Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Constitutional Amendments I'd Like to See

Today on Salon (premium content, sorry), Garrison Keillor argues that the U.S. should amend the Constitution to require military service as a prerequisite for the Presidency. I don't consider this totally outlandish, but here are my wish-list amendments to the U.S. Constitution:

  • The Anti-Aristocracy Amendment
    No person can serve as President whose parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse, or child has served as President.

    You could plausibly call this the "No Hillary, no Jeb" amendment.

  • The Service Amendment
    No person can serve as a member of Congress, Cabinet Secretary, Appellate Court Judge, Supreme Court Justice, or President unless they have done one or more of the following:

    • served a full term in the regular armed forces with an honorable discharge
    • worked as one of the following for at least a year:
      • public school teacher
      • nurse
      • public defender
      • <insert more here>
    • spent a year living on minimum wage
  • 1 comment:

    stlbanjo said...

    End of corporate ownership (finance reform)

    No one can serve if they recieve or benefit from advertising paid by organizations, groups, or corporations. Only people funded entirely by private citizens can run for office.

    No money inside either (end of lobby trips to Caribbean)

    No member of congress or person employed by U.S. govt can accept personal gifts of money or items or services of value from anyone. All lobbying must be done by convincing lawmakers of the validity and merit of any proposal.

    Show me the Money (yes, that means churches, too)

    I think all corporations, institutions, and random gatherings of people should have to report all money handled. Anything that can handle millions or hundreds of millions should not be exempt from reporting.