Times of Crisis Require Genuine Reforms

Well, things keep getting worse. Just today, the State Senate and House of California passed the deplorable budget deal. Abel Maldonado, state Senator from around Silicon Valley, finally caved in. Sure, he wrangled some concessions from the Democrats, getting them to drop an increased gas tax, agree to a ballot initiative for open state primary elections, and getting state Controller John Chiang to not spend one million dollars on redecorating his office, but the fact remains that this bill is a travesty. In addition to an annual tax increase of $12 billion a year — during a recession, in case you’d forgotten — half of the budget plan’s “spending cuts” are cuts in projected spending increases. So, really, they’re cutting half what they say they’re cutting, when, in a sane world, they’d have cut all planned spending increases as well as the 40 percent increase in government spending we’ve seen in the last five years, if not the 100 percent it’s increased by in the last decade. Oh, and the much-lauded “spending cap” they put in as a bargaining chip with the Republicans? Not only is it a “flexible” budget cap, but it can be removed with a two-thirds majority. So, all they need to do is lean on enough Republicans and cry “financial Armageddon” long enough until they cave, and blammo! No more spending cap and we have higher taxes! And, even before this new increase, Californians were among the top ten most heavily taxed in the union! And don’t start with the “but the tax increases are only temporary” crap. “No taxes are temporary” as my grandmother’s father said as he filled out his first ever national income tax forms.

Meanwhile, in our nation’s capitol, President Obama signed the massive “stimulus” bill, or “porkulus” bill, as some have called it. He had urged Congress to pass it as quickly as possible. No time for discussion, no time to talk about how there are many pet-projects in the bill, or whether we should set this generation’s debt at the feet of its children (id est, most of us Gauchos), or whether government pump-priming spending even works! No, Obama said, such things are “the failed politics of the past,” whatever that is supposed to mean. So yes, pass that stimulus bill ASAP, he said! Each second you delay increases how much we have to pay for it to work, how much longer it will take to show any effect, and likely the package is to fail! Oh, but don’t mind if I take the Valentine’s Day weekend off, and leave the bill sitting on my desk for three days while I have a romantic getaway with the Mrs. on your dollar!

Now, I don’t normally listen to one Mr. Limbaugh, radio personality and self-proclaimed leader of the “conservative movement” (as defined by himself) of America, and I often disagree with him, but he said something interesting today. He spoke of “the pulse of revolution” building in America, and that is not just empty rhetoric. I have noted an increased dissatisfaction with our government as of late, and I attribute it to prolonged and severe incompetence, corruption, and general malfeasance on the part of both major parties. Just look up the “Heads on a Stick” campaign opposes the increase in taxes in the California State Budget just passed by the Legislature for a graphic depiction of this pent-up frustration. Neither party truly serves the American electorate or cares for their wellbeing. Corporations, unions, special interests, ideological goals, and, above all, the preservation of the status quo are the only interests of the Democrats and the Republicans. People are increasingly expressing this belief, and the trends have mirrored this. The percentage of Independent voters has been on the rise for quite some time. While he didn’t win the nomination by a long shot, Ron Paul’s radically different from the mainstream platform drew massive grass-roots support. People are hungry for change, real change, and Obama, despite his rhetoric and promises, is just more of the same.

It is dangerous for a society when the government loses the trust of the populace. Empires have fallen from as much, and America, depending on whom you talk to, either is, is becoming, or ought to be, an empire. So, what can we do? I, as always, have suggestions for potential solutions, but I doubt they’ll be followed. I’ll throw them out there all the same, just so I can say “I told you we shoulda…” when they inevitably are ignored as we continue careening toward ruin.

First of all, the need for political reform is dire. We need to completely oust every single person currently holding an office or appointed position in any level of government above…say, county, and exclude them, their spouses, siblings, cousins, in-laws, children, nieces, nephews, and grand-children from holding office at any level for life. It is an extreme but necessary measure to remove corruption, nepotism, and cronyism. In some countries, in some points in time, violence might be used to accomplish this process. Hopefully, being a nation that claims to value the rule of law, we could carry out this process in a civil fashion.

Secondly, further measures preventing future nepotism need to be enacted. George W. Bush should not have been able to run for President, or any other national office, having had a father who held that office. Nor should Hillary Clinton have been able to run for President, or be appointed Secretary of State, when her husband had served two terms as president less than a decade earlier. We need an Amendment, call it the Adams-Roosevelt-Kennedy-Clinton-Bush Amendment, restricting political nepotism and “dynasty.” With Kennedys still in the Congress, Hillary in the White House, and Jeb Bush being seriously considered for the Republican presidential ticket in 2012, this amendment could not be more timely.

Thirdly, we need electoral reform. The Electoral College was made back when women and blacks couldn’t vote and secret ballots were unknown. We need to have a one person, one vote scheme for presidential nominations and elections. No more “winner-takes-all” on the Republican side, no more Super delegates and caucuses on the Democratic side, and no more delegates on either side! For those fearing “tyranny of the majority,” as the Founders did, we could combine “one person, one vote” with Congressional districts and/or states. So, for a candidate to win a state, he has to win the majority of individual votes as well as a majority in the majority of Congressional districts. So, for party nominations, each candidate gets a “point” for each district in which they Garner a majority, and the candidate that wins the majority of districts and/or the overall stat majority gets an extra two points for the state’s two senators. For national elections, the presidential winner would be the one to win both the majority of the popular vote and either a majority in the majority of the states and/or the majority in the majority of Congressional districts. As you can tell, I’m willing to be flexible on this.

Finally, we need to end the duopoly of the Republican and Democratic parties, or at least create the possibility of such happening. No more private funding for parties! There are some countries, like Belgium, where donating to a political party is a federal offense! All parties will have equal funding, equal airtime, and will get representation in the presidential debates. “But Political Guru,” you begin, “You surely aren’t suggesting that all those crazy third parties get federal funding and equal air time! That means that American tax dollars would support such things as ‘The American Nazi Party,’ and people would have to see ads from this obscure, crazy parties with three members!” Of course, I don’t mean every last damn party on the books. I suggest we have the requirement be that the top five parties, by membership, and any party with more than 10 percent of the electorate by membership.

Do I have any hope that these suggestions will be heeded? Meh. I know it is extremely unlikely. In all likelihood, the two big parties will continue screwing things up for the American people, until America becomes a completely different nation, or its citizens become so genuinely pissed off that we have outright rebellion.

One Response to “Times of Crisis Require Genuine Reforms”

1. Mike Harmon says:

   February 22, 2009 at 7:46 pm

   Nice writing style. I look forward to reading more in the future.