Thank god for the netroots.
As many of us know, America's economic future and social make up is going to be determined by the choices of the next governing majority. With the necessary structural reforms, we'll be able to rebuild America into the peaceful and prosperous middle-class republic that it once was. If we can't manage to fix the flaws in our system and hang on to power, we're in for a bumpy ride.
The task we're facing is enormous. We've got to change the way the average American relates to government, and we've got to clean up one hell of a fiscal mess. We've also got to defeat a new generation of bush-inspired fanatics (Christian/Muslim) who are going stop at nothing to subvert the democratic process.
We're privileged to be living at a defining moment in the history of America and of western civilization. We're in for one hell of a fight, but I'd say our chances are better than even.
(I get specific on the flip -- give me a rec, I worked hard on this)
Why am I optimistic?
The netroots. The internet in general. The internet is the greatest transparency machine ever invented. It's also an amazing organizing tool. With a little luck, and the collective will, we can change the way politics works in this country.
We're going to have to solve a lot of problems, and Republicans (and Liebermans and Hillarys) are going to fight us every step of the way. Over the next ten years, we're going to have to:
-Clean up our party
-Fix our fiscal imbalances and pay our foreign debts
-Rebuild America's Manufacturing Sector
-Fix our health care system
-Reduce Big Money's Influence on Politics
-Break our addiction to oil
-Find a way to reduce international conflict
-Fix public education
-Prove to the rest of the world that an open, democratic, pluralistic society can really achieve justice and prosperity
There's some good news. We've got allies in this fight. Europe, despite its demons, is on our side, and Asian countries (even China) aren't working against us. Many of our worst problems are inter-related, so progress in one area spills over into others. America's still the 'city on the hill' to much of the outside world, and we've still got the ideals of the enlightenment enshrined in our constitution. Despite our debts, we've still got a enough resources to pull ourselves out of this hole we're in, and the internet is fostering a media revolution that is pluralistic/egalitarian by its very nature.
The bad news is that we've really fucked up over the last six years. In fact, we've got a pretty long history of fucking up, especially when money's involved. We subverted Iranian democracy in 1953 and installed the shah. We've killed countless populist leaders in South America, and we've propped up plenty of corrupt regimes (see: Saudi Arabia). In other words, we haven't actually promoted democratic principles, and the American people don't seem to care all that much.
Of course, things are never going to be perfect. We can't change human nature, and I certainly don't have all of the answers. But, if we try to look at the world rationally, finding pragmatic solutions, and solving the problems that we do have the answers to, we can make things a hell of a lot better. It's called a Progressive Movement.
We've got to have ideals that influence our short, medium, and long term goals. We've also got to be ready to acknowledge when something doesn't work. So let me tell you what I think we need to do, and then you can tell me where you think I'm wrong, or where I've omitted something...
1) We've got to keep growing this grass roots movement, and defeat Dems like Clinton, Biden , etc. who are shills for big moneyed interests. We've got to make Dems understand that they're beholden to the interests of the people, and we've got the be willing to punish the Dems that pay lipservice to the people while they get fat defending the status quo. (I believe this is called crashing the gate...)
2) We need a more progressive tax structure with fewer loopholes that is both simpler and fairer. This is very difficult because loopholes have their own little constituencies that lobby hard to keep them in place. We've got to tax payroll earnings less and investment earnings more. If we can eliminate our deficit, and start to pay down our debts, we'll keep the dollar strong and interest rates low. Low interest rates are crucial because they reduce the size of our annual debt service.
3) We've got to create an economic environment were American manufacturing is competitive again. Right now our economy is driven by the financial and health care sectors. GERMANY EXPORTS MORE MANUFACTURED GOODS THAN WE DO (Thanks for the stat, Kevin Phillips). Part of the solution is investing in infrastructure and the education of skilled tradesman. Reducing payroll taxes also makes labor slightly less expensive. However, the most important reform I can think of is addressed in number 4.
