Ralph Nader's Concord Principles
Ralph Nader
February 1, 1992
The Concord Principles
An Agenda for a New Initiatory Democracy
"[Whereas a selfish oligarchy has produced economic decline, the
debasement
of politics, and the exclusion of citizens from the
strengthening of their democracy
and political economy;
"[Whereas, this rule of the self-serving few over the Nations business
and
politics has concentrated power, money, greed, and corruption far
beyond the
control or accountability of citizens;
"[Whereas]", the political system, regardless of Party, has degenerated
into a government of the power brokers, by the power brokers, and for
the
power brokers that is an arrogant and distant caricature of Jeffersonian democracy;
"[Whereas]" Presidential campaigns have become narrow, shallow, redundant,
and frantic parades and horseraces which candidates, their monetary
backers,
and their handlers control unilaterally, with the citizenry
expected to be the
bystanders and compliant voters;
"[Whereas]" a pervading sense of powerlessness, denial, and revulsion
is
sweeping the Nations citizens as they endure or suffer from growing
inequities,
injustice, and loss of control over their future and the
future of their children;
and
"[Whereas]" we, the citizens of the United States, who are dedicated
to
the reassertion of fundamental democratic principles and their
application
to the practical, daily events in our Nation, are committed
to begin the work
of shaping the substance of Presidential campaigns and
of engaging the candidates
attention to our citizen agendas
Now, therefore, we hereby present the ensuing Concord Principles to the
Presidential
candidates and invite their written,
consistent, and continual adherence to these
principles during their
entire campaign and in whatever public offices and responsibilities
they
hold or may hold upon cessation of their campaigns:
First, democracy is more than a bundle of rights on paper; democracy
must
also embrace usable facilities that empower all citizens
(a) to obtain timely, accurate information from their government;
(b) to communicate
such information and their judgments to one another
through modern technology;
and
(c) to band together in civic associations as voters, taxpayers,
consumers,
workers, shareholders, students, and as whole human beings in
pursuit of a prosperous,
just and free society.
Second, the separation of ownership of major societal assets from their
control
permits the concentration of power over such assets in the hands
of the few who
control rather than in the hands of the many who own. The
owners of the public
lands, pension funds, savings accounts, and the
public airwaves are the American
people, who have essentially little or
no control over their pooled assets or
their commonwealth.
The American people should assume reasonable control over the assets
they
have legally owned for many years so that their use reflects
citizen priorities
for a prosperous America, mindful of the needs and
rights of present and future
generations of Americans to pursue
happiness within benign environments.
Third, a growing and grave imbalance between the often converging power
of
Big Business, Big Government and the citizens of this country has
seriously damaged
our democracy and weakened our ability to correct this
imbalance. We lack the
mechanisms of civic power. We need a modern tool
box for redeeming our democracy
by strengthening our capacity for self-
government and self-reliance both as individuals
and as a community of
citizens. Our 18th century democratic rights need retooling
for the
proper exercise of our responsibilities as citizens in the 21st century.
Fourth, the new democracy tool box contains measures for the purpose of
protecting
voters from having their voting powers diluted, over-run or
nullified. These measures
are:
(a) a binding none-of-the-above option on the ballot;
(b) term limitations,
12 years and out;
(c) public financing of campaigns through well-promoted voluntary
taxpayer checkoffs on tax returns;
(d) easier voter registration and ballot
access rules;
(e) state-level binding initiative, referendum, and recall authority,
a
non-binding national referendum procedure; and
(f) a repeal of the runaway
White House/Congressional Pay Raises back to
1988 levels -- a necessary dose
of humility to the politicians.
Fifth, the new democracy tool box strengthens taxpayers who wish to
have a
say in how their tax dollars are being used and how their
taxpayer assets are
being protected. These objectives will be advanced
by according taxpayers full
legal standing to challenge in the courts
the waste, fraud, and abuse of tax
monies and taxpayer assets.
Presently, the federal judiciary places nearly insurmountable
obstacles
in front of taxpayers, thereby leaving the task to the unlikely prospect
of government officials taking their own government to court.
Further, a facility for taxpayers banding together can be established
by a
simple taxpayer checkoff on the 1040 tax return, inviting taxpayers
to join their
national taxpayers association which would be accountable
to members on a one
member-one vote standard.
Finally, obscure, overly complex, mystifying jargon pervading federal
tax,
pension, election and other laws and procedures is a barrier to
taxpayer-citizen
participation. The language of these laws and
procedures must be simplified and
clarified as a matter of national
priority; otherwise, only special interests
hiring decoders will be able
to participate while the general public is shut
out.
Sixth, the new democracy tool box strengthens consumers of both
business and
government services by according them:
(a) computerized access in libraries and their own homes to the full
range
of government information for which they have already paid but are
now unable
to obtain, either inexpensively or at all;
(b) facilities in the form of periodic
inserts, included in the billing
of other envelopes sent to them by companies
that are either legal
monopolies (for example, electric, gas, telephone utilities)
or are
subsidized or subsidizable by the taxpayers (for example, banks and
savings
and loans). These inserts invite consumers to join their own
statewide consumer
action group to act as a watchdog, to negotiate and
to advocate for their interests.
A model of this facility is the Illinois Citizen Utility Board which
has saved
ratepayers over $3 billion since 1983, and filled the consumer
chair before utility
commissions, legislative hearings, and courtroom
proceedings on many occasions.
