[quote]angry chicken wrote:
I think that EVERY member of government, from president to congress to an employee at the DMV, should have an 8 year term limit. I would be open to some exceptions to that, but as a general rule, I stand by it.
I believe that there should be ZERO salary for congress, Judges, or the executive branch. This serves two purposes: A) one would have to be fairly successful (and therefore intelligent, a go getter and everything that being successful implies) so as to have a substantial amount of savings to be able to afford to serve in public office; and B) it would make term limits easier to enforce, because people would be unwilling to take too many “earning years” off to serve in government.
I also believe that Citizenship is something that should be earned. Sure, if you are born here, we can’t kick you out and there is no “penalty” for not being a Citizen (you can own property, start a business, etc…). But in order to take part in the political process or bear arms, you have to earn it. Two years compulsory service in either civil or military service AND the ability to pass a citizenship exam both oral and written IN ENGLISH. Obviously you’d have to be a Citizen to run for public office.
To qualify for the office of President, or Commander in Chief, will all the power of the strongest military in the world at your fingertips, then you shall have served in the military, IN A COMBAT ZONE.
The criminal justice system needs to be completely overhauled. That could be a thread in and of itself.
I think the “sin” laws need to be abolished (prostitution, certain drugs under certain amounts, laws on the books governing oral and anal sex that still exist). Giving people multiple years for a dime bag of weed or confiscating their vehicle over a $20 blowjob is fucking stupid.
Immigration should be handled by coming down hard as fuck on the people who employ illegal immigrants - make turning a blind eye to save a few bucks in labor too high a price if you are caught. But, give EVERYONE a worker id number so that EVERYONE can be taxed. Those who chose to enter the country illegally can NEVER become citizens. Those who play by the rules and enter legally can have a path to citizenship.
I would abolish the IRS and implement a flat tax. If you spend, you pay. I would not tax food staples such as milk, bread, meat, flour, sugar, beans, veggies, fruits, etc. I would tax processed foods, soda and junk food.
Break up the internet and cable companies for anti trust violations and make it illegal for them to “bundle”. Our cost for internet is ten times that of other countries and it is slower - fucking ridiculous.
Reform tort law, patent law, all those other fucking laws that do nothing but complicate our lives. They really are not necessary. I know that this may slow innovation down. But that MIGHT actually be a good thing. Too much change in a short time causes many unforeseen problems.
Campaign finance reform. Get the money out of politics. Make being a lobbyist illegal. An industry should not be allowed to pay an individual to have a job description that consists solely to wine, dine and bribe the people responsible for our political process so that it furthers their industry. That’s bullshit.
Overhaul public assistance. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. Stop incentives for women to become baby factories so that they can get a bigger welfare check.
Give homeless people food and shelter, but make them earn it with volunteer service.
Get rid of the 501 (c) tax exempt organizations that don’t have to do with managing pensions. This MIGHT actually encourage more companies to provide pensions for their employees and subsequently lessen the demand for social security.
Which brings us to entitlements, at last. We need to phase out of that ponzi scheme. Some sort of social safety net would be helpful, perhaps open only to citizens, and only a small amount. But every one needs to stop acting like an entitled child and save some fucking money for retirement. Not having a capital gains tax would encourage this.
One of my more radical ideas, that I’m not so sure about, but find interesting and would like a debate on is this: getting rid of fiat currency and returning to the gold standard. HOW could that best be accomplished? I think it would seriously rock our economic system to the ground, but I think it would be worth it in the long term… I mean printing money is simply unsustainable.[/quote]
Great post AC.