TRANSFORMATION and OPPORTUNITY ASSURANCE

The time has come to shake-up the somnambulant Democratic Party and to bury the moribund Republican Party.  Here we are with a fantastic opportunity before us to take over the Congress, and Democratic Party leaders and office-holders have gone silent except perhaps for a few boring declarations by their exalted leaders, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.  What kind of strategy is that – keep quiet in case you say something wrong?  It’s a shame that too many in the Democratic Party are content to sit and wait – for what, another defeat at the polls?  The Democratic Party needs new passionate voices and we need them quickly. 

As you may have surmised by recent postings, I have been reading a book titled “How Democracies Die” by Levitsky and Ziblatt.  Besides recommending a different approach to the loss of democracy’s guardrails and norms -- that demands a willingness to build coalitions with those who may differ in political philosophy -- the authors toss us one further challenge:  we must go beyond current terms and categories of policies and programs and offer new ways of looking at government programs.  

They suggest, for instance, that the Party must offer-- and advocate for – a social policy that sets aside stiff means-testing in favor of more universal models that lock into place social supports for more durable policies to reduce income inequality.  I must admit that I find this intriguing and tend to agree that we have remained on a questionable track, down which we have moved with singular caution lest we stray off the rails.  But, in 2016, we were shown the result of such unquestioning loyalty to old categories, out-moded programs and tiresome (and questionable) candidates.  We need re-vitalization and re-invigoration.  We need desperately to change the narrative.

So, after due contemplation, here is something of how I see that happening.

Foremost perhaps, we need to change the narrative that defines governmental social welfare programs.  They are not hand-outs, or a safety net, or welfare for the unfortunate, or budget-busters.  Most of all, they are not rip-offs or causes  of laziness, greediness or something-for-nothing. Although every government program needs a critical look on an annual or biannual basis, government programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP for instance, are more than welfare, more than safety, even more than hand-outs.  They are more like the staples of public education, the military, first responders and homeland security.  They are not simply government programs.  They are programs that offer both assurance and opportunity.

  

We are not in the business of providing handouts, or welfare ‘goodies.’  This is serious business the government is embarked upon, and important enough to be included in the Preamble to the Constitution of these United States.  For it is there that we find the elements of a Mission statement for this Republic’s governance.  We are embarked upon caring for the General Welfare of our society and providing the means by which we can broadly extend the experience of happiness and safety. 
 

The Republic is responsible for the insuring of these matters.  That is why the Constitution contains the mechanisms by which welfare is assured, protection and safety are provided,  and the pursuit of happiness is uninterrupted. We are in the business by which we assure that we provide equal opportunities to pursue those ends.

We Democrats strayed badly when we allowed the Republican Party under Reagan to stoop to equating such government insurance with “welfare queens” and “young bucks” buying steaks with food stamps. “Opponents of social policy have commonly used racially-charged rhetoric against means-tested programs.  'Welfare' became a pejorative term in America because of a perception of recipients as undeserving.”  It is past time to remove the stigma of ‘welfare’ and to concentrate on ‘opportunity’ and ‘insurance’.  It is time to equate the health of this nation with the ability (or lack thereof) to provide those opportunities and insurances.  Individual initiative is an empty vessel without opportunity and some assurance of support. 

  

Perhaps, we need to change the prevailing narrative by concentrating first on social policies that benefit everyone, namely, Social Security and Medicare.  Let us commence the narrative that these governmental insurance benefits have already accomplished something that nothing else has approached, certainly not the private philanthropy of days past.  These two programs have dramatically increased the opportunity for Senior Citizens to live later years without the automatic poverty that previously prevailed. 

It is time to move Social Security and Medicare away from being undermined by those who fabricate and falsify the conditions under which both programs operate.  It is time to move Social Security to a status that is protected from predators disguised as congressmen.  This program should be protected from borrowing for regular operational budget deficits; or, for any use except that for which it is intended: to offer basic insurance for old age protection from poverty, providing opportunity for the pursuit of happiness even at later age levels.  Social Security works!  Protect it from any attack by destroyers or de-constructionists.

