Three things Democrats can do to convince America they are serious...

[kentuck]

about changing the politics of this country. First of all, they should make a convincing effort to bring the debt and defict spending under control. That is an issue all Americans are concerned about. The Republicans have acted as if they could spend whatever they wanted and never have to pay for it. Democrats must be the Party of fiscal conservatism. Take that issue away from Republicans once and for all. Return to the "Pay-Go" system that was in effect under Clinton. But, they have to start on that immediately. They have to get this insane spending under control.

Secondly, they need to reform the tax laws. People are looking for simplification. They need to assure the working and middle-class that their taxes are not going to go up. Democrats want to pass legislation to make education and healthcare more affordable for every American. In effect, that is a taxcut for everyone. Democrats will not permit corporations to hide their money in a PO Box off-shore, in attempts to not pay their fair share of taxes. If Jane and John Doe can pay taxes, then so can corporations.

Third, Democrats need to repair the damage done to Social Security. If that involves raising the limit on earnings that must pay FICA taxes, then so be it. We WILL save Social Security. It will take some time but we should start on that immediately.

Working on those three issues alone will convince Americans that a change has indeed happened.

[uppityperson]

1. Start investigating

Iraq (pre-intellegence, spending, etc etc), Halliburton, Katrina, etc etc etc

[lyonn]

3. Good list, and get rid of the latest rights that have been taken

like habeas corpus, tapping phones, e-mails without Court approval, torture .....

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. From what I've read, the banks and credit card companies need

to be reined in, and the option of bankruptcy reintroduced.

[lyonn]

4. So much work to do - so little time. EOM

[kentuck]

5. All that you say is true but...

But I am talking about three issues that ring the truest with most Americans. Not just Democrats or Republicans - but all Americans. Those are the three issues I mentioned above, in my opinion.

[DaveJ]

6. These are basically attempts to undo damage and that's great

But everyone, not just Democrats or Republicans, would like healthcare prices to go down, if not universal healthcare. I've talked to many Republicans who support the idea of free healthcare believe it or not. We need to go after predatory lenders and make it easier to afford basic necessities like housing and utilities too.

It's not that people don't want these things, it's that some don't trust Democrats to find a way of providing them. We need to show people we're serious on these issues too.

[kentuck]

7. So would you put that above saving Social Security and ....

bringing the debt and spending under control?

[DemBones DemBones]

9. Saving Social Security and Medicare is crucial, needs to be done

before we can get universal healthcare set up, I think. Changing the tax laws to make corporations and the very rich pay more may be enough to fund SS and Medicare. I'm not sure if they ever did away with the estate tax or if that's still in committee but Democrats also need to make sure there is an estate tax on large estates. I think the tax applied only to estates over $2 million but many voters were hoodwinked into believing everyone's estate is taxed, which is simply not true.

[DemBones DemBones]

8. Excellent points, Kentuck.

There's much to be done -- healthcare is another serious problem that needs fixing. Did you see Nany Pelosi's 100 hour plan fo beginning to drain the swamp the GOP has created? There's a thread somewhere at DU about it and here's the link to the article:

http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/articles.cfm?pressReleaseID=1861

I'm going to be writing her with suggestions for the next 100 hours, first 100 days, etc.