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A Presidential Platform to Support

Written by Subject: World News

A Presidential Platform to Support

by Stephen Lendman

America's political process is too corrupted to fix. Scattered reforms won't work. Elections are farcical when held - worthless exercises maintaining status quo business as usual. Believing otherwise is self-delusion. 

Republican and Democrats are virtual cardboard cutouts of each other, differing largely in style and rhetoric, in lockstep on all issues mattering most, no matter how much they try pretending otherwise - this year, Clinton the most dangerous of two unacceptable options.

Reject the sham process representing monied interests exclusively - against governance of, for and by everyone fairly and equitably, what America never had from inception, for sure not now.

No major party candidate represents equity and justice principles below - a platform to support, including:

Putting money power back in private hands where it belongs - the antidote to a corrupted privatized system run by giant Wall Street banks, the way to end speculation, booms, busts, inflation, deflation, instability, crises, recessions, depressions, deprivation and despair, the road from "austerity to prosperity," as Ellen Brown explains in her must read book titled "The Public Bank Solution."

Replace regressive policies with progressive ones across the board - including government mandated universal healthcare and education to the highest levels.

Prioritize comprehensive, wide-ranging social justice excluding no one. Safeguard vital benefits. Strengthen middle America.

Progressive taxation: Make America's monied interests pay their fair share. Assure a guaranteed minimum income for all households.

End corporate monopolies, oligopolies and interlocking directorates. Shut down or break up banks too big to fail.

Think small and local, not big and global.

Reinstitute Glass-Steagall, other responsible financial regulations, and anti-trust policy with teeth.

End corporate personhood. Corporations are businesses, not people.

Get money out of politics entirely. Prohibit money-controlled duopoly power. Let all political parties and candidates compete on a level playing field.

Mandate world peace as national policy. End America's permanent war agenda. Close its global empire of bases. Slash its military, homeland security, FBI, CIA and other spy agency budgets by 75% or more. Save humanity from the horror of potential mass annihilation.

Reinvigorate industrial America. Create incentives to bring offshored jobs back home - penalties for failure.

Put corporate and government crooks in prison where they belong. Hold killer cops responsible for their crimes - and superiors permitting them.

Make failure to obey international, constitutional and US statute laws punishable for all offenders to the highest public and private levels - no exceptions.

End mass gulag imprisonment for society's most vulnerable. Rescind America's repressive drug laws. Make minor crimes punishable only by reprimands, small fines or community service.

Rescind all police state laws. Make it unconstitutional to enact them.

Hold media accountable for failure to report accurately and fully - especially on geopolitical and national issues mattering most.

Make ecosanity national policy. Hold offenders accountable.

Let organized labor bargain collectively with management on equal terms - like enacted under the landmark Roosevelt era National Labor Relations Act (1935).

Make rule of law principles sacrosanct - no deviations for any reason. 

Establish real democratic governance in America for the first time in its history. Make the nation fit to live in for all its citizens, residents and visitors.

Elect candidates endorsing these principles. Ignore the rest. Hold everyone in public office accountable. Punish offenders. Replace them with responsible officials.

Sustained grassroots activism for responsible change more than ever is needed. Famed anthropologist Margaret Mead was right saying: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. It's the only thing that ever has" - never from the top down.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

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