The New American Constitution

There was a segment on National Public Radio (NPR) (4/15/2017) about a place in Nebraska that used to be named Seneca. It used to be a town until the people of Seneca voted on a resolution to dissolve the city charter. The measure passed by a single vote.

The town was conflicted about the best way to prosper. The town mayor and council wanted to beautify the place and turn it into a quaint little village. When some horses in town were seen to be mistreated and crowded into a small pen, the council passed ordinances regulating the numbers of animals allowable on different property sizes. Instead of targeting a specific problem, they tried to use the problem as cover to push a hidden agenda.

Many of the residents owned horses, cattle, chickens, and/or goats. When the new legislative regulations began to interfere with economic livelihood and personal lifestyle, the little town of Seneca split into two camps and then voted to cease its existence.

Inherently America is composed of just such a partially reconciled duality as the place formerly known as Seneca. We are a Representative Democracy that believes equally in the ideals of free market capitalism, equal opportunity, and self-determination. In political/economic terms our dualistic nature can be seen in the frequent conflicts between social/economic equality and the competitiveness of capitalism.

Herein lies the reason for the political discord with which we are currently plagued. However, these forces are not mutually exclusive. They only need to be meaningfully integrated.

In the Seventeen-hundreds our Founding Fathers had studied the history of Democracy in Ancient Athens. They were inspired by the glorious promise of Democracy, but they had also read of the problems that led to the Athenian defeats. They knew that many ancient Athenians had been ill prepared to accept the full measure of Citizen’s Responsibilities.

As it was in Ancient Athens, so it still was in the seventeen-hundreds. Therefore, our Founding Fathers wisely modified the ideals of True (Capital D) Democracy. They recognized the need for some form of governor on the Engine of Democracy.  Correctly and justly and to our lasting benefit, they added the restraints that currently keep us well grounded.

As it was in the seventeen-hundreds, so it is today. However, the populace, in general, has become somewhat more capable, and the degree of restraint once needed on public enthusiasm has become too heavy handed and counter-productive. We the People, need to get back in step with the course of history and take back the Sovereignty that the Founding Fathers wanted us to have.

Therefore, under Article 5 of the United States Constitution, the following additions/revisions to the American Constitution are proposed:

Preamble (Quoting and paraphrasing the original):

First, “to form a more perfect Union” than has previously existed in the “perpetual Union” of the United States of America. Second, to “secure the blessings of liberty”, which are to be enjoyed by not only the first generation, but for all who come after, “our posterity”.

Citizenship:

Citizenship will involve both Rights and Responsibilities.

Near Full Citizenship will be conferred at birth. The only exception to Full Citizenship for those younger than the Age of Maturity (18 years of age) will be that they will not have the Right to Vote. At the Age of Maturity, every Citizen will be given the opportunity to swear allegiance to the United States. Those refusing to do so will forfeit the Right to Vote, but otherwise will not be subjected to reprisal. Their refusal will be noted on their official record of Citizenship. Loss or Gain of Degrees of Citizenship will be regulated by State Legislators. See State and National Prerogatives and Duties (#4) below.

Legal immigrants may apply for Citizenship status. Each State will make decisions about temporary work permits and visas for immigrants and their families.

Rights of Citizenship:

1.All Citizens of every degree will have total freedom of economic enterprise which shall not be abridged except in cases of fraud or harm to others. Otherwise, there shall be no restrictions on the accumulation of Private Money.

2. 2. Citizens of every degree will be able to request Legislative Action to redress any grievance. See the Legislation section below.

3.Traditional Rights will be retained and enhanced for Citizens of all degrees provided those Rights are not exercised in such a way as to do harm to others. All Citizens will have Freedom of Speech, Movement, and Religion. Within their own homes all Citizens will have the Right to their perceived Sexual Identity, but each State will continue to regulate public decorum. Law abiding Citizens of all degrees will still be free from unwarranted searches and seizures. All Citizens of all degrees may own Private Property, and Private Property shall no longer be seized by Eminent Domain. By permit, Citizens will have the Right to own and transport Smart Guns. It will also be a Right to own a collection of older, non-Smart Guns. Members trained in the use of fire arms and in good standing with a County Militia (See below) will have the Right to openly bear Smart Guns. However, only Citizens who attain Maturity and maintain their status as Full Citizens will have the Right and Privilege to Vote.

