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The Fix

The Progressive Blueprint

How we enact change when democracy wins. Evidence, safeguards, and the gaslight exposed.

Novel & proven abroad

Project Sunrise policy ideas

Groundbreaking or peer-nation fixes with honest pros, cons, and where they already work. The quiz surfaces a personal shortlist on results; the full set lives here.

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  • Project Sunrise idea

    Mobile verified voting with a paper audit trail

    Cast a ballot on a phone or computer after strong identity proof, then produce a voter-verifiable paper record (or risk-limiting audit trail) so the digital cast can be checked like a bank transfer with a receipt.

    Pros
    • Cuts wait times and travel barriers for shift workers, disabled voters, and overseas citizens
    • Banks and tax agencies already use multi-factor auth and device risk scoring daily
    • Auditable logs beat rumor theater about 'stolen' elections when paired with paper backups
    Cons (honest)
    • Phone gaps and tech distrust require fallback in-person and mail options
    • State election vendors and certification lag behind consumer security norms
    • Coercion risk in shared households needs same safeguards used for absentee ballots
    Why it would be incredible
    People already authenticate million-dollar transfers on phones. Treating democracy as harder than banking is a choice, not a physics limit. Estonia-style remote voting plus U.S. paper audits would shrink fraud theater while raising turnout.
    Where it already works
    Estonia runs internet voting with digital ID; Switzerland and some Canadian localities pilot remote channels; U.S. military/overseas and several states already use tracked mail + signature verification.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Voting Rights

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Automatic voter registration plus Election Day as a holiday

    Register eligible citizens by default when they interact with DMV, Social Security, or tax systems, and make Election Day a federal holiday (or guaranteed paid time to vote) so casting a ballot is the default, not a scavenger hunt.

    Pros
    • Removes paperwork traps that hit renters and frequent movers hardest
    • Holiday or paid leave treats voting like civic infrastructure, not a personal errand
    • Pairs cleanly with same-day registration and early voting expansions
    Cons (honest)
    • Needs careful citizenship checks to avoid backlash and error lists
    • Employers in 24/7 sectors still need flexible early-voting windows
    • Holiday alone does not fix gerrymandering or ballot design
    Why it would be incredible
    The U.S. still makes eligible people opt into the voter roll while banks auto-open accounts. Default registration plus protected voting time flips the burden onto the state, where it belongs.
    Where it already works
    Oregon, California, and other AVR states raised registration rates; many democracies treat election days as civic holidays; several U.S. states already guarantee paid leave to vote.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Voting Rights

  • Project Sunrise idea

    All-payer rate setting and reference pricing

    Set or negotiate hospital and specialist prices that apply across insurers (all-payer), or use international/Medicare reference prices so the same MRI does not cost five different amounts depending on your logo.

    Pros
    • Attacks price variation without requiring a single overnight insurer switch
    • Works with private insurers still in the mix (Germany/Japan style)
    • Cuts surprise bills and employer premium spikes driven by monopoly hospitals
    Cons (honest)
    • Providers in high-cost markets will lobby hard and may cut elective capacity short-term
    • Needs strong rural adjustment so thin-margin hospitals stay open
    • Complex to phase in across 50 states and ERISA employer plans
    Why it would be incredible
    Americans pay near-double peer-nation prices for similar outcomes. Rate setting is the boring screwdriver that makes Medicare for All or a public option cheaper and private markets less extractive.
    Where it already works
    Germany and Japan use all-payer or highly regulated fee schedules; Maryland's hospital global budget is a U.S. proof; reference pricing appears in Medicare drug negotiation pilots.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Healthcare

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Childcare as public infrastructure

    Treat early care like K-12: publicly funded slots, trained staff paid living wages, and sliding fees so working parents do not face a second mortgage for daycare.

    Pros
    • Raises labor force participation especially for women
    • Improves school readiness and long-run earnings
    • Stabilizes the care workforce instead of revolving door burnout
    Cons (honest)
    • Upfront fiscal cost is real and visible on budgets
    • Supply build-out takes years of facilities and training
    • Quality standards must avoid crushing small home-based providers
    Why it would be incredible
    Peer countries treat care as infrastructure that grows GDP. The U.S. treats it as a private luxury, then wonders why birth rates and women's careers stall.
    Where it already works
    Nordic countries and Quebec's low-fee system show large employment gains; several EU states guarantee preschool seats; U.S. Head Start proves public early education works when funded.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Childcare & Care Economy

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Congestion pricing paired with free or fare-free transit expansion

    Charge drivers entering the most jammed downtown cores at peak hours, then recycle revenue into frequent buses, rail, and fare cuts so the alternative is better, not just the toll.

