Liberals are turning out in droves to vote for their favorite policies on the “Big Ideas Project,” run by the Progressive Change Institute. As of 12 p.m. Tuesday, over 405,600 votes had been cast on 1,749 ideas. Votes cannot be cast against an idea, only in favor.
Thirty members of Congress, including Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Al Franken, D-Minn., and Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., committed to review the top 20 ideas, according to an an email from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to its supporters. The Progressive Change Institute is the Progressive Change Campaign Committee’s sister organization.
If voting ended today, here are the top five ideas these members of Congress would review.
1. Citizens United
4,885 votes: “Overturn Citizens United. Require disclosure to shareholders of corporate political contributions.”
How many progressives who voted for this idea said “it’s the law” when Obamacare’s individual mandate was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in June 2012? The Supreme Court has the last say on constitutionality, but it is allowed to change its mind in future decisions.
The Citizens United decision ensured freedom of speech through political contributions. There is nothing inherently wrong with corporations donating to political campaigns, even though corporate welfare policies are reprehensible. A law requiring the disclosure of contributions would be an invasion of privacy.
2. Infrastructure
4,830 votes: “We need to rebuild our decaying infrastructure (water pipes, sewers, bridges, roads) and promote and use green/sustainable technology to ensure water and energy production.”
Infrastructure development is not a terrible idea, but reforms are needed to prevent cost overruns and unnecessary projects. Give the idea’s author the benefit of the doubt on not including a plan for funding due to the need for brevity.
Major construction cost-savings could be achieved by repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, a legislative relic of the Great Depression era. Davis-Bacon requires workers on federally funded or assisted projects to be paid prevailing wages, typically set near union rates.
Repeal of Davis-Bacon would unlock $12.7 billion in additional outlays for infrastructure development over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The savings would rise even further in the future.
3. Election Reforms
4,564 votes: “Election reforms. A law forbidding corporations from funding elections in any form and a limit on individual spending. National day off for all citizens to vote. National standards for voter eligibility, with specific prohibitions against restrictions designed to suppress specific types of voters.”
Limits already exist to keep individuals from spending more than $2,600 on a candidate, $10,000 combined on state and local parties, and $5,000 on any other political committee. These suggestions would only further complicate an increasingly complex web of election rules. Complex legal rules, whether on campaigns or businesses, only serve the interests of those powerful enough to hire lawyers to interpret laws for them.
Citizens don’t need a national day off to vote when polls are open longer than most work shifts and early and absentee voting are also options.
4. Social Security
4,358 votes: “Now is the time to expand Social Security — not cut it. Social Security benefits simply haven’t kept up with the rising costs that seniors face—for medicine, food, and housing. We’re facing a retirement crisis where seniors can’t rely on pensions and other parts of the social contract. We need to increase benefits to make sure they reflect the true costs seniors face. Expanding Social Security is the best way to ensure all Americans have the economic security they need to retire with dignity.”
Future retirees need to be weaned off of Social Security, not become more dependent on it. The Social Security Trust Fund’s days are numbered, with depletion expected in less than 20 years. Expansion of the program will only exacerbate the Trust Fund’s issues and make the elderly dependent on a program whose recipients are soon to face arbitrary payment cuts.
5. Guaranteed Employment
4,149 votes: “‘We are demanding an emergency program to provide employment for everyone in need of a job, or if a work program is impractical, a guaranteed annual income at levels that sustain life in decent circumstances. It is now incontestable that the wealth and resources of the United States make the elimination of poverty absolutely practical.’ – Martin Luther King Jr.”
Guaranteed employment only guarantees that taxpayer money will be wasted on unproductive projects. Existing programs already exist to provide income and food to those in need. Able-bodied workers should seek employment, not government benefits.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee bills itself as the “Warren wing” of the Democratic Party, referring to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. If these are the policies supported by the Warren wing, Americans should be concerned about Warren, or any of her supporters, seeking higher office.
