A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

by Ruth A. Sheets

This afternoon, I received an email from an organization called “Freedom Forward.”  It asked for respondents to describe what our vision for the future would be.  That took me aback.  I am so used to identifying the problems we are having now, I have mostly set aside thoughts of what I would like our nation and the world to be like.  The following is a slightly expanded version of my response to Freedom Forward’s question

I would like to see a nation where people are serious about caring for one another.  Instead of blaming one another for whatever comes to mind, we will commit to each other to do our best to be sure that

- all jobs are good jobs, suited to the person in the job, where workers are treated with respect and valued, and paid well, have sick leave, child care, and opportunities to improve skills and level in the organization.  Every corporate and agency board will have workers serving on it 

- taxes are set fairly for all individuals and corporations - those who have pay some more and those who have less pay some less

- the Constitution is taught in school starting in 5th grade so young Americans will know what their rights and the rights of all Americans are - this should help end such nonsense as birtherism and other ridiculous, but potentially harmful  conspiracy theories.

- the ?Equal Rights Amendment is ratified so that after nearly a century, it becomes part of the Constitution, asserting  that rights are not just for men but for women too.  This means women will be able to decide what happens to their own bodies regarding reproduction and other factors specific to them.

- corporations are not permitted to grow so large no one can compete and we are at the mercy of monopolies.  We already have laws on the books for this, now we need to employ those laws to create a more fair economy.

- Hedge funds need to be more seriously regulated so they can't just absorb other companies because they have huge assets.  To have that much padding means they are not paying their fair share of taxes.  I would put Elizabeth Warren in charge of a committee that would develop appropriate regulations.  The Consumer Finance Board would have teeth to protect consumers from bad actors in the business and finance worlds. 

- global warming (climate change) will be given the top priority it needs - All treaties to stop greenhouse gas emissions will be entered into with strong international agreements and means of monitoring and enforcing the agreements' provisions.  Resources will be provided to companies and other entities that move us toward full renewable energy and removable of carbon from the atmosphere.  

- voter registration would be automatic upon reaching age 18.  Since everyone has to have a Social Security number from childhood, it can be used to identify when citizens come of age.  All forms of voter suppression by any party, group, or individual will be outlawed and have significant penalties should it happen.  This includes:  gerrymandering, inappropriate voter roll purging, I.D. requirements after the first time voting at a particular polling place, sabotaging of the US Post Office, requiring such difficult things as two witnesses for a write-in ballot, using minor changes in signatures as a reason to throw out a ballot, etc.

- the US Post Office will be supported as an agency of the federal government.  It will also be able to offer basic banking services.

- Supreme Court justices will serve on the high court for 18 years, then be able to either retire or serve on another federal court.  A presidential nominee for a justice will have to be vetted, interviewed in a hearing, and voted on no matter the party of the majority leader of the Senate.

- all DACA young people will have a direct path to citizenship if they choose to take that route.  It will not cost them a fortune, no more than $500 for the whole process.  They have already been paying, a lot.

- sufficient legal and judicial assistance will be provided to those seeking asylum and refuge in the United States and those seekers will be allowed into this country while they are waiting for a ruling, and not in concentration camps.

- no further physical wall will be built on the southern border because it is unnecessary and a waste of time and money.  No more family separation will take place as it is inhumane and just plain wrong.

- a committee will be selected or elected to help work on the issues of addressing and repairing the results of our history - African-Americans, Native Americans, Latinx-Americans, Asian-Americans will work together with all other Americans to design plans for serious reparations for past injuries:  slavery, abuse, economic, educational, and real estate discrimination, and more.  Decisions will be made to put into practice the committee's suggestions for reparations

- infrastructure will be updated to meet the needs and demands of the people including broadband internet and hospitals in rural areas

- everyone will be covered by affordable health care as health care is a right in a modern society.  A reasonable amount will be taxed to every person to cover the cost of this whether under Medicare or another plan.  This medical coverage will not be connected to place of employment but employers who currently cover healthcare will give that money directly to employees to pay toward the healthcare program that is chosen/developed.

- Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid  will be off the table for destruction by all political parties.     

- public education will be enhanced and our children will be cared for and educated well.  Charter schools will be limited to the experimental schools they were supposed to be at the beginning.  They have morphed into publicly funded private schools that are not particularly good but take up a lot of public resources with little to no accountability.

- The department of Homeland Security will be ended.  The agencies that have value to our society will be moved back into other departments and agencies.  ICE will be disbanded completely, as may other segments of the department.  DHS was formed in fear after 9/11 made with little thought, less planning, and really bad oversight.  It has outlived its usefulness.

- The criminal justice system in this country will be overhauled from the bottom up and the top down.  Police departments will either have a true union to represent officers whatever those officers turn out to be, or they will have a fraternal organization.  It cannot be both representing them.  Laws will be changed to protect the victims of police.  Police will have more limited roles, more effective oversight, and community resources will be tapped for jobs police previously handled, often poorly.  Private prisons will be outlawed and every prisoner's case will be examined and those prisoners arrested and imprisoned on 3-strikes laws with minor crimes will be released if evidence shows they can be safely moved into the community with support services.

- Stronger alliances will be forged with other nations and more careful ones with dictators and those who trample the human rights of their citizens and those others living within their borders.  Greater support will be given to international aid groups like WHO, and the various UN organizations.

- intelligent science-supported strategies will be employed to curb COVID-19 and to prepare for future pandemics and other emergencies. 

These are some of the components of my vision.  IF we can work seriously together on these things, it would be a good start and every American would be safer and more secure.  Our children would be protected and cared for as they should be. 

Maybe we as a nation would benefit if everyone took an hour or two to write down their vision for our collective future, perhaps in addition to their vision for their own future.  These could be starting points for conversations among people with different points of view on a variety of issues.  I suspect we would find that we hold a lot of our visions in common.  After all, we are all Americans, right?