Platform

Draft

Platform of the People

(Revised May 31, 2008)

Reader - please provide critical comments and additional items for each of the below areas (Goals, Concerns, Causes and Solutions) to the compiler Ron Fisher, Fisher@WeThePeopleNow.org, 703-521-3926.

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction,

is the first and only legitimate object of good government."

--Thomas Jefferson

The Platform of the People of the United States provides open-ended, comprehensive lists of:

A. Bold goals.

B. Concerns, challenges, problems, issues, deficiencies, etc. that stand or could stand in the way of attaining these goals.

C. General underlying causes of these concerns, challenges, problems, etc.

D. Proposed solutions, reform, change actions, legislation, mechanics, etc. needed to address the concerns, problems, deficient systems and methods and their underlying causes identified under parts B. and C. above and to reach the bold goals outlined under part A.

These lists will be expanded to include additional items, with detailed description in a relational data base linked to each other and linked to individuals and organizations already involved in and doing this work.

By providing an integrated list of goals, concerns and solutions, cooperative efforts can be found. For example, deteriorating roads and bridges could be repaired by an underemployed workforce using funds now being wasted on pork barrel earmarks, unneeded offensive weapon systems, the Iraq War, redundant government projects etc.

INTRODUCTION

It is an absurd injustice that in this world of plenty, thousands of children die each day from malnutrition and preventable, curable diseases while the U.S. spends over three and one half billion dollars a week of taxpayer’s money attempting to steal Iraqi oil for oil companies in an illegal occupation.

About 250 years ago, it took over 95% of the world’s population to provide the food, clothing and housing for all the people of the world population.

New technologies, methodologies, education, training, worker productivity etc. make it possible today for less than 5% of the world’s population to do this. (This is not to say that we could or should do it this way.)

As proof of this, according to Forbes, a couple of years ago:

• The aggregate annual sales of the world's 2000 largest public companies, was $24 trillion. This amounted to about 41% of the world's gross domestic product (approximately $59T).

• These 2000 companies employed about 68 million employees, which is less than 1.1% of the world’s population (6.45B)

Assuming that each of the employees, on the average, is the breadwinner for a family of four, it also means that these 2000 corporations pay wages that support about 4.5% of the world's population while selling about 41% of the food, goods, fuels, housing, services, etc. to the entire world.

This is both good and bad news.

Bold Goals

1. Meaningful employment opportunities that pay living wages for everyone.

2. Meaningful, free pre-K through college education and training programs for all.

3. Quality, comprehensive, single payer physical, dental, emotional, vision, hearing, etc. health care and long term care (LTC) for all.

4. Affordable housing for all. No chronic homelessness, displaced persons, refugees, etc.

5. Affordable, healthy food for all. No malnutrition and no chronic world hunger.

6. Affordable clean drinking water for all,

7. Affordable, green fuel and energy for cooking, heating, cooling, transportation.

8. World peace, diplomacy, safe, stable, secure environments for all. Crime and conflicts as exceptions.

9. Comprehensive public transportation.

10. Affordable, equitable, restorative justice for all

11. Affordable recreation, sports, entertainment, theater, art, vacations, etc. (live and via multimedia)

12. Protected and preserved environment, natural resources, water and air.

13. Fair taxes.

14. World peace, diplomacy instead of wars or conflicts

15. Self-reliant, healthier and happier world population.

Concerns and Challenges

1. Wars, conflicts, empire building, violence, colonizations, etc.

a. Iraq and Afghanistan occupations

b. Illegal US threats, including possible use of nuclear weapons, against Iran

c. Other wars and conflicts, e.g. West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Darfur, Kosovo

d. U.S. history of use of force and violence

e. Nuclear weapons proliferation

f. The United States government spends more on weapons, munitions and a standing army than all the rest of the world combined.

g. The United States arms industry exports more weapons and munition than other country in the world. Some of the explosive material in these munitions are used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs)

2. Governments.

a. Some uncaring, unaccountable, unethical and/or unsatisfactory, executives, managers, legislators and judges.

b. Ever increasing pork-barrel spending and earmarks. Much of the funds for earmarks comes from Department of Defense and Services O&M (operations and maintenance) accounts which should be used for such things as body armor and hardening vehicles against roadside bombs.

c. Corporation executives and special interest groups exercising excessive control over legislation and policy decisions. Major aspects of health care systems turned over to drug and insurance companies. Energy policy turned over to big oil companies.

d. The majority of career politicians from the two major parties are:

i. Unwilling to address and solve the issues of war, health care, environment, education, immigration, trade, net neutrality etc.

ii. Answer only to campaign contributors and special interest groups and their party leadership not to the people.

iii. Unwilling to fix our electoral process in ways that make it fair for all to participate.

e. “Citizens’ faith in government officials failing everywhere.”

f. Privatization.

g. Regressive tax systems.

h. Instead of protecting individuals rights, government officials are violating rights.

i. Congress passing unconstitutional laws including:

i. Most of the Patriot Act

ii. Military Commission Act of 2006

3. Economy.

a. Chronic worldwide unemployment and low wages and long hours for many workers with jobs. On the average individuals have to work nine more hours per week than they did 20 years ago to make ends meet in the U.S. Without employees being paid reasonable wages there will not be enough customers to buy goods (the sales).

b. Poverty

c. The exponential increase of wealth and property in the hand of a very few rich individuals and corporations.

d. Without employees being paid reasonable wages there will not be enough customers to buy goods

e. The high cost of food, housing, health care, fuels and energy, education.

f. Shortages of affordable housing/shelter.

g. Decreasing number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

h. Outsourcing

i. Free trade versus fair trade is

j. The stock market, instead of being a means to raise capital for businesses and provide investment opportunities has become a casino where insiders and the rich rook small investors.

4. Health Care:

a. Poor physical, dental, mental, and emotional health.

5. Malnutrition and chronic hunger

6. Chronic water shortages for drinking, hygiene, irrigation, industry, etc.

7. Environment

a. Failing ecological system.

b. Global warming

c. Nuclear weapons proliferation

8. Education

a. Lack of understanding of

i. Semantics, linguistics, framing, communications, etc.

ii. Human nature, character, ethics, values, principles, integrity, reasoning, accountability, cooperation, teamwork, courage, etc.

iii. The constitution, international treaties, rule of law, civil rights, meaning of sovereignty of the people, democratic processes, the legal system, restorative justice, etc.

iv. Youth spending considerable time on electronic media (the average grade school student 6.5 hours per day) at the expense of socially interacting with each others, sports, exercising, etc.

9. Mass media.

a. High percentage (?>90%) of mass media owned by five major companies

10. Election campaigns and elections

a. Divisive politics.

b. Individual putting parties ahead of the people and the country.

c. Campaign finance

d. Endemic gerrymandering so that “politicians can pick voters instead of voters picking politicians”

e. 50% of all elections have only one name on the ballot

General Underlying Causes of the Concerns and Challenges

General underlying causes of these concerns and challenges distinguishing between problems and mistakes of individuals from those of institutions and systems.

1. Lack of an understanding of such things as human nature, democracy, practice of ethics, human and humane instincts including cooperation, civility, caring for others.

2. Deficiencies in early child development and education, for example

a. Nurturing parent versus stern parent approach

b. Cooperation versus competition

c. Pampering versus child solving own problems

d. Ostentatiousness

3. Greed

4. Negative traits: vindictiveness, bullying, apathy, greed, etc.

5. Cronyism

6. Waste, abuse, fraud

7. Superstition versus reasonableness

8. Corruption

9. Bureaucracies