By Ruth A. Sheets
June 11, 2026
When this Trumpian/oligarchical insanity has passed, I would like to see some serious changes to our current government. Ahead are some of my suggestions.
1. Our full legal code needs to be thoroughly combed. Laws that oppose human rights (the Comstock Act and others) voted down permanently and discarded. Then a second combing to dump laws that are too vague and can be interpreted in ways to harm people a group like the Trumplicans can use as a weapon. Our laws should acknowledge our wonderful diversity and that We the People are the most important factor in our democracy.
2. Immigrants who have lived in this nation for 10 or more years and have worked and contributed should have a path to citizenship that is quick and fair. This should include the DACA young people. ICE is abolished and rules set up or a Constitutional amendment that would outlaw the construction of a paramilitary such as ICE and the Border Patrol have become. All concentration camp prisons are closed permanently and deportations to 3rd countries are totally stopped. No one is imprisoned without due process.
3. Caring for our planet, cleaning up our environment, and developing renewable/clean energy with support to make it affordable and cheaper than fossil fuels are critical for our planet's survival. Connections like the Paris Agreement are reinstated and seriously followed and other nations are encouraged to follow them too.
4. No top-level positions in our government can be filled with people who have no experience in the area they are nominated for: HHS Sec. must be a medical expert and have medical experts under them who actually know what they are doing; a Sec. of Defense must have not only some military experience, but diplomatic and management skills too.
5. The Supreme Court will have 18-20 year term limits at which point they may choose to stay in a lower court. They will have a code of ethics and be held to it on penalty of suspension, just as lower court judges do. The Supreme Court will be expanded to 13 (I’ve also heard 15 suggested to expand the number of districts too) one justice for each district court. A nominee must already be a judge on a lower court and will need approval from at least 3 non-partisan professional legal organizations like the ABA and have a record of fairness in any previous court position.
6. The Federal government and state governments will support elections and pass severe limits on how much money any person, including corporations can contribute to a campaign, less for the narrower the position in territory. Every single penny donated to a PAC or campaign will be recorded with the name of the person that donated it and no foreign contributions and no “dark” money will be permitted on penalty of the candidate being removed from the ballot if there is evidence the campaign knew of the “donation.” Automatic voter registration will take place for every American citizen upon reaching age 18. Incentives will be given for people to vote, perhaps a small tax break that will increase after a significant number of elections. Vote by mail would be available for everyone who wants it no questions asked.
7. All gerrymandering for any reason, political, race, religion, etc. will be halted. Agreed-upon independent groups will design the districts using fair computer algorithms, keeping towns intact when possible.
8. The minimum wage around the country will be set to go with the cost of living average in each state where possible starting with $18 per hour and gradually moving up to reach $25 in 5 or 6 years. There will be overtime pay increases too.
9. The entire tax code will be carefully examined by people who understand economics and taxes from both parties and independents, cleaning it up, making it more fair, dumping tax breaks for the very rich who do some shady practices to avoid paying taxes. Millionaires and Billionaires will pay their fair share of taxes up to 50% for the folks at the very top. Free online submission of tax forms will be available for anyone who wants to use them. The tax code needs to be completely overhauled with citizen input at every stage.
10. Public Education is a common good that needs to be expanded and encouraged. Charter schools should be reincorporated into the regular public school system to make funding fair. Voucher programs would be gone since they only serve to give rich people more money they don't need to support private and religious schools. Civics education should begin in Kindergarten and be age appropriate through grade 12.
11. End monopolies in nearly all areas with specific exceptions, some utilities, for example. Then make sure that no billionaires can own more than 1 media platform and no more than 10 radio or TV stations or newspapers around the country. Local news coverage should be encouraged with some assistance when needed. We need good journalism not a pack of oligarchical lies, disinformation, and ignorance to rule our airwaves or computers/phones.
12. Above all, there must be universal healthcare! No one should have to forgo treatment because they can't afford it. We have the tech and the ability to make this happen. Private insurance corporations can be assisted to cover areas other than healthcare. There are several other nations that have such healthcare programs and we could learn from them how to do it well.
Probably the first thing we will need to do, though, hard as it will be, we must hold accountable, the people who have caused this chaos, this harm to the people of our communities The targeted could begin with DOGE, the various department secretaries who chose to dismantle needed programs and services without permission, ICE guys on the streets who killed and otherwise harmed people, those who proposed and developed the concentration camp prisons which they allowed to treat people worse than one would treat animals (and no one should be treating animals that badly).
Trump and his white house toddler pool and the Trump relatives should be first in line for investigation and indictment. No blanket pardons for these people. The country needs to know what they have done, to whom, and what they themselves gained financially and otherwise from their efforts.
So, these are some things I and others have been thinking about and what we need to do. We must get things started as soon as we can because Republicans have a way of sabotaging every positive thing that Democrats and independents do to make things better. Repubs screw things up and Dems have to clean up their mess and if they take more than a couple of months to fix something Repubs have screwed up for 4+ years, people vote the party that made the messes back into office. It is nuts, but just what happens.
We can do this if we have the will and the quality reps and senators in office. Even if we have to wait until 2028, we can at least get started and let the American people know what we are up to, how they can help, and where they can share their ideas for what they would like to see happen. As lawyer Joyce Vance always says, “We’re in this together.”
No comments:
Post a Comment