Commonsense platform

Like sharks having sensed blood, big names are circling in on the next presidential election. We've scarcely finished the previous election and are a scant nineteen months away from the next one, so the timing is right.

I advocate citizens ought to uphold their civic responsibility and vote (though my own voting record is dismal) because voting is important. Everyone should vote their hearts and minds. However, I think that voting for President is ineffectual and view the outcome as not likely to have much impact on day-to-day life. But we should all vote, just the same, because voting is important, however paradoxical this is.

I would be enthusiastic about the presidential race if at least one candidate espoused, even just in part, what I call a commonsense platform. A commonsense platform entails using the wide, unconstitutional powers of the modern Presidency to eliminate life's little annoyances. These aren't mere personal grievances but are stances most Americans could agree with. Even if the President also inflated wasteful bureaucracy, started wars, and ate a kitten during their State of the Union address, I'd be happier with their term than with any other President's if only they'd enact one of the follow three agenda items.

1. Nationwide, no-exceptions abolishment of noise-generating car alarms. Public annoyance shouldn't be an acceptable strategy for theft deterrence. Let's return to the days of quieter parking lots, when sirens and alarms meant something and turned heads. People would still be free to innovate new types of car alarms, like one that quietly sends its owner a text message instead of causing a ruckus and hoping a bystander does something.

2. Advertised price is what you pay. Signs, fliers, coupons, menus, and any other publicly listed price should include sales tax and other mandatory fees. If a cell phone plan is advertised as costing $30 per month, then the amount billed should be $30.00 exactly. Include the dozen or so taxes and fees in the advertised price. Also, it would be appreciated if trailing 9's were eliminated. That cell phone plan should cost $30, not $29.99. Let's end price gimmickry.

3. Add the glycemic index to the “Nutrition Facts” label. Many people hate the standard nutrition label and for good reason; there's no end to possible improvements. However, I'm asking for only one: add the glycemic index. Inform eaters how fast a food is absorbed into the bloodstream and how hard the pancreas is made to work. Not all sugars are equal; stop implying otherwise.

That's it. Three things that are non-polarizing, wouldn't cost much to implement, and would make life better for the vast majority. A candidate running on this platform would make me happy to follow my own advice about showing up to vote.