A Vision for Governance Reform
I. Foundational Vision
To build systems that uplift rather than exploit, to restore balance between people, planet, and
progress. Every element of governance must align with equity, clarity, and mutual respect.
Systems are moral mirrors. What they reward, they create. Therefore, every policy, practice,
and decision must honor fairness, compassion, and accountability.
II. The Tri-Council System
To ensure stability without domination, and cooperation without hierarchy, the nation shall be
guided by three equal councils and three equal presidents.
- Structure and Composition
Three Equal Councils:
• People’s Council – Culture, health, education, and human welfare
• Industry Council – Commerce, science, labor, and innovation
• Environmental Council – Planetary health, sustainability, and intergenerational
stewardship
Each council is equal in authority and responsibility. There shall be no vice or superior body.
Three Equal Presidents:
• One president represents each of the three political parties
• They serve as co-executives, not competing leaders
• No single president holds supreme authority
• They rotate specific executive duties on a scheduled basis - Leadership and Rotation
Council Leadership:
• Each council selects a rotating convener, not a permanent chair
• No individual may serve consecutive terms as convener
• Conveners facilitate dialogue, record votes, and uphold order without enforcing
outcomes
Presidential Rotation:
• Presidents rotate ceremonial and diplomatic duties quarterly
• Administrative responsibilities are divided by expertise and reviewed annually
• No president may claim exclusive domain over any function - Decision Process
Legislative Authority (Council-Based):
• Two-of-Three Rule: No motion may pass without agreement of at least two councils
• Rotational Agenda: Councils alternate introducing policy, ensuring no single body
monopolizes initiative
• Transparency Clause: All deliberations and votes shall be accessible to the public in plain
language
Deadlock Resolution Hierarchy:
When all three councils disagree: - Joint Mediation Assembly convenes for up to 30 days
o Composed of citizens, regional delegates, and independent experts
o Seeks common ground and alternative solutions
o Proposes modified versions for council reconsideration - Regional Referendum (if mediation fails)
o The question goes directly to the people via public vote
o Clear, unbiased language required for ballot measures
o Educational materials provided from all perspectives - Status Quo Default (if referendum is split or doesn’t reach quorum)
o No change occurs until consensus emerges
o Principle: Inaction is better than harmful action
o Prevents tyranny of slim majorities and encourages continued dialogue - Emergency Executive Powers (Tri-Presidential Authority)
The three presidents hold emergency powers, exercised with strict accountability:
Immediate Crisis Response:
• In genuine emergencies (natural disaster, imminent attack, public health crisis), any two
of the three presidents may act immediately without full council deliberation
• Emergencies must be actual, not manufactured for political gain
48-Hour Ratification Rule:
• Emergency actions must be ratified by the full councils within 48 hours, or they
automatically expire
• Councils use the two-of-three voting rule for ratification
War Declaration Exception:
• Only all three councils (two-of-three rule) can declare war
• Presidents may respond to active attack but cannot initiate hostilities
• Definition of “active attack” must be verified by independent military and intelligence
assessment
Transparency Mandate:
• All emergency actions must be immediately disclosed to the public with full reasoning
• Classified details may be withheld only temporarily and only for genuine security
reasons
• Independent oversight reviews all classified justifications
No Abuse Clause:
• Manufactured or exaggerated emergencies are grounds for immediate removal and
criminal prosecution
• Whistleblower protections apply to anyone exposing false emergency claims
• Historical review of all emergency declarations conducted annually - Guiding Principle
Power is shared, not stored. Leadership is service, not status. Truth and transparency are the
foundations of trust.
III. Fair Taxation and Economic Justice
Corporate Tax Accountability
No more profitable corporations paying zero or negative taxes.
• Minimum effective tax rate enforced (not just nominal rate with infinite loopholes)
• Tax rate based on actual profit, not creative accounting
• Cannot pay executives/shareholders billions while claiming “no profit” for tax purposes
Closing Loopholes:
• No offshore tax havens
• No “Double Irish Dutch Sandwich” or other profit-shifting schemes
• No claiming intellectual property in low-tax countries while doing business elsewhere
• No inversions (reincorporating abroad to avoid US taxes)
• Transfer pricing must reflect real market value
• Carried interest taxed as regular income, not capital gains
Tax Penalties for Harm:
• Additional taxes on profits derived from externalized costs (pollution, worker health
issues, community damage)
• Carbon tax on emissions
• Soil depletion tax on extractive agriculture
• Tax on products with short lifespan/planned obsolescence
• Tax on excessive packaging/waste generation
Progressive Corporate Taxation:
• Small businesses and co-ops: Lower rates, simplified filing
• Medium enterprises: Standard rates
• Mega-corporations: Higher rates, especially for monopolistic sectors
• Graduated based on: profit margins, market concentration, externalized costs,
worker/executive pay ratio
Individual Tax Fairness
Working and middle class cannot pay higher effective rates than corporations and billionaires.
