The Results North Carolinians Demand — And Deserve

You don’t need to be a political pro to know that North Carolina voters are fed up. In 2016, the state elected new leaders — of both parties — who promised to shake up the political system and upend the status quo.

And, let’s be honest, most people are still fed up today. Just changing the players on the stage is not enough to restore people’s faith in politics.

People want leadership, not partisan battles. They want government with a vision for its people, not just corporate special interests. They want a political system that focuses on the values we share, across the aisle, across our state, and across our country.

That’s why 12 North Carolina state legislators have decided to sign on to America’s Goals, an ambitious vision for renewing our country through action in state legislatures. These long-term goals reflect shared values, not politics or partisanship — and they provide a framework to hold elected officials accountable for achieving them.

The seven goals are:
1. Good Jobs
2. Affordable Quality Health Care
3. Investing in Children
4. Empowering People over Special Interests
5. Equal Opportunity for All
6. Sustainable Infrastructure, Resilience, and Innovation
7. Clean Air, Water, and Energy

If you look into the goals at futurenowusa.org, you can read more about specifics for how progress towards each goal can be measured.

These goals are very different from the fancy rhetoric, sloganeering, and expensive ads that bombard your newsfeeds and TVs every election year. They are ambitious, but they are also measurable. They come with a report card to track our state’s progress all the way to 2030.

Both of us have served as state legislators, and we know how difficult it can be to make a real difference in people’s lives —especially in the face of well-funded opposition from narrow special interests.

We want to work with a broad swath of North Carolinians to elect the next generation of leaders who are committed to achieving America’s Goals — and hold every elected official accountable for making real progress that makes a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

We also know that many people reading this care deeply about the direction we are headed and share our disappointment with the current state of politics. We invite you to try on these goals as part of your conversations about politics. We hope that they can be useful to you in telling others what you care about, and hopefully finding common ground in those things – even across partisan differences.

We need your voice to be successful. Call and email your state legislator and tell them you support America’s Goals. Ask them to sign our pledge and help move North Carolina towards a better, brighter future—starting right now. And during this year’s legislative elections, ask your legislative candidates where they stand on the goals, and make sure that their values match your values before you vote.

There is nothing partisan or political about a future where our economic policies create better-paying jobs, affordable quality health care, and better investment in our children’s educations. A future where we ensure the high-quality infrastructure, and clean air, water, and energy that North Carolinians — people and businesses alike — need to thrive.

We hope you’ll join us in working towards a future where America’s Goals are America’s reality.

This article was co-authored with Daniel Squadron, who is is a former member of the New York State Senate and the co-founder and Executive Director of Future Now. He can be contacted at daniel@futurenowusa.org.

This column originally appeared in the News of Orange.