Not sure I’d consider these 10 to be the most important or ones that the feds should even handle, but here’s one guy’s list.
Top 10 Solutions for a More Perfect Union
The “thumping” taken by the Republican Congress on election day was not just a rejection of K Street corruption and the catastrophe in Iraq. It was a call to action on issues that are more immediately relevant to people’s lives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will begin to answer that call by pushing a “100 Hours” agenda — including common-sense legislation to increase the minimum wage, cut interest on student loans and open the way for Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.
That’s a good beginning, but it’s only a down payment on a broader agenda.
1. Healthcare for All
More than 47 million Americans are now living without health coverage.
[…]
2. Counting Every Vote
Representative Rush Holt has introduced the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (HR 550) requiring all voting systems to provide a voter-verified paper trail to serve as the official ballot for recounts and audits.
[…]
6. Stop Outsourcing Torture
Given the recent history of black sites, torture flights, innocent victims and suspension of habeas corpus, this legislation should be an immediate priority.
#6 is an interesting one. If these activities are legal and right according to Bush, why not do it in the US by US personnel? What are we ashamed of that we have to outsource it?
5 they forgot:
1. Overturn the “Enemy Combatant” legislation passed in October. Restore Habeus Corpus!
2. Rescind the war powers granted to Bush before he attacks Iran.
3. Make Presidential signing statements illegal. If the President does not like a bill, force him to veto it.
4. Make War profiteering illegal.
5. Require any company that gets any benefit from any level of government, whether it be special tax breaks, land deals, eminent domain deals, grants, low interest loans, pension bailouts, no bid contracts, or special earmarks, will be required to employ at least half of all employees in the US, pay them livable wages, provide full healthcare benefits, and retirement benefits. Companies that get corporate welfare should not have employees getting welfare as well.
Seems like the same issues they were talking about 20,30,40 years ago. Nothings changed….
Many good ideas but it starts with an abomination. I came to this country from the “universal healthcare” place and can assure you that it can’t be done properly. Look what is happening in England: government picking and choosing who can get which treatment and literally moving toward government controling what people can/can’t eat/drink (schoolchildren food contraversy story posted awhile here on Dvorak). Why? Because if the government is “paying” your health bills (despite it beeing your own taxes) government can dictate what you can do as otherwise you might waste “their” precious money. Does anyone supporting this issue think a minute ahead?
I’d replace #1 with “abolish income tax” and move to the taxation of purchases. It is fair (no one can be exempt) and properly proportional to the income. Losing IRS would be gigantic saving in itself…
Some more…
1. Impeach Bush and his henchmen.
2. Stop Outsourcing.
3. Even out trade imbalance with other countries (either way).
4. Lift the US Embargo on Cuba.
5. Rebuild the US reputation in the world – stop dictating.
7. Access to Higher Education
Senator Richard Durbin and Representative George Miller’s Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act (S 2573 and HR 5150) would cut interest rates on college loans for student and parent borrowers.
Why can’t we hold colleges and universities to the same standard to which we hold oil companies and health insurance companies? How come they shouldn’t feel any pressure to reduce their sky-high tuition, which in most cases has quadrupled in the past two decades?
Top priority – count ALL votes, attach felony criminal penalties for fraudulently disqualifying voters the way that Bushie consultant did in Florida.
Add small flat tax on ALL corporate revenue flows. It wouldn’t take much to generate billions.
Add penalties (call it reparations maybe) against any company doing most of its business in the U.S. while maintaining its headquarters in offshore tax havens. Incentives to move back to the U.S., incentives to pay their fair share, penalties and loss of federal contracts if they don’t.
My tribe shall rename Ms. Pelosi. Her Indian name shall be “Stands with Fists”
Sorry, couldnt resist.
#6
I’m sure it was just an over site on your part. I’m sure you would also favor felony penalties for those who fraudulently registered ineligible voters and paid the homeless to register as the Kerry Klowns did.
#3
Another benefit of a national sales tax replacing income tax is the tax inherently favors saving instead of spending. This could have a beneficial effect on reducing credit card debt, encourage saving more for your retirement, college, etc.
As far as the national health care. If one has to do that, why not just remove the age 65 limit on Medicare. This is a system already in place, has already it’s rules and would still allow private health insurance to continue to exist as a supplement. How much this costs however would be the tax of the century.
#8, Major Jerk
Let’s see what has government done that private industry hasn’t, won’t, or does a piss poor job at.
Well, the Environmental Protection Agency. Industry sure didn’t want to go there. Funny how much the people do though.
Amtrak. Yup, the Rail Roads sure want to provide passenger service. Not a profitable venture for sure, but it keeps cars from the road, reducing pollution.
Medicare and Medicaid. Wow, look at all the insurance companies crying to insure the elderly and poor.
Veterans Administration. See Medicare / Medicaid.
Food and Drug Administration. Yup, regulation of the drugs we take would be so much better served by the same companies selling the drugs.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Ya right, we can really trust corporations to tell the truth.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Board and National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Another area that industry leads the way with safe automobiles standards. And all the auto recalls would have been totally voluntary.
Gee, which of these could or would be better served with private entities? Please note, I cut the list short. I could have gone on and on and on and …
#9, I’m sure it is an oversight on your part, but WHAT EFFEN PAID HOMELESS registered to vote for Kerry? BTW, even the homeless are eligible to vote in this country.
When asked, no voting official has been able to document unqualified voters as a problem. The problem is with the qualified voters disqualified because of Republican tactics.
I care about quality of life issues and the environment. Gangs of hoodlums roaming the streets and urban sprawl are things the lowlife Democrats don’t seem to mind. A police state doesn’t seem worth mentioning, it seems, now that they think it’s theirs to run. It seems to me that the government has done O.K. with space exploration and delivering the mail.
What will really happen.
1. Blame Bush for everything
2. Say you are looking to clean up government, but instead just look for ways to benefit you and keep you in office.
3. Raise taxes
4. Pretend to care about minorities and the poor when all you really want is their vote.
5. Really long speaches full of great ideas and sweeping changes, only to pass nothing except maybe if it relates to #2.
Sorry fokes, but the Dems are just as bad as the Republicans. They may do some good at first, but the longer they stay the sooner everyone will be wishing for a change again.
The government is like fire. When kept small and used properly it can heat your house, make electricity, and improve the quality of life for all mankind. However, give it too much fuel, and it can grow out of control to become one of the most destructive forces on the planet.
Taxes are the fuel of government.
Mr Fusion,
One of your finest.
How long, I wonder, until this rickety house of cards collapses of it’s own weight, and then what do we do? We are at the mercy of souless corporations, predatory politicians, a lunatic fringe media, scheming marketers and religous zealots screaming death and damnation. People that want to get involved really have no clue where to start or who/what to fight.
I suspect that, post crash, it will be easier to answer to the local war lord. And if he (or she?) gets on your nerves then pop his/her ass and get another one, or hell, take the job yourself.
#18….sounds almost Libertarian. Plus a huge helping of real Conservatisim. Both of which are anathama to the Left and Liberals in general. There whole reason for being is to take away personal intitive and responsability, by allowing the goverment to control all aspects of a citizens life. They want higher taxes, not so they can fund all of their dream projects but in able to leave the average person with as little money as possible to ensure that they will need to turn to goverment for all of their needs and problems.
Health care is my bugaboo….National Health Care will not work in this country as it is presently made up……it’s falling apart rapidly in Britain where they have bearly over 50 million people and the largest share of the highest taxes outside Scandinavia……what makes Liberals think it will work here. They really don’t(not the actual power broker Liberals, the common man Liberal believes the BS), but it will allow them to take control of a huge part of the economy and our lives, to dictate to us what’s right and not right according to their way of thinking. By making the entire country dependent on goverment as the poor already are, the Liberals would be in their Nirvana.
Flame on ……
Dismantle the Federal Reserve.
Put the United States back on the Gold/Silver monetary standard
End welfare for individuals and corporations.
I would include a comprehensive Bill of Rights for the Modern Age” including:
1) Strict limits on government monitoring of personal information and communication
2) Clear guidelines and limits on private industry in gathering, selling and sharing our personal information
3) Requirements that private industry safeguard our information from identity theft and severe penalties when they fail to do so.
#20 >>Put the United States back on the Gold/Silver monetary standard
Wouldn’t that basically freeze all economic growth?
I think it is economic conventional wisdom that we had to jettison the gold standard in order to modernize our economy.
my 2¢
if you just have to have free medical…
free (and fraudulently bloated) healthcare already exists in the USA.. its called Medicaid. just hand out a medicaid card to everyone and be done with it.
the only reason they want to reinvent the wheel is so they can create even more bloated gov. branches to justify more tax increases (to siphon off into their own pet projects, no doubt)
-anyway… its just an empty feel good proposal..
leave our medical the way it is.. make it free and the quality of service will fall even lower than it is now..