Current Injustice:
• Person making $44,000: Pays ~22% effective rate (federal + state + payroll + sales tax)
• Major corporations: Often $0 federal tax despite billions in profit
• This is theft from the commons
Reformed Structure:
• Raise minimum income before any tax (currently ~$13,850 standard deduction – raise to
living wage threshold)
• Simplify brackets, eliminate loopholes only wealthy can exploit
• All income types taxed equally (capital gains = regular income for high earners)
• Wealth tax on extreme accumulation (wealth over $50 million taxed annually)
• Estate tax strengthened (can’t pass generational dynasties untaxed)
Payroll Tax Reform:
• Currently caps at $168,600 for Social Security (regressive!)
• Remove cap or make progressive
• Tax capital gains for Social Security too (currently exempt)
Transparent Taxation
No mysterious calculations known only to the IRS.
• Simple, readable tax code
• Free government tax filing (no TurboTax lobbying to keep it complicated)
• Clear explanation of where tax money goes (itemized receipt for every taxpayer)
• Public database of corporate tax payments (what they claim vs. what they pay)
Tax Enforcement
IRS properly funded to go after wealthy tax cheats, not just small fry.
• Currently: IRS audits poor people at higher rates than rich (easier, less expensive)
• Reform: Audit rates proportional to income/wealth
• Penalties severe enough to deter (currently: cost of doing business)
• Criminal prosecution for major tax fraud by corporations and executives personally
• Tax fraud treated as theft from the public
• Executive criminal liability for corporate tax schemes
• Fines must exceed profit from tax avoidance (otherwise just cost of doing business)
• Loss of corporate charter for repeated major tax violations
What Tax Money Should Fund
Since we’re demanding fair taxation, also demand fair use:
Prioritize:
• Education (free quality education through college/trade school)
• Healthcare (single-payer or public option)
• Infrastructure (roads, water, internet, energy grid)
• Regenerative agriculture transition support
• Research (independent, public-benefit science)
• Enforcement (environmental, labor, consumer protection)
Eliminate:
• Corporate subsidies for profitable companies
• Fossil fuel subsidies
• Bailouts without equity stakes and reform requirements
• Military spending on corporate welfare disguised as “defense”
International Tax Coordination
Race to the bottom stops.
• Minimum global corporate tax (OECD working on 15%, should be higher)
• Cannot play countries against each other for tax breaks
• Countries offering tax havens face trade consequences
• Benefit from US market = pay US taxes (can’t have it both ways)
IV. Political Reforms
No money involved at any level in politics.
Campaign Finance
• All campaign services provided free
• Tax deductible for providers
• Excess monies held by politicians donated to charities of their choice
• No corporate donations, PACs, or dark money
• Strict enforcement with criminal penalties
Media and Information
• Media consolidation beyond 15% market share prohibited
• No corporate ownership of fact-checking organizations
• Clear labeling of conflicts of interest in all health/science reporting
• Equal airtime for ballot measures and candidates
Direct Democracy Platform
Online political platform where citizens can demand reforms:
• Signatures counted and retained until CHANGE HAPPENS
• Numbers anonymously tallied yet verified as one per person
• Signatures can be withdrawn if issue changes
• Threshold triggers mandatory legislative action or referendum
• Representatives must publicly explain votes against majority petitions
• Protection from corporate counter-campaigns
• Whistleblower-style protections for platform administrators
V. General Reforms - Limited Government Interference
If we do not need a rule about it, government stays out. This includes: abortion, marijuana,
consensual adult behavior, personal medical choices. - Supporting Parents and Families
• Work-life balance: 20-hour work week standard (productivity gains shared with workers,
not just shareholders)
• Prices should reflect reasonable working hours, not exploitation
• Student loan relief: No interest on student loans while parenting children who need
interaction time
• If a BA degree is of no financial use, education should be free (an educated populace
benefits everyone)
• Parental paid leave: Substantial paid time for all parents
• Adequate time, nutrition, and protection from harm for all families - Progress-Oriented Funding
We need mechanisms to fund solutions:
• Plastic cleanup gets rewards
• Solving problems gets rewards
• Innovation that genuinely improves life receives public investment
• Family farms receive support
• Regenerative agriculture transition funded
• Research into safer alternatives incentivized - Education and Safety
• Martial arts training in schools (against punching bags and dummies for discipline and
fitness)
• After-school clubs for actual sparring available per student/parent discretion
• Education funding nationwide and equalized
• Training for future needs, not past economy
• Critical thinking and media literacy core curriculum - No Governmental Support of Certain Corporations
• End subsidies for profitable corporations
• No government contracts for companies using tax havens
• No bailouts without equity stakes and reform requirements
• No bailouts for companies that didn’t pay taxes in preceding years
• Level playing field for small businesses and co-ops
• Anti-trust enforcement actually enforced
• No lobbying against tax fairness while receiving government benefits - International Trade
• Cannot use trade agreements to force harmful products on other nations
• Race-to-the-bottom labor and environmental standards prohibited
• Food sovereignty respected
• No forcing GE crops or other technologies on unwilling populations
VI. Foundational Principle
A person making $44,000—a schoolteacher, a nurse, a mechanic—should never pay more in
taxes than a billion-dollar corporation. When corporations profit from our commons—our
infrastructure, our workforce, our stability, our health—they must pay back into those
commons.
This is not radical. This is justice.
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