    Pros
    • Cuts gridlock, pollution, and delivery delays where roads are already full
    • Funds transit without waiting for a perfect federal earmark
    • Can exempt low-income drivers and essential vehicles
    Cons (honest)
    • Politically explosive if framed as a tax without visible transit wins
    • Suburban workers need early bus/rail upgrades before fees bite
    • Privacy and plate-reader surveillance need strict limits
    Why it would be incredible
    London and Singapore proved pricing works when paired with better transit. Free or cheap buses turn a stick into a mobility upgrade, not a downtown punishment.
    Where it already works
    London, Stockholm, Singapore congestion charges; NYC's zone pricing; fare-free pilots in U.S. cities and Luxembourg's national free transit model.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Infrastructure & Transit

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Ranked choice voting and multi-member districts

    Rank candidates (RCV) and elect multiple representatives per district so more than two parties (or factions) can win seats without spoiler math.

    Pros
    • Ends spoiler panic and expands coalition incentives
    • Rewards candidates who appeal beyond a primary base
    • Multi-member maps dilute extreme gerrymandering
    Cons (honest)
    • Ballot education takes a cycle or two
    • Incumbents in safe seats will resist
    • Bad software or rushed rollouts invite conspiracy claims
    Why it would be incredible
    The two-party trap is a voting-system design choice. Ranked choice plus multi-member districts is how many democracies keep competition without requiring a third party to 'spoil' a race.
    Where it already works
    Australia (preferential voting), Ireland and many EU systems (multi-member PR), Maine and Alaska RCV statewide races, NYC local RCV.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Voting Rights

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Public-option broadband and municipal fiber

    Let cities and co-ops build open-access fiber, or offer a public broadband option, so internet is infrastructure like water instead of a cable monopoly rent machine.

    Pros
    • Cheaper, faster service where private duopolies underinvest
    • Homework, telehealth, and small business stop depending on one ISP
    • Competition disciplines prices even for private providers
    Cons (honest)
    • Capex is large; bad procurement can waste money
    • State preemption laws block many cities today
    • Needs governance so networks stay maintained after election cycles
    Why it would be incredible
    Chattanooga and European municipal nets show fiber can be a utility. Broadband scarcity in rich zip codes is a monopoly story, not a technology story.
    Where it already works
    EPB Chattanooga, many Nordic municipal nets, South Korea and parts of the EU with open-access fiber; U.S. BEAD funds can seed public builds.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Infrastructure & Transit

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Wealth registry and beneficial ownership transparency

    Require real owners behind shell companies, trusts, and high-value assets to be listed in a secure registry so taxes, sanctions, and corruption probes can follow money instead of mailbox LLCs.

    Pros
    • Closes anonymous real-estate and shell-company loopholes
    • Helps IRS and FinCEN stop offshore games without new inventiveness
    • Levels the field for small businesses that already report everything
    Cons (honest)
    • Privacy design must protect ordinary people from doxxing
    • Compliance burden on small LLCs if poorly scoped
    • Cross-border enforcement still needs treaties and staffing
    Why it would be incredible
    You cannot tax or police what you cannot see. Europe's beneficial ownership push and U.S. Corporate Transparency Act direction show the Overton window already moved; a wealth registry finishes the job.
    Where it already works
    EU beneficial ownership registers, UK Companies House reforms, U.S. CTA / FinCEN BOI rules (implementation has been contested but the logic is settled).

    Related Blueprint pillar: Anti-Corruption

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Carbon fee and dividend

    Put a rising fee on carbon at the mine/well/import border, then rebate most revenue per person so households come out ahead while dirty energy gets more expensive.

    Pros
    • Simple price signal across the whole economy
    • Dividend protects low- and middle-income households
    • Border adjustment limits offshoring emissions
    Cons (honest)
    • Needs predictable ramp to avoid energy-price shocks
    • Fossil regions need job transition funds, not slogans
    • Must coexist with standards (EVs, buildings) not replace them entirely
    Why it would be incredible
    You get cleaner power without micromanaging every purchase. Canada and Switzerland already run fee-and-rebate models that survive politics when the check is visible.
    Where it already works
    Canada's federal carbon price with rebates; Switzerland's CO2 levy with per-capita payouts; EU ETS as a cousin market mechanism.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Environment

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Drug price negotiation plus pharmacy benefit transparency

    Expand Medicare-style negotiation to more drugs and force pharmacy benefit managers to disclose spreads, rebates, and who pockets the middleman cut.

