Daydreaming domestic policy

Rick Morain

Last week I focused my column on my dreams for American foreign policy. This week I embarked on Chapter Two, this time for our government’s domestic policy.

I quickly discovered this focus is more complex, and harder to write about. Last week I was able to organize the piece around a few specific world regions. I thought I could do a similar thing with domestic policy categories, but there are way too many of those for a single column.

I finally settled for selecting 10 of those categories, arbitrarily leaving others, probably equally important, for future daydreams. It will probably be a while.

A preliminary admission: I’m too ignorant about crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) to have any dreams about them, of any kind. They’re not included.

Here’s what I’d like to see, in no particular order:

HEALTH CARE

— Bring prescription drug costs down to what other nations pay for them.

— Adopt an abortion policy in Congress similar to what Roe v. Wade provided before the Supreme Court voted it down. If that’s illegal, then adopt a constitutional amendment to accomplish it.

— Restore health insurance subsidies for people who can’t afford commercial health insurance premiums, and offer a single payer option.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

— Set limits on how much campaign money a federal candidate can receive, rather than on how much a donor can give.

— If a company or organization is headquartered overseas, prohibit its American subsidiaries from donating to federal campaigns.

ENVIRONMENT

— Protect current federal lands and buildings, both rural and urban, from privatized ownership and/or exploitation.

— Retain existing environmental regulations on both public and private land.

EDUCATION

— Leave curriculum decisions up to schools and colleges, rather than the federal government.

— Prohibit federal funding from being used as a weapon against educational institutions that disagree with non-education government positions.

AGRICULTURE

— Require conservation and environmental practices on farms in order for them to qualify for subsidies, including those for crop insurance.

—Retain food aid as part of the federal Farm Bill.

IMMIGRATION

— Drastically speed up asylum request hearings for immigrants, with expansion of immigration courts as needed. Prohibit breaking up families in deportation actions.

— Pass and sign the Dream Act, granting temporary legal status to immigrants who entered the country before the age of 16, and provide them an opportunity for eventual citizenship if they meet certain requirements.

— Reconsider legislation leading to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, similar to what was considered in the Reagan Administration.

— Abolish detention camps.

— Install more stringent vetting practices in the hiring of federal immigration officers, especially ICE personnel.

TAXES

— Raise current tax levels on wealthier Americans to shrink financial inequality and reduce the federal debt.

— Halt any more increases in the federal estate tax exemption. Very, very few farm  holdings today reach the current exemption levels of $15 million for individuals and $30 million for couples.

— Require disclosure of tax returns by all federal elected officials.

BUDGET

— Set up bipartisan efforts for how to reduce the $39.5 trillion federal deficit through a combination of spending reductions and tax revenue increases, setting achievable targets with automatic requirements if the targets are not reached.

— Restrict executive ability to redirect congressionally authorized funds.

OTHER CURRENT AREAS

— Prohibit stock trades for all elected federal officials, their families, and their businesses, including those of the President.

— Promote alternative energy development, including wind and solar, and improve the national electrical grid.

A FEW CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

— Eliminate blanket immunity for government actions taken by the President.

— Reduce the representation in the electoral college of two votes per state per Senator to just one vote for each. That would bring the presidential election results more in line with the popular vote.

— Require Senate approval of presidential pardons.

— Allow redistricting for elections only after each decennial federal census.

— Require congressional approval of tariff policies.

That’s enough for today, and probably for many days to come. Everyone will have his or her own ideas for how the nation’s governance could be improved. It’s a stimulating exercise, worthy of some serious cogitating, at least for me.

Rick Morain is a reporter and columnist with the Jefferson Herald.