Design your own political party

[Whoha]

Originally posted by JellyBean
I thought that a tax that was neither progressive nor regressive would be a poll tax - everyone pays the same amount. If you tax on a percentage of income, people with greater incomes pay more, which makes it progressive.

thats called a flat tax, and its not progressive because they don't pay a greater percentage of their income(which I don't see why they should have to...) :P

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Whaleboy


I mean technology capable of surpassing humans in mental capacity. Technology should be our tools, not the other way around.

intelligence != power - just look at the President

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Drogue
Maniac: Will reply when I have time

No problem. I don't have much time myself. Btw, this is what happens in a country without minimum wages and labour unions. Certainly, it may lead to more wellfare for a part of the population, but is this really the world you want to live in?

[chequita guevara]

I already have my own party.

[Odin]

Originally posted by JellyBean
Change tariffs to mirror those of other countries. If Elbonia imposes an average 20% tariff on goods exported to it, impose a 20% tariff on imports from Elbonia. An exception: if the other country has an identical policy, cut tariffs entirely so that they do so too.

Impose some sort of basic eugenics system. Nothing too fancy - just getting rid of inherited disease, and limiting family size. Even allocating children by lottery would be better than the current system, in which humanity is being selected for the inability to use birth control.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
I already have my own party.

Yes, and we're all very much impressed by your "party."

[Imran Siddiqui]

Change tariffs to mirror those of other countries. If Elbonia imposes an average 20% tariff on goods exported to it, impose a 20% tariff on imports from Elbonia.

Why should let other countries decide our tariff policy? If we believe that having lower tariffs is better, say having low tariffs with developing countries, while they have a bit higher ones to build up nascent industies, why should we quash it?

[Jon Miller]

short term

1 anti abortion
2 minimum wage raised to 12 or so (and this moves so as to stay with the cost of living)
3 increase research budgets (double or triple)
4 increase taxes on wealthy
5 abolish multinational corporations
6 decrease taxes on poor
7 make simple food and the like (neccesary for survival) free
8 remove tax breaks for companies
9 began managing the important parts of the environment (Kyoto was stupid, however, we really need to do something about our water)
10 decriminalize pot (not legalize it, decriminalize it)
11 free healthcare for all
12 more worker rights
13 no discrimination (means no AA)
14 legalize homosexual unions
15 make all schooling free
16 make it so that it is easy for anyone to run for office
17 fix up afganistan and iraq (don't leave until they are stable, prop up the government that takes over after us)
18 end corporate subsidies
19 introduce wealth tax (this is not a tax on things like houses and the like, rather it is a tax on things like money in the bank or money in stocks and bonds)
20 allow open immigration into the country as long as immigrants show that they are being productive members of society (wether you are allowed to stay in depends on your productivity, if you are productive for say 10 years, than you will become a citizen and get all benifits of being one)
21 increase difficulty of school, make it so that there is a real risk of failure and that C is really an average command of the material
22 add in more vocational schooling opportunities (you learn while you work and get payed)
23 support of worker owned cooperatives (with tax incentives and the like)
24 two prison systems, one for violent felons and the other for softer criminals (drugs, white collar), the lighter one would have the prisoners work for the government (and give education opportunities)
25 decrease taxes for families and give them more support
26 invest more in mass transit, increase taxes on gas and the like, increase taxes on alcohol and tobacco

probably is more....

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Al'Kimiya
1) Strict obedience of the sabbath day (that saturday, you heretics).

I agree that it is Saturday, and that it is important. But I feel that that is something that people should decide for themselves, and deal with themselves, and the government should not be involved.

Jon Miller

[Kuciwalker]

5 abolish multinational corporations

you would achieve THAT exactly how?

[Ben Kenobi]

20 allow open immigration into the country as long as immigrants show that they are being productive members of society (wether you are allowed to stay in depends on your productivity, if you are productive for say 10 years, than you will become a citizen and get all benifits of being one)

Western society's population growth comes almost solely from immigration. I would love to lower the bar, so to speak, but I don't like the notion of productivity? How would you define such a squishy term?

[Kull]

There's only one plank for my political party:

1) Institute a modernized version of the ancient Athenian Ostracism process. The basic principle would remain the same - every year there'd be a general election by secret ballot and whoever got "X" million votes would be evicted from the country for ten years. No appeal. Just pack your bags and go. The chief executive would probably have to be immune during his term of office, and perhaps a few others. We'd need to ensure the country is still governed normally, while guaranteeing good behaviour by ensuring that immunity ends when the officeholder steps down.

At first it would look pretty chaotic, since each party would try to rally the faithful to banish the leaders of the other side, but pretty soon everyone playing that game would be gone (prime targets for the other side, obviously). One of the key features of this rule is that it applies equally to EVERYONE - so all the hardline, no compromise cheerleaders in the media and Hollywood would be ridin' on out of town as well. Eventually a few bright bulbs would realize that antagonising the oppostion is truly a no-win proposition. And on that day, a truly different style of politics would be born.

You want civility in public discourse? Respect toward your opponents? A reasoned approach to thorny problems? This process - and no other - would get us there within a few years.

[Jon Miller]

would not allow the multinationals to operate within the US

productivity would mean that they would have to be employed full time, ignoring certain excusing factors

Jon Miller

[Al'Kimiya]

Originally posted by Jon Miller


I agree that it is Saturday, and that it is important. But I feel that that is something that people should decide for themselves, and deal with themselves, and the government should not be involved.

Jon Miller

This is imho a naive way of dealing with people. People obviously doesn't make very good choices for themselves, as is seen by the numerous occasions of civil disorder (bestiality, gambling addiction, freeloading etc). Strict guidelines is a must for a working society. Be it the sabbath day or something else. A herd in disarray is a competetive disadvantage.

[Tingkai]

So for those of you who are against abortion, would you allow abortions for women who become pregnant after being raped, or when a pregnancy puts the mother's life at risk, or if the fetus is so severely deformed that it will die at birth?

Just asking.