Dear Feinstein 1200'ers:
A month ago, I solicited your ideas by asking:
“Can we pick a small but tightly focused project with a six-month to one-year window? Can we pick a project that will effectively utilize our very talented group of scientists, nurses, M.D.'s, lawyers, writers, small businessmen and artists - and knock it out of the park?”
Interestingly, few of the ideas you submitted addressed health care directly – or at all. The first three ideas you submitted address some of the larger issues we encountered in our “merrily messed-up” pursuit of health care reform. The fourth is a separate idea from one of our East Bay physicians, and the fifth is not a group effort, but a suggestion for individual action.
On Wednesday I will send two more ideas (both directly HCR-related) from Deborah Leveen and Don Bechler.
1. Your Ideas: Plain English Legislation
2. Your Ideas: A Specific Goal for Campaign Finance
3. Your Ideas: Joining George Lakoff’s Initiative
4. Your Ideas: An Exciting Alternative
5. Your Ideas: Move Your Money
1. Your Ideas: Plain English Legislation
“At this point, who can figure out what's in the current legislation? Why does Congress insist on writing 1,000+ page bills with untold amendments that may or may not cancel out something in the original bill? It would be nice to have legislation that is no more than about 20-100 pages and that is understandable by laymen.”
Please excuse my naiveté, but I love this idea. Of course, advocating for succinct legislation written in plain English is hardly a project with a six-month to one-year window. On the other hand, there’s something appealing about such a common-sense idea - it’s the essence of transparency and the antithesis of pork. How could we lose by advocating something so right? (Oh, let us count the ways!) Downside: As far as I can tell, no other group is already advocating this, we’d have to start from scratch. Upside: No other group is already advocating this, it would be an adventure!
2. Your Ideas: A Specific Action with a Specific Window for Campaign Finance Reform
For those of you reeling from the SCOTUS ruling on Citizens
“You asked about what we can do NOW. Personally, after watching the health reform battle, I'm re-doubling my efforts in support of public financing for elections. The influence of big money on our government has never been clearer… California will dip its toes in the water when we vote on June 10 regarding public financing for the Attorney General's office. There is CURRENTLY a bill in the national House of Representatives pushing for public financing. While the recent health care affair is still on our minds, there has never been a better time for advancing public funding.
“There are some national organizations and a group (www.YesFairElections.org) here in California that could use help.
(Editor’s Note: Please note that Lynn Woolsey and Jackie Speier are supporters of the California Fair Elections Act that you can read about in the link above – and we like Woolsey and Speier.)
“Other forms of "campaign financing reform" have been tried for decades and didn't do the job. It's time to stop trying to fix such a big problem with a band-aid. IMHO, until public financing is enacted, meaningful health care reform...OR ANY OTHER KIND OF MEANINGFUL REFORM...is just not going to happen.”
Can’t argue with that. And we could just join in on an existing effort.
3. Your Ideas: Joining George Lakoff’s Initiative
For those who’ve had enough of a small minority of lawmakers blocking every decent proposal that comes forward: David’s collecting signatures for George Lakoff’s state-wide initiative to establish majority vote rule on budget and revenue legislative actions in California. Check out the website here and read a straightforward article about it here. This is both more complicated and fascinating than it at first appears - I’d love some feedback from the group on this one. I already heard from someone who warned this may be a 'be-careful-what-you-wish-for' proposal.
4. Your Ideas: Fix Cap and Trade with “Cap and Dividend”
One of our East Bay physicians writes:
“Pres. Obama has again raised the flag in his State of The Union speech for legislation pursuing climate protection through a "cap and trade" bill….
“A key committee in the California Senate working on implementing California's Global Warming Solutions Act, AB32, issued a report last week that recommends "Cap and Dividend," a policy to return revenues from the auction of permits to consumers as dividends.
(Editor’s Note: Cap and Dividend is distinct from Cap and Trade; this brief Scientific American article provides a short and straightforward explanation.)
“Cap and Dividend is also supported by The Climate Protection Campaign, an impressive new environmental organization in Sonoma County. See: http://www.
“I propose that the F-1200 commend Senator Feinstein for her support of the EPA and urge her to support for "cap and dividend" -- as recommended by the Climate Protection Campaign and the CA Senate committee. "Cap and dividend" would probably arouse more consumer enthusiasm, and might even garner support from some conservatives.”
And Robert Reich has been endorsing this carbon dividend idea for years now.
I’d like to second the notion that this letter would be a good thing for us to do now. Please let me know your thoughts on this. And as it looks like HCR is now "on the back burner" I’m happy to provide an entire newsletter on Cap and Dividend, if enough people need more info.
5. Move Your Money:
I know most of you have already heard of this, and a good portion of you have already have done it: moved your money out of “Too Big to Fail” bailout banks like B of A and Citigroup, and into more respectable community banks and credit unions who never needed taxpayer bailouts.
The movement even has its own website which is mercifully easy-to-read.
This isn’t a group effort, obviously, since the F1200 doesn’t have its own bank account, but I wanted to pass your idea along to the group all the same. It would be great to hear back from more of you who have done this already. The link provided above includes audio from an excellent NPR interview with Simon Johnson, the former Chief Economist for the IMF who is now everyone’s go-to guy for bank reform.
Many thanks for your brilliant ideas. And please keep 'em coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment