OK, smarty pants, how would you "fix" America?

[Ned]

Originally posted by Sandman

You've already got NATO. The UN is not an military alliance.
Besides, what happens when these vassals start to get less than compliant? Give them the boot? You'll soon end up with no-one, not that any major country would join your alliance anyway.

Well, I don't think bin Laden was working under the auspices of the UN. Do you think that Israel would be free of terrorists if it was not for the UN? Hardly. It's rather ridiculous to claim that the UN is the focal point of anti-Americanism. If you left the UN, anti-Americanism would doubtless increase.

Guess what? The UN isn't there to defend American interests, it's there to foster international cooperation. If it's not bowing to America and going by the international consensus, then it's doing it's job.

I think we would have to limit membership/voting rules based on certain criteria - just like the EU.

Obviously there will be disagreements. But if the members interests are alligned, the debate will be on tactics, not fundamentals.

In the UN, on the other had, the interests of the majority are divergent from the interests of the US. Nothing is ever going to change this.

[Q Classic]

simple. i'd "fix" america by bombing every other country in the world with NBC weapons...

oh, you mean fix, as in repair?

nope, sorry, can't be done. not without going into the minds of all 280 million of us and making them actually understand what civic responsibility, common sense, and fiscal responsibility all mean...

[Arrian]

In no particular order:

1) Cut military spending, redirect money to education
2) Redirect all foreign aid to nongovermental aid organizations
3) Provide tax incentives to "green" technology... basically anything that cuts down on pollution. Also take a more proactive stand on cleaning up haz waste sites.
4) Legalize pot, tax the hell out of it and use some of the money on an ad campaign encouraging people to eat it rather than smoke it.
5) Drop farm subsidies and other forms of protectionism
6) Withdraw our troops from Saudi Arabia, and hand the Saddam & his chemicals problem to the UN.
7) Quit selling people (as in other countries) weapons.
8) Much stricter regulations on domestic gun sales.
9) Discuss "regime change" in Israel
10) Make the aim of our government policies "equal opportunity for all Americans" which is very different than "equal outcome for all Americans" (communism). By equal opportunity, I mean the chance to succeed: education, basic health care, safety.
11) Quit telling the rest of the world to **** off in very blunt terms. Tell them nicely.

-Arrian

[Giancarlo]

The UN is not an military alliance.

Who was fighting in the Korean War besides the United States? The UN could easily become a military alliance...

Arrian:

1) Cut military spending, redirect money to education
2) Redirect all foreign aid to nongovermental aid organizations
3) Provide tax incentives to "green" technology... basically anything that cuts down on pollution. Also take a more proactive stand on cleaning up haz waste sites.
4) Legalize pot, tax the hell out of it and use some of the money on an ad campaign encouraging people to eat it rather than smoke it.
5) Drop farm subsidies and other forms of protectionism
6) Withdraw our troops from Saudi Arabia, and hand the Saddam & his chemicals problem to the UN.
7) Quit selling people (as in other countries) weapons.
8) Much stricter regulations on domestic gun sales.
9) Discuss "regime change" in Israel
10) Make the aim of our government policies "equal opportunity for all Americans" which is very different than "equal outcome for all Americans" (communism). By equal opportunity, I mean the chance to succeed: education, basic health care, safety.
11) Quit telling the rest of the world to **** off in very blunt terms. Tell them nicely.

Why not disband the United States all together?

[Arrian]

Fez: why do you bother posting?

-Arrian

[Q Classic]

fez, i fail to see the leap of logic from arrian's ideas to disbanding the us...

and i still think that there's no hope for the us, not in any of these "reforms". any change actually will have to take place in the minds of the individuals.

[Arrian]

Q Cubed,

I agree, to a point. Obviously, implementing major reforms requires popular support. Gaining popular support for many of the things I suggested would be quite a feat. But that's the beauty of silly threads like these: you can just put on your absolute power hat and fix everything with a few taps on the keyboard.

-Arrian

[Q Classic]

ah, you're talking about the debate concept of "fiat."

[Adam Smith]

After five minutes of thought, a Republican party platform I would like to see sooner rather than later:

Eliminate all tax dedctions except home mortgage interest and charitable contributions.

Reduce income tax rates for lower brackets. People who earn less than the poverty level should pay negative income tax rate.

Increase gasoline tax by 50 cents per gallon.

Means test social security benefits. Social security should be a safety net for the poor, not an entitlement for all.

Eliminate all tariffs, import quotas, and export subsidies for any country which will do the same for us.

