The U.S. is left with a disaster scenario thanks to Presidemented Bush. His work destabilized our nation and imperiled long-term safety and prosperity. Meanwhile, I’m so fed up with the Obama administration already. For his entire campaign we heard “change”. This guy hasn’t brought any change. He’s brought “tinkering”. His slogan should have been “tinkering we can believe in”.
This made me realize, thanks to a recent post by Matt, that the two political parties really don’t have anything to offer as a distinguishing platform. Nobody in today’s two-party system is really out to change anything. They’re only out to amass power and then minutely tweak existing systems to keep their contributors appeased. Never mind we have some systems that are truly broken. Keep adjusting, tinkering, modifying, but don’t bring any real ideas to the table that result in change. That’s the Democrat and Republican way.
When was the last time you truly trusted people in government to come up with the big ideas? If I had been voted President…
1. NO LONGER ARE WE A SUPERPOWER. The United States is no longer interested in serving as the global police. We are done with holding everyone’s hand. We’re trying to put a democratic government into a nation half a world away but we can’t put a man in an apartment here at home? NATO – over. UN – over. We are people who raise kids, play baseball and grow old. Please come visit us because we like tourists. We hope you like our food. But don’t expect us to pick up the phone for your request of military, diplomatic, or economic intervention unless a true coalition of the willing amasses and brokers our involvement.
2. SELL ALASKA AND HAWAII. I’m looking at a ridiculous deficit. I’m also looking at two states that came into the union in 1959 and today account for less than a percent of our population. On the 50th anniversary of their ratification into the union we are packaging them for sale to Russia for half a trillion. I only wish we could sell Texas to Mexico as shameful punishment for Bush.
3. ACCEPT THAT SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE BETTER OFF AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE WORSE. We become an export country. The only way we ensure continued safety and prosperity is by building things that other countries want. A societal mores is continuously promoted that levies honor and accolade among those people who build and ship things that other countries buy. We prop up industries that serve other countries buying needs. We penalize those industries at home which are the tantamount of massaging each other’s back for no real productivity gain. For example, lawyers get a salary cap because they do nothing except translate English into a language nobody else can understand. As a result of all this, the U.S. becomes valued for something else entirely, which means…
4. CUT MILITARY BY 66%. The reason we currently need to have a big military is because we operate as the world’s superpower. We don’t need a military if we become innocuous. I think our #1 export right now is our military. And we’re paying for it. But each person in the citizenry will serve in the military for 2 years between the ages of 19-21. We all learn how to defend.
5. INSTITUTE THE FLAT TAX. The last thing we need is keeping 2.5% of our population working to help the rest of us figure out the 9,000,000 worded tax code. It’s out. Flat tax is in.
6. END THE RIDICULOUS OVERVALUATION OF PEOPLE WHO CONTROL MONEY. Explain to me again how investment bankers on Wall Street really help actual growth? They are vapor paper. Capitalism only goes as far as production and sale of exports takes us.
7. STOP BAILING OUT BROKEN SYSTEMS. When something breaks, it breaks for a reason. Trying to revive a dying fire with watered-down sticks doesn’t do anybody any good. We either retrain labor or don’t get involved.
8. A PENAL COLONY FAR AWAY. With the proceeds from the sale of Hawaii and Alaska we buy some land that becomes a distant penal colony. If you are charged and convicted of a serious offense, you are going far away to a cold and terrible place where criminals are tossed together in a hellish pit of terror. All the jails here are closed.
9. EVERYONE MUST SERVE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS. Similar to mandatory military service, everyone must take part in some way in our political process. Through volunteering, appointment or weekend service, everyone is involved with the process.
10. LIVE AND BREATHE A MANDATE THAT ESPOUSES REAL ‘VALUES’. We are happy to live in the hills, the valleys, the shadows of tall trees. We are happy to share the earth peacefully with each other. We trade in ideas and intellect. Come over and meet my family. A smile is mightier than the fist.
Here Here
You have my vote –
I have to agree with a lot
I have to agree with a lot of your ideas here. I’m sure #2 isn’t a serious suggestion–we’d be much better off shedding some of our protectorates, etc., such as Guam and PR. I’ll wager AK is a net contributor to the country, and helps with #8.
And although I get where you’re coming from with #1, I don’t think we can ever be truly isolationist. The world is simply too small now. It’s like waiting for the smoke detector to go off in your bedroom before leaving, even though you know your home office is on fire. I think we need to be proactive abroad in order to protect national interests.
I’d also add one more: legalize drugs. The money that flows out of the US to fund evil (to Mexican cartels, Middle Eastern terrorists, etc.) is astounding. If it were above the board, this would stop almost overnight.
I, too, am at a new level of frustration. I’ve actually started writing my senators and rep–a first for me. I just can’t believe these guys are as stupid (or evil?) as their policies suggest. But I may be wrong about that….
I Am Serious – Hawaii is Gone
I’m actually serious about selling off Hawaii and Alaska, unless, as you expertly noted, we could use Alaska as the penal colony. Then it’s worth it for the land to send all the criminals. Palin is already there so the taxpayers wouldn’t have to fork over money for that shipment.
I also forgot to add as my previous idea that #11) the government provides health insurance to everyone except for those who consistently make bad health choices that put them in a risky profile for no fault except their own. So, if you smoke you don’t get health insurance. There are other conditions (obesity, e.g.) that would get people expelled from national health care.