RESET AMERICA
A Simple Plan to take back our Government
There will be a revolution.
But if we act now, then it will be a peaceful one.
Dear Friends & Neighbors
We can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch our country and way of life collapse in the hands of self-serving ‘leaders’ whose only concern is getting re-elected and staying in power.
We have lost all confidence in our government.
We have lost our position as the most powerful nation in the world.
Our heath and quality of life are in peril.
The future of democracy around the world is in jeopardy.
Think I’m being overly dramatic? No. Trust me, I wouldn’t waste my time doing this if I didn’t know that we are headed for disaster, worse than we think, mostly because of the compounding effects of these crisis’s. But surprising to most, there are practical solutions to our worst problems that we can do right now. Why don’t we see these discussed and debated? Simple… they do not raise money and win re-elections.
The following text is from Chapter 80 in Mistaken Beliefs.
Our Mission
What can we do to fix this mess? It’s not enough to get the American People to understand the truth. The change that we desperately need requires us to act. Reset America is a simple plan for the American People to take back government from career politicians and the 2 parties. We have 3 immediate goals:
Our first goal is to convince all Americans to only vote for candidates who support these 3 specific changes to our election process:
1.
Term Limits
This will replace career politicians with people willing to put your interests above their own.
2.
Ranked Voting
This will avoid the Spoiler Effect so that you can vote for whoever you want and not risk electing someone who you hate even more.
3.
Equal Rules & Laws
This will end the 2-party monopoly to give independents and 3rd party candidates a fair chance to be elected.
We’re not saying that once we adopt these three policies that all our problems will go away overnight. What we are saying is that if we don’t make these 3 changes first, then we will have no chance of ever altering this unsustainable trajectory that our nation is headed.
Our second goal is to persuade candidates to endorse our list of Reset America principles. If a candidate swears to support these conditions, then they may proudly display the Reset America logo in their promotional materials.
Our third goal is to convince Americans to hold our "leaders" accountable. If a politician pledges their support for these principles, and they do not try to make them happen in their first year in office, then we simply vote for new candidates who will. We keep doing this until we have a Congress that is working for the people and not themselves.
This will motivate our “leaders” to do the right thing if they wish to be re-elected. I don't know how we can make this any easier or convenient to cause the changes that we need – and we know that we need
How Polarized are we really?
This should be an easy sell since so many of you already support these changes.
80% of us want Term Limits.
80% of us think positively about Ranked Voting
68% of us want 3rd parties.
I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but please tell me how...
80% of people can strongly want something and we call that a society that’s “polarized.”
And 80% of you have a positive view of Ranked Voting. Please tell me how 80% of people feeling strongly about something means that we’re polarized? Sorry, I just asked that.
And 68% of us want 3rd parties. That's not being polarized either.
And, by the way, 93% of us dislike government! How the fuck is this being polarized?
Maybe it’s because our “leaders” want us to be polarized. They want us to point fingers at each other instead of at them. In fact, they’re not “leaders” at all. They act more like children (and our children are acting more like leaders.)
We are all angry.
We all want change.
We already know that change needs to come from outside the system.
We already know that we need 3rd parties to add competition to the Democratic and Republican Parties.
(We talk about the subject of polarization more since this is number one in our list of the Top 10 Mistaken Beliefs.)
We must work together and put aside distraction issues that the 2-parties use to polarize us to prevent the changes that we know we must make.
The Issues don’t Matter.
It doesn’t matter what we want to see changed in Washington. The only chance that you will ever have to achieve your particular goals is to join together towards our common goal of creating a real democratic election process. It’s a complete waste of time, money and energy to debate policy on any issue until we hold our leaders accountable, and this starts by changing how they are incentivized.
The Reset America plan does not embrace any specific issue (other than resetting our election process of course.) We purposely don’t take sides or even care about how you feel about any partisan issue. You can be Democrat, Republican, liberation, green, or even fluorescent. Our only goal is to unify all people around our common desire to take back government from career politicians and the 2 parties.
