The Laws My State (Also, Yours) Is Too Corrupt to Ever Pass
Currently, every elected official needs our votes to get the job, but also needs corporate and or other wealthy benefactors money to win the election. And guess what happens when they accept all that money? They become subordinates of Reed Hastings or Charles Koch. It doesn’t matter. The following is a plan to fix that problem and a few more.
I will be sending this to my reps (Ted Lieu and Autumn Burke). I’m sure both offices will appreciate the input, take a long hard look at it, then after careful consideration….ignore it.
#1 The Elected Official Anti-Corruption Act
Ever drive through a school zone and see, “ALL FINES ARE DOUBLED”? This law doubles fines for any felony committed by an elected official while in office.
Elected officials should be held to a higher standard, yet they get away with near murder. This would at least break up the status quo and make them think about accepting the trip to Hawaii or having the mayor’s fund pay your husband a $100,000 for starting a bogus charity. Hypothetically.
Why it won’t happen?
Who votes for themselves to go to jail?
#2 Stop Robo Calls Now
Making a 2nd unsolicited sales call to the same person within 1 year — illegal. And a MANDATORY year in state prison (or probation) for both the owner of the company and the person who is on the other end of the phone. Call logs become mandatory to establish who calls where. Inaccurate call logs being a $1,000 fine per mistake. Phone records would establish criminality quickly and end this practice immediately.
Why it won’t happen?
These people put serious money into Congressional campaigns.
#3 Credit Card Solicitation Act
Making it illegal for the same bank to send you a credit card promotion more than once every 3 months. The rate should be printed in red ink only, on or near the top of page 1 of the letter in no less size font than the largest font used in the letter.
Why it won’t happen?
See the answer for #2.
#4 Bench Compassion Act
Every judge appointed should have to go through processing and spend one night in a California State Prison before he/she can serve on the bench. Not gen pop, but the real process at a very real facility.
Why it won’t happen?
Because people don’t want to identify with the realities they create.
#5 Supreme Court Reality Act
Supreme court justices should have a mandatory retirement age of 72 and a minimum age of 50.
Why it won’t happen?
Lol…it just won’t.
#6 Law Enforcement Crimes Act
All internal police-involved shootings and death investigations should be performed by two entities simultaneously. The traditional Internal Affairs and a group of rotating people from the private sector with appropriate backgrounds. Similar to the Grand Jury System.
Why it won’t happen?
If there was enough reform talk and some really bad police misconduct happened, it could.
#7 Cyber Crimes & Punishment Act
White-collar/identity fraud crimes divisions need to be established at every municipal police division serving over 250,000 residents. They need to be allowed special jurisdiction limited to their field, but able to cross-city and state lines to pursue cybercriminals. This feels Federal but in reality, it’s a state-to-state agreement.
If you think the Federal government cares about your identity fraud, think again. That’s why this must be a state issue.
Why it won’t happen?
Credit card companies write these things off and we are too stupid to demand they be held accountable for data leaks, etc.
#8 Protect the Weak Act
If you commit a crime with a gun you are knocked up a level when sentenced. If you commit a crime against a child, there is a similar yet less official mechanism. The elderly should be attached to that, making crimes against children, the elderly, and the handicapped extremely painful for those who commit them. Currently, they “may” face a stiffer sentence.
Some people say “penalties for crimes don’t deter crimes”, and those people would be wrong. I doubt anyone who says that rolls with many gangsters. Ask anyone who has spent time in jail what the sentencing requirements are for just about any crime, you’d think you were talking to a DA.
- Personal note*
I’d add dogs, but having your genitals crushed with a cinder block is too controversial a punishment and there really isn’t another appropriate penalty for someone who hurts man’s best friend.
Why it won’t happen?
It could if again, something bad happened and the public wanted criminals to pay.
#9 News Dissemination Mandate
There should be a formula and criteria necessary to consider your paper, blog, website, or TV channel as NEWS. If not, you can be called “opinion”. So during CNN’s other programming, it is clearly delineated from NEWS programming. The system could be as simple as 2 unrelated sources for publication. Should a NEWS service falsify, knowingly alter or adjust a story to fit a narrative, the following happens.
First infraction — Warning
2nd — $100,000 fine
3rd — Must go dark for 24 hours. If Fox News, MSNBC, or New York times lost a day’s revenue it would change things. You ask, how is this possible? How does CA control the national news?
The same way we control car emissions…
By forcing national “news” to adhere to the standards set any national or international source can be shut down at the terrestrial, cable or print source for the state. You wanna tell people vaccinations cause the diseases they protect you against or some other nonsense and we geo lock you.
The intended/unintended consequence would be for global consumption of “news” to need the “CA State Authorization” stamp or people wouldn’t trust it. The same way websites have adopted GDPR because it’s easier than having two setups.
Why it won’t happen?
The Koch Brother network doesn’t want clarity and the GOP is guided by them.
#9 Behest funds would be made illegal.
Why it won’t happen?
Decrease the power of a politician? Never happen.
#10 Political Accountability Act
Political disclosure forms would be made far, far more detailed, and punishable by perjury.
A maximum amount would be established as to the amount of money any corporation can spend on politicians. And it should be low. $12k or $15k per election.
Political contributions must be disclosed. Every penny or automatically or candidate is suspended from public service pending revision.
Why it won’t happen?
See #9.
#11 Outlaw super PACs.
Why it won’t happen?
See #8 and #9.
#12 Fiscal Responsibility Act
Every municipal budget (based on projected monies available) has to be balanced until deficits are brought down to within 15% of the gross spending. I won’t explain in detail what this would do for the CA economy, but we would become the gold standard for economic security and growth.
#13 The Corporate Accountability act (or Corporate Humiliation Act)
Simply put, when a large corporation is found to advertise one message, while in practice supporting the exact opposite, a forensic auditing company is brought in to determine how much money was spent by the company in an effort to mislead the general public. Then the company must place that sum into an escrow account. An independent watchdog group will be allowed to spend up to 50% of the money to run ads bringing the general public ‘up to speed’ on what the company has really done to either mislead or perpetuate a lie to the general public.
Three quick examples:
Exxon spending the money they do fueling climate denial while highlighting algae farms for a greener earth. Supporting (with millions) any elected official willing to also perpetuate the lie that global warming due to human-generated CO2 isn’t destroying the planet.
Apple’s heavy-handed, sanctimonious privacy and security campaign all while offering backdoors to the FBI in the US to access information when requested, but building in workarounds into every iPhone sold in China so the Chinese government has unlimited access. Or recently pulling a voting app from Russia that Vladimir Putin demanded pulled as it compromised his ability rig his recent election.
AT&T and Verizon advertising FIBER and accepting government money to lay fiber, but blowing off the responsibility in much of the state.
Last but not Least
#14 The Equal Access Act
This law would make any legislation restricting anyone from wiring a city, county or any other area with fiber lines or wi-fi illegal, breaking the internet monopoly and allowing competition.
Now, all we need is some candidates willing to run without EXXON, VERIZON, AT&T, APPLE or Any Bank-you-can-think-of’s donations and we have a shot to fix democracy.
