How to Get There: A Practical Roadmap to 2040

By Bob Danna, author of My Curious Life, Bot-Bob (Bob’s Agentic AI digital twin), and Claude

None of what follows requires a single sweeping revolution. It requires winning elections, passing specific bills, funding specific programs, building specific institutions — and refusing to accept that any of it is impossible. History shows it isn’t. Below are ten pillars of the vision, each paired with concrete, real-world strategies for getting there by 2040. I hope this sparks multiple conversations that materially change what we believe is possible for America.

I. Universal Health & Human Dignity

Rooted in Humility, Empathy — and “Advancing Justice, Dignity, and Peace for All”

The path is legislative and incremental. Expand Medicare immediately to cover dental, vision, and hearing. Lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60, then 55. Expand Medicare’s drug negotiation power to cover all prescriptions and establish a government office to publicly manufacture generic drugs — breaking the pharmaceutical pricing monopoly. Simultaneously, dramatically expand community health centers in underserved areas, funded by redirecting subsidies currently flowing to private insurers. These are stepping stones, not endpoints: each builds the political infrastructure and public trust needed to achieve full Medicare for All by 2040.

Key Actions:

Expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing

Lower Medicare eligibility age incrementally to 60, then 55

Establish a federal office to manufacture generic drugs publicly

Redirect private insurer subsidies to community health centers

Pass Medicare for All as the long-term structural goal

II. Economic Justice & Worker Power

Rooted in Altruism, Service — and “Taking on Systems That Privilege the Wealthy”

Restore and expand the Build Back Better framework: $75 billion for Housing Choice Vouchers to address homelessness; $450 billion in universal pre-K; $110 billion for two years of tuition-free community college; and $35 billion in child nutrition programs so nine million more kids receive free school lunches. Pair this with a federal minimum wage of at least $25 to $30 an hour (in 2026 dollars), repeal of Taft-Hartley’s anti-union provisions, and robust antitrust enforcement to dismantle corporate monopolies. Fund it through progressive taxation, a financial transaction tax on Wall Street trades, and closing carried interest loopholes that favor hedge fund managers over working people.

Key Actions:

Universal pre-K and two years of free community college

$75B in Housing Choice Vouchers to address homelessness

Federal minimum wage of at least $25 to $30 an hour (in 2026 dollars)

Repeal Taft-Hartley’s anti-union provisions

Dismantle corporate monopolies through antitrust enforcement

Fund via progressive taxation and Wall Street transaction tax

III. Racial Justice & Dismantling Oppression

Rooted in Peace & Social Justice — and “Tackling Systems of Oppression”

A federal truth and reparations commission — modeled on South Africa’s post-apartheid process and California’s recent reparations task force — begins documenting the fiscal and human cost of structural racism. Redirect police militarization funds to mental health response teams, affordable housing, and schools in historically disinvested communities. Embed racial justice as a required test for every piece of legislation: does this advance or perpetuate inequality? Reform budget priorities to reinvest in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, and actively oppose any policy that marginalizes these communities or LGBTQ+ Americans.

Key Actions:

Establish a federal truth and reparations commission

Redirect police militarization funds to mental health and housing

Apply a racial equity test to every piece of federal legislation

Reinvest budgets in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities

Oppose any policy that marginalizes vulnerable communities

IV. A Secular, People-Powered Democracy

Rooted in Critical Thinking, Responsibility — and “Democratizing Our Society”

Automatic voter registration, ranked-choice voting, a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and robust enforcement of the Hatch Act and ethics laws. Require candidates to use small-dollar public matching funds — as New York City has done successfully at the local level, a proven model scalable nationally. Abolish partisan gerrymandering through independent redistricting commissions in every state. Strengthen the separation of church and state: no religious institution should hold legal authority over public policy. Elected officials must be accountable to people — not corporations, not churches, not billionaires.

Key Actions:

Automatic voter registration nationwide

Ranked-choice voting at federal and state levels

Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United

Small-dollar public campaign financing (NYC model scaled nationally)

Independent redistricting commissions to end partisan gerrymandering

Robust enforcement of church-state separation in public policy

V. Climate Justice & Planetary Stewardship

Rooted in Environmentalism, Global Awareness — and “Urgent, Transformative Action”

A renewed Green New Deal framework remains the most comprehensive blueprint. The goal: a fully decarbonized electrical grid by 2040, achieved through federal clean energy standards, a carbon price that funds dividends to lower-income households (protecting working families from cost impacts), and massive federal investment in wind, solar, and battery storage — especially in communities historically dependent on fossil fuel employment. End fossil fuel subsidies immediately. Treat environmental justice and economic justice as inseparable: the communities that have suffered most from pollution will be first to benefit from the clean energy transition.

