American Neo-Arctoism

Issues in US Today
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Historical Roots of Problems
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Future Predictions
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Political Alignment
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Constitutional Reform
To solve the US's problems, Arctofire believes that a 'grand compromise' is needed between liberals and  conservatives.

A giant constitutional amendment should be introduced, giving both liberals and conservatives some things they want, whilst tackling the poor functioning of government, political polarization, and corporate influence in politics.

In order for this amendment to gain widespread societal support, it must come from the grassroots. Arctofire proposes a process of citizens assemblies in each state and territory of the US, adjusted for party affiliation, political views, age, sex, region, and ethnicity. These assemblies would then feed back to each other to draft an amendment which could gain the support of at least 3/4ths of the states in ratifying conventions.

This is what true  is, as it is proposing major changes to the status quo and attacking an entrenched political bureaucracy, whilst seeking wide support across the political spectrum and rejecting binary divides between left and right.

The 28th amendment would be the longest amendment to the US constitution in history. These changes are ones that Arctofire reckons are likely to be introduced as part of a compromise settlement, as well as his personal proposals, though it would ultimately be for these assemblies themselves to decide. Each tab will explain what the amendment will change for a major subject.


 * -|Supreme Court=


 * The size of the Supreme Court would be reduced from 9 to 7 justices, and constitutionally fixed at that number.


 * Each justice would be appointed for a staggered, non-renewable, 14 year term. The sitting president would nominate two justices per presidential term, as a justice would retire every two years.


 * Justices must be between the ages of 50 and 65 at appointment, and are obliged to retire from law and politics after the completion of their term.


 * All justices must be confirmed with a 2/3 senate majority. Simple majority voting leads to the partisan politicization of the front bench, and leads to those justices with explicit political agendas getting selected. A 2/3 confirmation majority would help promote judicial independence and moderation.


 * All justices must interpret the constitution's and law's words as they were intended to be interpreted, by those who wrote them, at that time. The 'living constitution' judicial philosophy is responsible for a large degree of undue court interference which has inflamed the culture war. It is the job of elected officials to make laws, not the courts; the courts should only block laws the legislature makes which violate existing law.


 * -|Elections=

Voting Rights

 * The protection of the right to vote shall be enshrined in constitutional law, with concrete measures to prevent voter suppression. Voter registration should be automatic for all citizens, an independent electoral commission should handle the conduct of elections, polling stations should be easily accessible and numerous enough to prevent long lines, and all polling days should be bank holidays. It shall be the responsibility of the election officials to ensure that all people eligible to vote are able to.


 * There will be a constitutional ban on the practice of gerrymandering. An independent federal redistricting commission would decide the electoral boundaries on the basis of demographic data and the most natural, historical, and simple divisions possible without any concern for ethnicity or political party advantage. The Federal Redistricting Commission would replace the state's role of deciding federal congressional boundaries. All states and localities must have an independent redistricting commission for their elections based on the same principles.

Electoral System

 * The electoral college for presidential elections will be replaced by election on the basis of nationwide popular vote, using open primaries and the ranked-choice-voting (RCV) system to decide the winner.


 * All local, state, and federal elections will be forbidden from using the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) voting system. A party with a majority of seats must have majority support from the voters.


 * The House of Representatives would use the Single-Transferable-Vote (STV) system, with 3-5 congressmen per district. Being a system of proportional representation, this would enable the end of the two-party system that has been responsible for much of the destructive polarization that exists today.


 * The Senate would be elected through single district RCV. All senators would be forbidden from belonging to a political party, to reduce polarization and ensure the separation of powers between the President in office and Congress.

Campaign Finance

 * Big money in politics is the primary cause of the US's extractivist institutions, and must be systematically rooted out.


 * Campaign finance contributions through ordinary money, whether through direct donations, or third party campaigning through the use of Political Action Committees (PACs), will be banned. Ability to gain the funding of special interests would no longer be a determinant of electoral success.


 * To replace unrestricted donations to campaigns, every American voter would be given a small voucher, redeemable on a government website for the funding of a candidate of the voter's choice. This website would also contain detailed information about a candidate's policy positions. In addition to equalizing funding, each candidate would have a donation cap, after which a candidate can gain no more vouchers to ensure a competitive race. All candidates meeting a specific threshold would be entitled to equal airtime and social media advertising.


 * All lobbying groups must be funded by donations 'not exceeding the maximum amount an ordinary person could afford.' The rich shall receive no more access to government than the poor.


 * Lobbyist access to politicians shall be severely restricted. All lobbyists must be on a formal register, and can only have access to the ear of politicians in formally allotted time. There must be a very clear dividing line between government and corporations.


 * Politicians leaving office shall be forbidden from working for lobbyist organizations of any kind for the rest of their lives.


