Your suggestions for changes to US political system

[BlueSkyJaunte]

OK, my last "3 brain cells" post was somewhat eye-opening. To wit: despite the seemingly single-minded support of one candidate or another by many of the folks who post here, in reality many of you are picking what you consider to be the lesser of two evils.

So, how do we fix the system? This is a tougher problem than I first anticipated.

Sometimes I think we should just "tax the hell out of the corporations when they send work overseas--if they move offshore entirely, tarriff their imports into oblivion". Of course this isn't really a viable option, who'd employ all those who are left without work as a result of such a corporate exodus?

Or, perhaps, "go to a flat tax or national sales tax and abolish the IRS." Now that sounds good on the face of it, but do you want thousands of goverment employees--who at some point had access to all of your personal and financial information--suddenly cut loose and left to their own devices?

So: tell me what changes YOU would make. No need to be succinct. Justify them. Think about the ramifications of your suggestions. Explain how you would deal with them.

Name callers, picture-posters, and their ilk are invited to read and learn, but not to reply.

I'll take the 10 best ideas and make them the foundation of my platform when I run in 2012 (just kidding! ).

[Superman]

Remove, entirely, corporations and their associations from the public policy-making process. This process should be performed by human citizens, and entities (however legal they may be for tax, investment and other purposes) that are not citizens should be completely excluded.

[SteveStromberg]

Make voter Show ID, the finger print scan verifacation of that ID.

[Mulholland]

Eliminate labor union lobbyists (especially the incestuous government employee unions) and soft money.

Term limits.

Defund the government...More money in government hands = more corruption.

[turbo6bar]

Raise government salaries and demand performance. Permit flexibility in government organizations. If you're overstaffed, lay off employees. If you're understaffed, hire workers, but get an honest days work out of the employees without BS red tape. The government should set an example for others to follow.

Today, I drove up to a rental property I'm rehabbing. Last week, I cut down 4 trees and today the city was hauling away the debris. Normally, you'd see 3 guys doing the work (2 guys keeping shovels upright and one guy actually working). Well, today, 2 guys were working their tails off to clean up the debris. They were hustling. I was honestly shocked and impressed. I'm going to write a letter to the Mayor and CC: Public Works. Those guys deserve a payraise and kudos. Last year's big property tax hike no longer bothers me.

[vash]

running for politics should NOT cost alot of money. hell, it should be cheap. that way anyone can run, not just the ones that can afford to, or even worse the ones backed by special interest. that move alone would change the face of the earth.

turbo6bar, you hit on a good one. in my job, 10% of the people do 90% of the work. tough not to get down about it, or jump on board.

[mikester]

Originally posted by turbo6bar
Raise government salaries and demand performance. Permit flexibility in government organizations. If you're overstaffed, lay off employees. If you're understaffed, hire workers, but get an honest days work out of the employees without BS red tape. The government should set an example for others to follow.

Today, I drove up to a rental property I'm rehabbing. Last week, I cut down 4 trees and today the city was hauling away the debris. Normally, you'd see 3 guys doing the work (2 guys keeping shovels upright and one guy actually working). Well, today, 2 guys were working their tails off to clean up the debris. They were hustling. I was honestly shocked and impressed. I'm going to write a letter to the Mayor and CC: Public Works. Those guys deserve a payraise and kudos. Last year's big property tax hike no longer bothers me.

Performance based pay raises in govt jobs are not possible to my knowledge ( I work for a school district). Plus it seems that you can only really fire someone if they break the law - in the private sector if someone doesn't 'fit' with the organization then they can be let go for a more promising candidate - not so in the government. If people don't work well or any other "performance" related issue then letting them go is next to impossible.

[turbo6bar]

Originally posted by mikester
Performance based pay raises in govt jobs are not possible to my knowledge ( I work for a school district). Plus it seems that you can only really fire someone if they break the law - in the private sector if someone doesn't 'fit' with the organization then they can be let go for a more promising candidate - not so in the government. If people don't work well or any other "performance" related issue then letting them go is next to impossible.

I thought the point of this thread was proposing changes to the system.

Why should the taxpayers be forced to accept mediocrity? If you accept lousy peformance, what message does this send to the good employees? If the bad employee's paycheck is the same as his over-achieving counterpart, what message does this send to the lackey? Thank goodness I'm self-employed.
Jürgen

[Superman]

I click to check on this thread and find Mul's post. I'm not sure whether I should worry about being respectful in my reply, but I can say with emphasis that I disagree completely with each of his suggestions.

<<>>

Sure, just remove the voice of working men and women. That's democracy.

<<>>

To ensure our talented statesmen (a rare find to be sure) cannot continue their good work. Because voters should have a narrow, rather than a wide range of choices.

<<>>

Yeah, this will ensure better performance.

Then, right after that, I see a post by Jurgen which clearly shows that he has a good understanding of government and organizational behavior.

Night and day. Ignorant whining versus engaged intellect.

