Okay. So here is the question for you all. Write the next US Constitution. Not so much the details. But the general goals some ideas of what amendments to include and so on. I know that we are all passionate about our political beliefs. I am the first one that can lose my cool. Let's keep the flaming to a minimum please. I am interested in all your opinions. Liberal or Conservative.
Devolve all federal power to the states. No exceptions. Then let the people of each state vote to decide whether they want to remain connected in some way to other states or to become independent nations.
What was wrong with the original? It just goes to show you that laws are meaningless unless there is the will to enforce them. Ben Franklin once said that he thought that the Constitution would endure for a time, but when society became corrupt the nation would fold like a deck of cards.
No judge may legislate from the bench. The second amendment should also be strengthened to make it clear that gun ownership is not to be restricted. part of the 14th amendment must be scrapped (wetback part).
The general values represented in the original are fine with me; still, it is clear that it needs to be amended in certain ways. Reality does not remain 'static' in time; things change. And laws which do not remain fully relevant, can 'reduce' that "will" readily. If Franklin were immortal and survived to this day, he'd probably see that some changes were needed.
I'm not sure what they really means... as it has happened more than a few times. Are we accounting for technology (exponential increases in personal firepower)? (I think that we should have... long ago.) What is with this 'perpetual' racist sh__, coming from you and others??!! It's destructive.
Balanced budget amendment No free lunch if you can't pay, you can't play strengthened border control strict immigration policy fair tax no federal reserve gold standard currency drill baby, drill
1. Dissolve the monopoly status of the United States of America government 2. Establish the social contract and the NAP as governing principles of an Anarchist system within the territory of the USA 3. Allow the establishment of Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions within the territory of the USA, including the existing coercive USA government, albeit absent its monopoly upon the legitimate use of force, stable population, and territorial integrity.
I was interested in seeing what people will come up with. Unfortunately, it seems people in this forum are more interested in tearing each other down. Than coming up with good ideas. So few responded.
Ok, Ok, I'll take a shot at a new Constitution. 1. Impale all federally elected officials and unelected officials. It make take me some more time to come up with the rest.
If you provide the perfect form of government to an immoral society, they will screw it up. If you provide an imperfect form of government to a moral society, they will fix it. For me, the issue comes down to morality. For you see, the greater the immorality within society, the greater urgency to have a police state in place to contain them. Conversely, the greater moral fiber a society has, the less need for laws there are. Today the US government passes laws and regulations at a clip of around 40.000 per year. What does that tell ya? If I desired to implement a police state, I would try to undermine the morality of the people. Perhaps I would do things like take God out of the class rooms, make abortion moral instead of immoral, and attack those who were had moral fiber and wished for a limited government. Just say'in.
Hmm... I'll start with a list of some of my ideas. I could go into more detail but it would be a very long post. Ensure campaigns and elections are fair Any denizen may vote and run for office Alternative / ranked-choice ballots for all federal elections Multi-party system that allows for independent candidacies Proportional representation plus open-list primaries All republics and territories in the Union get representation Representatives immune from congressional expulsion Restrict compensation for elected officials and public-sector admins List what the feds can do and delegate the rest to the republics Executive responsibilities handled by a Presidium Capital punishment, torture, and conscription are explicitly forbidden Constitutional court actively tries and strikes illegitimate acts of state Modernized bill of rights* Secular or irreligious government Better limit the value of alleged damages over which folks can file suit Add sensible caveats to the right of people to have and use weapons 4th branch of government is academic, consults, studies, and informs 5th branch of government includes all citizens, maybe for referenda? Re-calibrated system of checks and balances Constitutional conventions automatically convene every 10 or 20 years The Constitution describes itself as from the People - a social contract Procedures for admittance to and secession of territories from the Union Procedures for admittance to and secession of republics from the Union Procedures for emigration to and immigration of individuals into the Union Procedures for handling folks who voluntarily opt out of the social contract And for the sake of socialist patriotism let's add a reworded L'Internationale as the Union's anthem and get a new flag. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Rights I've got in mind in addition to those already in the current U.S. Constitution include (but are not limited to), and I quote from another of my posts on this site: a basic income; "adequate shelter, food, water, clothing, medical care, education, and healthful environs - delivered to the People in a manner decided by the legislatures of each state; workplace democracy and a republican form of government in all firms doing business here other than sole proprietorships; representative democracy in all states; equitable recognition of consensual civil partnerships/unions under the law; freedom from monopolies and cartels in the economy; freedom to partake in ones cultural heritage (up until the point it infringes on the rights of others); and ample time off from work for sleep, leisure, and other necessities of life - as defined by the legislatures in each of the many states. Native American nations should also have the right to complete self-government on their respective reservations." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the same kind of sh!t that started the War Between the States. The country is even more polarized now, and on many more issues. So it would be best to hang onto the Constitution we have until the one percent and Big Business decide it has become a nuisance to them, or cuts into profit. When this happens, the conservatives and neoconservatives will accept any new constitution the fat cats propose. (Especially if they can keep their guns, and even if they cant.)
