and utilizing existing Federal agencies regulatory power. Break monopolies, ensure fair practices, place regulations on data harvesting/usage, and protect consumers wherever possible.
Support labor groups and rights. Crack down on union busting, non-competitive contracts, and companies dodging treating employees as actual employees.
Continue developing a strong infrastructural base. Expand development of developing fields such as dynamic power grids, support growth of more efficient transportation mechanisms such as railroads, and push states to catch up on or begin much needed infrastructural overhauls.
Reinforce US support for overseas allies against the major threats they are facing, including both military and economic collaboration. Support strong region collaborative alliances. The US should be a leader in protecting the free and democratic nations against the very real threats they now face.
Sorry if that's a little too vague. Or too specific. It could probably be rendered down to something like "tackle corporate power, support labor, build infrastructure, support allies".
This is a little one, but: fix the post office.
Trump got a bug up his butt about mail-in ballots, so he put a postmaster general in place with a mission to destroy it. He pretty much has: the service is slower, more expensive, and less reliable than it used to be.
Biden was either unable or unwilling to remove him, but his term is about to end. Kamala will have an opportunity to put someone good in place who can rebuild what has been destroyed.
There are too many, and too inter-related to really pick one out, but I agree with others to mostly continue Biden policies. As a moderate, he did start a lot of good things but it all takes too many years, too much money. We need to keep pushing.
My first thought is the environment. We’ve done so much damage for so long and still keep pushing back. The IRA was huge but barely scratched the surface. There is so much that needs to be done and time is running short
But you can’t work on the environment while being the biggest fossil fuel producer in history
And trains are such a key part of decarbonizing transportation but can take a generation or more
And you’re not getting anything done without fixing the courts
And somehow we need to unstick large infrastructure projects like transmission lines and power generation
And no one can afford this with the current wealth inequality and excessive cost of homes
I want her to spend a bunch of money on roads and highways, with the stipulation that to get any of it you have to buy your equipment (dump trucks, loaders, graders, etc) from an American factory that uses Union labor.