Oh, I also like the campaign finance suggestions. Several free TV ads (the same for each candidate), TV debates, lots of them, and all the shoe leather you and your unpaid volunteers can wear out.

[RickM]

Originally posted by turbo6bar
Raise government salaries and demand performance. Permit flexibility in government organizations. If you're overstaffed, lay off employees. If you're understaffed, hire workers, but get an honest days work out of the employees without BS red tape. The government should set an example for others to follow.

Amen!

[Mule]

Eliminate all forms of tax but payroll tax. Eliminate payroll deduction. Make every worker sit down once a week & write a check to the Fed, state, county & city govts. Once Joe Six Pack saw for real how much tax he is paying, there would be dead politicians hanging in trees.

[widebody911]

Reverse the Supreme Court decision which equated campaign contributions to free speech.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by Mule
Eliminate all forms of tax but payroll tax. Eliminate payroll deduction. Make every worker sit down once a week & write a check to the Fed, state, county & city govts. Once Joe Six Pack saw for real how much tax he is paying, there would be dead politicians hanging in trees.

Hey, wait a second, I'm not gonna impose that law while I'm in office.

[Mulholland]

Originally posted by widebody911
Reverse the Supreme Court decision which equated campaign contributions to free speech.

That effectively silences all but the media from critique (which explains why big-media was the biggest lobby pushing CFR)...This is a direct violation of the 1st Amendment and one step closer to fascism.

[Moneyguy1]

Wow, Mule..That's harsh..

Ever work in Government?

I have worked in both the private and public sectors. There are as many goldbricks in one as there are in the other. The difference is it is more difficult to see them in the private sector since what they do is shielded. "Good ole' boys" are deeply intrenched in both.

Sure, we pay considerable taxes. How else are we going to pay for many of the services we take for granted?

Getting rid of the corporate influence or at least controlling it would be an excellent start. Anyone read about the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration ruling that defect information will no longer be made public, apparently due to the influence of the automakers?

[CamB]

Originally posted by Mule
Eliminate all forms of tax but payroll tax. Eliminate payroll deduction. Make every worker sit down once a week & write a check to the Fed, state, county & city govts. Once Joe Six Pack saw for real how much tax he is paying, there would be dead politicians hanging in trees.

Yeah, simplify yor tax system. I'm not sure I understand your last point though...

I know what I pay in tax personally - it is pretty easy here. In my case, about 1/3, plus 12.5% sales tax on goods and services.

[concentric]

Originally posted by BlueSkyJaunte
OK, my last "3 brain cells" post was somewhat eye-opening. To wit: despite the seemingly single-minded support of one candidate or another by many of the folks who post here, in reality many of you are picking what you consider to be the lesser of two evils.

So, how do we fix the system? This is a tougher problem than I first anticipated.

I'm not sure we can "fix" it. Reform from within is not possible for a variety of reasons, reform from without is watered-down and resisted by those in power. The balance of power has shifted from the delegation of individual rights to the government for the good of society to the control of individual rights by the government.

How many people here actually believe that we can "fix" the government? We've basically been set up that any re-arrangement in the balance of power between individuals and our "handlers" is illegal.

JCM

[jyl]

Interesting thread. Here's a couple thoughts, pretty much at random.

1. Require balanced annual federal budget, via constitutional amendment.

I used to think the government needed the flexibility to run a deficit in order to stimulate the economy during recessions, and to pay for wars. I now think that this flexibility is hardly ever used correctly when it is needed, and is too often abused when it is not needed. Take it away.

2. Simplify tax code - keep progressive personal income tax but eliminate almost all deductions, impose corporate flat tax and eliminate almost all deductions.

We probably have to keep mortgage interest deduction and dependent credit for practical reasons. Corporations should be required to report the same tax liability to the IRS and to shareholders, and to pay the full corporate tax rate on income earned in so-called "low-tax jurisdictions" overseas.

3. Eliminate gerrymandering (party controlling legislature redraws electoral district lines to advantage its members).

We should require electoral districts to follow zip codes, city/county boundaries, or other existing borders. Require re-districting to be performed by an independent commission under public scrutiny. Prohibit overly frequent re-districting, e.g. only once every 25 years.

4. Establish a strict code of conduct for high-level government officials, impose criminal penalties, and establish a whistle-blower program and an independent prosecutor.

When the Dept of Health and Human Services instructs its head auditor to withhold information from Congress so that the Administration's proposals can get passed, someone should go to jail for a long time.

5. Impose, fund, and enforce national educational testing standards for primary and secondary schools.

I think education is the leading long-term problem for the US. I've traveled in Asia, visited Chinese and Indian technology and manufacturing companies. There are a lot of countries out there with intensely-motivated, hard-working, and well-educated workforces. They are coming after us.

[Superman]

Most of you guys seem to have a good handle on what would be needed in order to 'fix' the "gubmint" problem. Hey, what happened to my Mul quotes?

Send the congress home to be with the people they represent. Allow them to meet for one week every 2 months except in case of national emergency. Eliminate pacs and lobbyists. Let the people talk.