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Words of Wisdom
Spring 2012
An excerpt from “ Compete and Empower” by Brian Sear
“Citizen’s Contract with America”
Ten Acts that Transform Government to
follow the Constitution and return
Power to the People.
As citizens of the United States of America and as business people
seeking to unleash the American dream, we propose not to just
change government but to transform it into a twenty first century
version of the Constitution and the Founding father’s vision.
Even importantly, we intend to restore the bonds of trust between
the people and their elected representatives.
1.
The Government Reform Act:
a. Require the president, senators, representatives, and their
appointed political staff to serve only one eight year term.
Having served in any one of these capacities they are not
eligible for any other of these positions. Require these same
individuals to reside in their own State with their own staff
without a Washington office. Expect them to collaborate,
debate, and vote by teleconference. Additional benefits of
term limits are an increase in the number of competent
citizens who will be able to serve their country and
elimination of re-election campaign funding and
corruption.
b. Eliminate all arcane rules that block progress on bills
expected to be passed by the citizens. Outside auditors will
review all staff functions and government organizations to
recommend elimination or budget reductions.
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c. Union membership for all government employees will be
eliminated. Special retirement and medical programs for
all government programs will be eliminated. The
employees will be given the opportunity to avail
themselves of the same programs that are made available
to the general citizen. There will be no special privileges
for security and travel for members of Congress and their
staff and family members. They will follow the same
security and travel procedures that they set up for the
general citizens to keep them safe.
2.
The Compete and Empower Act:
a. Require that the President with his administration prepare
an American Strategic Plan that is updated annually and
communicated to the public. Clarify that the country’s
highest economic priority is to increase gross domestic
product, GDP, to meet or exceed the goals of the Strategic
Plan and as a minimum equal or exceed the world GDP
growth rate.
b. The president’s role in achieving the GDP goal is to
support American businesses. His job is to remove all
barriers that interfere with business growth. He must make
clear to all government employees that GDP growth is the
Country’s highest priority. In addition he must encourage
all citizens to embrace the principles of GDP growth,
(learn, grow, change) and follow the Compete and Empower
doctrine.
c. The President will appoint a secretary of Commerce who is
an expert in strategic planning from the BCG, Perspectives
on Natural Competition, school. A Strategic Planning
Outreach Team (SPOT) will be funded with professionals
managed by the secretary. The team will be charged with
the responsibility to facilitate the American Strategic Plan
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annually and promote Compete and Empower around the
country. SPOT will also be responsible for empowering
other nations with a willingness to learn for the benefit of
their people. In addition SPOT will set up Strategy
Enterprise Zones in nations that sign up for a program to
encourage investment in their local businesses.
3.
The Fair Tax and Spend Act:
a. Enact the “Fair Tax Proposal” into law during 2011.
b. Require annual federal government budgets to start with a
Zero-Based Budget process, meaning no automatic
increases in expenses and compensation. Any increase
over the prior year is to be based on ROI analysis. All
projects and programs will have a plan with expected
results. The plans will be monitored and results reported
monthly to ensure a good ROI. All recommended actions
from the outside auditors in the first act to be executed.
Total federal government spending not to exceed 11% of
GDP.
4.
The Transform Unions Act:
a. Write new labor laws that eliminate the rights of unions.
Suggest to all States that they change their labor laws
making them “Right to Work States”. Give unions the
option of going out of business or becoming trade
associations. Terminate all union contracts, and cash out
all benefits to members from funds available.
5.
The Embrace Immigrant Act:
a. Erect a barrier to limit illegal entry along all borders. The
barrier can be physical or based on technology. The system
will be set up to encourage legal citizens to move freely
and easily across the border but will eliminate illegal entry.
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Words of Wisdom
Spring 2012
b. The Department of Citizenship and Immigration will be
directed to set a green card visa immigration goal
consistent with the levels per year called out in the
Strategic Plan. There will only be four ways to enter the
country legally: a visitor visa for visitors who will return to
their home country on or before expiration, a student visa
for students who will return home after their education is
complete, a green card for people in a legal immigrant
status with most of the privileges of citizenship, including
the right to become a citizen after five years.
c. Immigration priority will be based on job skills and as set
by America’s businesses. Companies can hire the skills
they need when, where, and how they consider appropriate
to meet their growth goals. No more H1 or guest
compromise visas, because they do not work. They
contribute to the illegal immigration problem. Many
people accepting a compromise visa probably intends to
become illegal after the end of the expiration date and hire
an attorney to get a legal visa.
d. Solve the current illegal immigrant challenge, once and for
all, by reviewing each case, punishing those who have
broken the law and requiring all to compete with all
applicants.
