March 10th, 2019 Boston Regional Meeting

Main Ideas for Discussion

What differentiates us from other parties/groups?
- What are we focusing on?
- Where are we going?
- How to we reach out to more people?
Platform
How to run

Focused on personal privacy
- Tends to be defensive, though
- Counter are cryptoparties and other means to show people how to protect themselves
People first
Focused on democratic decision making
Non-electoral efforts
- Cryptoparties
- Mesh Networking
- Break light clinics
- Ask for other ideas at meetings/on-line

Housing first
- everyone has a place to live, providing stability and improving state of mind
- not solely focusing on people who are homeless, but recognizing the increasing cost of housing
Education reform (but not the neoliberal kind)
- Fix the infrastructure of our schools
- Use technology (only where needed?)
- Centering on student empowerment and help for students to succeed at what they are good at and support them where they have challenges
Criminal justice
- reducing policing and incarceration
- Increasing harm reduction policies.
- Less punishment, more restorative justice

Citizen surveys of police and school systems and municipal government (13 and older)
End solitary confinement
Fair pay for fair work (even prisoners)
Open government additions
- Removing exemptions of the open meeting law for all three branches of government
- Actual enforcement of open meeting law and FOIA
- All data paid for by the public should be on-line and machine readable/searchable (with personal privacy exceptions) That includes all branches of government
- No scanned documents without OCR
- All bills have to be voted on in committee
- All votes have to list who the individual votes
- Reduce the power of house speaker/senate president
- Remove legislative loopholes (no votes in out of session periods). Spell out limits on emergency sessions.
- Require bills only include content relevant to the original purpose of the bill
- Expand whistleblower protections (suggested after the meeting)
Full decriminalization of private consensual activities and implement effective harm reduction strategies.
Change the law to use IRV/RCV
Fully fund the MBTA and all public transit systems
Pass net neutrality bill
Have a mock budget with taxes and spending
- Include money for energy conservation fund
- Solar credit?
Close the fusion centers
Stop any support for ICE and other related agencies. Prohibit county sheriffs from helping ICE
Try to increase competition in oligopolies esp. media
Promote training for creating cooperative operations and tomorrow’s leaders (e for all?)

Restorative justice approach for minors
Implementing changes based on survey results
Within the first year exonerate and wipe records of all private consensual crimes
Basic right education
Fund the development of public transit in Mass.
Development of high speed broadband in Mass.
License requirement
- law students have to teach kids their rights
- psychology students to help homeless
Education
- Expand financial decision making/responsibilities education
- Teaching labor rights and struggles
- Bring back home economics and food preparation
Require state (MEMA) and municipalities do a climate change/storm risk assessment
- Must include food security, housing, transportation

Decentralize federal/state government to county/regions and municipalities
- Reconstitute county governments to make them elected and able to solve regional problems
Removal of laws that no longer apply especially if they are harmful to individual rights
Expand the ballot initiative and direct democracy. Institute a people’s veto