Meritocracy with Both Barrels

Dig if you will the picture, you and I engaged in rebuilding the Democratic party.

 Imagine a democratic party whose new motto is “same rules for everyone.”

 These are some of the policies that we champion:

 Anyone with net worth over $10 million pays 25% in federal taxes and is automatically audited annually

1. Mandatory jail sentences for major white-collar crimes
2. All elected and appointed Federal employees must resign if charged with a felony (no impeachment needed); any convicted felon cannot run for office again
3. Term limits for the House, Senate, and Judiciary, including SCOTUS
4. Strict anti-lobbying laws for all federal offices with severe penalties for conviction
5. Any college or university with an endowment over $1 billion loses non-profit status unless tuition is made free and legacy admissions are abolished
6. Multinational companies based in the US must pay 50% in taxes if more than half of their labor is derived from countries that pay lower than US prevailing wages
7. All federal agencies responsible for overseeing Wall Street and financial institutions to be expanded by 300% and given new enforcement power
8. All tech companies have to make their products able to be fixed by a third party or the consumer

 I could go on, but you get the picture: it’s a radical anti-corruption, fair-play agenda.

 The thought behind it is this: democrats are playing a rigged game. Although individual progressive policies are popular, the progressive framework is simply not in the American DNA. The concept of medicare for all, housing is a human right, living wages, and the like are all based on a concept of communalism – we all take care of each other. Every time we run on one of these ideas, unless the US has just experienced a massive recession, we lose. I don’t think we’ll EVER win on a “people get something for nothing” idea. It’s so incredibly easy for the right to shoot it down using racial or xenophobic messaging.

 The right currently wins with grievance politics and a rock-solid grasp on white, male, and rural voters. I understand they rarely win the popular vote. However, they are capable of winning even with the worst candidate in human history, horribly unpopular policies, and poorly run campaigns. On an even playing field, they have an advantage.

 What if we run our own version of grievance politics, not focused on demonizing the rich alone, but demonizing the corrupt and the powerful? What if we focused on how powerful people get away with everything – they can break the law and not go to jail; they can get their kid into an elite school even if the kid has bad scores; they cheat on their taxes. What if we target big companies, big churches, and elite schools?

 To do this would allow us to change how we conceive of democratic voters, expanding our base to attract a more diverse electorate. It also turns DEI on its head without making it explicit. Basically, we’re saying if you want meritocracy, we’ll give it to you with both barrels. Criminal justice reform means jailing more rich white people and throwing corrupt politicians out of office. Affirmative action in colleges means no more legacy admissions for rich kids. Pro-business means fair rules for Wall Street and multi-nationals to allow smaller businesses to compete.

 This is what it sounds like when Democrats win. (Sorry, Prince).