Obama team’s books: A policy preview?

For those wondering how an Obama administration will govern, the local bookstore may offer the best glimpse, as key members of President-elect Barack Obama’s new team have penned books outlining their vision for government.

Some of the most specific ideas came from incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who co-authored “The Plan: Big Ideas for America,” with Democratic Leadership Council President Bruce Reed.

The 2006 book reads like standard Democratic talking points, but also offers some provocative proposals, such as a middle-class flat tax of 10 percent, the creation of a new domestic counterterrorism force in the model of Great Britain’s MI5 and universal civilian service for those 18 to 25 years of age.

“It is high time to say what we’re for, what we stand for, and above all, what we plan to do,” Mr. Emanuel and Mr. Reed wrote.

The book complains that under the Bush administration, the wealthy pay less taxes, and they suggest a “simple and fair” idea of a “Ten Percent Solution” to make sure “no middle-class family pays more than it should.”

“No middle-class family with an income of under $100,000 should ever have to pay an effective income tax rate of more than 10 percent. If the amount they owe after calculating their taxes is more than 10 percent of their income, they won’t have to pay a dime above 10 percent. If what they owe is less than 10 percent, they’ll pay the lesser amount,” they wrote.

On mandatory service, Mr. Emanuel and Mr. Reed propose that all Americans between 18 and 25 be asked to serve with three months of basic training, civil defense preparation to learn how to respond to any form of attack or how to assist an evacuation or handle a natural disaster and community service.

“This is not a draft - nor is it military,” they write. “We’re not asking young people to be soldiers, but to be citizens - ready to respond to the nation’s needs here at home.”

Mr. Obama talked about service to the nation on the campaign trail, offering a detailed $3.5 billion plan to boost participation in the military, AmeriCorps, foreign service and community work over the summer.

His plan called for expanding the local, state and national service programs known as AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 slots and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 with the goal of strengthening diplomacy, along with an expansion of the armed forces.

The Emanuel-Reed book mostly deals with domestic economic and social issues, but says that in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks and to protect civil liberties, “the United States needs to establish a first-class domestic counterterrorism force.”

“Rather than wait for the FBI or CIA to change ancient bad habits, we can deploy an elite squad custom-built for the job: a new Domestic Defense Division [nicknamed 3D] that would resemble Britain’s successful domestic counterterrorism agency, MI5,” they wrote. “With clear rules, careful oversight and genuine accountability, we can gather intelligence in a way that targets the enemy and leaves law-abiding Americans alone.”

“The Plan” is critical of the three month summer school break as a “remnant of our agrarian past” and proposes lengthening the school day, extending the school year and putting students in summer programs.

They also suggest a “truth-in-tuition” law requiring colleges to set multiyear tuition and fee levels so each incoming freshman student knows “in advance exactly what their degree will cost them.”

Another idea from “The Plan” was to require all employers to offer workers a pension or 401(k) and expect the workers to contribute unless they opt out of the plan.

Story Continues →