A truly progressive plan for the people

Jan 14, 2021. With a new, 'progressive' White House and congress, the country could really use some truly progressive ideas when it comes to how the country is regulated, taxed, restricted, cajoled, and punished by an ever-growing, 1984-like, centralized federal power. It's time that the White House and "the people's house" actually serve the people rather than satisfy the bloated and power-hungry egos of those who profess to 'serve' us in their time in Washington. To paraphrase the rabbi's blessing for the czar in "Fiddler on the Roof," "God bless and keep the czar...far away from us!" God save use from even the web-intentioned tyrants.

To be clear, real 'progress; in America does not come from Washington. Experimentation, entrepreneurship, adaptiveness -- all while living within one's means -- comes from the states, from small and new businesses, and from working families trying to realize the American Dream of innovation, freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, rather than the pursuit of power or wealth. Funny how so many 'poor' politicians go to Washington, getting elected by spending tens of millions of dollars of other people's money, only to come back from Washington wealthy in ways that would make Warren Buffet cringe, especially in how they accumulated their wealth. Like Hillary Clinton, claiming she was broke when she and Bill left eh White House in 200, but she was able to buy a million-dollar home and go on to accumulate tens of millions of dollars of personal net worth by siphoning off money from this she and her husband favored over their eight years in DC, "serving the people," and, as Bill would often claim, "working just as hard as" he could as president, which included creating a hostile work environment for interns in the White House.

Again, I digress. So here is what we need.

1. Fix the tax system. Stop taxing work, wealth and income and tax counter-productive and excess consumption. Stop begrudging wealth creation and accumulation and instead encourage both. How? A flat federal 'income' tax, with exemptions of $7,500 per person to make the first $30,000 of income in a family of four tax-free. And no 'social security' taxes, e.g., FICA, Medicare. And no other deductions. And tax all forms of income as income -- capital gains, dividends received, inherited wealth (as it is now income for the person inheriting it), interest -- anything that represents a flow of funds into a person's possession. Tax carbon, alcohol, drugs (not the medical kind), cigarettes and general consumption (with a modest VAT).

2. Fix the retirement system. Create the system FDR intended, i.e., Social Security is a prevention of absolute poverty and just one of three legs of the 'pension' stool, the others being pensions and personal savings. If Social Security is to remain and to be sustainable, the 'retirement age' needs to be increased consistent with increasing life expectancy since the inception of Social Security almost 90 years ago. One possible idea re Medicare: Upon their death, deduct from anyone's estate the accumulated Medicare charges that person incurred over his or her lifetime, and those funds go to (partially) fund Medicare.

3. Provide universal education and medical insurance for all citizens with federal vouchers. No more public schools, just public education. Vouchers go to the parents of citizen children. Parents choose how to spend that money on education, including home schooling, online education, traditional classroom education, vocational training, or any combination of same. Fund children ages 5-20, for what would be the period that parallels K-12 and two years of post-secondary education. No single-payer, single health care plan; rather fungible vouchers and free-market medical care insurance plans. [NOTE: Healthcare is what you do for yourself. Medical care is what doctors and drugs do for you. What we call 'health insurance' is really medical treatment insurance.]

4. Hold colleges accountable for preparation to contribute to society and to earn an income, as well as for any debt a student takes on to pay for his or her education. Put colleges 'on the hook' for college debt defaults. Allow students graduating as unemployable to continue their education at the school that took their money (and failed to prepare them.) At the same time, put real standards in place. Set firm and valid academic standards for entering and continuing higher education. Higher education is not a right, and it can never truly be free. Someone pays, and often the payee is the beneficiary, not the student. Bloat in DC can't hold a candle to the bloat, egos or hubris among college administrators. Creating a freer market for education will force colleges to trim their overhead, eliminate pointless programs, and require employees to be productive, with or without tenure.

5. Confirm and strengthen the First Amendment, for freedom of speech and of peaceful assembly. Accept that some free speech is hateful or offensive. As my parents and teachers used to tell me, "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me." Stop allowing certain 'victim' groups to be allowed to create lists of prohibited words. Reject 'cancel culture.' Help the ACLU really do what they purport to do, protect the civil liberties of all people. It is not the government's job to keep people from being offended.