The Blueprint for a Better America

• The Blueprint for a Better America is a single legislative package, written by the people, for the people, which will end poverty, end mass incarceration, and end the endless wars.
• Members of the American Union pledge their votes for both Democrats and Republicans who will accept this take-it-or-leave-it offer by joining us in a national fast for peace on October 15, 2020. Incumbents who accept will be expected to advance this legislation immediately.
• The 160-page legislative package can be read through the website here.

(Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash)

We the people, of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,

Thus begins one of the most famous documents in history, the United States Constitution. The Preamble, memorized by school children around the country, is a list of duties for Americans, individually and collectively. Members of the American Union accept these five duties:

Establish justice,

With more prisoners per capita than any other nation on the planet, Americans are failing in our duty to establish justice. We can do better in the 21st century. 71% of Americans say it is important to reduce our prison population, and the Blueprint for a Better America will end mass incarceration in a number of ways, including but not limited to:

1. Allowing a “second look” sentence review after 10 years of incarceration,
2. Repealing mandatory minimums,

The Blueprint can also be read on PhoenixCongress2020.com.

3. Ending the war on drugs,

4. Addressing the demands of the 2018 prison strike,

5. Reforming cash bail, and

6. Freeing our political prisoners.

Ensure domestic tranquility,

Polarization in America has gone too far; it’s time for calmer heads to prevail. In 2020, we can put our humanity first and rise above partisan politics. Two of the greatest sources of divisiveness are guns and abortions; each party promises the other wants to take one away. A supermajority of Americans don’t want to ban either, and the Blueprint for a Better America reflects that. Instead, it focuses on root causes.

1. No abortion bans, or changes to the Hyde Amendment. Abortion is already at a 40-year low, and with the elimination of poverty, it will fall further and faster. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
2. No gun bans, but universal background checks to make sure purchasers are able to do so legally. Most gun deaths are suicides, and in a better America, deaths of despair will fall.
3. To protect this compromise, any override will require a legislative supermajority.

Provide for the common defense,

With US troops spread all across the planet, we have exceeded our constitutional mandate. The Blueprint for a Better America draws heavily on the Poor People’s Moral Budget for spending cuts, and includes, but is not limited to:

1. Ending federal programs that send military equipment into local and state communities,
2. Ending U.S. military support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen,

Source: Peter G. Peterson Foundation

3. Closing many of our 883 foreign military bases,

4. Repealing the 2001 and 2002 AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force),

5. Ending the use of sanctions, economic violence which kills tens of thousands of civilians around the world,

6. Banning landmines and lethal autonomous weapons,

7. Closing Guantanamo Bay Military Prison, and

8. Reducing our nuclear stockpile.

Promote the general welfare,

Members of the American Union accept their Constitutional duty to promote the health, happiness, and prosperity of our fellow Americans. The easiest and simplest way to eliminate poverty in America is through a form of universal basic income: everyone gets an American Union Job, which includes:

What our founding fathers wanted to promote. (Source: dictionary.com)

1. An unconditional $1300 each month for adults. It is a $300/week raise that recognizes the value in everyone’s work, especially those whose work is currently valued at $0. For full-time workers, this is an additional $7.50/hour.
2. A children’s dividend, paid to their legal guardian or guardians, of $100/week. This will end childhood poverty, which costs $1 trillion each year.
3. Health benefits: whatever their employment situation, Americans will have a public option for health insurance.
4. Portability: The benefits of an American Union Job are attached to individuals, not a geographic location.
5. 18 weeks paid maternal leave, making America the second-to-last nation on the planet to ensure universal paid maternity leave.
6. Access to postal banking. In 2017, 1 in 4 households were unbanked or underbanked. 93% of the world’s post offices [PDF] offer basic financial services such as check cashing.

and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,

Members of the American Union will secure the blessings of liberty by getting out to vote. When 2–3% of adults join our block of swing voters, we will be the deciders of all the close races in the 2020 election, and determine the next President and the balance of power in Congress.

The moral authority to act comes from a shared self-sacrifice — a 24-hour fast for peace on the 15th of each month. The founding fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor; our token sacrifices are the bricks for the foundation that a better America is built on.

do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

‘Constitutional rights’ are often asserted in today’s political discussions, but the Bill of Rights was added after-the-fact as a series of amendments. The Constitution written by our founding fathers was a framework for government, beginning with the duties in the Preamble.

The Constitution is a framework for government.

As Gandhi said, when we start with duties, rights will follow like spring follows winter. By accepting these duties, we can ensure greater rights for all Americans.

America rewrites its social contract on a regular basis; like a phoenix, it’s time for another rebirth. Ready to bring America into the 21st century and end poverty, end mass incarceration, and end the endless wars? Add your pledge for the next fast for peace at this link.

Together we rise.

Learn more about the Phoenix Congress and the Blueprint for a Better America on our website, https://phoenixcongress2020.com/

Apply to join the American Union here; American citizens only.

Other articles on Medium:

An invitation for the monthly fast for peace; Fasting — A Peaceful Protest for All

An open letter to the President with our demands; Namaste, Trump, and a follow-up series leading up to the October 15th fast for peace.

A call to action around Martin Luther King, Jr.’s triple evils: The Marginalized Must Unionize in 2020