Responsibilities and Benefits of Citizenship:

1.In times of Armed Conflict and War, all Full Citizens are soldiers. In times of Armed Conflict and War, all Full Citizens will be called upon to live up to the oath of allegiance to which they will have sworn. Most will serve from their homes. Militia members and other volunteers (up to a predetermined cap) will be immediately mobilized to the front lines. Those mobilized Citizens will be paid a yearly salary of twice their salary the year before mobilization. Upon returning home from service related duties, they will be guaranteed a return to their previous positions or a comparable position if possible. If not possible, their service related salary will continue for one full year. In the case of service related non-natural disability incurred as a direct result of Armed Conflict, compensation will be awarded and paid by the State Committee. See more about the State Committee in the Governance section below. Disability compensation will be on a sliding scale depending on the degree of disability as determined by the State Committee. In the case of non-natural death caused directly from service to the Country in Armed Conflict, compensation to the immediate family of the deceased (if any) will continue for five full years.

2.All Citizens of every degree will pay a Sales Tax on all purchases. See the Taxation section below.

3.All Citizens of any degree will be expected to obey the existing laws of their State and Nation. The Administrative Committee in each State (See below) will write Code to determine the degrees of Citizenship that will be lost for the various illegal activities. They will also write Code to define how degrees of Citizenship may be regained. For instance, degrees of Citizenship may be re-earned through voluntary, unpaid service to Society, and the State Committee will determine the type of labor needed and the hours and duration of the voluntary labor. See State and National Prerogatives and duties (#4) below.

Governance:

Current governmental/administrative structures will be simplified, and basic governmental decision making will be shifted downward to the People at the local and State levels.

Today we have four levels of governance: City, County, State, and National. Cities, Counties, and States are exceedingly arbitrary as to size and scope of authority. Therefore, governance shall become simpler and more consistent in order that more of our Rightful Sovereignty may be returned to Us the People. 

City Administrative duties will be assumed by the County and State. County lines within each State will be redrawn to equalize population from County to County within each State.

State and National administrative decisions will be made by a Committee for each State and a Committee for the Nation respectively, as discussed in the following paragraphs:

At the behest of the People, Governance at both the State and National levels will be carried out by duly elected Committee Members. See the section on Elections below.

In each State a Committee will be formed with one member elected from each County in County wide elections. That Committee will have full jurisdiction over issues for which the entire impact is felt within that State.

In State-wide elections, one representative from each State will be chosen to sit on the National Committee. All issues that are international or that impact more than one State will fall under the jurisdiction of the National Committee and the President.

In times of Peace, National Law will not supersede State Law without a National referendum to that effect. In times of Peace, the State Committees will have the authority to make autonomous administrative decisions. Therefore, in times of Peace, sovereignty will continue to reside with the People in each State. In times of Armed Conflict and War, a different hierarchy of authority will be applied. See the War Clause section below.

Each State will reflect the wishes of its People subject to the constraints on all levels of government imposed by the Constitution. Therefore, over time, a broad range of State “Identities” will emerge and these differences will become recognized and celebrated. Citizens will be able to move freely from State to State as they see fit.

The State and National Committees will take on no responsibilities for themselves other than as follows: policing fraud and harmfulness of financial transactions, adding or subtracting degrees of Citizenship to the database of Citizen status, maintaining defense capabilities, vetting proposed Legislation, implementing Legislation that passes, and collecting and disbursing funds. See the sections on Legislation and Taxation below.

By National referendum, Citizens will choose one of the three plans below:

Plan 1. State boundaries will be redrawn once every twenty years based on every other national census. The purpose of redrawing State boundaries will be to approximate substantial equality of population size.

*Coincidentally a restructured map of the United States has already been drawn by a mapmaker named Neil Freeman. Follow the New Map link at the end of this document to see Mr. Freeman’s work as reported in the Washington Post in 2003.

If Plan 1 is adopted by future legislation, there will be fifty States of relatively equal population.

