If you were to create a 28th amendment.

[T'Girl]

I came across an interesting wiki that described the United States in the year 2075. It describe a America that has establish states in the union on other planets in our solar system, as well as states on worlds around other stars. The wiki has a large section describing the future government, part of which is future amendments to the constitution (about three-quarters down). The constitution in 2075 had 38 amendments

The United States currently has 27 ratified amendments in our constitution.

If you were to create a 28th (or more) amendment, what would it be?

Abolishing the electoral college, balanced budget, personhood, repeal an existing amendment, congressional term limits?

Maybe something more creative on your part?

I came across this a short time ago, and personally would like to see it as a amendment. "Should the Congress fail to pass a budget for the entire next fiscal year by the last day of the current fiscal year, the next year shall be funded at the exact dollar amount of the previous year's budget, and all programs and departments shall receive the exact dollar amount of funding as the previous year, and any unspent funds used to pay the debts."

If nothing else, it would prevent a government shutdown. And it would in no way prevent congress from pass a new budget for the next fiscal year.

The wiki's 31st amendment (in the year 2037) reads "In the event of a sudden removal or death of an Elected Official, a vacancy election must be held within 2 months of the vacancy." While the two months time limit might be too short for today, I do like the basic idea of this being a requirement, and could see it as a new amendment.

What are your ideas?

*******

The (very interesting) wiki I mentioned ...
http://future.wikia.com/wiki/United_States_of_America_(The_Second_Renaissance)

And, in case you're wondering what the current amendments are ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Constitutional_Amendments

 

[Trekker4747]

"All men are created equals" mean every PERSON in this country. Man, woman, black, white, Hispanic. Gay, straight, transgendered. Literally, we're all the same. Let's stop having civil rights movements every generation or so and just straighten this all out now. EVERYONE is equal and we're not making laws or changing laws to restrict the happiness of people because you find what they do icky.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I would love it if access to any amount of higher education was a fundamental right and free.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Thanks for the link to that Wiki; it sounds very interesting (although, while it's barely possible there will be States on the Moon by 2075, there certainly won't be anything beyond that).

I guess my priorities for new amendments would be abolishing the Electoral College (along with establishing a ranking system of voting) and an Equal Rights Amendment with language that not only bans discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity, orientation and all the other usual suspects, but also negates any future ways that people will devise to divide themselves up.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I have to agree...complete equal rights comes before my education want. I do not think that we should continue to keep dividing ourselves up the way we do. I have several friends who are LGBT and I completely agree that they are ENTITLED to equal marriage rights, among other rights not currently granted to them.

However, if we could make just one more amendment after that...higher education for anyone who qualifies...no fee. That would be amazing.

 

[Captrek]

I would love it if access to any amount of higher education was a fundamental right and free.

I would too, but I don't think it should be in the Constitution. It's better suited to legislation. I feel the same way about gay marriage.

Like RJ, I think I'd like to dump the Electoral College.

Also, I'd like to restructure the House of Representatives to eschew single-representative districts in favor of a system I call Precise Representation, which I have described on this board in the past.

 

[Mr. B]

"All men are created equals" mean every PERSON in this country. Man, woman, black, white, Hispanic. Gay, straight, transgendered. Literally, we're all the same. Let's stop having civil rights movements every generation or so and just straighten this all out now. EVERYONE is equal and we're not making laws or changing laws to restrict the happiness of people because you find what they do icky.

Wouldn't that be redundant to the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause?

 

[sidious618]

Universal health care.

 

[Captrek]

^ Also better addressed by legislation than by Constitutional Amendment.

 

[Mr. B]

^ Also better addressed by legislation than by Constitutional Amendment.

Crafting its implementation would be require legislation, but doing so without violating the Constitution would require an amendment to widely broaden federal powers.

 

[Captrek]

Not according to SCOTUS, which upheld the PPACA.

The Constitutionality of a single-payer system has not been directly addressed by the courts, but I think it would be rather non-controversial among legal scholars, since it would be not very different from other forms of welfare which have been upheld. The General Welfare (Taxing and Spending) and Necessary and Proper clauses should suffice. It is politics, not Constitutional limits on federal power, that has so far thwarted the public option and single payer.

 

[T'Girl]

I would love it if access to any amount of higher education was a fundamental right and free.

Getting the colleges and universities to provide education for free would be difficult even with a amendment. The teachers unions would throw a fit about teachers having to work without compensation.

Or did you mean free as in someone else pays for it?

I could see paying through taxation for higher education for some career fields (medical for one), but not all higher education across the board.

 

[Captrek]

"There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as a lunch that somebody else pays for."

 

[Nick086]

I don't believe in a free higher education unless it a degree in the medical or science field to save lives. They must get high grades in High School and their freshman year at college or medical school to obtain this.

 

[Trekker4747]

"All men are created equals" mean every PERSON in this country. Man, woman, black, white, Hispanic. Gay, straight, transgendered. Literally, we're all the same. Let's stop having civil rights movements every generation or so and just straighten this all out now. EVERYONE is equal and we're not making laws or changing laws to restrict the happiness of people because you find what they do icky.

Wouldn't that be redundant to the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause?

Considering we're in a battle right now to help gay people get equal-rights when it comes to marriages (we have municipalities actually making movements to change their own laws to exclude gays) and I don't believe being gay or transgendered is as protected as say, being black, the 14th Amendment is apparently not enough. When entire battles are raging in this country and we have officials in office fighting AGAINST allowing rights going to people simply because of who they sleep with because "Jesus finds it icky" I'd say we need more in our Constitutions that says, "Yeah, homosexuals are included as "People" too."

 

[Harry Palmer]

I'll depart from the usual abolish the income tax or end the direct election of senators with a proposal for a sunset provision of say ten years on all federal legislation. With a five year review and vote for repeal option to limit the damage from any particularly daft laws.

 

[Gepard]

Universal health care.

Either this, or an amendment that says legal constructs cannot be persons/places sharp limits on the power of corporations.

 

[Venardhi]

A clarification on the executive branch's ability to pursue long-term military action without a declaration of war from congress. Included would also be a way for Congress to demand an end to military actions (with a 2/3 or otherwise overwhelming majority).

A clarification of the whole debt/debt ceiling/budget mess so that a minority can't hold the government (and our economic standing in the world) hostage.

A specification of how many judges should sit the supreme court.

A requirement for presidential nominees to various positions to be given an up or down vote within a certain amount of time.

I'm sure I have a few others in here somewhere.

 

[Captain Ice]

I like your style there, Venardhi. To your list, I'd add:

1. A requirement to have a balanced budget except in times where Congress has declared war.

2. A sunset clause on federal legislation except where 50% plus one of state legislatures vote for the law

3. Formation of a three party system instead of the current two party system.

4. SCOTUS terms and term limits.

 

[tomalak301]

Term limits on Senators and Representatives. We have Senators who have been in office for as long as I've been born. It's one reason why I've voted against people like Feinstien and Boxer in the last few elections.