This type of facility costs taxpayers nothing, costs the carrying
companies
or government mailings nothing (the consumer group pays for
the insert and there
is no extra postage) and is voluntary for consumers
to join. Had there been such
bank consumer associations with full-time
staff in the 1970s, there would not
have been a trillion dollar bailout
on the taxpayers back for the S&L and
commercial bank crimes,
speculations, and mismanagement debacles. These would
have been nipped
in the bud at the community level by informed, organized consumer
judgement. So too would have costly and hazardous energy projects been
replaced
by energy efficiency and renewable power systems; and
(c) Citizen consumers
are the viewers and listeners of television and radio.
Federal law says that
the public owns the public airwaves which are now
leased for free by the Federal
Communications Commission to television
and radio companies. The public, whose
only option is to switch dials
or turn off, deserves its own Audience Network.
The Audience Network would enhance the communication and mobilization
process
between people locally and nationally. The owners of the
airwaves deserve a return
of their property for one hour prime time and
drive time on all licensed stations
so that their professional studios,
producers, and reporters can program what
the audience believes is
important to them and their children. The proposal for
Audience
Network, funded by dues from the audience-members and other non-tax
revenues, was the subject of a Congressional hearing in 1991, chaired by
Congressman
Edward Markey.
Similarly, in return for cable company monopoly and other powers, cable
subscribers
should be able to join their own cable viewers group through
a periodic insert
in their monthly cable billing envelopes. Modern
electronic communications can
play a critical role in anticipating and
resolving costly national problems when
their owners gain regular usage,
as a community intelligence, to inform, alert,
and mobilize democratic
citizen initiatives. Presently, these electronic broadcasting
systems
are overwhelmingly used for entertainment, advertising and redundant
news, certainly not a fair reflection of what a serious society needs to
communicate
in a complex age, locally, nationally, and globally.
(d) Access to justice -- to the courts, to government agencies, and to
legislatures
-- is available to organized, special interests, and they
widely use these remedies.
In contrast, when consumers are defrauded,
injured,rendered sick by wrongdoers
or other perpetrators of their harm,
they find costly dollar and legal hurdles
blocking their right of
access. They also find indentured politicians and their
lobbying allies
bent on closing the doors further. Systems of justice are to
be used
conveniently and efficiently by all the people in this country, not just
corporations and the wealthy. Otherwise,
the citizen shutout worsens.
Seventh, the new democracy tool box for working people contains rights
of
bringing ones conscience to work without having to risk being
unfairly fired
or demoted. Ethical whistle-blowers have alerted
Americans to numerous abuses
in the workplace that damage workers health
and safety, contaminate the environment,
and defraud consumers,
taxpayers, and shareholders. However, they often pay the
penalty with
the loss of their jobs. The exercise of conscience needs simple,
effective legal protections which will build inside the corporation,
government,
or other large bureaucracies the incentives for care,
prudence, and accountability
that foresee or forestall larger harms.
Eighth, working people, who own over $3 trillion in pension monies, need a reasonable measure of control over where these monies are invested. Presently, a handful of banks and insurance companies control and make these decisions. During the 1980s the use of pension monies for corporate mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and other empire- building maneuvers showed what does happen when ownership is so separated from control. Control by the few often left economic wreckage behind in many communities, and such capital draining takeovers did not produce employment or new wealth.
Pension monies are gigantic capital pools that can be used productively to meet community needs, but not when their owners are excluded from any organized participation or even the right to know and review what has been decided.
Ninth, the new democracy tool box applies to recognizing shareholder democracy as well. Whether large, small or institutional shareholders (such as pension or other trust funds), the separation of ownership (of the company) from control has been documented impressively, starting with the celebrated study by Berle and Means fifty years ago. The business press is filled with reports of executives of large corporations repeatedly abusing shareholder assets and worker morale with huge salaries, bonuses, greenmail, and golden parachutes, (untied to company performance), self-perpetuating boards of directors, the stifling of the proxy voting system and blocking other shareholder voting reforms such as cumulative voting powers and access to relevant shareholder lists and information. The owners of corporations should be able to prevent their hired executives from engaging in what Business Week called casino capitalism that often ends with mass layoffs, loyal shareholder losses and communities undermined.
Tenth, the new democracy tool box needs to be taught in its historic context and present relevance as part of an engrossing civic curriculum for our country's schoolchildren. Involving all students during their later elementary and secondary school education in practical civics experience so as to develop both their citizen skills and the desire to use them, under the rule of law, can enrich schools, students, and communities alike. Where teachers have made such efforts, the children have responded responsibly and excitedly to the frequent surprise and respect of their elders. Schooling for informed and experienced participation in democratic processes is a major reservoir of future democracy and a profound human resource to be nurtured.
In conclusion, these tools for democracy have fairly common characteristics. They are universally accessible, can reduce government and other deficits, and are voluntary to use or band together around. It matters not whether people are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents. It matters only that Americans desire to secure and use these facilities or tools.
Without this reconstruction of our democracy through such facilities for informed civic participation, as noted above, even the most well- intentioned politicians campaigning for your vote cannot deliver, if elected.
Nor can your worries about poverty, discrimination, joblessness, the troubled conditions of education, environment, street and suite crime, budget deficits, costly and inadequate health care, and energy boondoggles, to list a few, be addressed constructively and enduringly. Developing these democratic tools to strengthen citizens in their distinct roles as voters, taxpayers, consumers, workers, shareholders, and students should be very high on the list of any candidates commitments to you. Unless, that is, they just want your vote, but would rather not have you looking over their shoulder from a position of knowledge, strength and wisdom.
Ralph Nader
February 1, 1992
