Regarding earmarks

"Earmarks" is the political buzzword du jour. Seems to me that the problem has to do with the way taxes are collected & then redistributed by the Federal government. Representatives and Senators are rewarded for maneuvering to channel tax money from other areas of the country into their own - "bringing home the bacon," as it's called. (All together now: "Mmm - bacon...")

But what if the bacon doesn't leave home in the first place?

I would suggest a radical restructuring of how revenues are collected. I think all taxes should be paid at the municipal level. Municipalities would then pay their counties for services rendered. Counties would similarly pay the states, and the states the Federal government. Governmental entities that wanted extra money for special projects, or that needed funds in an emergency, could then negotiate with their peers to obtain grants or loans.

I am sure that this system would present challenges of its own, but I think it would keep more money in local economies, lessen the control of central governments, and empower local communities to do more for themselves.

(Please dissect away in the comments!)

A few modest proposals

• If a company wants a bulk mail permit to send out "junk mail," it should have to certify that it's using 100% post-consumer recycled paper. This should increase the amount of recycled paper being used, and/or reduce the amount of junk mail.
  
  
• If you loan the government money during the year via Payroll Withholding, and then get a refund when you file your taxes, the government should then pay you some interest on that loan.
  
  

Work Week Reductions

Whatever the office I occupied, I would want to work towards reductions in the standard "work week" - at first, I'd aim for a 5% percent reduction, to 38 hours, and then another 5% percent, down to 36. I seem to recall that as I was growing up in the early 60s, the talk was all about the huge amounts of extra leisure time that developing technology would provide for everyone. Indeed, there was concern that we might find ourselves bored! But instead, it seems that we have been steadily increasing our workloads, at the expense of our families and our health. Take it easier, say I.

You get to watch

Were I elected to some post or other, I would have a staffer with me at all times with a video camera, recording all my interactions with other people. The people who elect politicians to positions of power and responsibility, it seems to me, would have a right to keep an eye on me, and know exactly what I was doing on their behalf.

Electoral College Reform

I've not decided whether the Electoral College needs to be thrown out completely - but I do support the idea of having the votes allocated by individual Congressional district, rather than the present system of winner-take-all on the state level. (The two votes that correspond to the Senators would be granted to the winner of the popular vote statewide.) I think this reform - which states can make all by themselves, without any kind of Federal statutory changes or Constitutional amendments - would make the results move closer to reflecting the popular vote, and make it necessary for campaigns to be more visible in areas that they presently feel they can neglect. I say this even though in my particular state, Pennsylvania, the results might skew more to the Republicans' benefit -

My general economic stance

I'm not a centralized-command socialist, but I'm not a laissez-faire capitalist either. As a Green, I'm distrustful of large government and big business alike, and for similar reasons.

If I had to sum it up in a soundbite or two, I'd say this:

• "The basics are free - and you can work for the extras." The fundamental needs of life - food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, etc. - should be available to everyone. (This follows directly from the Golden Rule on the one hand, and the "inalienable rights" language in the Declaration on the other.)
  
• At the same time, one should be able to work for as many extra goodies as one might want - though we have to evaluate carefully the effects of our "wants" on other people and on the larger environment, and be responsible about the choices we make when it comes to those "extra goodies."
• Neglecting that responsibility eventually - and inevitably - brings negative consequences.

For me, that all follows directly from the Golden Rule. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Welcome to "Mendler for... Whatever"

Hi! My name is Skip Mendler, and I am not - repeat, not - running for any political office.

I'm not even contemplating forming an exploratory committee.

However - should you find yourself in need of someone to vote for, I would be available to fill various offices for which I might be qualified, and I'm happy to offer myself as a write-in candidate for - well, whatever. (Hence the title of the blog.) I do have some opinions, and some of those would even qualify as political positions - and some of those are actual policy suggestions. I'd even be willing to serve if I happened to win an election... to something... somewhere... But, of course, I'm not running for anything in particular, did I mention that?

Different kinds of ideas are appropriate for different kinds of political offices, from the local to the global. So in this blog I will post position statements that would apply to campaigns for various offices - if I were to be running for anything, which as I said before I'm not.

Some of these positions will be weighty and serious, and some might appear, well, kinda frivolous at first glance. But eventually, I hope you'll see how they all hang together to form a coherent viewpoint.

State- and local-level positions are generally written with my particular neck of the woods in mind. (I live in northeastern Pennsylvania, in a small rural county just outside the "NY Metro" demographic area.) Nonetheless, you might find them applicable to your own area as well.

Feel free to respond to these ideas with platform planks of your own. Part of my purpose here is to get ideas out of my head and in front of your eyes so that they might engender ideas in your own head in turn. Enjoy!