The Middle-Class Manifesto
For most people, the word “manifesto” implies a public statement which most people regard as `radical’, such as a call for the masses to rise up, revolt, and overthrow a government which the manifesto calls oppressive, corrupt, etc. So, anyone who sees the phrase above can and should ask, at the outset, “How can the radical word `manifesto’ be coupled – seriously – to a phrase that pretty much means the opposite of `radical’? Is that just a marketing gimmick, like a song title, such as `Earth Angel,’ or `Sound of Silence’?”
The answer is, this is not some radical plan to overthrow a government by using violence, sabotage, bombs, etc.; and yet, it is indeed an exhortation for American citizens, voters, and taxpayers to do things they have not done before, and take steps they have never taken before, to wrestle back to THEIR control, various political power(s) that have been gradually taken away from them, by politicians.
Stated in alternate words, it is a logical, practical, step-by-step pathway – created by a scientist/engineer/inventor, rather than a career politician – that America’s voters and taxpayers can use to quite literally force and compel the people who have hijacked control over Congress, and who have given that control to an elite group of long-time career politicians, to hand that power back to the voters, who are the true source and the proper controllers of Congress’s powers, under the Constitution.
If this approach actually works, over the coming 10 to 20 years, we simply cannot predict whether it will be regarded (in retrospect) as radical; or, as simply a practical, logical, and realistic managerial way to address, grab hold of, and solve a set of specific problems, once those problems had been clearly identified and articulated.
So, let’s get started. What, actually, is the set of problems that “The Middle Class Manifesto” hopes and intends to solve? Can those problems be described, analyzed, and set forth in a way that will gain support from large numbers of voters, and taxpayers?
STARTING-POINT STATEMENT OF BELIEF AND GOALS
The starting point for this effort can be set forth as a single-sentence statement of belief. It is not yet supported by statistics, but it is so logical and intuitive that we are willing to stand beside it and defend it against anyone tries to criticize it, attack it, and prove it wrong. We invite any historians, statisticians, or others to analyze this hypothesis, and to describe any facts, data, or trends that support, contradict, or help clarify and refine this statement, to create a better and more accurate statement.
Throughout history, the best, strongest, most prosperous, most productive, and happiest period, for any city-state, any empire, and any nation that has ever existed on this planet, was the period of time when that place/society had the largest and most stable `middle class’.
That starting point leads to a second statement of belief:
Recent political developments have pulled America in divisive, polarizing, and financially unsound directions, which are dangerously eroding, undercutting, and threatening the size, strength, and stability of the middle class in America. Just as importantly, the way modern politicians have begun to seize upon, and make even worse, the issues which most severely divide and polarize the citizens, voters, and taxpayers of America, is severely eroding – and even threatens to flat-out destroy – both the willingness, and the ability, of middle-class people to pitch in, help others, and help do what is right for the entire nation.
The two statements above, when combined, lead to this goal, and statement of purpose, by The Two-Party Party, which created this early draft of “The Middle Class Manifesto”:
Our goal is to give citizens, voters, and taxpayers better and more effective ways to pressure, motivate, and when necessary, force politicians to ACTUALLY DO MORE to help rebuild, enlarge, stabilize, and support the middle class, in America.
The all-capitals phrase, “actually do more”, arises from the fact that any political candidate will readily spew out plenty of lovely rhetoric and promises about how they do indeed want to help the middle class. There are plenty of those kinds of promises, in speeches written for politicians by speech-writers, packagers, handlers, managers, polling consultants, and other hacks, and, in canned, rehearsed, pre-packaged answers to questions that politicians know they are likely to be asked, when they appear in public. To the extent that empty platitudes and unkept promises encourage and breed both hypocrisy (among the speakers) and resentment (among the listeners), they are worse than useless; they are actively corrosive, destructive, and damaging, to the public welfare, and to our political system.
So . . . the goal of The Two-Party Party is to find ways to convert lofty but insincere platitudes, and empty promises, into serious, sustained, genuine, and committed action, which will indeed actually, provably, and measurably help strengthen, stabilize, and enlarge “the middle class” in modern America.
The other italicized phrase above was, “pressure, motivate, and when necessary, force.” That phrase was written with a realistic awareness that one of the few reliable truths, in politics, is this:
IN POLITICS, THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN POWER IS BY
TAKING IT AWAY FROM SOMEONE WHO WILL NOT GIVE IT TO YOU WILLINGLY.
Accordingly, words like “pressure and motivate” refer, not just to polite, restrained, and diplomatic use of words and gestures, but also to displays and acts of pressure and force which will be strong enough to drive and create real results, in the real world. The type of pressure, power, and force that is needed, to accomplish a good and worthwhile political goal, can be compared to the type of electric power (measured in terms such as volts, amps, and watts) that is needed to run anything that requires electricity – such as lights, refrigerators, computers, and cellphones. The simple fact is, it requires force, and power, to keep any of those things running, and functional. So, rather than apologizing for having to use and apply force and power to accomplish something despite resistance, people should focus on what it will take to gather and harness whatever power is needed, and then on how they can and should apply and use that power, skillfully and intelligently, in ways that can: (i) run the saws, drills, jackhammers, and other power tools that will be needed, to rebuild and repair a building foundation and frame that have become so badly damaged that they have become unreliable and unsafe; and then, (ii) keep the lights on, and the phones, computers, and appliances running, after that foundation and frame, and the building they support, have been repaired and rebuilt. Rather than regretting (or apologizing for the fact) that force, pressure, and power will have to be applied and used, to get politicians to agree to change, a better approach is to just accept that the task will require:
(i) creating, harnessing, and using effective ways to push, drive, and motivate politicians in desirable, useful, beneficial directions; and,
(ii) finding ways to allow those politicians who will get on board, and actually help, to share in the credit they will deserve, if they do indeed help create the agreements, compromises, accommodations, and changes that will be required, to accomplish a set of worthwhile goals.
The next page contains things like definitions, such as, “How do we define the phrase, `middle class’?” The word `we’ in that phrase refers to The Two-Party Party, which wrote this first draft. Our hope and goal is to hand over any follow-up work on “The Middle-Class Manifesto” (as something we hope will grow, mature, and harden into a lasting and durable statement of beliefs, principles, and goals) over to others, so that those of us who are actively interested in political battles (especially ongoing races during the 2024 election cycle) can focus more on THOSE activities.