Project 535's Backbone
A declaration of what we reject so that we can rebuild what matters.
These "no's" represent the heart of the 535 Project.
They are clear lines in the sand—principles we refuse to compromise. By declaring what we stand against, we make space for what we stand for: a government that serves the people, not power.
1. Government Integrity & Accountability
No to Career Politicians
The Problem: America's founders never intended for government to be a lifelong profession. Career politicians evolve from servants into system managers, prioritizing re-election over public duty.
535 Stands For: We believe in citizen leadership. Government should be a calling, not a career, with temporary service marked by integrity and purpose.
No to Corporate Lobbying
The Problem: Corporate lobbying has turned democracy into an auction. Special interest groups spend billions buying access and writing legislation for private gain.
535 Stands For: We demand the end of corporate lobbying and introduction of public transparency laws. Legislation must be written by the people it affects.
No to Insider Trading by Lawmakers
The Problem: Lawmakers profit from privileged, classified financial and policy information—data that moves markets. This is theft from the public trust.
535 Stands For: We stand for an absolute ban on stock trading by any elected official or their immediate family.
No to Endless Terms
The Problem: Decades-long tenures breed complacency and corruption. When representatives have been in office for 30+ years, they rule—they don't represent.
535 Stands For: We support firm term limits for every elected official, ensuring power rotates and accountability remains intact.
No to Pay-to-Play Politics
The Problem: Money has replaced merit. Candidates must raise millions from donors expecting policy favors, ensuring only the wealthy or well-connected reach power.
535 Stands For: We support publicly funded elections and campaign finance reform. Political success should depend on vision, not wealth.
No to Post-Tenure Corporate Kickbacks
The Problem: Lawmakers sitting on corporate boards after leaving office creates a revolving door that undermines public trust.
535 Stands For: We prohibit post-tenure board memberships or lobbying work for a significant cooling-off period.
No to Mass Media Puppets and Propaganda
The Problem: Mainstream media has become a tool of power. Corporate-owned networks push narratives that serve political allies and advertisers over citizens.
535 Stands For: We must rebuild an independent press and decentralize information channels.
No to Censorship or Silencing Truth
The Problem: Censorship, whether by government or corporations, erodes freedom. When platforms silence dissent, democracy withers.
535 Stands For: We defend absolute free speech within the bounds of law. Open dialogue creates real progress.
2. Economic Justice & Fair Markets
No to Profits Over People
The Problem: Corporations measure success in quarterly profits while workers' wages stagnate and essential needs are treated as commodities.
535 Stands For: We believe in rebuilding an economy that values people over profit. When workers thrive, communities thrive.
No to Manipulated Markets
The Problem: Markets are distorted by insider influence and algorithmic trading that favors the few while honest businesses pay the price.
535 Stands For: We demand transparent, accountable markets where regulation serves the public good.
No to Investors Buying 33% of Homes
The Problem: Wall Street and institutional investors are buying up neighborhoods, turning homes into rental assets beyond reach for working families.
535 Stands For: Homes are for people, not portfolios. We support legislation capping institutional ownership of residential housing.
No to Wall Street Bailouts
The Problem: When banks gamble and lose, taxpayers bail them out. When citizens struggle, they're told to cut back.
535 Stands For: End "too big to fail." Those who profit in good times must bear losses in bad ones.
No to Stock Buybacks
The Problem: Corporations use buybacks to inflate share prices instead of investing in workers or innovation.
535 Stands For: We call for restrictions on buybacks and incentives for reinvestment in wages and sustainable growth.
No to Corporate Monopolies
The Problem: Consolidation destroys competition and hands power to a few conglomerates that dictate prices and policy.
535 Stands For: Restore antitrust enforcement and break up monopolies. A healthy economy depends on open markets.
No to Infinite Money Printing
The Problem: Endless debt creation inflates asset bubbles and devalues savings. The wealthy gain while the poor lose purchasing power.
535 Stands For: We need fiscal discipline—sound money, balanced budgets, and transparent monetary governance.
No to GDP Over Happiness
The Problem: GDP measures output, not well-being. It rises when costs soar or people work multiple jobs to survive.
535 Stands For: Redefine success through community health, family stability, creativity, and opportunity.
3. Human & Social Restoration
No to Toxic Food Systems
The Problem: Corporations prioritize profit over health with ultra-processed food while small farms die and chronic illness rises.
535 Stands For: Rebuild a food system rooted in integrity, empowering local farmers and ensuring access to nutritious food.
No to Healthcare Profiteering
The Problem: The industry profits from sickness. Hospital and insurance cartels inflate costs and deny care.
