MY VISION FOR OUR NATION - by Ken Ashe

Our founding fathers envisioned a nation that gave individuals certain freedoms (inalienable rights) and greatly circumscribed the powers of the Federal government, especially the executive branch.

The new nation of the United States of America was a radical and LIBERAL departure from the prevailing governance in the world at that time. It came to be the new model that so much of the world has formed their institutions upon.

But we have strayed--- Badly. I was to see a restoration of the founding fathers original vision, taking into account the developments in industry and technology since.

First and most importantly, our federal government, the legislature in particular, must be again made responsible to the people they (supposedly) represent. Corporate influence in our nation’s capital should not just be curtailed but totally eliminated. Teddy Roosevelt did it 100 years ago, we need to restore that principal immediately.

Without corporate influence, the pressure to maintain a far-flung empire will be greatly reduced. We should have few, if any, military bases outside our nation’s borders. There should be few inside our borders also. There was a robust debate at the constitutional convention about the need for a standing army. As a result, the second amendment was formed, essentially giving the states power to raise armies and the Federal government the ability to request use of those militias when the nation was attacked.

In light of the advances in global reach and technology it would seem prudent to maintain a core, or skeleton, standing military which can be quickly expanded and mobilized in a time of urgent need. I firmly believe that defense is something that you undertake on your own territory and that any use of force outside of the borders is aggression and to be avoided at all times. This core military would warehouse and maintain equipment and provide a base leadership structure. The overwhelming majority of the forces would be men and women who were kept trained and organized under states’ governments to be available when the state determines that it is in our common interest to act against a common threat. I would further suggest that service to the state would be compulsory with military service being the common service but alternative service being available to others who object.

With this new military structure there will be far fewer resources devoted to destruction of peoples overseas and thus our relations with other nations should greatly benefit. We have one of the most easily defended territories in the world, all we truly need is a credible defense structure and most any adversary would think twice before attacking.

I would also like to see an economic system that focuses less on quantity of commerce and more on the satisfaction and enjoyment of the population. Instead of the GNP and NYSE being the key figures tracked every day, we would report on the GDH, or Gross Domestic Happiness index. All corporations would be chartered for a period of no more than ten years and their charter renewed only if they were able to show how they had benefited their employees and the state in general. No corporation would be able to own an interest in another corporation and the share holders would directly choose the board of directors of the corporation with no input from management.

Our founding fathers had revulsion towards aristocracy and wished to see no ruling class established in their new Republic. Thus the inheritance tax should be reinforced and the income tax should become more progressive with a top tax rate of at least 75%. This would give a disincentive to greed and, thus corruption.

Furthermore, the commerce clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) of the constitution should be revisited with an eye towards leaving more power to the states, thus weakening the central government.