The conservatives and neoconservatives, even those who claim to be Libertarians, have yet to propose any form of government to replace the current corrupt mess, that would not be worse than what we have.
I don't like ALL that I see of/from government... but knowing HUMAN beings, I realize that we cannot just do a TOTAL reset of anything. That is, no matter what anyone may think... HUMAN beings will be a part of ANY system we devise or put in place. There are no magic bullets or perfect solutions.
Congress shall make no law regarding the economic affairs conducted within or between the States, with the exception of the purchase of national defense materiel, and the prohibition of discrimination. Congress shall not have the power to adopt a budget with greater then 10% of deficit spending, unless in time of declared war. The Federal Reserve, or any successor institutions shall not have the power to increase the currency at a rate greater then 5% per year without the approval of both houses of Congress. The people shall be free from federal taxes exceeding 25% of their annual gross income. The Federal Government does not have the power to enforce tariffs or taxes between persons of different states. No state shall have the power to enforce tax compliance outside of their boundaries.
Interesting thread. "Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things." ~Adam Smith I guess for me, the central problem in the us is financial. I'm actually a bit surprised the founders didn't have a balanced budget amendment right off.. that should have been 11, after the basic bill of individual rights. But i'm sure none of them had any idea the federal govt would expand to the mess we have now. I would simplify it to restrict the feds 'duty' to more basic things. 1. National defense. 2. Foreign treaties & trade agreements. 3. Interstate commerce & infrastructure. 4. Securing the borders & managing immigration. 5. Protecting the rights of the citizens. All other 'social' issues should be the responsibility of the states. Welfare, education, & just about every federal overreach we have now can be handed back to the states. The central problems that need addressed are these: 1. Military expansionism. Presidents operating their own private wars. Meddling in the affairs of other sovereign nations. 2. Oppressive taxation. Govt takes too much resources from the private sector, overburdening the economy. We cannot afford this much govt. 3. Public debt. The govt spends more than they take in, obligating future generations for the irresponsible social engineering programs that politicians concoct. 4. Corruption, nepotism, & crony capitalism. Too much money & influence, with too few checks & balances. Distant politicians tax & spend with hordes of lobbyists, special interests, & greedy puppet masters deciding how to spend the taxpayer's money. Big stacks of cash are shuffled around, with each player skimming off some for himself. All of these problems can be addressed by balancing the budget. Some can be solved by limiting govt. We are a nation of free people, & should not want a nanny state to micro manage every aspect of our lives. Follow the money. That is always the source & solution to the problem. Cut the money, & you cut the corruption & overreach. But the american public has bought the lie. It is the idea that we can have something for nothing, which the political scam artists always pitch. We believe we CAN have a free lunch. We believe that somehow, govt can provide for us. But govt only exists if we pay for it, & it is always an expensive & inefficient operation, & a magnet for corruption. Instead of concentrating on the basics, like providing justice & securing our rights, they pretend to have the ability to care for us, & promise to be good providers, enslaving us with dependency. Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition. ~Thomas Jefferson
The best that can be hoped for is to keep the USA paralyzed internally while Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Muslims and Bolivarians bring it down from outside.
