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Dr. Errington Thompson

Healthcare reform is passed. The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. There was no tsunami to hit Washington and the East Coast. The Empire State building in New York, the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Transamerica building in San Francisco- all are still standing. The predictions of the sudden downfall of the United States with healthcare reform seem to be nothing but poppycock. There are those on the right, though, who are still apoplectic, seizing with anger. Their country has been stolen. Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly have told them whom to blame — liberals.

I could go on and on about the hypocrisy that should be evident to all, but instead I want to talk about what comes next. Now that healthcare reform has passed, what is next on the agenda? As you may have guessed, I have a few suggestions:
Campaign Finance Reform — After the hanging, dangling, and pregnant chads in Florida, and the blatantly fraudulent behavior in Ohio, it would seem that our archaic system of elections would have already been reformed, shiny and new. We need to change the way the ballots are cast. We should be 100 percent sure when we cast a ballot that our vote will be counted. We also have to come up with a way to take out of the system the millions and millions of dollars that business pours into elections.

Immigration Reform — As I see it, sooner or later we’re seriously
going to have to fix our immigration problem. This has to have a
multidimensional approach. We need to enforce the laws already on our
books. We need to embrace the ideals that we’ve expounded for more than
100 years and admit that we are, in fact, the melting pot, an inclusive
society. We need to develop a set of rules that allows foreign nationals
to come here and work for some period of time and then go back to their
country. The system must work for us as well as curtail illegal
immigration. Finally, we need to come up with some system to take care
of the 12 million economic refugees who live in the United States today.

Financial System Reform — What are we waiting for? It is clear
that a lack of regulation and oversight allowed companies to run wild
with our money. With a combination of derivatives, selling short, and
the truly evil credit default swaps, financial institutions were able to
go on a gambling spree that made Las Vegas envious. The financial
industry seems to be driving up to Congress several times a week and
dumping millions of dollars at the feet of our elected officials. Are
these honest and hard-working officials going to listen to you and me or
to the drivers of that truckload of money? Without significant
regulation, expect Wall Street to melt down again.

Education Reform — The average family in the United States makes
about $42,000 a year. You shouldn’t have to pay more than 10 percent of
your salary to send your child to a good public university for four
years. Yet the average annual tuition for a public four-year university
is over $7,000. The average annual tuition for a private four-year
university has topped $26,000. Why? Tuition costs have gone up faster
than almost anything besides healthcare costs, and this rise does not
seem to be tied to inflation or other economic indicators. All I know is
that education is an extremely important factor in combating poverty.
We need to make education affordable for all.

While we’re at it, we need to reform elementary school, middle
school and high school. Our kids have to learn more and exercise more.
They need to graduate with a well-rounded education that includes music
and the arts.

We have a lot of work to do in this country. I hope the Democrats
on Capitol Hill are not resting on their healthcare laurels. I hope
they are rolling up their sleeves and getting ready for the next task
because everything on my list is a big problem. I didn’t even get into
climate change legislation, which also needs to be done. Let’s get to
work. We have to accelerate the pace of progress. Reactionaries are
going to stand in our way. We’re going to have to be strong in our
convictions as we move the country forward. Let’s get back to work, now.