It is even more critical perhaps to change the narrative regarding Medicare.  We must take on the issue of health care for all and make 'Medicare for All' the watchword of that movement.  There must be a reversal of the Trump destruction of Obamacare (and heathcare generally).  It is past time for the rise of the only option that makes sense for covering all under one single payer - the national government  -  thereby saving millions of dollars immediately in administrative costs and providing one source that can be held accountable. (I have written before on this topic and refer you to my Blog dated  4/17/2017).

Part of changing the narrative is the importance of preparing for a future that is already impinging upon us but has yet to change our lives as drastically as it will within the next generation.  The Trump administration seems to have an overwhelming inability to deal with anything but unreality.  The reality is that our lives are about to run smack into the changes that the future will stream upon us.  Drone technology, Nano-technology, robotics, 3-D printing, are just a few of the many technologies that are about to change work, leisure, wages, salary and retirement pensions.  (I have also written about this subject before and call your attention to the blog dated  9/4/2016).

We are about to enter a world that we may have dreamt about, but rarely thought possible to ever experience.  Now, here it comes, and we are lagging so far behind in our understanding that it may just overwhelm our ability to deal with it.  Partial blame falls upon those politicians who have done nothing – absolutely nothing – to prepare for such change.  Another partial blame falls upon schools and teachers who plod along with the same old subjects and modes of teaching them.  A large part of blame must fall upon the leaders of industry and finance.  They know what’s happening; they understand what is coming; they are part of making it happen, but they fail to share such knowledge with the ordinary consumer.  Why? because they don’t want informed consumers; they prefer customers who simply consume, but do not question any part of industry’s use of these new technologies.    

Moreover, a major part of the blame falls directly upon those of us who have failed to look ahead, to look beyond the moment, and to critically appraise the situation.  Including those who have failed to defend the tenets of  science; failed to accept critical thinking; failed to look beyond ourselves and our small everyday worlds.  We are mired in the present and have failed to include the effect of future change in our living or thinking or planning.  But that impending future is upon us in the varied activity of drones, the use of robotics in surgery and manufacturing, the building of driverless autos, and so much more.  Big Business is already planning for the day when human employment is secondary to use of robots, while we mortals continue to fuss and worry about minimum wage and full employment, which we will never see again (unless we re-define “employment” and “work” and “wages”).

Our authors of “How Democracies Die” suggest that we may need to consider a universal basic income as insurance against the inevitable unemployment coming our way.  I have suggested that we need to also consider national and community service as equivalent to work, or to re-define work in terms of service to others (see blogs dated 2/8/2016 and 10/27/2017).  In any case, we must begin to talk in terms that make sense in this new world.  The authors also suggest that another example of this may be “family policy” or programs that provide paid leave for parents, subsidized day care for children with “working” parents, and pre-kindergarten education, as well as free college for nearly everyone. 

But, there is so much more that deserves our attention.  I offer the following list as entirely incomplete, but as basic fodder for consideration and critical thought

Universal housing assured for all, available to all, and perhaps maintained by those who take advantage of the opportunity to live in government-subsidized or otherwise-provided housing who also desire a job by which is fair-traded for rent, healthcare and food allowances.   

Universal community or national service required of all US residents as pay-back for the advantages of living in this country – waivers for no one; everyone can perform a service of worth.  Creativity to be required from sponsors and facilitators in finding ways for people to serve, and perhaps to be compensated with trade-offs as just mentioned above.

Universal requirement of pay-back in community service or work for every person convicted and serving time for harming another person or family; possibly make some violent offenders repay the victim or victim’s family directly when that makes good sense.  Punishment is a waste of time and money. 

Universal return on state and local investment in business and industries; all businesses or industries receiving tax breaks for establishment incentives in communities shall be required to return a percentage of that investment annually in cash and in-kind donations, and in lump sum whenever they choose to vacate the area.

Universal removal of money from election processes with public funding only allowed; no PACs; no third-party donations, no paid lobbyists, no buying of votes in any manner.

Universal rejection of tax rebates, subsidies, special treatment or any other payment made to any individual or group directly from tax revenues.  All receipt of taxes must be processed as part of a budget with oversight by the Congress.

