Since Obama’s election in November, the website Change.org has allowed anyone with an idea for the new administration to post it on the site for folks to vote on. Today, they revealed the top ten Ideas for Change in America.
[Creative Commons photo by Steve Rhodes]
Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media who is responsible for President Obama’s transition website, Change.gov, accepted the ideas on behalf of the Presidential Transition Team. There were over 8,000 ideas and 600,000 votes, and over 175,000 people participated! They’re going to pair up each winning idea with a nonprofit to help work toward making these things that folks care care about into policy. Here are the ten winning ideas:
- Pass the DREAM Act. DREAM, Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, would provide the children of illegal aliens a path to citizenship. The act would allow them to legally work, further their education, and attend school.
- Make the Grid Green in Ten Years. Let’s hatch a plan to rid the U.S. of its carbon dependency by building a renewable energy infrastructure!
- Appoint a Scretary of Peace. This idea also calls for establishing a Department of Peace and Non-Violence, which would be, “dedicated to training peace-keepers, educating our children, and suggesting non-violent alternatives to hostility, and war.”
- End Marijuana Prohibition. The war on drugs is costly, and it’s filling our prisons with nonviolent offenders. Marijuana is also proven to help relieve the suffering associated with many chronic illnesses.
- Free Single Payer Health Care. Free basic health care for all!
- Restore our civil liberties. Give U.S. citizens their First and Fourth Amendment rights back by repealing the Patriot Act and ending the domestic spying under FISA.
- Develop and Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability. Help the U.S. transition to a sustainable lifestyle. The typical American would require 5.2 planets to support that lifestyle. We need to take steps to make life in the U.S. more sustainable, and we need to do that quickly.
- Save Small Businesses from the CPSIA. This act was intended to address safety concerns in childrens’ toys but is going to put many independent artists and crafters and small companies who make handmade toys out of business unless the language changes to account for them.
- Health Freedom – Our First Freedom! We need to know what we’re putting into our bodies and the freedom to choose how we take care of ourselves.
It’s amazing to see so many folks speaking out and taking part in the dialogue on Change.org! The next part is the difficult one: working with the Obama administration to make these ideas happen.
About Becky Striepe
