Future Goals: Comments on Move On's Agenda

The political group Move On came out with the following today:

The results are in. We're proud to announce the MoveOn member choice for our new, positive agenda:

Health care for all
Energy independence through clean, renewable sources
Democracy restored

Wearing my futurist hat, I really think these are worth jumping in and supporting. At least the first two. No matter what political party you belong to.

I'm particularly enamored with the Health Care and Energy Independence goals.

The United States is abysmal at Health Care, and our current system is making it less affordable for most and reducing availability. I know what that costs: until three months ago, I was my adult son's insurance program. We were lucky - David is healthy and I have a better than average income. But still, I wrote a few thousand dollars in checks for unplanned dental care and know about the shadow of economic doom. If something terrible had happened while he wasn't covered, it could have shadowed his economic future for years. I keep my day job largely because it is benefited, even though my dream is to be a full-time novelist and futurist. And that's the consequences for a generally healthy and at least middle-class family. I can barely imagine what it might have been like to have no coverage back when David was young and we lived paycheck to paycheck. Or if we were ever really, seriously ill while uncovered. Solving the healthcare problem will enhance the quality of life and economic viability of the whole country.

Energy independence is equally important, if not more so. Without oil, we wouldn't be in Iraq. And oil isn't renewable or in infinite supply. Solving this problem will help with our economics and address global warming and global peace. If we don't make significant progress here, we almost certainly have a bleak group future. For the US, and the world.

I'm a little less sure how to read the third goal - "democracy restored." It needs some fleshing out. But if it builds two-way transparency and balance of power more definitively into our government, and restores our faith in elections, I'll take it.

I want to applaud Move On, even though I'm not a particularly active member. I'm a social liberal and a fiscal conservative (balanced budgets and savings - not trickle-down), and prefer a smaller government to a bigger one. Right now, that aligns me more closely with democrats than republicans, although I've been known to vote for either party, and in some elections for one of each.

But I digress. Let's hear it for clear goals.