Universal broadband and net neutrality along with safety against hackers needs to be made available to all.  Access to the 'cloud' and the internet are not privileges -- they must be universal in order to address the opportunities thereby made available as life-enhancing insurance.  We must see ourselves in the business of providing insurances and opportunities, not welfare that is means-tested. Without universality, there will be greater divisions of inequality in the world of the future.  

 

However, beyond the policies and programs lies one of the great failings of both Parties: the neglect of procedure and administration (see blog on Brass Tacks dated 4/22/2016).
  

It is shameful that many offices of government are still operating with hardware and software that belongs to another era.  

It is shameful that attention to universal upgrading of all such systems has been ignored and even rejected.  

It is a shame when separate offices of the same department, located at some distance from one another, cannot communicate by electronic systems common to both (see Blog on Garret’s Passport dated 7/19/2015).  

It is despicable when different units of first responders cannot communicate during events that are volatile and even explosive.  

It is inexcusable that foreign agencies, agents and surrogates are able to hack into election systems of this country without adequate protection available or usable.  

It is inexcusable that there is not a universal system of Mission and Purpose Statements that serve to guide the goal achievements of every office of government; and that there is little or no broad-based non-partisan evaluation or audit of accomplishments and achievements (or lack thereof) measured against the overall Mission and Purpose. Shameful that budgets are not assigned according to accomplishments and outcomes rather than according to someone’s estimate or made-up reasons for those budgets. 

It is, finally, a malevolent situation when the ordinary people affected by legislation are rarely or never called to testify before Congress, but that only those special interests affected are invited to testify because of the paid lobbying that such groups employ to gain such access.  It is time to control lobbyists, big money and lack of access of ordinary citizens to their elected representatives (see blog on Representation, dated 3/7/2017). 

There is so much we must do to prepare.  There is so much we must re-define in order to cope with changing circumstances, categories, policies and programs that make sense for a new technological revolution.  Our approach to education will have to be re-defined; the importance of re-training will be immense; the place of personal pensions, allowances, subsidies will be enormous. 

The final thread is that the new future will demand of us a whole new approach to governance.  The threats to well-being for ourselves and our society alone will demand teamwork and coalitions that will be able to overcome philosophical, ideological, regional, racial and ethnic differences.  The re-alignment of party politics will be essential to the survival of our democratic values, and not without cost and loss.  We will be called upon to address with vigor the great inequalities – especially in income and spending – that prevent us today from offering the insurance and opportunities that we will have to provide in the new world. Thank goodness that we have a generation rising to leadership that may be able to eschew the past and build coalitions and teams that we shall require. 

Let 2018 mid-term elections mark the beginning of the end for the two major Parties as they stand right now. The Republican Party is organized to belittle, ignore and deny the future impinging upon us.  The GOP is thus worthless in its present form. 
The Democratic Party stands at a crossroads.  It must give up its old tired categories of reform and embark on the path toward TRANSFORMATION – we cannot face a transformative future with outdated reforms that should have been enacted years ago.  Both parties are so unprepared and uninformed that neither can lead us into the future as currently constituted. We must look for leaders in both major parties (and minor Parties) who will be enthusiastically willing to work on building collaborative teams that can lead us across the bridge to the future with new unity of Purpose.

We must also move beyond the imperial representative system we possess today to involve citizens from all walks of life inside our governmental structures.  We must prepare ourselves by making citizen input, evaluation, audit, and advice integral to every governmental structure at every level – local, state, regional and national.  The People must become the foundation-stone of our governance, not elected representatives who cow-tow to special interests.  Those special interests will be pushing the profit motive of high unemployment in order to robotize more and more of their workforce.  Those special interests will oppose every move to universalize health care, family well-being or a guaranteed minimum income.

Like it or not, The FUTURE IS NOW!  It is in our present.  We must not – we cannot – depend upon outmoded party politics to prepare us to face its consequences and its opportunities.  We must transform our thinking, our ideological restrictions, and our governance in order to cope with this unique technological Revolution.  The petty politics of our pitifully prepared politicians, and many of their purposeless paleolithic partisans, portends potential putrefaction for us all!