A Citizen’s Call for Restoring Our Nation’s Principles

In my upcoming book “Reviving Our Republic: 95 Theses for the Future of America”, I outline 40 policy proposals that warrant thorough discussion. Some of these proposals may appear radical to those unfamiliar with how the United States government was originally created and how it has been altered over the past two hundred years. It is imperative we encourage thorough and open deliberation on how to constitutionally implement these proposals.

Presented below are those 40 theses, prioritized top to bottom based on my sense of urgency balanced with the time required to garner informed public support. 

Thesis 22: A candidate for political office can only accept campaign funds from individual citizens qualified to vote for them.

Thesis 25: Elected members of Congress must not partake in a retirement plan. They should receive Social Security like the rest of us.

Thesis 61: The president cannot send military troops into harm’s way inside the domain of a foreign nation without a formal declaration of war by Congress.

Thesis 23: A candidate for political office should be limited to how many years they can serve to ensure the public benefit is not compromised by the power accumulated for their self-benefit.

Thesis 65: Our nation’s foreign policy initiatives must never be determined by profit-driven corporations.

Thesis 28: End the practice of omnibus bills: any bill must pertain to one subject only, and that subject should be in the title.

Thesis 34: No elected official can leave elected office and work in any “position of influence” (Board of Trustees or be employed as a lobbyist) with a 501c4 for a period equal to his/her time in office.

Thesis 73: Create a time-definable plan to pay off the majority percentage of the debt of the federal government.

Thesis 77: Any federal income tax created for a specific war debt expires once those war debts are paid for.

Thesis 89: Establishment of, and rigid enforcement of, antitrust laws in both the state and national marketplace with a prioritized focus on media and medical conglomerates.

Thesis 62: The USA is to honor all obligations that have been signed, but to seek in all future relations a status of neutrality.

Thesis 95: Prohibit any candidate or holder of federal or state elected office, or, any person who holds a regulatory position with state or federal government, from investing in publicly held corporations.

Thesis 24: The source of income received by political candidates or office holders must be fully disclosed.

Thesis 90: The federal government should be prohibited to intervene in an individual’s right to self-medicate.

Thesis 93: Prohibit local/state/federal administrative support for political party primaries.

Thesis 94: Prohibit any person holding federal position (elected or employee) from joining the board of a corporation or being hired as executive leadership in a corporation for a time period equal to their most recent time in office/employment.

Thesis 87: Constitutional amendment to distinguish natural persons, or individual citizens, from artificial personas, or corporations.

Thesis 88: Ensure the 14th Amendment refers to “natural persons.”

Thesis 38: Hearings by legislative committees should only be shared publicly through transcripts and end video recording except for security purposes.

Thesis 27: If the Senate maintains a filibuster rule, then the actual filibuster must take place and must adhere to the subject of legislation under debate.

Thesis 29: The Electoral College should not be party appointees nor winner-take-all.

Thesis 92: Prohibit straight ticket voting along party lines.

Thesis 26: End the practice of dividing the congressional chambers along party lines and have all state delegations sitting together in both legislative houses.

Thesis 64: Military training at 18 years of age for qualified men and women to be available for state/home guard active service for a minimum of two years and never to be utilized outside the state of residency unless by order of the governor or a constitutional declaration of war.

Thesis 35: Citizens of the Republic should be governed more by the government closest to them.

Thesis 36: The state government is the closest government to the people due to its comprehensive constitutional authority, legislative power, regulatory oversight, and direct accountability to residents through elections and governance.

Thesis 37: Services to the citizenry’s well-being should be the primary responsibility of the State.

Thesis 63: Initiate plans to phase out the presence of a standing army in foreign lands.

Thesis 76: Amend the 16th Amendment to create a federal income tax only to fund the investment necessitated by a formal declaration of war by Congress.

Thesis 91: Institute rank choice or approval voting for federal office.

Thesis 81: Property taxes should be eradicated in lieu of sales tax on products produced from property and property sales.

Thesis 33: The districts of members of the House of Representatives should be reduced in size to reflect a closer connectivity with the people of the district.

Thesis 30: The Senate and the House must return to their original role of checks and balances with each other.

Thesis 31: For the Senate and House to check each other, the legislative branches must have different constituencies.

Thesis 32: Repeal the 17th Amendment so the Senate can return to its original constitutional role as representing state governments.

Thesis 78: The tax burden on citizens to finance services legislated by their elected representatives should come primarily from state governments.

Thesis 79: Federal taxes should be based primarily on consumption of goods: local, interstate, imports.

Thesis 80: States should have the exclusive right to create a permanent income tax as well as sales tax.