A Petition to Share for Good Government

Many people raise the issue of how feasible are these points. Some say impossible because it would take constitutional amendments before they could happen. This is partially true. But here is how the plan could work.

So how much of my petition can be done without amending the Constitution?

I’d divide the ten points into three groups:

Constitutional amendments are probably necessary to accomplish the proposal fully: #1 Term Limits, #3 Supreme Court Term Limits, and #6 Limits on Consecutive Offices. Strong versions of #5 Campaign Spending Limits would likely require one as well under current Supreme Court doctrine.

Substantial reform is possible through ordinary federal/state legislation: #2 Lobbying Reform, #4 Judicial Selection, #5 Campaign Finance, #7 Shutdown Pay, #8 National Service, #9 Budget Caps, and #10 Campaign Integrity.

That means roughly seven of my ten points could at least be substantially advanced without amending the Constitution. Only about three or four run squarely into constitutional barriers.

And that suggests something potentially important for my Citizen’s Petition for Government of the People: I would not present the whole package as requiring constitutional amendments.

I would present it as a Government Reform Program, with two tracks:

Track One — “Do It Now.” Congress and state governments enact the reforms that are already within their constitutional authority.

Track Two — “Let the People Decide.” Constitutional amendments are pursued for congressional term limits, Supreme Court tenure, restrictions on serial office-holding, and perhaps campaign finance reform.

That actually makes this petition more practical. I am not asking Americans to wait through the extraordinarily difficult Article V amendment process before anything happens. Much of this program could begin with legislation while the constitutional reforms proceed separately. We knock several chips out of the wall and the wall will become unstable and will fall.

4 Comments (+add yours?)

Deermoonflower
Jul 14, 2026 @ 11:08:47

I saw this previously and have thought a lot about #8. It seems like a strong, maybe extreme change but I could see it leading to truly incredible outcomes for the US. It could solve so many issues and lead to so much good. I could see it improving attitudes about the meaning of citizenship. These are good ideas. Thanks for making this. Creative problem-solving seems like a good way to move forward.

LikeLiked by 1 person

- Dr. John Persico Jr.
  Jul 14, 2026 @ 12:01:46
  
  Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope to create some kind of a bandwagon impact or effect. In my wildest dreams it would go viral.
  
  LikeLiked by 2 people
  
- SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ
  Jul 14, 2026 @ 13:56:57
  
  Dear John and Deermoonflower,
  
  A blogger by the name of theshammuramat offers the following:
  
  I’ve tried to boil it down to 10 bare essentials. Herewith:
  
  1. Subject Supreme Court justices to term limits. Limit the terms of justices to 18 years, after which time they must move to courts of appeals or district courts. Justices already on the high court can remain only until they’ve been there for 18 years. Those who are beyond this limit must immediately move to other courts. (Another reform is to expand the number of justices, but FDR tried this and it proved so politically unpopular that he had to abandon it.)
  
  2. Prevent conflicts of interest. End the exemption of the president and vice president from conflicts of interest laws. Require all federally elected officials to put their investments into blind trusts. Prohibit all trading of specific shares of stock.
  
  3. Stop a president from using the Justice Department. Prohibit a president from having any involvement in decisions about whom to prosecute. Require congressional review of any pardons or commutations.
  
  4. End gerrymanders. Require states to create independent commissions to draw congressional district lines.
  
  5. Revive voting rights. Reenact Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (which barred voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity) and Section 5 (which required jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to obtain federal approval before changing any voting laws or procedures).
  
  6. Protect press freedom and independence. Amend the Sherman and Clayton antitrust acts to bar large corporations, or any person already owning major media, from purchasing major media networks or platforms.
  
  7. Protect the freedom of inquiry. Bar the executive branch from conditioning research or other educational grants to universities on any ideological litmus test. Researchers should be free to pursue truth.
  
  8. Get big money out of politics. Establish public matching funds for small-dollar donations for all federal elected offices. Encourage states to grant corporate charters only on condition that corporations refrain from political activity (as Hawaii has done and Montana is considering, and hopefully California will do). Pursue a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and establish Congress’s authority to limit big money in politics.
  
  9. Tax large aggregations of personal wealth. Enact a wealth tax. Eliminate the “stepped-up basis at death” rule that allows large fortunes to be transferred from one generation to the next without paying taxes on capital gains.
  
  10. Eliminate the Electoral College. Pursue a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College and base the selection of president and vice president on whichever ticket wins the overall popular vote. In the meantime, seek a compact among states (and the District of Columbia) to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote.
  
  Happy mid-July to both of you!
  
  Yours sincerely,
  SoundEagle🦅
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
  - Dr. John Persico Jr.
    Jul 14, 2026 @ 14:25:09
    
    I think these are too general and not specific enough. Even a few of mine are not specific enough. IMHO John
    
    LikeLiked by 1 person

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