 * -|New States=


 * One part of the constitutional amendment will change the status of US territories.
 * All US territories will gain the right to vote in presidential elections, and all have 1 seat in the House of Representatives, but no Senate seats, making them 'sub-states'.

The following state creations and partitions would be done through ordinary legislation.


 * Puerto-Rico and Washington D.C are made into states.


 * A new state, Lincoln, would be formed out of eastern Washington, creating a new conservative state.


 * Oregon will be divided into a liberal West Oregon and a conservative East Oregon.


 * Conservative East California will break away from the rest of California.


 * This will mean there are 3 new conservative states and 2 new liberal states.


 * -|Federal & State Power=


 * The US federal government would be required to pass a balanced budget each year, with an exception in cases of economic fallout.


 * Contentious culture war issues, including but not limited to: abortion, LGBT rights, prostitution, euthanasia, drug policy, gambling, capital punishment, drinking age, religion, and education policy, will be the exclusive power of state governments. The federal government nor the Supreme Court can interfere with the will of that state's voters on these issues.


 * States are forbidden from prosecuting citizens for performing an action in a different state where such action is legal. (i.e, a woman from a red state traveling to get an abortion in a blue state.)


 * All US states must recognize same-sex marriages registered in states where it is legal, but not necessarily perform or register such marriages within their particular state.


 * The federal government and all US states will be required to have a citizens initiative functions, where an initiative which gets 1% of eligible voters (either on a federal or state level) to sign in six months is put to a binding referendum.


 * -|News=
 * Create a public, non-partisan, independent news broadcaster (an American equivalent to the BBC or Deutsche Welle) to help foster a common reality among the American people, as opposed to people of different political persuasions watching news sources that only parrot their views.


 * Restore the 'fairness doctrine' for all national television.


 * -|Amendments=


 * The state ratification threshold for amending the constitution will be reduced from 3/4 of state legislatures to 2/3, and would explicitly allow ratification through referendum.

Economic Reform
As has been discussed in previous sections, the United States is a deeply unjust society and it's economic model is in need of radical reform.

However, Arctofire believes that trying to introduce the  to the  USA is unrealistic. The histories, cultures, and political systems of the various nations are just too different to be able to be successfully replicated. America is a right-leaning country in temperament, and the universalist welfare systems and   economic systems of the Nordic countries would not find cross-culture war support. He believes that reformers should instead look to European countries more culturally similar to the USA, particularly those with a Calvinist heritage, such as the  Netherlands and  Switzerland.

Radical social democratic and universalist measures like Bernie Sanders proposes are unnecessary. A multi-payer, public option type system would be just as good as 'Medicare for All' if it was 'actually done', as opposed to it being used by corporate democrats as a slogan, and then when they get into power either nothing being done, or them instead making reforms that benefit the healthcare lobbyist parasites (Affordable Care Act) and screw over most ordinary people.

Again, it is not a question of left vs right, but people vs lobbyists. The Dutch healthcare system is just as capitalistic as the American, but one has been explicitly designed to benefit the ordinary citizen whilst the other has been designed to benefit lobbyists.

Arcto also favors returning a large amount economic decision making to the states, as the nation has become overcentralized with a political system that was not designed for it. The various states have different economic policy preferences and they should be allowed to fulfill them.

In addition, he supports fair competition and trustbusting in the tradition of Theodore Roosevelt, wishing to break up predatory big tech monopolies and greatly enhance business regulations, preserving a truly free market in an    fashion.

Here are the economic policies that he proposes, which would improve the lives of millions of Americans.


 * -|Healthcare=


 * Arctofire would essentially replicate the [[File:Cball-Netherlands.png]] Dutch healthcare system, as he feels this system is ideal for the United States.


 * The horrendously abused patent laws around medicines will be radically reformed. Pharmaceutical companies shall have their patents restricted absolutely to 20 years, with no shady modifications or licensing arrangements to extent these patents allowed.


 * There will be a Federal Drug Pricing Board, that will have a monopoly on the purchase of medicines and their sale to hospitals and pharmacies. It will set maximum price caps on how much it will pay for particular drugs.


 * Insurance companies that charge obscene deductibles and co-payments will lose all federal funding. All insurance companies that receive federal support shall be required to offer citizens a 'basic plan' at a fixed premium, as well as continuing to not discriminate on the basis of long-term conditions, and operate in a way that limits overheads. In exchange for them following through this government mandated plan, they shall be exempt from various taxes.


 * Insurance companies shall have a maximum price cap on deductibles and co-payments, with A&E and treatment for long-term conditions provided free of charge. Additional federal funding shall only granted if there is a genuine funding shortfall whilst operating through this price cap.


 * Insurance companies can offer supplementary services, but these shall receive no financial support from the state.


 * There shall exist a federal public option, which will compete with other non-profit insurance companies for the best plans for consumers.