Plan 2. Current State names and boundaries will be retained, but each State will have one and only one representative to the National Committee no matter the population or the size.

Plan3. Based on every other census, the National Committee will merge states with smaller populations and divide states with larger population to maintain relatively equal population sizes. Mergers may incorporate contiguous or non-contiguous areas. If the average population size of a State is far above average, that State would have to sub-divide, as in North, South, East, and West California.

The goal of all three plans is to reduce the number of Administrative Committee Members at the National level by mandating a single representative for each State. No matter which of the three plans above is adopted, the total number of counties and states will be set at a number between twenty and fifty. The reason for these parameters is to keep the number of county and state administrators meaningful but relatively small.

State and National Prerogatives and Duties:

1. After Voters have chosen one of the three plans above, the State Committees will determine the optimal number and size of counties within each State, and county lines will be redrawn as needed. If changes to State lines and State names are needed, the National Committee will make the necessary changes.

2.The National Committee and the committees for each State will publish their charters. Among other things, the charters will determine the percentage of Yay votes above 50% that will constitute passage of Bills. See the Legislation section below.

3.The National Committee Charter and the charters of each State Committee will define the term of political service for elected officials to those committees. Barring recall or death, the terms of service will be from one to ten years.

4.The State Committee Charters will define the degree of loss of Citizenship and Rights upon conviction of a crime.  Likewise, each State Charter will regulate the processes for regaining degrees of Citizenship within that State. If incarceration is the chosen option for any criminal offense within a State, that State will bear the entire cost of incarceration. Consequently, States may choose to no longer impose jail time for minor crimes and “crimes without victims.” Instead, States may choose to impose a schedule of repayment of “debt” for lesser crimes. For the most heinous crimes, the State Committees may request that the National Committee impose the death penalty which will only be imposed with a majority vote of the National Committee with an assenting vote from the President.

5.The National Committee and the committees of each State will have the responsibility of maintaining an accurate National Registry of Records of Citizenship and status of Citizenship accessible for all Citizens to see.

6.The National Committee and committees of each State will collect Sales Tax Revenues (See the Taxation section below.), and they will disburse funds as needed.

7.State Committees will review proposed Legislation (see below), revise Legislation as needed, and reject Legislation or send it out for an up or down vote by the People.

8.State and National Charters will be reviewable and revisable once every ten years, especially as demanded by the People.

County Prerogatives and Duties:

1.Counties will administer County wide elections.

2.Counties will supervise the unpaid labors of individuals who wish to regain degrees of Citizenship.

3.Counties will raise a Voluntary County Militia and facilitate the training thereof.

Militias:

Militia members will swear to readiness for immediate mobilization in times of Armed Conflict and War. The County Militias will be funded by the State Committees. Each County Militia will choose one Leader. County Militia Leaders in each State will choose one State Militia Leader, and they will convene once a year to coordinate strategic planning and readiness. State Militia Leaders will choose one National Militia Leader, and they will also convene once a year to coordinate strategic planning and readiness. The National Militia Leader will be known as the Commander in Chief, and he or she will have a seat on the National Committee. In times of Armed Conflict and War, the President and the Commander in Chief may disagree as to the best course of action. In the event of any such war time disagreement between the President and the Commander in Chief, the National Committee members may vote by majority to decide the issue.

War Clause:

Only the National Committee by majority and with the approval of the President and/or the Commander in Chief may declare a state of Armed Conflict and War. During times of Armed Conflict and War, the force of administrative decision making will immediately shift from predominantly bottom/up to top/down.  In other words, in times of Armed Conflict and War, the decisions of the National Committee and the President and/or the Commander in Chief will immediately become National Law.

Seeking Office, Elections, and Voting Rights:

Citizens will no longer be required to self-identify with any Political Party.

In Elections with only two candidates, a simple majority of votes will determine the winner. In any election with three or more candidates, the County and/or the State respectively will choose one of the more accurate voting methods, such as: Range Voting or Instant Run-off Voting. A discussion of the flaws of simple majority voting with three or more candidates and the strengths and weaknesses of all the alternatives may be found in Gaming the Vote by William Poundstone (Hill and Wang of New York in 2008).

