Most of Us: A Civic Engine for American Policy Consensus
Summary Most of Us is a national platform that surfaces and amplifies the shared policy priorities of the American public. Built to transcend polarization, this project identifies the top 20 policy non-negotiables that unite 70–80% of Americans—on health, jobs, safety, dignity, and opportunity—and powers a public, transparent policy market where all residents can vote, refine, and elevate the ideas that matter most. This engine prepares the country for a modern, participatory, digitally secure democratic future.
Problem Despite widespread agreement on core policies—from paid family leave to clean air—these issues remain gridlocked in government. Legislators often benefit from division, not consensus. Meanwhile, Americans lack a shared, easy-to-use tool to see, shape, and prioritize the issues that already unite them.
The Two Core Components
1. America’s Shared Policy Platform A living, rank-ordered list of the Top 20 Policies Most Americans Agree On, such as:
- Make Housing Affordable
- Public option for healthcare access
- Paid parental leave
- $15 minimum wage indexed to inflation
- Universal pre-K and child care
- Clean energy investments
- Universal background checks for gun purchases
- End gerrymandering
Each policy is evaluated with:
- Public approval score (from national surveys)
- Estimated impact on lives (e.g., 100M+ affected)
- Budget effect (federal/state projections)
- A “Goodness Score” (equity, health, economic benefit)
This list will evolve via civic participation and expert modeling.
- A Predictive Civic Market for Policy Consensus A digital, secure, quarterly platform where Americans “vote” or “invest” in policies they believe in. This market:
- Allows everyone (residents, not just citizens) to participate
- Builds muscle memory for voting and collective decision-making
- Tests verified digital identity infrastructure
- Cultivates policy literacy and civic engagement
- Functions like a public prediction market, adjusted seasonally
This will be co-designed with voting rights orgs, behavioral economists, and tech platforms with a public-good mission.
Funding Use (Year 1)
- $1M
- National survey synthesis + Delphi panels
- Alpha launch of the policy voting/prediction tool
- Partnership building with civic groups, journalists, and technologists
- Pilot tests with 5 diverse communities
Why Now We are approaching a constitutional and democratic inflection point. The public is disillusioned but aligned. Most of Us gives Americans a mirror and a megaphone—to see their shared priorities and to shape the next civic infrastructure. We can’t wait for elected officials. We must build it ourselves.
Lead Team: A collaboration of public-interest designers, civic technologists, and policy researchers
Fiscal Sponsor / Funder Fit: TBD but possible paths are RWJF (Civic Health), Rockefeller (Democracy), Omidyar (Digital Identity), Knight Foundation (Public Trust)
Project Lead Contact: Juhan Sonin, GoInvo, [email protected], 617.504.3390
All policies have supermajority bipartisan support or strong cross-partisan consensus. Data sourced from Program for Public Consultation (PPC), Gallup, Pew Research, Voice of the People, and others.
| # | Policy | Category | Avg Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shore Up Social Security ("Donut Hole") | Economy | 87% |
| 2 | Ban Congressional Stock Trading | Governance | 86% |
| 3 | Congressional Term Limits | Governance | 83% |
| 4 | National Right to Repair Act | Economy | 83% |
| 5 | Universal Drug Price Negotiation | Healthcare | 85% |
| 6 | AI Safety & Deepfake Liability | Technology | 79% |
| 7 | Universal Broadband & Municipal Internet | Infrastructure | 76% |
| 8 | Mandate "Dark Money" Disclosure | Governance | 85% |
| 9 | Immigration Grand Bargain | Justice | 76% |
| 10 | Invest in Vocational Training | Education | 82% |
| 11 | Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) | Technology | 83% |
| 12 | Universal Background Checks | Justice | 93% |
| 13 | Free and Easy Voter ID | Governance | 81% |
| 14 | Junk Fee Prevention Act | Economy | 87% |
| 15 | Expand Child Tax Credit | Economy | 85% |
| 16 | Supreme Court Term Limits (18 Years) | Governance | 78% |
| 17 | Ultra-Millionaire Wealth Tax | Economy | 67% |
| 18 | End Corporate Personhood | Governance | 72% |
| 19 | Voluntary National Service | Society | 80% |
| 20 | Simplified Tax Filing (Direct File) | Governance | 73% |
| 21 | Ban Foreign Ownership of Farmland | Security | 82% |
| 22 | Raise Minimum Wage ($17) | Economy | 70% |
| 23 | Healthcare Public Option | Healthcare | 65% |
| 24 | Expand Nuclear Energy (ADVANCE Act) | Infrastructure | 61% |
| 25 | Police Accountability Standards | Justice | 84% |
| 26 | Affordable Housing Supply (NHIA) | Economy | 71% |
| 27 | 988 Mental Health Lifeline | Healthcare | 64% |
| 28 | Cannabis Banking (SAFER Act) | Economy | 64% |
| 29 | Universal Pre-K | Education | 70% |
| 30 | "Buy American" Mandates | Economy | 75% |
| 31 | Universal Basic Income (UBI) | Economy | 55% |
| 32 | Federal Job Guarantee | Economy | 58% |
| 33 | Medicare for All (Single-Payer) | Healthcare | 63% |
- Economy (13): Social Security, Right to Repair, Junk Fees, Child Tax Credit, Wealth Tax, Minimum Wage, Housing, Cannabis Banking, Buy American, UBI, Job Guarantee
- Governance (8): Stock Ban, Term Limits, Dark Money, Voter ID, SCOTUS Terms, Citizens United, Direct File
- Healthcare (4): Drug Negotiation, Public Option, 988 Lifeline, Medicare for All
- Justice (3): Immigration, Background Checks, Police Accountability
- Technology (2): AI Safety, Kids Online Safety
- Infrastructure (2): Broadband, Nuclear Energy
- Education (2): Vocational Training, Universal Pre-K
- Security (1): Foreign Farmland Ban
- Society (1): National Service