 * Insurance companies are forbidden to discriminate between hospitals and charge different rates, creating a vicious cartel between pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, and hospitals. A Federal Health Authority shall be responsible for co-ordinating the hospitals and insurance companies, with every American receiving a digital 'Medical Card' containing their health information and insurance plans, to enable smooth operation between various health services across the nation.


 * There shall be a Medicaid expansion for all those who are unable to afford health insurance, and credits given to low-income individuals to enable them to have access to a non-profit insurance plan.


 * -|Taxation=


 * Establish Automatic Tax Filing. The current system of forcing every American citizen to do a tax return, despite employees having tax withheld anyway and the IRS having knowledge on how much tax is owed, is one of the most bafflingly wasteful and inefficient features of American life, yet again, purely for the benefit of evil, parasite lobbyists like TurboTax.


 * Cut federal taxes, replacing the current income tax system with relatively low flat rate (15% - 25%) across all income brackets above the Standard Deduction (which shall be increased). The lack of parasitic, corrupt lobbyists will mean that spending is more efficient, allowing for a reduction in the size of the federal government. In addition, cutting federal taxes allows the states to have a larger percentage of tax revenue.


 * Simplify the tax system, getting rid of many complex deductions and loopholes as possible.


 * -|Welfare=


 * Make permanent the Child tax credit rate increase from the American Rescue Plan ACT (ARP) created during the pandemic.


 * Change the definition of poverty to match European standards (Below 60% of the median income adjusted for housing costs) and adjust welfare policies accordingly.


 * Give the states more control over welfare spending as well as a larger portion of government revenue.


 * -|Big Tech & Other Monopolies=

Big Tech

 * Categorize large internet platforms as 'carrier services', where people's speech would be protected by the first amendment. Platforms may not censor or ban users based on their political views, unless they directly incite violence or terrorism.


 * Digital services and platforms shall be required to be apolitical, with them being forbidden to promote activist causes (such as [[File:Gay.png]] LGBT pride.)


 * Digital services and platforms shall be required to notify users of their algorithms and how their personal data is being utilized, and shall give them the ability to opt-out to protect their privacy.


 * Platforms such as search engines and online marketplaces shall be forbidden from unfairly promoting their commercial products (for instance, Amazon.)


 * Google and Amazon shall be forcibly broken up, as their overwhelming dominance of internet search and online shopping respectively serves no useful societal purpose.


 * 'Gatekeeping Platforms' such as the Apple Store must freely allow third party apps to distribute on their platforms.


 * Hardware ports must be cross-device compatible (Apple exclusive ports shall be banned.)


 * Allow interoperability between messaging services, to dissuade monopolization.


 * Requirement of net neutrality from Internet Service Providers shall be restored.


 * A seperate 'Federal Internet Commission' shall be created to ensure compliance of technology companies with the law.

Media

 * Copyright law shall be reformed to allow greater dissemination of knowledge and enjoyment of culture. Corporations shall no longer be allowed to extend their copyrights, with films and other media more than 50 years old, regardless of franchising rights, going into the public domain.


 * The 1948 United States vs Paramount Pictures ruling shall be upheld and expanded to include streaming services. Streaming services shall be classed as 'exhibitors' and be forbidden from creating exclusive content. There shall be a clear distinction between 'producers' and 'exhibitors'.


 * Fair Use shall be expanded to protect video content creators from media companies.


 * -|Housing=


 * Housing policy should be left to the [[File:Federal.png]] states. However, Arcto personally favors a [[File:Georgist.png]] and restrictions on property speculation to be undertaken on the state level.


 * -|Infrastructure=


 * Arcto recognizes that US infrastructure is in dire straits and needs repair. He is in favor of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
 * -|Environment=


 * Create a de-carbonization strategy similar to the [[File:European Federalism.png]] European Green Deal for the United States, except promote [[File:PCB-Nuclear Icon.png]] nuclear power more, especially Generation IV designs.


 * -|Banking & Finance=


 * Restore the Glass-Steagall Act. It's repeal in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act caused the 2008 Financial Crisis and subsequent Great Recession.


 * Tackle exploitative payday loans and loansharking.


 * -|International Trade=


 * Be mostly [[File:Protect.png]] in terms of overall trade. The United States has suffered particularly badly from globalization and its subsequent offshoring of industry.


 * Work to dismantle the unrestricted [[File:PCB-Neoliberal-icon.png]] that has dominated since the 1970s, and work for an international agreement similar to Bretton Woods. The difference with this new agreement would be a neutral international currency, the Bancor, would replace the dollar, which would stop the double deficit that caused the collapse of Bretton Woods and ultimately be in the interests of American industries.


 * Strongly support the minimum corporation tax agreement.

Foreign Policy
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