We must fix the Root Problem Together.
Whatever is your particular concern, no changes are possible because our system was built by the same people who are still profiting by it today.
Let's use global warming as an example. There has never been a greater threat to our species and planet than global warming. Fortunately, we know what we need to do to address this crisis. But sadly, this will never happen while nearly all of Congress has some level of interest in the success of energy companies.
Take for example Senator Joe Manchin (Democrat). Manchin chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. It is the top position in ensuring we pursue more climate-friendly policies - and he is adamantly against addressing the effects of global warming. Why? Do you think that it has anything to do with the fact that he owns a coal company, Enersystems, and last year alone, he was paid $491,949? Or that he receives the most funding of any senator from the oil and gas industry?
He's not alone. All members of Congress are allowed to use inside information gained from doing their job for their personal benefit. Even as chairman of his committee, Manchin can trade stocks based on the decisions that his committee makes and how he votes. But he’s not the only legislator who is guilty of insider trading and bribery. The majority of Congress engages in practices to make money for themselves, while jeopardizing the future of our children and nation. Worst of all, this is all legal.
Is there any more obvious conflict of interest?
Regardless of which “side” you’re on, please tell me that you believe this is wrong. If you’re desperate to latch onto a conspiracy theory, latch onto this one (only it’s not a theory!)
So, as you can see, we are not going to address global warming while Congress is owned by the energy industry. Here are other issues that need to be addressed and why this can’t happen under our current system.
You can spend your life trying to End Wars… but you don’t stand a chance when the defense industry gives billions to Congress.
You can fight against Global Warming… but you don’t stand a chance when Congress is in the pockets of energy companies.
You can get People Healthy… but you don’t stand a chance when big pharma, health care and insurance are some of our nation’s biggest lobbies.
You can fight for Election Reform… but you don’t stand a chance when both parties are making it harder and harder for 3rd parties and independent candidates to compete.
You fight against Unlawful Convictions… but you don’t stand a chance when everyone down the line, from law enforcement to prosecutors, judges, prison officials are incentivized to keep more people trapped in the system.
You can be an activist for Buying Local… but you don’t stand a chance when Congress is controlled by corporations.
You can try to expose Government Waste… but you don’t stand a chance when the entire establishment profits from excess spending, expanding control and the exchange of favors for jobs.
You can fight for Campaign Finance Reform… but you don’t stand a chance when the entire system is about re-election and fundraising.
You can encourage Personal Savings… but you don’t stand a chance when our government gives tax breaks for adding more debt and taxes income from savings.
You can fight for Social Justice… but you don’t stand a chance when Congress doesn’t understand the needs of the disadvantaged since most of its members are old, white, rich, male, career politicians.
You can fight for Term Limits… but you don't stand a chance when Congress is able to pass laws regulations that directly apply to themselves. Whatever happened to checks and balances, or conflict of interest?
Get the point?
These are all worthy causes – as well as hundreds of others - and we commend you for being involved. But regardless of what you want, nothing will change while career politicians are benefiting from the system they created.
This is why it is vital that all people, regardless of the issues, unite over our common goal of electing legislators who are not for sale.
There are Never just 2 sides to an Issue.
What’s more, there are never only two solutions to a problem. In fact, there are practical solutions that cost nothing to make happen, but these are not even considered because they don’t benefit those in power. In contrast, the only solutions that are considered are those that help Congress win re-elections which involve returns for favors and putting money in their pockets.
The Book:
Mistaken Beliefs
Can this change happen? Yes, but first, we need to understand the reasons that are preventing it. These are the hidden causes that stop us from creating the very change that we want. These obstacles are the result of ‘mistaken beliefs’ that we embrace as a society. These beliefs are terribly wrong, and they effect how we think and act. In the book, we reveal the real problem in government, and it will probably surprise you.
Literally any solution to any problem starts by having the courage and common sense to vote for candidates outside the 2 parties and who are not for sale.
We fought a revolution to take control of our government from the British. It’s time for us to take back control of our government from the 2 parties.