    Pros
    • Directly lowers list and net prices patients feel at the counter
    • Ends black-box rebate games that inflate premiums
    • Works inside today's insurer system without waiting for single payer
    Cons (honest)
    • Pharma will threaten R&D flight; need patent and NIH deal reform in parallel
    • PBM vertical integration with insurers complicates enforcement
    • Launch prices on new specialty drugs still need separate tools
    Why it would be incredible
    Other rich countries negotiate. The U.S. mostly does not, then acts shocked at insulin sticker shock. Transparency plus negotiation is the least utopian fix with the fastest wallet impact.
    Where it already works
    Most OECD systems negotiate or reference prices; IRA Medicare negotiation is a U.S. beachhead; several states already ban spread pricing in Medicaid.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Drug Pricing

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Social housing plus zoning reform

    Build and permanently steward mixed-income public or nonprofit housing at scale, while legalizing denser homes near jobs and transit so supply is not choked by exclusionary zoning.

    Pros
    • Stabilizes rents without only relying on vouchers chasing scarcity
    • Zoning reform unlocks private and public construction together
    • Long-term public ownership stops speculative flipping of subsidized units
    Cons (honest)
    • Vienna/Singapore models need adapted U.S. finance and local politics
    • Construction costs and NIMBY litigation slow delivery
    • Must avoid concentrating poverty or segregating by voucher status
    Why it would be incredible
    Housing scarcity is a policy choice. Social housing plus legal duplexes and mid-rises is how cities stay livable for teachers and nurses, not only investors.
    Where it already works
    Vienna's social housing, Singapore HDB (different politics, useful scale lessons), Tokyo zoning flexibility, U.S. social housing remnants and YIMBY zoning wins in CA/OR/MN.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Housing

  • Project Sunrise idea

    Payday loan ban plus postal banking

    Ban triple-digit payday and car-title traps, and let the Postal Service (or public banks) offer basic checking, bill pay, and small-dollar credit at fair rates.

    Pros
    • Stops legalized debt traps in bank deserts
    • Post offices already exist in rural and urban zip codes
    • Small-dollar public credit undercuts usury without charity theater
    Cons (honest)
    • USPS needs capital and IT upgrades
    • Credit unions and community banks need a fair partnership design
    • Underwriting mistakes can still harm borrowers if rushed
    Why it would be incredible
    The same country that subsidizes mega-banks leaves working people to payday stores. Postal banking is an old American idea that still fits today's deserts.
    Where it already works
    Postal banking in Japan, Switzerland, and historically the U.S.; payday caps in many states and the EU; postal giro systems across Europe.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Tax Fairness

  • Project Sunrise idea

    National digital ID with civil liberties guardrails

    Offer a voluntary, privacy-preserving digital ID for benefits, banking, and optional voting credentials, with open source, audit logs, no permanent tracking database for speech, and strong limits on police reuse.

    Pros
    • Ends fragmented login hell for benefits and tax systems
    • Makes secure remote voting and benefit delivery practical
    • Can reduce document fraud without paper-only gatekeeping
    Cons (honest)
    • Mission creep and surveillance risk if guardrails are weak
    • Must remain optional with paper/in-person alternatives
    • State vs federal authority fights are real
    Why it would be incredible
    Estonia and India (Aadhaar lessons included) show digital ID can unlock services. Done with U.S. civil liberties rules, it becomes infrastructure for voting, healthcare, and banking instead of a dystopia slogan.
    Where it already works
    Estonia e-ID, EU digital identity wallets, Login.gov and state mDLs as partial U.S. pieces.

    Related Blueprint pillar: Anti-Corruption

Medicare for All with Integrated Long-Term Care

Problem

21 million Americans lost affordable ACA coverage after subsidy expiration. Medicare Advantage overpayments drain $83B annually while 27 million remain uninsured and medical debt drives 500,000 bankruptcies per year.

Proposed Fix

Establish a single-payer national health insurance program covering all residents with no premiums, deductibles, or copays. Phase out private Medicare Advantage overpayments, negotiate drug prices centrally, and integrate long-term care into the benefit package.

Economic Impact

RAND analysis projects $450B in annual savings through administrative simplification and bulk purchasing. Average household healthcare costs drop $35,000/year. 2.1 million jobs transition with 5-year retraining guarantees.

Cost of Inaction

Without reform, medical debt will keep driving roughly two-thirds of personal bankruptcies while 27 million remain uninsured and Medicare Advantage overpayments drain $83B annually from public coffers. GAO healthcare audits and CBO Medicare baselines show fragmentation and overpayments persist without structural change.

Safeguards

  • Constitutional amendment protecting universal healthcare as a right
  • Independent Payment Advisory Board with public nomination process
  • 5-year transition fund for displaced insurance industry workers
  • Annual public audit of all pharmaceutical pricing negotiations

Opposition framing

Why they fight it

They fight universal coverage because it ends the private-insurance skim on premiums, denials, and Medicare Advantage overpayments. Every covered patient who never hits a deductible is revenue they lose.

What they're hiding

The U.S. already spends nearly twice the OECD average per person on health and still leaves tens of millions uninsured or underinsured (OECD Health Statistics; KFF). Administrative waste and Advantage overpayments are a feature for shareholders, not a bug.

