This platform has opportunity to be highly controversial, but we encourage everyone to think it through carefully before forming early opinions. If something like this is ever pursued and offered, it will need a mountain of thought put into it.
Let’s start by putting a few thoughts out there: First, immigration to the US is more than that of any other country on the planet. Next, the entire world can’t fit within our current borders. And finally, our model of laws and government have been the most successful and emulated in world history.
Here’s another difficult reality: Aggressive nations (mainly, but not limited to, China) are exploiting developing nations by paying their leaders large sums of cash, and building limited infrastructure for them (a few roads, an occasional airport), all at no additional cost except the assigning of rights to their nation’s resources. China today owns rights to most of the copper resources in South America (critical for electronics production), natural gas stockpiles in eastern African nations, etc.
Another theory to consider: Many entities have been created over the years to encourage global growth and prosperity, including (within the last 110 years) the League of Nations, the United Nations, and various Commonwealths, Alliances, and Treaties. Varying success has been achieved, including the last few years where global extreme poverty has been reduced from 33%+ to now around 10%. But much more can be done. How do we stop pouring billions into aid for developing economies, since historically less than half of that aid reaches its target, while those ruling classes (including oligarchs and dictators) move large sums to offshore locations for their personal benefit and retirement?
One final theory, or aspiration, to consider: Is it time to start evolving plans to unify more of the world, especially in developing (and vulnerable) nations? It’s interesting to hear astronauts talk about how small the world is from space; and yet we remain divided. Is it time to do more? The Moderate Majority theory on this is that we may be ready to start making bold moves on a global scale, with the goal of unifying more of us under a common purpose; but it must form under the right conditions. We know what works, and we know what doesn’t work in terms of governments and economies; let’s try something bold.
The platform to accomplish this is what we will call a Guided United States Territory (GUST) initiative. This will target developing nations, as they remain the most vulnerable to exploitation (and could use protection), corruption, and migration risk. The idea is simple on the surface: If country “A” wants to grow and advance, and their people want laws and rights like the US, then let’s offer them a chance to enter the GUST program. What would that entail? Upon request by that nation to enter the program, the US will execute a treaty that will set the following into motion:
- The US will deploy a team, formed as a public-private partnership, into that country for a year to fully review and discover not only current laws and government structure, but also a complete review of industry and economic potential. This will result in a detailed report and plan to convert that nation to one of prosperity instead of dependency.
- If the country agrees to continue, the country will then be designated a US Territory, and inherit the laws of the US, including currency, and the system of government will migrate into a model similar to other US territories. The new territory will also have representation in the US House of Representatives (as do Puerto Rico, Guam, etc., today).
- The existing national military will evolve to a National Guard, and the US military will assume national protection. A path to becoming a US soldier will also be made available, and a US military base will be established.
- Citizens will have provisional US citizenship that will afford all US rights except that of immediately immigrating to the US; this will have a 5-year delay.
- While the US will pour aid into the territory, the citizens and industries will fall under a new tax structure that will be closely monitored and also include a US Federal Tax obligation, as in other territories. This path prevents the US from pouring money into corrupt regimes with no recourse, while also ensuring the citizens in the territory have representation within the greater US (note our British revolutionary justifications of taxation without representation).
- Industry leaders will be coached by US private partner entities. Not only will existing industries be re-vamped to provide more globally competitive output, but they will also be subject to US OSHA regulations and fair worker practices.
- New industries will be seeded, to leverage the potential within the labor force and other resources within the territory.
- While we are not a proponent of unionized labor (as it has been a critical weakness to American labor and competitiveness in recent decades in many cases), we do support and even encourage organized labor in the territory, with the goal of forcing fair wages and safe work conditions for all workers.
- The US will commence in building and improving infrastructure in the territory, in a closely-watched partnership with both local and US-based private partners. This will be mostly funded by the economic growth (as a partially-forgivable bond instrument, perhaps). This will include water, power, internet and phone access, electricity, roads, and airports.
- Education will come under US oversight and guidance. ESL (English as a Second Language) will be required within the enhanced curriculums.
There is far more to include in this platform, but the intent is to begin expanding US interests for freedom and democracy not by pouring aid to nations that are never fully equipped to handle it appropriately, but to instead expand our borders to include nations that want to be a part of our American achievement. While this should in no way intrude upon the culture and uniqueness of a would-be territory, it should instead create a condition through which people want to remain in their homes instead of abandoning all they have to attempt to enter the US and become Americans.
This is a massive endeavor, and while coming to an agreement with a given country is no small feat, the transformation result will be an astounding example of how to move the world closer to a unified community while preserving all that makes it unique. Most countries, at first, may reject the idea entirely. But considering the benefits, will their people?
We suggest pursuing this strategy in a multi-phased process: First, we should take our existing territories through the process to gauge successes and learn best practices. Puerto Rico and the western Pacific territories are candidates. Next, we should begin courting Central American and Caribbean nations that may be interested in applying to the program. Through all of this effort, however, we should never lose site of the fact that it’s taken the US over 250 years to make us who we are today; we should expect a lot of work to do the same in 15-25 years for each joining country. But imagine what the result would look like?