4) Adopt a single payer health care system
Americans pay more per capita for health care than any other country in the world (~7k/person, including the uninsured). We paid ~2.1 TRILLION dollars for health care in 2005. The US Government already pays for more than 60% of our health care costs via medicare and all the different health care plans for teachers, firemen and other public workers. Private insurance companies spend billions on overhead, creating CORPORATE BUREAUCRACIES that exist to weed out sick people and deny care for 'unnecessary' procedures. There is AT LEAST $300 billion (some estimate $450 billion) per year being wasted by using this system. If we consolidate into a single payer, we can give comprehensive coverage to every American. The VA only spends $5000/head because they run their own hospitals and negotiate for drugs like a single payer system, their quality of care is excellent, and they're taking care of lots of old/sick people. They can also practice PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE (reducing long term costs) because their patients stay in the system for life. HMO's on the other hand, have no incentive to practice preventative medicine. They cut corners, and then drop coverage for sick people. It's really fucking stupid. The only reason we don't have a single payer is because of the influence of the big pharma/health insurance lobby (hence the need to get big money out of politics... see the connections?).
Why does this help manufacturing? $2000 from EVERY CAR GM SELLS GOES TO PAY FOR HEALTH CARE. We can cut that by at least 20%, if not more. That increases competitiveness and reduces the cost of labor. Small businesses won't be hobbled by the cost of health care, and people may be more likely to start their own business if they know that they won't lose health care coverage when they leave their job. This is also why we've got to defeat dems like Hillary and Joe, because they take a TON of money from the insurance industry.
5) Publicly Financed Campaigns
This one is so, so simple. We all know it needs to happen, but actually making it happen will take a lot of political will. The whole donation for earmark racket is disgusting. Senators like ole Joe have family members employed by their campaign contributors...
6) Oil Addiction
There isn't really a simple answer here. Invest in alternative energy sources - yes. Improve public transportation - yes. Really, the best way I see is to implement a big gas tax a-la europe, but I don't think this is politically feasible. We'd have to really change the mindset of a lot of Americans. Car culture is still a pretty big part of America's collective consciousness.
7) International Conflict
Your guess is as good as mine. Cutting our dependence on oil would definitely help. Maybe implementing a foreign policy that was based on democratic principles instead of corporate interests?? Who knows. The only obvious solution I can see is to make America a more just and prosperous society so that people all over the world WANT TO LIVE HERE. That's served us well in the past, and American culture is still dominant.
8) Public Education
First, get rid of constant testing, and don't tie funds to test scores. When we do that, administrators force teachers to "teach to the test" so they don't actually TEACH much of anything. Otherwise, the basic solution here is money money money. I think we should look at the educational systems of the countries that are more successful than we are, and adopt whatever works. Also, make college affordable via subsidies, loans, or some other form of funding. As it stands, we're squandering our human capitol, which is stupid and bad for society.
9) Prove True Democracy Works
There's no single answer to this one either. I think what really matters is that more and more Americans become deeply involved with the political process. We've got to actually adhere to democratic principles, even when we don't like the outcome. We've also got to seriously hold our leaders accountable for their lies and their corruption. If we can show the world that America is the a great place to live and work, we'll continue to attract the best people the world has to offer. If we get lazy and forgo the difficult reforms, things won't work out the way we want them to.
I think as a final thought, it's important to realize that our enemy isn't necessarily 'big corporations' -- large firms, under certain circumstances, are crucial for economic competitiveness. The problem is that big moneyed interests have REDUCED the amount of competition in our economy by lobbying for subsidies and subverting the public will. We've got to put the moneyed interests back 'in their place' but we can't make this personal. We've got to re-structure America's economy, and that means we're going to piss a lot of people off.
I've only been a 'member' of the netroots for about a year and a half, but I've seen the power of this movement, and I see exponentially greater potential down the road. If we organize, spread our message, and embrace openness/change, we can have a huge impact on the media narrative and the political process.
We're lucky to be living in a time where there are so many high-stakes choices to be made.
Thank god for the netroots.