Fixing the US government

[Sprayber]

I would start by executing everyone starting a thread on how to fix the goverment.

[chequita guevara]

Meany.

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Instant run-off for executive positions.

Prolong the misery.

Abolish the electoral college.

So we have no one to blame when we make stupid decisions.

Senate shall have 100 members, PR, from the nation at large.

Then why bother, just have one house.

House shall be PR by state.

Already done that

Increase the number of Reps to something like one for every quarter million people (effectivey doubling the size of the House).

A body that big would become utterly ineffective.

Mandatory retirement for judges.

Yay!

Confirmation of judges upon 2/3rd approval of Senate.

Might depopulate the judiciary.

Give the VP a real job.

Who takes his place in his day job if the President dies?

Public financing for elections, only.

Then you have to set up criteria for who gets the money. You may wind up excluding a genuine candidate, or Someone could make a living off of running for office. Sister Boomboom - Nun of the Above!

Sovreign body amendment, government can't tell you what you can or cannot put in or remove from your body (though you can still be held laible for your actions).

Airline Pilots, truck drivers, train drivers, Airmen assigned to SAC manning missle silos, kids.

Abolish government recognition of marriage: civil unions for all. Let the church deal with marriage.

We'd still need some sort of legal definition as to who can be covered by a person's insurance and etc.

No federal funds for any religious organization, including exemption from taxes.

Are yoy going to remove their not - for - profit status just because they believe in God, or would you include Doctors without Borders as well as Christian Children's Fund?

Government shall not interfere in the free excercise of religion except where unwilling or minor participants might be harmed.

I'm not aware that it does.

All children shall attend public school.

You're going to haul bedridden kids to school?

Nationalize the banks and transportation industries. (Hey, I am a commie. )

Even the failing ones?

Abolish all taxes except strong progressive income taxes.

Strong? As in smelly?

Universal, single payer health care.

Given the current leanings of our country are you sure you'd want that?

Liveable minimum wage, indexed to inflation.
Guaranteed minimum income.

Liveable is soooo debatable.

Public universities shall be free and open to anyone who can meet the standards.

Hey in Italy at one time you didn't even have to be qualified.

Universal conscription for the military or Peace Corp / Americorp (for consciencous objectors).

Where are you going to use all these unskilled kids? The needy require help from people with skills. Besides people who are just avoiding the Army might not be so very motivated to provide quality assistance.

Strict limitation of corporations to specific goal declared in incorporation. Corporations may not own other corporations nor other companies. Ivestors do not have limited liability, but are responsible for damages done with their investments. Corporations shall be limited to 20 years, then disolved.

So if my corporation is making something that's becoming obsolete I can't branch out into another field and at least save some of my employees from the unemployment line? But then again what the heck, Joe Schmoe's dream of making a lifetime career at one company, raising his kids, paying off his mortagage and retiring on a modest pension is the sum of all evil anyway, right?

Copyrights limited to 14 years.

Let's see, anything else? . . .



Abolition of private property and the institution of communism. [/QUOTE]

[Boris Godunov]

A body that big would become utterly ineffective.

Huh? Other countries have Parliaments much larger than that. On the contrary, it ensures that representation is more accurate and there isn't quite the small band of elite ruling the country as there is now.

[Mr. Harley]

Have members of the House of Representatives chosen by lottery for a term of four or so years. They WILL be representative, you have a large enough population sample. It will motivate everyone, liberal, conservative, business, anti-tax, socialist, whomoever to have a GOOD public school system - if you don't, you will get some humdingers proposed as legislation. Just like with military service, you are guaranteed your job when your term is up. It cannot be any worse than the current gerrymandered system the US has now.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Copyrights limited to 14 years.

Don't forget to fix the patent system while you are at it.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
Increase the number of Representatives

That would introduce even more chaos into the system.

[Berzerker]

The special intrest groups are why the governemnt is so messed up generally.

What created special interests? Politicians assuming the power to benefit one group of people at the expense of others - liberal paradise.

[Mr. Harley]

'Scuse me Berserker. I seem to recall a that in the 1850's politicians and the Surpreme Court (remember Mr. Taney) passed a series of laws/judicial decisions abrogating states rights in New England, if they happened to interview with what the slaveholders saw as their rights (this including the abrogating of free Blacks right to due process leading to the kidnapping of some into slavery). Now I don't believe it was liberals that produced these results, which resulted in the first armed federal intervention into a state over slavery - you know, in Boston.

Oh how about the administrations of Taft, Harding, and Coolidge. Now they never passed laws favoring their own special interests . Or the current Bush administration, which along with all the legislative Republicans and quite a few Democrats passed bankruptcy legistion written by the (gasp, a special interest that in benefited at the expense of the general populace, these must be liberals) Banks and other financial interests.

Note - I've never argued that lliberals are very bad about this also. But using them as the example a might bit like the pot calling the kettle black. Now if you wanted to call that political party paradise - I'd agree. Both political parties tend to be insufferable when in control, and cater to their own special interests.

[Ramo]

House shall be PR by state.

Already done that

No, the House (like the Senate) is FPTP, not PR.

IMO, the Senate should be PR, elected nationally, with the House as is but with nonpartisan redistricting.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Berzerker


What created special interests? Politicians assuming the power to benefit one group of people at the expense of others - liberal paradise.

You got it backwards. Special intrests are powerful organizations plus businesses that successfully make politicians cater to them instead of the population at large because Joe Shmoe doesn't have money to influence thier congresspeople. The system as it is makes the country a conservative paridise, not a liberal one.

[chequita guevara]

Let me fix this.

Originally posted by Odin
Special intrests are powerful organizations plus businesses

[Timexwatch]

You'd be surprised how much cash other special interests, like Unions and other big membership groups have to throw around. Unions often hand out cash like candy to candidates.

[GePap]

In terms of simple and achieveable in our lifetimes?

Abolish the Electoral College

End partisan districting for House seats

Clarify the President's role as commander in chief- require direct approval from the House and Senate on any military action that might take more than a week or so, o0r whatever we can come up that is militarily sound advice.

[Odin]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Let me fix this.

Unions are businesses?