535 Stands For: Healthcare transparency, competitive reform, prioritizing prevention, affordability, and humanity.
No to Big Pharma's Stranglehold
The Problem: Pharmaceutical giants manipulate patents and prices for profit. Medications become luxury goods.
535 Stands For: End price gouging, expand access to generics, achieve government independence from pharmaceutical lobbying.
No to Families Financially Unable to Raise Families
The Problem: Two full-time incomes are needed to survive. High costs of childcare, housing, and education outpace wages.
535 Stands For: Policies that make family formation achievable: fair wages, parental support, affordable housing.
No to Renting Forever
The Problem: Homeownership is unattainable. Skyrocketing prices and investor dominance trap people in permanent tenancy.
535 Stands For: Lower barriers for first-time buyers, expand cooperative housing, eliminate speculative manipulation.
No to Overworked, Underpaid Generations
The Problem: Younger generations work harder for less. Wages haven't kept pace with inflation, crippling student debt, unstable gig work.
535 Stands For: Fair wages, debt reform, a new labor ethic where productivity serves people.
No to Depression as "Normal"
The Problem: Epidemic of mental exhaustion and despair driven by economic anxiety, isolation, and digital addiction.
535 Stands For: Community reconnection, purpose-driven education, economic structures that support mental health.
No to Progress Without Purpose
The Problem: Innovation without asking why. Technology and policy advancing faster than the human spirit.
535 Stands For: Progress serving humanity's soul as much as its science. Breakthroughs must align with collective dignity.
4. Technology, Privacy & Freedom
No to Data Slavery
The Problem: Every action is tracked, stored, and sold. Personal data enriches tech empires while citizens lose autonomy.
535 Stands For: Digital sovereignty. Data privacy laws protecting ownership and banning sale of behavioral data without consent.
No to Selling Our Privacy
The Problem: Big Tech profits by turning lives into products through location tracking, voice assistants, and facial recognition.
535 Stands For: Privacy as a human right. Strong encryption, data transparency, and consumer protections.
No to Algorithmic Control
The Problem: Invisible algorithms dictate what people see, buy, and believe. Social media manipulates thought and suppresses voices.
535 Stands For: Algorithmic transparency and accountability. Platforms must disclose content curation methods.
No to Government Surveillance
The Problem: The state monitors citizens on a massive scale through data collection, facial recognition, and warrantless spying.
535 Stands For: Strict limits on government surveillance, judicial oversight, and whistleblower protection.
No to Automation Without Humanity
The Problem: Automation displaces jobs without a safety net, increasing productivity for the few and creating despair for many.
535 Stands For: Technology that uplifts people through trade education and worker retraining.
No to AI Replacing Authenticity
The Problem: AI imitates art, music, and writing, diluting culture and replacing emotion with replication.
535 Stands For: Technology should assist creativity. Digital authenticity laws protecting creators.
No to Distraction by Design
The Problem: Social media is engineered to hijack attention and profit from addiction through infinite scroll and outrage algorithms.
535 Stands For: Ethical tech design. Interfaces that respect human time and platform transparency.
5. Foreign Policy & National Sovereignty
No to Senseless Wars
The Problem: Lives and treasure sacrificed for corporate and geopolitical interests. Endless conflicts enrich contractors.
535 Stands For: Peace through strength and restraint. Defense policy that protects the homeland, not perpetual war.
No to Foreign Welfare and Endless Aid
The Problem: The U.S. sends billions abroad while domestic needs like homelessness and infrastructure are unmet.
535 Stands For: America-first accountability. Prioritize rebuilding the U.S. before financing others.
No to Foreign Lobbying Power
The Problem: Foreign interests and lobbying groups influence U.S. lawmakers, steering policy to benefit other nations.
535 Stands For: Total ban on foreign lobbying. America's laws written for and by Americans only.
No to Crisis Profiteering
The Problem: Disasters are exploited for profit. Corporations consolidate power during tragedy.
535 Stands For: Transparency and anti-profiteering laws criminalizing exploitation during national crises.
No to Fear as Policy
The Problem: Governments use fear to justify control, keeping citizens divided, compliant, and distracted.
535 Stands For: Courage in leadership and transparency. Policy driven by principle, not panic.
No to Democracy as a Mere Slogan
The Problem: "Democracy" used as marketing while the system is oligarchic with manipulated elections and corporate capture.
535 Stands For: Return to democratic roots: one citizen, one voice, one vote. Transparent elections and term limits.
No to Surrendering America's Future
The Problem: Leaders trade long-term health for short-term gains through generational debt and environmental neglect.
535 Stands For: Leadership must act for the next century, not the next election.
This is our backbone. These are our principles.
We reject the corruption, the manipulation, and the betrayal of public trust. We stand for integrity, transparency, and a government that truly serves the people.