The gaslight

Scare ads call Medicare-for-All a doctor takeover and invent wait-time horror stories. Americans already wait or skip care because of cost. Peer universal systems show lower per-capita spend and longer life expectancy than the U.S.

The real reason

Private insurers, hospital chains, and PBMs extract hundreds of billions from the status quo. OpenSecrets ranks health insurers and pharma among the largest federal lobbying spenders every cycle. Follow the money: public insurance kills their business model.

Evidence & framing

Single-payer systems cut billing overhead, set prices nationally, and guarantee care before illness becomes an emergency. Administrative waste and uncompensated care shrink when everyone is covered under one payer.

Related Legislation

Implementation Timeline

  1. Year 1 - Coverage expansionMonths 1-12

    Lower Medicare eligibility to 55, cap out-of-pocket costs, and launch public option buy-in while building claims infrastructure.

  2. Year 2-3 - TransitionMonths 13-36

    Phase out employer-sponsored private plans with 5-year job guarantees for displaced insurance workers; centralize drug price negotiation.

  3. Year 4-5 - Full single payerMonths 37-60

    Universal enrollment with integrated long-term care; independent Payment Advisory Board operational with public audits.

Sources:

Federal Jobs Guarantee & Worker Classification Reform

Climate Emergency Mobilization Act

Democracy Restoration & Automatic Registration

Universal Pre-K through Public University

Humane Immigration Modernization & Asylum Capacity

Social Housing & Tenant Protection Compact

Media Pluralism & Platform Accountability Act

Disability Freedom & Home Care Guarantee

Treaty Enforcement & Tribal Sovereignty Compact

Universal Childcare & Paid Family Leave

Universal Background Checks & Safe Storage

Reproductive Freedom Restoration Act

Tax Fairness & Wealth Loophole Closure

Social Security & Medicare Solvency Compact

Rural Hospitals & Broadband Compact

Veterans Care & Benefits Guarantee

Infrastructure & Public Transit Buildout

Dark Money Ban & Public Financing

Prescription Drug Price Negotiation

Living Wage & Overtime Restoration

Antitrust Revival & Monopoly Breakups

Climate Jobs Just Transition Compact

Mental Health Parity & Community Care
Constitutional Architecture

Irreversible Safeguards

Structural reforms designed to survive electoral cycles and prevent the rollback of democratic and economic progress.

Anti-Corruption Architecture

Structural reforms to sever the revolving door between government, lobbying, and corporate interests - making corruption not just illegal but structurally difficult.

  • Lifetime lobbying ban for former members of Congress and senior executive branch officials
  • Public financing of all federal elections with real-time disclosure of contributions over $200
  • Independent Office of Public Integrity with power to refer cases directly to federal prosecutors
  • Mandatory blind trusts for all federal judges and agency heads

Evidence & framing

Structural bans and public financing remove the profit model of influence-peddling instead of relying on after-the-fact scandals.

Executive Constraints

Rebalance war powers, emergency declarations, and regulatory authority to prevent authoritarian consolidation of executive power.

  • War Powers Reform: 30-day congressional authorization required for military action with automatic funding cuts
  • National emergency declarations expire after 90 days without congressional renewal
  • Regulatory Stability Act: major rules cannot be overturned without 60-vote Senate threshold
  • Inspector General protection from presidential removal without cause finding by bipartisan panel
  • Emergency proclamations and NSPMs expire after 90 days unless Congress renews
  • National-security memoranda must be logged in a public index within 14 days unless a narrow classified annex applies

Evidence & framing

Sunsets and funding cutoffs force Congress back into war and emergency decisions instead of permanent one-person rule by memo.

Judicial Reform

Restore democratic accountability to the federal judiciary while preserving judicial independence and the rule of law.

  • 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices with staggered appointments every 2 years
  • Mandatory judicial ethics code with binding enforcement for all federal judges
  • Jurisdiction stripping for partisan gerrymandering cases to independent commissions
  • Court expansion to 13 justices to match federal circuit court structure

Evidence & framing

Regular appointments reduce lottery-of-death court packing by mortality and restore ethics teeth the Court refused to give itself.

Transparency Mandates

Radical transparency requirements ensuring citizens can audit government decisions, spending, and influence in real time.

  • Machine-readable federal spending database updated daily with recipient-level detail
  • Mandatory publication of all lobbying contacts within 48 hours
  • Whistleblower protection with 30% bounty on recovered fraud over $1M
  • Live-streamed congressional committee hearings with searchable transcripts within 24 hours
  • Federal Register and White House presidential-action URLs archived daily with checksum manifests
  • Agency FOIA dashboards must publish backlog age percentiles monthly, not annual averages alone

Evidence & framing

Real-time spending and lobbying logs let journalists and voters catch capture before it hardens into irreversible policy.