Simultaneously in each county, Voters of Full Citizenship will elect one county administrator.

In this same referendum, Voters of Full Citizenship will elect one representative from each county to the State Committee. Representatives to the State Committee will choose one chairman or chairwoman who will be known by the ceremonial title of Governor.

State wide elections will then be held. In these elections, Voters of Full Citizenship will elect one State Representative per State to the National Committee. Representatives to the National Committee will choose one chairman or chairwoman who will be known by the ceremonial title of President. As a further sign of ceremonial prestige, the ceremonial name will always be spelled with a capital “P”.

There will be no National Election.

All members of the National Committee and the committees of the States will be subject to immediate recall by referendum in his or her county and/or state.

Any recall referendum will simultaneously be paired with the selection of a “replacement”. The “replacement” will only take office if the result of the referendum is a vacated seat. If a chairperson is recalled and replaced, the Committee will bestow the chairmanship on some other member already within their ranks.

In times of Peace, all Committees will meet as Full Committees to decide every issue by simple majority rule. The Chairpersons of all Administrative Committees will use Robert’s Rules of Order for all Committee meetings. The Chairpersons will have a vote on all issues and will decide matters in the case of a tie vote.

Government in the Sunshine:

All Committee decisions will be published immediately.

All candidates for County, State, and National administrative elections must have 100 per cent Citizenship.

Elections should be about policies not personalities. Each election will be assigned a single super-secure web site, and all campaigning will flow through it. All candidates for administrative offices will submit their resumes to the designated website at least six months in advance of voting for vetting and thoughtful public commentary.

In campaigns for office, Campaign Speech will be Free Speech except that negative campaigning, half-truths, and false claims will be subject to independent review, removal, and sanctions.

All candidates will be required to release their full financial statements.

Office Holders Reimbursement and Restraints:

All elected officials will be reimbursed for their year or years of service at the rate of twice their yearly income the year prior to his or her election. No elected official will profit otherwise from his or her service. After service, all elected officials will be guaranteed return without loss to their previous positions or to a comparable position. If not possible, compensation will end after one full, additional year.

After service, no elected official shall be involved in any manipulation of public policy over and above the normal Rights of Citizenship. Committee members will take counsel only from other elected officials. Any attempt to persuade, cajole, or bribe a sitting Committee member must be reported to the Committee and will be considered an offense subject to sanction.

Influence pedaling and bribery shall be illegal.

Legislation:

Any Citizen of any degree may Request a Bill on any issue. These Bill Requests will be posted on a designated web site and readily available to every person of any degree of Citizenship.

Additionally, Communities of Interest may be formed to draft and submit Requests for Legislation. Ideally, Communities of Interest will be around two hundred individuals so that all members may be familiar to each other. However, nothing will prevent Communities of Interest from forming alliances with other Communities of Interest.

Bill requests by either individuals or Communities of Interest will be posted for friendly commentary and/or rebuttal as submitted by the public to be added to the website conduit after vetting for appropriateness. A six-months period of public consideration, possible revision, and potential amusement will ensue. After the revision period, Like and Dislike (Yay or Nay) buttons will be added and a Poll of public sentiment will be taken. If enough people Like the idea, the bill will be sent to the State Committee for review. The purpose of the committee review is to ensure that the Bill is worded in a narrowly targeted way that it will address a specific harm or problem with a minimum of public expenditure. The Committee will issue revisions based on the Seneca Rules (see below), and they will Post a report. In the report the Committee will either approve or reject the Bill. If approved, the Bill will immediately be re-posted in its revised form for passage or dismissal vote of all Citizens with Full status of Citizenship.

These Seneca Rules will always be in effect:

1. 1. No Bill will become Law if its implementation causes substantial harm.
2. 2. No Bill shall become Law until it is worded to address a specific problem directly.
3. 3. No Bill will become Law until the cost of its implementation has been determined.
4. 4. No Bill will become Law until the cost of implementation has been rendered as small as possible.

Once passed, all Laws will be subject to review once every ten years, particularly when the populace has expressed a will to do so.

