My Progressive Agenda

BELIEVE 

My Life is centered around a Progressive Agenda because my highest value is preservation of Life itself. The primary survival activity of human beings is conducted by organizing themselves in Communities with social order and governance.  The main functions of the Sovereign Community is to protect life and to produce & distribute Goods and Labor to achieve that end. My goal is based on the advocacy and promotion of these two principles.

1. I believe that any Sovereign Society that has the capacity to ensure the basic needs of life [food, shelter, medical care, and education] to all of its Citizens should feel compelled to do so as the First Order of governance.

2. I believe that a Sovereign Society has the power & responsibility to create a Sovereign Common Currency to make the trading of Goods & Labor between parties fungible  and should exercise that power itself.  It should not delegate the creation of Money to private sector Banks and permit them to charge the Taxpayers of the Nation interest on debt incurred to fund the Actions and Responsibilities of the Nation to insure the basic needs of life. The Nation  (not Corporate Banks] should own the Central Bank and use it to create all currency and to fund all National Debt interest free.

Out of these two principles grow the Progressive ideas that I generally support. I invite all to freely contribute your opinions & suggestions unless they become abusive or offensive to my Life purpose.

  copyright © William Hodge 2014 

Sustaining Life without work

                           

Income without work

I live on Social Security & Medicare. Those programs are dependent on a Government program of deferred spending at retirement. Millions of Jobs depend on the money that I and other Social Security recipients spend.

Government is the primary creator of sustained spending programs that do not depend on Jobs.  They, in fact, create and sustain jobs. It includes such programs as Medicare, Medicaid, and other Social Safety net programs  Government is not the enemy of the Economy. It is this function of Government that causes the Economy to reach a level of sustained production.

That is a function that the Private Sector has never done and will never do because their motive is not to sustain life, but to use the living as tools of production and profitable consumption. Only Government has no motive but to serve.

Only Government has the non-profit motive to create & distribute money to the  Point of Sale that causes a business to run.  That creates profit for the owners of both Labor and Capital.

The government does not generate dependency. Government sustains life and the Private Sector is the biggest benefactor of the Government's power to create and distribute money to the focal point of consumption.  The Private Sector is the primary beneficiary of Government activity.

  copyright © William Hodge 2014 

Build a better Society.

Community is Unity

Many times I have advocated that Society should begin with the economy making sure that every person in the Society had sufficient food, adequate shelter, necessary living skills and medical care when sick.  The objection is usually, "why should I be required to sacrifice what I earn so somebody can live on my money without having to work himself".                                                                           
My point is NOT "Will you let Society take away your Wealth". The point is will you help construct a Society that believes that we all own a Commonshare of the earth resources.  Will you build a Society that compels all us to use enough of the Commonshare to eliminate hunger, homelessness, ignorance, and lack of Medical Care
  
The payment of a fair share to the Commons will take only a small share of what we are capable of producing and will leave enough to compete for individual wealth without undue interference in our competitive need to acquire more than we need. In our need to prove we are independent and self-sufficient, we lose sight of the fact that we are actually dependent for all material gain on the efforts of others. Humans beings are successful as a species  because we have the power and the need to be cooperative.

Christian Nation?

"I AM THE WAY..."

Modern Right Wing Christians think religion is a magical method of accumulating Wealth by Ritual Worship. They see the Poverty in the Society in which they live as incidental to accumulating money. They do not think life essentials are the fruit of the Commons and an inalienable  right of all to share.

They do not believe that Society should compel all citizens to contribute to the need of food, shelter, medical care and life skills of those who live in  desperation.  They think instead that Society should only allow it to be a choice of Charity if anyone is to be helped.  

They claim that Jesus is their King and yet refuse to believe him when he said  you must feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and care for the ill. They believe in life after death in his kingdom and yet refuse to hear him when he says in Matthew 25: 31 - 46 that they will spend the afterlife in hell if they fail him in his commandment. 

As for me, I think that most Modern Right Wing Christians use their religion as a tool for private gain  and not as a value system for life and service to their King.  I do not think a Christian Nation run by them would look much like the one Jesus commanded them to serve as if they were serving him..

  copyright © William hodge 2014 

Freedom depends on Choice.

People don't owe you non-aggression if they covet what you have. Only Government instituted by the Human Community can provide you protection from aggression. Only the Community Governance can support common values against the intrusion of  internal greed or outside force.

Government instituted by Community can also use the Common Resources of the Community to provide Guaranteed food, shelter, medical care, and skill training[education] in order for the individual to have the freedom to refuse any job they do not wish to do.

That is what Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness is. It is not about absolute rules. It is about choice. I choose Freedom from Desperation for all citizens.  Only Freedom from desperation for life essentials can lead to true Liberty for all.

 copyright © William Hodge 2014 

Rebuilding America

Building creates Jobs

 Recession has nothing to do with Business confidence. It has everything to do with too little Government funding to rebuild the Nation.


The building of America's infrastructure will never be funded by the private sector. They will do the work only if the Nation pays for it.

  copyright © William Hodge 2014 

Words have meaning

LIFE - LIBERTY - HAPPINESS

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for the Continental Congress justifying  our decision to stop obeying the Kings Law he gave this as justification for our Revolution.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, 
that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

I cannot tell you how many times I have read  or heard that line given who have no idea what it means.  It is used to define & justify every possible political philosophy.

This is the meaning that I accept for these words
1. Life -  Reliable source of  food, shelter, medical care and acquisition of life skills.  Once these essentials are provided it is possible to have - -
2. Liberty - the freedom to choose one's on course in life without submitting to the authority of those who control the source of income that we have had to accept simply to provide the essentials of Life. We need to escape  wage-slavery to be free.
3. Pursuit of happiness - happiness in life depends on finding ones passion and having the freedom to make it your path.

I can offer at least one simple solution to the problem. Every person should be given a Basic Income Guarantee that is sufficient to provide food, shelter, and medical care. We can bring every life out of Life threatening poverty and fulfill the promise of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

              copyright © William Hodge