-s
1. Outlaw apartments. All citizens must live in privately owned homes on a minimum of 1 acre of land.
2. No adult shall be allowed to not own their own personal automobile. Multiple vehicles per person are to be encouraged.
3. Tax credits per mileages driven in single-occupancy vehicles.
4. More road construction to encourage urban sprawl.
5. Any foreign country that criticises the US shall have ALL foreign aid of any type immediately cut off.
6. Every single tax of any kind cut 50%.
7. English is the only language. Even tourists are not to be allowed in without demonstrating rudimentary English skills.
8. Any legislator who votes for a tax increase of any kind will have their own incomes garnished for the rest of their lives by 3X the % they just voted for.
9. It shall be illegal to look at Al Gore or John Kerry without visibly pointing and laughing. It shall be illegal to not vomit in Hillary’s presence.
10. Being a vegetarian is a felony.
11. It is illegal to manufacture ball point pens in a color other than black.
I like to see all the comments posted by people backing away from the ‘new dealer’ notion of universal health care providing a public benefit.
To Mr. Jizz and Mr. Fusion
1. So the poster mistook a public company for a private company, his point about a NGO doing a better job than the government still has merit.
2. An example of government regulation pushing “them out of the market place,” instead of them, I’ll use a piece of technology as an example. When the special interest ridden Clean Air Act was passed all cars were required to have a catalytic converter. Japanese car manufacturers were working on, and developed, ‘clean engine’ technology that emitted less (less being the key term) dangerous fumes and did not require the use of a catalytic converter. But due to special interest oriented government regulation, their technology was unprofitable. Due to federal regulation there was little incentive to further invest in ‘clean engine’ R&D as they were forced to use the poorer performing catalytic converter instead.
3. There’s also an article about the inefficent role of the FDA if I come across it I’ll post it up.
— This is a good example of the ‘Bootlegger and the Baptist’ theory & if anyone is interested I’d suggest checking out econtalk.org where they discusses the role of government attempting to fulfill a public “benefit” instead of a public good.
Finally,
“to be replaced by your fascist propaganda, delusional, drug induced, paranoid rants organized by similar lunitic asylum escapees.
Major Jerk, take a pill then wipe the spittle from your chin.” — What’s going on in your life that warrants such statements? You complain about someone ranting, but you quickly follow it up by one of your own.
#26, Mr. Degenerate,
Who exactly is WE? I don’t want any of YOUR fascist garbage programs. If YOU want them so badly, then YOU pay for it jackass… I won’t support anything that is backed by FORCE of YOUR FASCIST government.
Degenerates like you make this “society” more stupid each day. So yeah, continue paying, but don’t expect me to, Adolf.
You are so brainwashed by the commie propaganda that you went into the deep end of the pool. Have a good time expanding this police state government, Stalin.
I’m glad to see civility and sensibility are still alive and well.
#2: Sounds good but is missing s/g important. “Make those who are voting are eligable to actually vote in thiss country.” This fine little point always seems to be missed…
#27, Mistake a NGO for a private company.
Major Jerk made the big deal about it. So why are you making a big deal about it too? Their whole raison d’etre is to change government thinking on animal welfare. If the WWF is so good, then why do we still have animals on the endangered list? Now I could be wrong about this. Major Jerk could have been talking about the great job the World Wrestling Federation has been doing. That might have been what both of you meant.
Your point #2 is pure bull. A catalytic converter is NOT required if the exhaust is below specific levels. Because of the cost, it is in the manufacturers interest to bet below this level but none has yet for the size of engine used in autos, including the Japanese.
There is also an story about those who heard something on the radio, maybe it was Comedian Rush Limbaugh’s show about right wing nut jerks. If I remember it I’ll post it.
As for Major Jerk’s ranting? When challenged he only raged on about how bad government is, YET couldn’t / wouldn’t come up with ONE example. Same as you. You make pronouncements that you hear from wing nut neo-cons and expect us to believe it.
#28, Gee, I get called a commie and fascist in the same post. Then a Hitler and Stalin too.
How reflective of the right wing nut reactionary crowd. Can’t come up with anything of substance, only name calling.
That’s because YOU are a FASCIST! You want to use force on others to achieve the goals of your political propaganda group. Me on the other hand, I support volantary action on anything. Also, I’m not a right winger. I’m a Libertarian, get it straight moron.