#20 - My Top 5 things I would change (policy-wise) about the government right now if I could

I feel like I reached my capacity for helplessness this week in terms of what I know is possible vs. what is being provided by the government. And while I’m trying to continue to hold space for the unmitigated grief I feel at the lack of response, I also wanted to feel like things are still possible, that change can still happen, that this can be a catalyst for the radicalization we need to form the collectives that can and will change the world and make the future a better place.

Oh, did that get really lofty and abstract? Great. The following list has nothing to do with a pandemic response because much more informed people than I have shared their thoughts already on that & this is more of the general sweeping legislative policy changes that I think would make the world a better place.

Okay. Let’s dream big!

#1 - Term limits for everyone!

«Eric Swalwell at the Dem Debates voice» Pass the torch!!

Two terms max, extend reps to four-year stints in line with presidential election years. Oh, and primaries happen on the same day for all states & parties, and voting day is, say it with me now, a paid 👏 federal 👏 holiday 👏. Can’t go to the bank but you CAN go to the booth (to drop off your already-filled-out-mailed-to-your-home ballot that was worded with completely clear non-partisan language)! (You could also drop that ballot off at the grocery store, McDonald’s, coffee shops, wherever, from the day you receive it in the mail. This is already happening in Oregon so it’s completely possible and one of the major things that I think could motivate the 50% of the country who doesn’t vote right now.) (Besides making voting mandatory, which, hey, look how well it works in Australia!)

#1a - That includes the Supreme Court

The Court gets rotated every 12 years (senate term limit) and is made up of judges from the federal judicial.

#2 - Reverse Citizens United

Should never have been passed in the first place, what a drain on society, so much suffering can be traced back to this decision, I fear that we haven’t really talked about it since 2016 in any serious way and it can’t be let go from the public consciousness.

#3 - UBI for All

Everyone. I mean everyone. No caps. I do not care if the rich receive extra money if it makes it easier for those who are in need to access it. Money isn’t real which makes poverty extra infuriating and completely unnecessary! $40,000 a year should do it. Right? Public option healthcare is available, wipe out student loan debt while we’re at it, let’s stimulate the economy AND provide immediate care and relief to citizens.

#4 Eco & Public Luxury Infrastructure Investments

I’m talking trains that go coast to coast in 10 hours or less. I’m talking every single town gets a tram car or bus system (with enforced bus lanes) and downtown areas are transformed into pedestrian-only spaces that are most easily accessed by public transportation, which by the way, is free all the time. I’m talking about the true luxuries that cannot be bought, like time being given freely to us all as we form temporary micro-communities within these spaces.

Solar energy, green space upgrades for existing buildings (designed by scientists so that we don’t end up with superfluous innovation for the sake of aesthetics), native plant filled yards instead of grass, carbon offsets aided by electric train transport rather than cargo planes, business incentives for green initiatives (pay people to become BCorps, basically) and easily accessible subsidies for small businesses who want to manufacture goods domestically. (A friend said recently that the death of American manufacturing marked the death of the American Dream and I have been haunted by it ever since!)

#5 - No Money To Be Made

I don’t think politicians should be able to make any extra income while in office. We, their constituents, pay their salary. They shouldn’t be trading stocks for their benefit (in fact, they should have to sell all of their stocks and be free of any bonds before they enter the role), there shouldn’t be incentivized lobbying options for them to choose from, and they sure as shit shouldn’t be making money on book deals and appearances. They can write a book, sure, go for it, but they can’t make any money from it! Lobbying should absolutely be banned because the only people who should have the power to influence politicians are their constituents. End of list!

I think making being a politician less appealing is a good thing. I think that we would still have excellent, smart, incredible people who want to run for the right reasons (and if you don’t think Politics and The Bachelor have anything in common do I have news for you!). If it seems unrealistic that really brilliant people will happily do a public service job that is extremely important but equally unglamorous and pays less than it has previously…may I introduce you to every public school teacher ever?

If “we” believe in the “market’s ability” to adapt and provide, let’s follow that line through to the end, and maybe just maybe we’d elect some scientists, existing public servants, and actual policy wonks to these roles!

It’s so easy to be self-defeating about politics and it’s been made purposefully hard to get a good grasp on local issues that we can have a much more immediate impact on. I’m tired, and I really want to get everyone who has self-serving interests out of a job role that does not suit them. These people are supposed to be the representation of us and our beliefs, and we’ve gotten so far away from that. They should be held to a higher standard, and it should be easier for us, their constituents, to hold them to such.

There should also be mandatory town halls with unfettered access to pick their brain about what informed their votes, what they are doing about local issues, what their approach to their committee roles is. The expectation should be that they do a great job and regularly receive performance reviews from those whom their performance affects. You know, like every other job!

And on that note, to my Vermont readers, I beg you, please do not send Peter Welch to the Senate. Not because I think he’s a bad guy with bad policies, but because there has got to be a fresh option out there who is ready to use that disproportionately powerful seat for like a radical good. And that person definitely exists and is electable in the little state that could.

Patrick Leahy is the last Watergate Baby in Congress. Vermont has sent him back to the Senate for decades, and he’s done a decent job there. Do I wish he had done more? Absolutely. The Senate shouldn’t exist in its current form, it’s absolutely absurd as a functional body of congress, but Leahy has committed surprisingly few egregiously gross acts since arriving in DC in 1975. I get why VT would keep sending him back. He is the fifth-longest serving senator in history, he had seniority in the Senate which allowed him incredible influence on the various committees.

He’s finally retiring at 81 years old. If Peter Welch is elected, he will celebrate his 81st birthday during his first term in the Senate.

This isn’t (solely) about their age, but about demographics. Bernie’s already a liberal white dude in his 80s. Vermont’s got two seats. Diversify! Please, please send someone else!

I believe that change is possible. I believe that politics can be invigorating. I really really hope Stacey Abrams is able to claim her rightful position as the Governor of Georgia, we can turn the South blue so easily if we would make it easy for everyone to vote. Not just possible, easy. I think Katie Porter’s ability to communicate complex policy issues in plain language has made politics feel accessible when it usually feels so gatekept. There is hope, there is time, we can make changes. Just look at how quickly unionization has popularized again! We’re stronger together! We can do it! We can have it all!!

P.S. the most helpful & hopeful thing I did this week was to write myself a love letter (as inspired by Meg Stalter) and I sincerely encourage everyone to write their own. Okay. Earnestness over. Claire out!