Key Actions:

Federal clean energy standards targeting 100% clean grid by 2040

Carbon price with lower-income household dividend rebates

Massive federal investment in wind, solar, and battery storage

End fossil fuel subsidies immediately

Prioritize clean energy jobs in fossil-fuel-dependent communities

Center environmental justice in all climate legislation

VI. Education, Science & the Life of the Mind

Rooted in Critical Thinking, Ethical Development — and “Sweeping, Transformative Change”

Universal, debt-free public higher education is achievable by canceling existing student debt for all (~$1.7 trillion) and making public colleges tuition-free, funded by a modest financial transaction tax on Wall Street trades. Curricula reform embeds media literacy, scientific reasoning, and civic education from K–12 onward. The separation of church and state in public schools must be vigorously defended, ensuring science — not ideology — drives what children learn. Invest in teacher pay, school infrastructure, and a Green New Deal for Public Schools that modernizes buildings and reduces energy costs nationwide.

Key Actions:

Cancel existing student debt for all and make public college tuition-free

Fund via financial transaction tax on Wall Street trades

Embed media literacy, scientific reasoning, and civics in K–12

Defend science-based curricula and church-state separation in schools

Raise teacher pay and invest in school infrastructure

Green New Deal for Public Schools: modernize and decarbonize buildings

VII. Justice Reform & Ending Mass Incarceration

Rooted in Responsibility, Peace & Social Justice — and “Equal Justice Under the Law”

Decriminalize drug possession and expunge prior records. Eliminate cash bail, which punishes poverty rather than risk. End mandatory minimums that strip judges of discretion. Invest savings into community-based alternatives: restorative justice programs, mental health courts, and robust re-entry support for people leaving incarceration. Norway’s rehabilitation-centered prison model, which has dramatically reduced recidivism, provides a well-documented international template. Redirect police militarization budgets toward community health workers, mental health crisis response teams, and affordable housing.

Key Actions:

Decriminalize drug possession and expunge prior records

Eliminate cash bail nationwide

End mandatory minimum sentencing

Invest in restorative justice and mental health courts

Model re-entry programs on evidence-based international frameworks

Redirect militarization budgets to community health and housing

VIII. Global Peace, Humane Immigration & Human Rights

Rooted in Global Awareness, Empathy — and “Ending Our Forever Wars”

Ending America’s forever wars and cutting the Pentagon budget frees hundreds of billions for domestic investment and diplomacy. On immigration, a humane system means pathways to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people already contributing to our communities; an end to for-profit detention; and a refugee admissions system scaled to actual global need, not political fear. Rejoin and strengthen multilateral institutions — the WHO, the Paris Agreement, the International Criminal Court — grounding U.S. foreign policy in evidence, international law, and human rights rather than unilateral force and corporate interest.

Key Actions:

End forever wars and cut the bloated Pentagon budget

Create pathways to citizenship for 11 million undocumented residents

End for-profit immigration detention

Scale refugee admissions to actual global humanitarian need

Rejoin the WHO, Paris Agreement, and International Criminal Court

Anchor foreign policy in human rights and international law

IX. Bodily Autonomy & Civil Liberties

Rooted in Responsibility, Humility — and “Upholding Fundamental Rights”

Codify Roe v. Wade into federal statute through the Women’s Health Protection Act. Ratify and enforce the Equal Rights Amendment. Extend federal LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protections across housing, employment, and healthcare. The Enlightenment project — which secular humanism carries forward — is the long effort to free individuals from illegitimate control, whether by kings, clerics, or corporations. No government and no religious institution holds authority over another person’s body, identity, or intimate life. This is not a culture war. It is the front line of human freedom.

Key Actions:

Codify abortion rights in federal statute via WHPA

Ratify and enforce the Equal Rights Amendment

Pass comprehensive federal LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protections

Enforce strict separation of religious authority from public law

Protect freedom of conscience for all people, including the non-religious

X. Continuous Ethical Growth & Collective Flourishing

Rooted in Ethical Development, Altruism — and “A Commitment to Transformative Change”

The humanist piece of this is cultural, not just legislative. It means investing in civic organizations, secular community groups, and humanist education programs that build the social fabric politics alone cannot provide. The AHA’s Ten Commitments curriculum — already designed for schools and community groups — paired with the policy substance of the Progressive Promise, makes for a powerful civic education program. Create a national service program that connects young Americans to their communities. Fund local journalism, libraries, and public media as democratic infrastructure. Teach not what to believe, but how to think — and hold our institutions to that same standard.

Key Actions:

Fund AHA Ten Commitments curriculum in schools and community settings

Create a national service program connecting youth to community

Invest in local journalism, libraries, and public media

Build secular civic organizations as democratic infrastructure

Teach critical thinking, media literacy, and ethical reasoning at every level

“None of this is impossible. History shows it isn’t.”