Government as the agent of change.
Massachusetts Democrats must become the party that doesn’t just talk about what we stand for but that makes government take action and accomplish works that benefit the public and all communities throughout the state. We cannot rely on private companies and “free market forces” to act to promote the common good. We the people, acting as government, must do this for ourselves. If we want better schools and renewed public infrastructure, clean electricity, modern transportation systems, universal health care, revitalized economies and affordable housing, we must do the work to make this a reality. Government must play an active role to make Massachusetts a better place to live. Going forward, government expenditures and public employees must add real value to the people of the state.
Create public companies to both accomplish the work we need done and to generate revenue to fund the work. Instead of funding government solely through taxes, public companies will both deliver essential service to the public and pay for itself and other programs. Government control of essential services is also good for homeland security. Create a public electric company to convert the state to renewable electricity. Install solar panels on every rooftop, wind turbines in every region and connect it in a modern network. Create a public cannabis company to maintain complete control of the billion dollar cannabis industry and funnel profits to improve education and health care. Wherever we see opportunity and need for industry, agriculture and economic growth that the private sector is failing to address, create public companies to employ citizens and retire communities.
Create The Public Bank of Massachusetts to both fund state projects and to provide Mass residents with a safe, no-risk alternative for savings, investment, retirement funds, mortgages, loans, insurance and health care coverage. We all pay substantial amounts annually for all of the above services. All that money exists within the economy but none of it is available to promote the infrastructure improvements we desperately need or the delivery of essential services such as support of school age children and seniors. A public, investor-owned bank, would be an alternative that was fair, that guaranteed financial safety and security, that would never foreclose on your mortgage or bankrupt you in the event of catastrophe, that would ensure your retirement savings need lost value, that would eliminate the aspect of gambling that pervades commercial financial services today.
Engage universities to work for the public good. Massachusetts boasts remarkable universities with thousands of very smart staff and students. Let’s engage them to design and help implement new systems for infrastructure improvements and new practices for delivery of services. Together we can build that utopian vision of a modern electric future with high speed rail, progressive, effective schools, effective delivery of health care, sustainable food production, smart management of natural resources, models for urban and rural development, industry and manufacturing that operates using clean energy and non-polluting technologies.
Present the vision with as much specifics as we can. We don’t have to have all of the exact solutions right now but we need to present a true commitment to do real works, to make real change now, for today’s children and young adults. It’s beyond time to present aspirations and goals for 2030. Massachusetts Democrats have to become the party that rolls up its sleeves and fixes the present with focus on people and community.
P.S. And commit to eliminating money from elections. Operate as a centralized unified party that pools resources, eliminates redundancy and campaigns to elect a state-wide Democratic slate in every city and town without spending millions on television ads but rather with smart utilization of interactive dynamic regional websites and coordinated public forums all around the state.
robertclyman.com – public psychiatrist