Martin’s List of Progressive Demands (USA) #MartinsDemands

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now…

So, let’s say we progressives DO take to the streets and refuse to leave until our demands are met. Can we agree on a list of demands that must be met before we return to the new normal that must be better than the old normal? What do you think of this list?

1. #MedicareForAll — Because, as the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, we’re all in this together. Everyone staying healthy depends on everyone staying healthy.
2. #GreenNewDeal — We have to take meaningful action immediately to avoid extinction— transitioning to renewable energy sources and providing millions of living wage jobs, for the sake of the planet and our economy.
3. #HousingForAll — It is cheaper to house the homeless than to not house the homeless, but even if it weren’t for the savings on ER visits and pointless police hassling, it would still be the right thing to do. https://www.themedicalcareblog.com/cost-of-health-and-homelessness-2/
4. #BlackLivesMatter, #DefundThePolice — It is clear that Police are ill-suited to the majority of the calls they are sent on. Social work, prevention, conflict de-escalation need to be prioritized along with economic reforms that help ease socioeconomic pressures that feed criminal activity in the first place.
5. #DecriminalizeCannabis — Cannabis is a natural and affordable alternative medicine that can, alone, among other benefits, reduce the need/demand for opioid pain relievers by 20% or more. It is safer than alcohol as a recreational substance — both because there is no overdosing and it is more likely to make people calm and relaxed than beligerant or confrontational.
6. #HandMarkedPaperBallots — E-voting machines are expensive, unreliable, unverifiable and prone to voter suppression by strategic under-allocation of machines. They should be banned. Paper “receipts” are not enough.
7. #RankedChoiceVoting — Necessary to end the duopoly of the two-party system, put an end to the tyranny of “spoiler” candidates and expand the range of political dialog.
8. #EndGerrymandering — There should be an open source computer program that re-draws district lines based on population and geographical proximity only. There should be an open & accountable process to bug-fix the software to remove any political considerations that may creep into the algorithm or to update the algorithm for better efficiency.
9. #FundPublicSchoolsKthru16 — College education should be a right, not a privilege. Being globally competitive in a technologically and socially sophisticated society requires it.
10. #StudentDebtJubilee — Forgive all student loans. Medical student loan forgiveness is conditional on working in a practice that accepts Medicare patients.
11. #MedicalDebtJubilee — Forgive all medical debt
12. #FederalJobsGuarantee — With a minimum wage of $15/hr (rising indexed to real inflation, not the fictional CPI), private sector will have to compete with public sector living wage jobs for workers. There is a huge backlog of public interest work that needs to be done — infrastructure, new green energy facilities, social work, education, health care and more. Eventually, when the backlog of work is caught up, the guarantee shifts to #UBI.
13. #UBI. AI, robotics and other forms of automation will eliminate an estimated 40% of all remaining jobs in the next 10–15 years (if COVID doesn’t do it first). Robots are not good consumers. The simple truth is our civilization will no longer require everyone to work. A modest Universal Basic Income must be provided for all who are unable to work (disability and age) and for whom no jobs are available (See #FederalJobsGuarantee) to cover the unemployed and under-employed.
14. #EndPrivatePrisons — There must be absolutely no economic incentive to incarcerate more Americans for the benefit of special interests. We must eliminate laws that imprison people for truly victimless crimes and ensure that sentencing doesn’t exceed the “punishment fits the crime” doctrine of proportionality.
15. #EndPrisonSlavery — Correctional systems should focus on health, education and rehabilitation not exploitation and punitive measures. Again, there must be absolutely no economic incentive to incarcerate more Americans for the benefit of special interests.
16. #FreeDrugUsePrisoners — People who have not committed violence or property crimes or who are only in jail for want of bail for misdemeanor crimes should not be in jail. Their records should be expunged.
17. #FreeJulianAssange, #FreeRealityWinner, #FreeChelseaManning, #ProtectWhistleBlowers — These people have risked their lives to bring Americans the truth about waste, fraud and abuse in our government and they should be honored as heroes, not punished as spies. The Espionage Act should be repealed.
18. #FundTheUSPS — The U.S. Postal Service is a core service that cannot be compromised or privatized. In fact, the USPS was self-funding thru sale of postage and stamps, until Republicans passed an unusually burdensome pension pre-funding law (75 years ahead) that caused USPS to go into the red.
19. #RuralDatafication — Broadband everywhere. People in rural areas must have the same opportunities to communicate and be informed and entertained as people in cities.
20. #HighSpeedRailTransit — Efficient, safe and affordable alternative to fossil-fuel based air- , freight- and automobile- transport. Electric and fuel-cell power preferred.
21. #TruthAndReconciliation — CIA abuses, FBI abuses, military abuses and so much more.
22. #TaxTheRich — Robin Hood fee on stock trading, Restore taxes on capital gains. Increase tax brackets closer to 1950’s and 1960’s levels. See Robert Reich’s “Inequality for All” documentary.
23. Overturn Citizens United. Political campaigns should be funded by average people to end media addiction to big money donors that is currently making it next to impossible for 99%-focused politicians to get any traction/coverage. Extra Credit: Publicly funded campaigns (at much reduced budgets). Expect all mainstream media to resist this violently because they make so much money under the status quo.
24. A new framework for trade agreements — Impose tariffs on countries that produce with sweatshops, don’t fund social programs or don’t enforce safety and environmental regulations at parity with U.S. (race to the top instead of race to the bottom).
25. Reduce/Repurpose military spending — Defend America against global warming, against pandemics, against cyber-crime, against toxins in the environment, against nuclear accidents. The mission of “Defense” needs to be expanded and coordinated internationally within a framework of international cooperation that enhances stability, safety and peace.
26. #DismantleDHS — The ACLU has called for the Dismantling of the Dept. of Homeland Security. What’s good enough for the ACLU is good enough for me. It was always just another “put America on a GWOT-footing” measure anyway, modeled after Hitler’s “Fatherland” rhetoric.
27. #RepealPATRIOTAct — The Act that enabled huge violations of 4th amendment rights related to surveillance and privacy has got to go.
28. #MoveToAmend — Amend the constitution to end corporate personhood once and for all.
29. #ERA — An Equal Rights Amendment for women is still long, long overdue.

Thank you for reading and for raising a ruckus in your own best way! What else would you like to see on this list that would make it *your* list too?