The Smarts Manifesto

aka "How to Fix a Country with Pure Theory and Much Faith"

After much unrest, confusion, and sheer idiocy, a number of sometimes impolite suggestions that have been floating around have settled into the following set of ideas. It would be nice if this could be given a try. The language contained herein will be in the feminine form, but should be read and understood as referring to either males or females.

1. Freedom of Congregation and Expression is Good
Citizens must be free to congregate, rally, march and protest in any other manner without threat of harm or penalty, on the single condition that these forms of protest are not expressed in violence or damage to public or private property.

2. Democracy is Good
Both meritocracy and direct democracy have much to offer.

2.a. Meritocracy
It must be unlawful to assign a government posting to someone who is unqualified for such a post. Clear success and failure criteria must be established for each post, and the minister in charge of a post must undergo periodic evaluation after a reasonable maximum amount of time. If the minister has succeeded in achieving her goals she may continue to serve for a maximum of four years, after which her services may be retained as a consultant to her successors. Failure to achieve her goals will result in her immediate replacement, with her services as consultant being retained only as much as is necessary in order to ease her successor's integration into the post.

2. b. Direct Democracy
In addition to eligible citizens having the freedom and authority to initiate or call for the revocation of laws, each new internal policy and its potential effects must be clearly provided to the public prior to referendum.

Foreign policy will be determined by an elected committee qualified and experienced in both war and foreign relations.

3. Voting rights
To achieve recognition as a full citizen with all rights, privileges and protection, a citizen of the country must prove herself to be a participating member of society. In order to do so, the citizen must meet the following criteria:

• Citizen must pay taxes, or currently serve in any government posting, or perform community service.
• Citizen must currently be serving, or have served, in the military or national service.

Failure to do so for any reason other than disability or handicap will result in the revocation of voting rights.

4. Military involvement
The government will not have the authority to instruct the military in its method of operation. The government will only be given the authority to instruct the military in terms of its global objectives and its limitations. A task force must be created by the government with the express purpose of verifying that the military's use of funds is efficient.

5. Spending
The current budget system, which incentivizes wastefulness by rewarding the full use of the budget, will be reformed.
Infrastructure upgrades, specifically public transport, must be given high priority as must subsidized education across the board.

As branches of the central government, municipalities in possession of surplus funds over a specified amount must set aside a nationally pre-determined percentage for use by those in financial need.

6. Police
The police will be forced to operate under the directives of "serve and protect", and citizens must be provided the ability to freely and easily file complaints.

7. Civil Transparency
All publicly owned or operated organizations must make their data freely available digitally to all eligible citizens, and the data must be available in a format comprehensible to the lay person.

8. Capitalism is Good
Capitalism is the only system we have that rewards effort and provides incentive for participation and advancement, and even if lots of people suffer under it it is as fair a system as we can practically conceive.

Markets must be free to operate under the laws of supply and demand, and must not suffer interference from governing bodies unless that interference is to ensure fair competition.

Summary
I was going to have points regarding coalitions and lobbying, but then I realized that the meritocracy wouldn't allow for that anyway. These other points cover everything I can think of at this time, and make an excellent starting point for an improved system in which we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Here's wishing us luck.