a "no whining, just solutions" thread

[anthony 911]

Originally Posted by porsche-o-phile

- For Every New Law Enacted, Two Must Be Stricken From The Books Until Some Reasonable Number Of Total Laws Is Reached, Then It Can Become 1-for-1.

- Every New Law Must Have Some Kind Of Expiration Date Or "sunset" Provision

- No Right Of Citizenship For Anyone. Citizenship Will Be Earned By People Upon Completion Of A Mandatory Two-year Civil Service Program Upon Completion Of High School Or Their 18th Birthday (whichever Applies). These Programs Will Give Young People A Choice Of Military, Public Works Improvement, Administrative, Law Enforcement, Search/rescue/public Safety Or Other Programs. When They Complete The Programs, They Will Have Earned Their Citizenship (at Age 20) And Now Have The Rest Of Their Lives To Pursue Interests, College, Career, Whatever.

- Requirement For A Balanced Budget Every Year By Federal, State And Local Branches Of Government.

- Re-instate (and Expand) Tax Credits For High-efficiency And Alternative-fuel Vehicles.

- Build More Solar, Wind And Nuclear Power Plants. Expand Domestic U.s. Refining Capacity In The Short Term. If The Nimbys Don't Like It, They Can Move.

- Strict Global Term Limits. For Sake Of Argument Let's Say 15 Years. That Means A Person Can Only Serve A Total Of 15 Years In Any Elected Office. Five Years As Dog Catcher, Three Years As A Neighborhood Council Member And Four Years As A State Representative (for Example) Means If You Get Elected To A Six-year Term In The U.s. Senate, You're Done After That. "experience" In Politics Is Overrated. Necessary To A Point, But Overrated. More Important To Get Rid Of Career Politicians/bureaucrats.

- Reduce Government Budgets By 20% A Year Until They Are At Most Half Of What They Are Today. Preferably More.

- Immediately Levy A 50% Tarriff On All Goods Imported From China Until They De-peg The Yuan From The U.s. Dollar. After That, Make It 30%. If They Don't Like It, Tough.

- Create A Program Rounding Up And Deporting Illegal Aliens. Upon Arrest, Give Them A Choice Of Six Months In Prison (followed By Deportation) Or Six Months Helping To Build The Wall And Other Border Security Elements Along The U.s./mexico Border. If They Complete The Six Months, They Get A Chance To Plea Their Case For Becoming A Legal Immigrant To The U.s. On The Basis Of Good Behavior And Hopefully Being A Productive Member Of Society - Just Like Prospective Immigrants Coming Over "cold Turkey".

- The Official Language Of The U.s. Is English. End Of Story.

- A Large-scale (someone Said "manhattan Project-like", Which Is Good) Initiative To Completely Rid The U.s. Of Dependence On Foreign Sources Of Fuel/energy Within 40 Years.

I'm Sure I'll Think Of More. . .

+1
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[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Our tax code is written to incentivize certain behaviors. I prefer that I and most of the people on my street are encouraged with tax breaks as home OWNERS. The guy next door that rents and doesn't cut the lawn? Asshat. Just think if we all had to rent? Only the building owners would have anything...no pride of ownership.

Steve, I think that providing tax incentives for certain behaviors is not the mandate of our government.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

Steve, I think that providing tax incentives for certain behaviors is not the mandate of our government.

Those certain behaviors are (or were at the time) designed to encourage one thing or another that would make our country better. Certain things have not been sunsetted (see management talk thread ) and thus persist forever. Certainly arguing home ownership or saving for your retirement is a good thing. The prudent amongst would likely do these things anyway, but others need a break. I frankly don't care if a guy busting his ass *trying* to make it pays a little less tax than me by percentage (as is the current arrangement). I wouldn't trade to be in his position.

[Dantilla]

Suprising how much similarity between the Lefties and Righties.

Lots of common sense here. Why is it here in off-topic, instead of in Washington D.C.?

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by URY914

Slow drivers must stay in the right lane.

Aint that the truth.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

Suprising how much similarity between the Lefties and Righties.

Lots of common sense here. Why is it here in off-topic, instead of in Washington D.C.?

I'm here in off-topic and in Washington DC.

[john70t]

All 2X4's will measure 2 inches by 4 inches.
All lumber will be seasoned 2 years before selling.
All fasteners and drivers will be grade 8 or better.
No oil allowed on trim nails.
All wood stains will contain at least 40% linseed oil.
Manufactures must use metric or standard, no combo's.

Another vote for red-beard.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by john70t

All 2X4's will measure 2 inches by 4 inches.
All lumber will be seasoned 2 years before selling.
All fasteners and drivers will be grade 8 or better.
No oil allowed on trim nails.
All wood stains will contain at least 40% linseed oil.
Manufactures must use metric or standard, no combo's.

Another vote for red-beard.

Do you want a job writing specs for me?

[john70t]

Heck no. My liver and wallet couldn't afford the Tylenol.

[DanielDudley]

If you want to know why we don't have all these things, follow the money trail...

I sometimes wonder if we as a society are like an addict who will not quit because he hasn't yet been driven to his knees. Things have been too good, too long for too many for us to think about changing. Say what you will about Jimmy Carter, he taught us a valuable lesson. You can't expect people to embrace change that involves giving up something. Incentives, security, and promises of a better tommorrow are what people want. A present day that includes the possibility of a future with possibility.

I think that many of the suggestions here truly embrace that philosophy. What makes these ideas truly great however, and what makes this thread unique is that these are universal concepts that appeal to everyone.

What would happen if we all endeavored to always come from a place where we reached for agreement, both here and in the world at large ? What would happen if we spread that concept wherever we go, and with everyone we deal with?

And what would happen if we consolidated this list into a short clean document, and posted it wherever we find ourselves on the internet ? A very few people got together and created a new Nation in America. Do you feel like they felt ? I feel it in my bones.

[artplumber]

some more thoughts:

eliminate the deduction for children even if the flat tax doesn't get passed. Come up with an estimate of how much they cost the state, and create a penalty per child, if parents don't meet minimum income/tax paid levels.

If your city requires additional jail space or power plant etc, it has to be built in that city's limits. This might apply to water as well. This will encourage all the no coal/oil and no nuclear folks to make some decisions.

Healthcare is easy. Go back to cash. People get to decide what they want to know about/deal with. Improved savings rate (because one has to "save for a rainy day" again) and unnecessary tests get booted. People might actually start to take better care of themselves. The good MD's will naturally rise to the top, because their patients will live longer with fewer tests/mistakes etc. And MD's won't be presented with patients that come to appointments but don't follow any of the recommendations (ie if the patients don't want to listen to the doc, they'll have to pay a fee for a waste of time=waste of their money not the insurance company's money). Tort reform will help especially with unnecessary testing. Can offer a basic "physical" by physician extenders at reduced fee schedule/on the govt dole. Maybe some form of VA-like system for Medicaid only persons. MD's can go back to giving charity care (which there was plenty of before Medicare), and the patients can also realize when they are actually getting free care.

[Mule]

This is so simple.
1. Energy independence now.
2. Operation wetback
3. The fair tax.
4. Smack the muslims down.

[David]

Make civil servant managers and officers criminally accountable for their department's actions.

With huge government lawsuit payouts and major police civil rights violations, I don't see the same fear of penalty that the private sector has.

Since I handle many gov't related items for the company, my general manager makes it clear to me that he does not want to go to jail or be fired. Everyone is regularly informed that their actions reflect on the company.

So it appears the government's willing to put the public in jail, but very reluctant to do the same with its own employees.