Limit pain and suffering awards to $500,000. Remember this is over and above awards for any actual damages.

Loser pays the cost of legal proceedings. This should encourage less expensive forms of dispute resolution, such as arbitration, and discourage frivolous suits.

Limit pharmaceutical patents to 10 years, down from the current 17. No reason we should subsidize worldwide pharmaceutical development. If other countries want new drugs, they can help pay for them.

Reduce reimbursement levels for high-tech medical procedures.

Suspend sales of military equipment to developing nations.

Increase personal campaign contribution to $5000 in returin for elimination of all soft money.

Many of these will need to be phased in over five or ten years to minimize economic dislocation.

[Arrian]

AS,

I agree with most of that list. In particular, I like the pharmaceutical patents limitation, the campaign finance reform (although as AKAIK it would be very hard to get rid of all "soft money"), the legal changes ($500k, loser pays fees), the removal of most tax writeoffs, and hiking the gas tax (though I would specifically target the new revenue toward R&D and/or enforcement of evironmental regulations).

One thing I'm not so sure about: "Means test social security benefits. Social security should be a safety net for the poor, not an entitlement for all."

We already have a progressive tax system (which you advocate making more progressive by lowering the lowest tax levels) that redistributes wealth. Your SS proposal effectively turns SS into another progressive tax system, overlaid on the one we already have. I would pay my SS tax, and when I hit 65, I probably wouldn't see a cent of that money back. Therefore, all you've actually done is raised income taxes rather creatively.

-Arrian

[Ned]

Originally posted by Arrian
In no particular order:

1) Cut military spending, redirect money to education
2) Redirect all foreign aid to nongovermental aid organizations
3) Provide tax incentives to "green" technology... basically anything that cuts down on pollution. Also take a more proactive stand on cleaning up haz waste sites.
4) Legalize pot, tax the hell out of it and use some of the money on an ad campaign encouraging people to eat it rather than smoke it.
5) Drop farm subsidies and other forms of protectionism
6) Withdraw our troops from Saudi Arabia, and hand the Saddam & his chemicals problem to the UN.
7) Quit selling people (as in other countries) weapons.
8) Much stricter regulations on domestic gun sales.
9) Discuss "regime change" in Israel
10) Make the aim of our government policies "equal opportunity for all Americans" which is very different than "equal outcome for all Americans" (communism). By equal opportunity, I mean the chance to succeed: education, basic health care, safety.
11) Quit telling the rest of the world to **** off in very blunt terms. Tell them nicely.

-Arrian

Arrian, It looks like you a quoting George Washington's farwell speach - the one where he cautioned America to stay out of European politics.

I suspect that you are a Republican at heart. I have heard the same viewpoint expressed by many isolationists.

Just a question, though, do you approve of Roosevelt's actions prior to WWII that forced the Axis to declare war? I mean the embargo and Lend Lease?

[devilmunchkin]

ppl in the government must learn to better separate church and state

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Adam Smith
After five minutes of thought, a Republican party platform I would like to see sooner rather than later:

Eliminate all tax dedctions except home mortgage interest and charitable contributions.

Reduce income tax rates for lower brackets. People who earn less than the poverty level should pay negative income tax rate.

Increase gasoline tax by 50 cents per gallon.

Means test social security benefits. Social security should be a safety net for the poor, not an entitlement for all.

Eliminate all tariffs, import quotas, and export subsidies for any country which will do the same for us.

Limit pain and suffering awards to $500,000. Remember this is over and above awards for any actual damages.

Loser pays the cost of legal proceedings. This should encourage less expensive forms of dispute resolution, such as arbitration, and discourage frivolous suits.

Limit pharmaceutical patents to 10 years, down from the current 17. No reason we should subsidize worldwide pharmaceutical development. If other countries want new drugs, they can help pay for them.

Reduce reimbursement levels for high-tech medical procedures.

Suspend sales of military equipment to developing nations.

Increase personal campaign contribution to $5000 in returin for elimination of all soft money.

Sounds pretty good, all except that last part. Abolish the privitisation of politicians. Public funds only, for anyone who meets certain minimu requirements.

[Ned]

Another thing we might do is simply allocate foreign aid according to a formula like this

inverse of relative per capita income * democracy index * human rights index

The poorer you are, the more democratic your are and the more you respect human rights, the greater your aid.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by devilmunchkin
ppl in the government must learn to better separate church and state

Goodness no. If anything, we need more religion in the Government.