The Big Ideas Project

reform and empower the UN to establish and enforce international law. Work to make policing of transgressions of aggression and human rights prohibitions its job, not ours

Submitted by ken burgdorf in Foreign Policy & Military Dec. 10, 2014, 1:29 p.m.

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#1181

127 votes

Bills addendums, inserts, pork, requests MUST be identified and noticed by the bills actual sponcer. No more hidden Identities.

Submitted by GlennB in Government & Elections Dec. 20, 2014, 11:18 p.m.

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#1181

127 votes

Pass the "American Royalty Prevention Tax" to raise the estate tax for the super wealthy. Estates consisting of non-family owned business assets in excess of $10M should be taxed at no less than 30%. Those in excess of $100M should be taxed at no less than 50%. Those in excess of $1B at no less than 75%.

Submitted by Joe in Wynnewood, PA in Taxes & Budget Dec. 12, 2014, 10:58 p.m.

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#1181

127 votes

Put a time limit on campaigning, make it like 3 months before election day. Many countries do this now, this would take a lot of the money out of the process, also there would need to be some regulations that can control groups trying to influence issues prior to the start of the campaign season. By doing this we would hope that our representatives could finalfinally do their jobs

Submitted by Patrick K. from VA in Government & Elections Dec. 11, 2014, 9:45 a.m.

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#1181

127 votes

With an alarming number of military personnel (and their families, too) grappling with the ravages of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), push the Feds to dramatically increase mental health treatment for all returning soldiers. It is the least these hurting individuals deserve... And if the government balks at such an expenditure, organize and protest till they find the money. With the current U.S. military budget approaching $600 billion, they surely locate some if pressed to do so.

Submitted by Yes in Foreign Policy & Military Dec. 19, 2014, 2:37 p.m.

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#1181

127 votes

Prohibit or severely limit contributions from anyone but individuals, no corporation, union, etc., who are constituents of the candidate.

Submitted by James in Government & Elections Dec. 11, 2014, 4:46 p.m.

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#1181

127 votes

Amend the Constitution so Supreme Court Justices do NOT have lifetime appointments. We get stuck with Right Wing Justices who are not impartial. Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas are the worst offenders and must be removed from the Court due to their lack of Ethics and rewriting statutes that have been in place for more than 50 years.

Submitted by Callie_Durling in Government & Elections Dec. 19, 2014, 10:16 a.m.

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#1181

127 votes

All advertising of campaigns for political office or issues should be limited to the 90 days before each election. This would include banning people with an interest in a specific candidate or issue from appearing as a pundit on television shows discussing that candidate or issue (conflict of interest). Any television, radio or internet broadcast that discusses a candidate or issue in such a manner that it constitutes free advertising must provide equal air time for the opposition.

Submitted by Mary Rocco in Government & Elections Dec. 10, 2014, 4:17 p.m.

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#1181

127 votes

Free sabbatical training (in one's 40s-50s); it can be done under college legislation OR under socialSecurity. Up to a year (2 might be better) to train, renew skills, change direction if desired with low to modest support. Can be taken in full or in parts. It would be like the universal family leave we don't have for parents. It would result in an invigorated workforce; a path (a type of emersion), no matter what your income to embrace and be part of new ideas that have evolved.

Submitted by G H. from GA in Education Nov. 6, 2014, 6:48 a.m.

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#1189

126 votes

Bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.A. Families need liveable wage jobs to be able to provide for themselves.

Submitted by Social work services in Economy & Jobs Dec. 18, 2014, 9:59 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

Federal subsidies to companies - including free leases of land or free grants of extraction rights - must be re-authorized by new legislation every ten years. The value of such grants to any company cannot, in any year, exceed the federal income tax paid by that company.

Submitted by Gedanken in Government & Elections Dec. 10, 2014, 4:14 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

Corporate taxes need to be calculated on additional bases which would prevent large companies from paying zero US income taxes. When income taxes are zero, charge a tax based on small percentage of US assets or a tax based on a small percentage of US sales, whichever method is larger. That way a large corporation, such as GE, would be forced to pay US taxes even if accounting "US income" was zero.

Submitted by Tim S. from NY in Taxes & Budget Jan. 4, 2015, 8:16 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

Make it a felony for anyone to approach a voter on line at a polling station for any reason related to their vote, their eligibility for voting, voting requirements, law enforcement, criminal record, outstanding warrants. Make it a felony for an election official to use specious reasoning for preventing a voter from voting or requiring them to use a provisional ballot.

Submitted by Timothy Salt in Government & Elections Dec. 16, 2014, 2:12 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

To stop the 0.01% from buying elections, enact laws for matching small donor campaign contributions like H.R. 20 and like the system in NYC where small donations are matched by the government at a 6 to 1 ratio. Every person should have a $25 voucher which they can use to contribute to a candidate(s) of their choice. We also need a Constitutional Amendment to ban any other form of financial contribution; people can volunteer their personal time but no additional $$.

Submitted by SusanT136 in Government & Elections Dec. 10, 2014, 2:31 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

We need to bring a quality public education to every single child in the U.S. We need to realize that teachers are not glorified baby sitters but self-less people who dedicate their entire lives to educating our country's future. Teachers - in every state - need to receive comparable salaries to other professional fields. It is reprehensible to learn that - in some states - single-parent teachers qualify for food stamps. We need to - once again - value quality education for all.

Submitted by Tanglover in Education Dec. 17, 2014, 9:47 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

Use the new algorithms or mathematically structured program with an unbiased independent committee to redraw all congressional & state voting districts that have been proven as gerrymandered into fair unbiased districts. If we don't think that these methods proposed are good enough, then we need to come up with a method that is fair to the population. We must take the task out of the hands of any dominant state legislature or governor. http://tinyurl.com/mlyfr3d http://tinyurl.com/ltgf2fx

Submitted by StopTheLies in Government & Elections Dec. 14, 2014, 5:04 p.m.

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#1189

126 votes

Repeal the Second Amendment to end needless gun violence. #NotOneMore

Submitted by Jonathan R. in Civil Rights Dec. 10, 2014, 3:59 p.m.

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#1197

125 votes

A cell phone app and web page geared toward full government (local and federal) transparency and accountability. Citizens can host a public opinion poll on every bill going through all levels of govt and politicians can be held against these discrepancies of public opinion by watch dog journalism.

Submitted by Daniel A. from NY in Infrastructure & Technology Nov. 11, 2014, 10:27 p.m.

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#1197

125 votes

Stop the practice - both public and private - of giving wage increases in PERCENTAGES, rather than giving the same DOLLARS to each employee. PERCENTAGES give the BIGGEST INCREASE to those who ALREADY HAVE the HIGHEST wage!! This practice has expanded the gap between rich and poor - COMPOUNDED FOR DECADES!!! The cost of goods and services rises the same number of dollars for all, whether gas, eggs, energy, rent, utilities, or other routine expenditures.

Submitted by Don't Quit!! in Economy & Jobs Dec. 26, 2014, 4:56 p.m.

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#1197

125 votes

All ballots (excluding primaries) for election of candidates for any office shall, regardless of the number of candidates listed on the ballot, also have a field that reads "none of the above." Our current system makes it possible in unopposed races for a candidate to elect him/herself with a single vote. Also, in any situation where a candidate runs unopposed citizens deserve the right to reject a lone candidate.

Submitted by Robert E. Sojka in Government & Elections Dec. 10, 2014, 4:15 p.m.

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#1197

125 votes

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