6.
The Protect the People Act:
a. As Commander in Chief the president has an awesome
responsibility to protect the people. It is his highest
priority. By Constitution and by law, he has direct control
of the Department of Defense and Homeland Security.
This Act will make it clear that all other politically correct
priorities are secondary to keeping the citizens safe. In
addition the president has taken a solemn oath to keep the
people safe. Typical important but secondary priorities are:
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“Freedom of Speech”, “Freedom of Information”,
Freedom of the Press”, privacy laws and “Rules of
Engagement and Interrogation.” The media will not be
allowed to publish secret information if it has been
obtained illegally.
b. Fully fund the Department of defense to five percent of
GDP and require the department to change its mission to
execute the Strategic Plan. Eliminate all barriers that
prevent the acquisition of intelligence information to keep
the citizens safe domestically and internationally.
7.
The International Empowerment Act:
a. This Act will end our policy of appeasement, diplomacy at
any cost, and end our immoral support of regimes over the
last forty years to retain stability. In its place will be
enacted a new policy of pragmatic, moral action to bring
about change for enduring world peace.
b. The secretary and the Department will encourage other
nations to support Compete and Empower. Foreign aid will
support SPOT by investing in a nation’s businesses and
will not be handing out capital to foreign governments.
The foreign aid department will be staffed with
professional venture fund managers who will make
investments in a nation’s businesses and expect a venture
capital return.
c. If the president directly or through his diplomats makes
serious proposals to friends, allies or even enemies that
clearly resolve issues and move the planet toward world
peace then it will be expected that the proposal be accepted
or acceptable alternatives proposed. If not taken seriously
then the other nation will be told there will be substantial
consequences that will be acted on by a date certain.
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8.
9.
Words of Wisdom
Spring 2012
The people’s Retirement and health Act:
a. This Act will require the government to inform the citizens
that since their inception Social Security and Medicare
have been deceptive political schemes. The payments made
by citizens into the government and the funds paid out by
the government will be reconciled and the remainder
placed in an investment fund and managed by professional
fund managers for the benefit of the rightful owners, the
citizens who paid in. The remainder funds will be owned
by the citizens and will be available for their retirement and
medical needs.
b. These programs will be removed from the general fund and
will no longer be considered mandatory spending
controlled by politicians. They will be citizen’s investment
funds, owned by them and managed by professionals on an
actuarial responsible manner. In the event there is a
shortfall because of the existing system created by
politicians and it causes hardship on any citizen then the
citizen’s recourse will be to apply for welfare. Any
politician who has actively supported this Ponzi scheme
will be removed from office and punished within the law.
The Government Enterprise Act:
a. The purpose in this change in the law is to take our federal
government out of running businesses that the government
was not intended to run under the Constitution. If the
government has control of more than ten percent of any
business, it will be required to sell off these interests to the
public with a public offering. American investment bankers
under current regulations will manage the public offerings.
b. Businesses likely to be affected are banking, insurance,
autos, post office, schools, charities, etc.
c. Private ownership of all schools will emphasize
fundamental learning so that American Children can
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Words of Wisdom
Spring 2012
compete in a global marketplace. In addition, American
students will be encouraged to learn, grow, change and
become self-reliant. Teachers will be compensated for
performance so that they continue to be “proud to be a
Teacher”. The policy of tenure will be eliminated.
d. The Department of Defense and Home Security will
continue to be managed by the federal government. In
addition, the federal government will manage the federal
justice system.
10. The
People’s Safety Net Act:
a. Funding for situations of extreme hardship will be set not
to exceed one percent of GDP. The citizens consider it
appropriate for a modern society to provide fallback
financing when all other avenues have been exhausted.
Two levels seem appropriate: (1) The first level is when a
person needs a helping hand to get back on his feet. In this
case, welfare funding will be provided as long as the
recipient presents a plan of how and when he will return to
being self-reliant. If the recipient has no experience in such
planning and execution, a welfare counselor can guide
him. (2) The second level is when a person is completely
dependent and needs a source of income to cover living,
learning and medical expenses because of disabilities. This
second government charity fund can provide needed help
after family, friends, and local charities have been
approached.
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