Improve initiative

Summary

I urge influential leaders with nationwide appeal to consider leading a nationwide economic boycott to improve government functioning and prevent the final decay of our institutions. Individuals close to national leaders should make sure they hear these ideas. Since big money is the only reliable motivation for Congress, we should use big money to get Congress to strengthen rules, roles and accountability. A boycott of a few businesses won’t create enough urgency. We must economically withdraw from the entire system. As Dr. Gene Sharp noted, “Democracy (e.g. choice by the people) does not survive by itself. We must be stewards of justice (& choice)”. The goal is a system that has predictable rules - predictable consequences - and that fairly rewards owners 'and' labor for their contributions to society. This proposal, though dramatically bold, aims to restore order across all federal branches by applying economic pressure on businesses and local governments, who will in turn influence Congress to enact reasonable and fair laws that will promote a stronger framework for accountable governance. The boycott, if adopted, would occur from 7 AM to 7 PM on the last Tuesday and Thursday of a chosen month. While the impacts may cause significant interruptions, the positive outcomes far exceed the disruptions. Details about the demands, action plan, major challenges we face, and how these steps will restore order are outlined in the full PDF.

We need an innovative protest that harnesses the everyday habits of right-thinking everyday people. This protest leverages impulse buying, daily consumables, and advertising revenue. Research and calculations have been done to gauge the potential impact of a blanket, system-wide, economic withdrawal. Calculations are conservative and links are provided to show the basis used to prove the potential success of this type of protest. These ideas are straight forward and easy to understand. This protest is based on the idea that businesses cannot survive without our cooperation. Businesses only make money because we agree to cooperate by using their product or service. The only question is how much money will be missed during a short period of withheld cooperation. We are living in a time of fake news and compromised information. The reader is encouraged to review the rudimentary calculations in the appendix, which require only a basic understanding of multiplication, division, and percentages. This is one possible solution. New ideas require modification and correction by like-minded co-creators. Intellectual contribution from others is invaluable and greatly desired. These ideas have been proposed with a lot of detail to dispel the notion that new ideas won’t work within our existing system.

Imagine a government accountable to its principles, where the ultra-rich abide by the same laws as everyone else. Achieving this is possible and will require sacrifice.


Demands

1. Pass an amended John Lewis Voting Rights Act: Include provisions that prevent purging and other forms of voter removal. Include provisions that prevent manipulation of the shapes of district maps by legislatures. Create U.S. House districts using a computer model and computational methods, aiming to enhance fairness, transparency, and public engagement in the electoral process and mandate that states justify deviations from the model.

2. Pass a Criminal Prosecution Act for SCOTUS: Include provisions that limit the use of the shadow docket to short term, temporary relief cases only - restrict the court's ability to introduce or infer new facts and require cases return to lower courts to establish needed facts - and prohibit ruling on synthetic cases where cases originate without an actual plaintiff or injured party. Include provisions that amend the code of conduct to become mandatory - amend honoraria rules to prohibit reimbursement for travel and lodging - and include felony criminal penalties for presiding over a case that involves gifts, financial interests, or a relationship with either party. Require automatic impeachment hearings if a justice is found to have received gifts from parties with business before the Court without prior notification and without recusal. The "good behavior" clause in the Constitution guarantees that federal judges hold their positions for life, but only "during good behavior". This means they can and should be removed for misbehavior.

! Pass a Constitutional Amendment that grants Congress the power, under tightly prescribed and very narrow circumstances, to challenge a Supreme Court ruling when its findings are based on omitted, ignored, or misrepresented facts, precedents, or evidence (or Congress can be granted the power to create, under very narrow circumstances, a review panel comprised of federal judges and experts)(no criminal liability may arise solely from judicial reasoning, legal interpretation, or ruling - all solutions shall preserve judicial supremacy).

3. Pass an Anti-Super PAC and Anti-Lobbying Act: Include provisions that prohibit the establishment of super PACs. Include provisions that amend the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 to include a four year ban against lobbying for all three branches of government, their staff, and advisers employed more than an accumulative 3 months - include an eight year ban for any elected official or staff that served more than eight years in office or on staff - the lobbying ban shall prohibit direct, advisory, or strategic lobbying roles with felony criminal penalties. Without these constraints the super wealthy will continue to influence the creation of laws to which only the common man will be held accountable.

! Pass a Constitutional Amendment to establish that political spending is free speech within the narrow limits defined in the Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

4. Pass a Criminal Prosecution Act for Congress: Include provisions that amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Foreign Emoluments Clause to include stricter financial disclosures and stricter ethics rules with felony criminal penalties. Amend the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (to include the presidency and the supreme court) with felony criminal penalties. Prohibit trading where there is direct interaction with a particular sector, industry, or company - require seizure of all illegally obtained assets or profits (whether willful or non-willful). If convicted of a felony, strip members of leadership positions and committee assignments - and require automatic impeachment hearings.

5. Pass a Criminal Prosecution Act for POTUS: Include provisions that re-establish the partitioning of presidential authority and reject the idea of unitary executive theory. Include provisions that amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Foreign Emoluments Clause to include stricter ethics rules, financial disclosures, and divestiture with felony criminal penalties. Require automatic impeachment hearings if convicted of a felony. This law is meant to include provisions that make all essential presidential norms law. The executive branch should not have ambiguity in areas that profoundly disrupt the public order.

! Pass a Constitutional Amendment that prohibits presidential self immunity - and limits pardoning power to prohibit pardoning persons convicted of crimes against the state - conflicts of interest - quid pro quo - and self pardoning.


Plan of Action

1. Economic Boycott
Halt spending from 7 AM to 7 PM on the last Tuesday and Thursday of a designated month. Including all goods - in-person and online services - prepaid or per-use accounts - and subscriptions (e.g. temporarily suspend the use of streaming services, unlimited coffee programs, carwash subscriptions, etc.). The extent of disengagement will depend on individual circumstances and commitment. The greater participants disengage from daily economic activities, the sooner the proposed demands will be met. However, partial participation will play a large role in the protest’s success. Purchase all necessities and essentials prior to the protest.

2. Advertising Blackout
Avoid all advertising platforms and devices, with as much disengagement as possible. Only devices needed for safety and essential communication should be used.
(e.g. don’t use email, podcasts, social media, video-on-demand platforms, music apps, network TV, cable TV, etc. Don't call-in to any radio station. Don't listen to radio online, through apps, streaming, or with a listening meter. Where it’s safe to do so, turn off voice activated assistants and navigation. Don’t use apps that show advertising or is connected to the internet. Temporarily restrict as many devices from children that is safe for family circumstances and that is emotionally manageable).

3. Restrict Use of Online Services
Cease participation in all online services, particularly those supported by advertising (e.g. gambling, multi-player gaming, stock trading, dating sites, etc.).

4. Business Participation
This is a consumer-based protest. However, businesses may show solidarity by not placing orders or scheduling deliveries on boycott dates, where feasible.