Taxation:

Since the Counties, the States, and the Nation play a role in guaranteeing fairness and absence of harm in financial transactions, all voluntary transfers of money or barter for New Goods (not used goods) and/or Services will include a predefined and agreed upon maximum Sales Tax of no more than ten percent to be shared by the three levels of governance. After current debts are paid and all budgets are balanced, the rate of taxation will be no more than one percent going to the County, six percent for the State, and three percent for National; except in times of Armed Conflict and War. In times of Armed Conflict and War, the distribution of tax revenue shall be no more than one percent for the County, three percent for the State, and six percent for National. In any case the total will always be ten percent or less. Any of the three levels of governance may decide to rebate part of the tax revenue to the populace, so the total tax may be less than ten percent.

To insure the Sales Tax will be Progressive, rather than Regressive, a yearly Tax Credit known as the Pre-bate will be credited to all Citizens of at least eighty out of one hundred degrees of Citizenship (80%). The amount of the yearly Pre-bate will come to each Citizen in the form of a check equaling the previous year’s independent assessment of the Poverty Level.

The only tax will be the Sales Tax which will be assessed at all the points of sale. There will no longer be any income, payroll, property, or value added taxes. Financial Gifts will not be taxable. However, fraudulently claiming a transaction of a Gift to avoid taxes will be a felony. Any failure to collect and pass on tax revenue will be a felony.

The Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) will be dissolved. Instead the three levels of governance will have a Treasury/Accounting Department responsible for collecting taxes and issuing regular reports.

Only the National Committee with the consent of the President will have the authority to Mint New Money and then only during times of Armed Conflict and War. The President and the National Committee will distribute New Money in the best interests of the National Defense.

Entitlements:

The Committees of Governance shall not give away our money without our permission.

All existing subsidies, entitlements, tax credits, exemptions, and deductions that benefit Citizens unequally will be curtailed until specifically re-authorized by the Citizens in each State. For instance, when mutual aid societies and communities of interest are unable to raise sufficient funds to meet their needs, the voters in each state may authorize some temporary and limited additional funding. The Voters of a State might authorize some minimal level of funding to help support the permanently disabled. In lieu of existing Welfare and Food Stamp programs, the Voters in each State might vote to approve temporary Loans of Assistance. In times of Natural Disaster, Voters may choose to authorize interest free loans.

Any National foreign aid will be approved by emergency National referendum and will be in the form of a loan with clearly defined methods of repayment by future tariff income, labor, barter, or direct payment.

Balanced Budget:

All County, State, and National budgets will always balance—no exceptions except the National budget in times of Armed Conflict and War.

All Governmental Budgets combined shall not exceed 10% of the national economy except in times of Armed Conflict and War.

Any existing Governmental Debt must be paid in full within 30 years of ratification of these Constitutional changes. After all Governmental Debts are paid, no Governmental entities may incur debt except temporarily during times of Armed Conflict and War.

The Constitution:

All other provisions of the current United States Constitution shall remain in effect except as modified by this document.

Finis

WinLoseorDraw,  Neomason, and Lyndawithay

Two Comments by WinLoseorDraw:

“It is insane to not sanction Constitutional review once every generation.”

“The “Next Constitution” proposes “slight” revisions for the consideration of the American populace and for the consideration of future Constitutional Conventions. These changes are meant to simplify the American political system and to push the center of Power downward in the direction of the People. “We the People” beautifully expresses the ideals that America should be moving towards relentlessly. These suggested revisions would retain the benefits of the Representative Democracy that we currently enjoy, and they move us a step further towards the ancient ideal of a true Democracy.”

Two Comments by Neomason:

“This reminds me of George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the Constitution Convention who hoped the national government could restrain state and local government excesses.  He voted against the Constitution because it did not include the Bill of Rights before enactment. He thought the Constitution made the federal government too powerful. The Bill of Rights was added by Congress via amendment after ratification.”

“Retain the 10^th Amendment.  How can we get the federal government to stop ignoring it?”

A Comment and a question by Lyndawithay:

“This will be a loose confederation of Nation States with little Federal power.”

“Chaos?”

*New Map

Follow the link above to see how the fifty United States might be justified as to population size. For instance, the part of Florida where this document was created would be called Canaveral.