Post by Opus on Sept 26, 2008 12:23:52 GMT -5
I am officially announcing that I am running as an independent in the upcoming election for President of the United States of America. I will be a write in candidate.
Here are the things that I want to change should I become president:
1) Move to a flat tax model. This serves 2 seperate purposes. A) Eliminating tax breaks to the rich (yes I realize tax breaks to middle class will be eliminated as well) and B) attempting to eliminate excessive spending by the government. My proposal would be to move to either a 15 or 17% flat tax. Come tax time, this is easy to calculate. You take your annual salary, find out what 15% is, and that is what you should have paid to the government throughout the year. If you haven't paid enough, you cut a check. If you overpaid, you get a check back from the IRS. This eliminates the ridiculous amount of forms that need to be filled out each year and subsequently will eliminate the need for excessive amounts of processing by the IRS. Thus, we will be able to save money that is otherwise needlessly spent.
2) Find areas in the government that needlessly waste money and either eliminate them or streamline them to save the money. In times like this, America needs to tighten its belt a bit and that should start at the level of the government. There is no reason to put this squeeze on the American people.
3) Bring our troops home. A timetable needs to be put in place to withdraw our troops from around the world. Not just Iraq or Afghanistan, but everywhere. These troops should be protecting OUR borders.
4) Reduce foreign aid, possibly eliminate it. In these times, America is the one in need of aid. Why are we sending billions of dollars oversees when the American people are suffering themselves.
5) Setup college funds for every child when they are born. This should be done as soon as a birth certificate is issued. Start the account with $5 and then match all deposits by parents/relatives up to $1000 each year until the child turns 18. If the child chooses not to attend college and instead wants the money, put a 75% withdrawal penalty on it.
6) Legalize Marijuana. Make this a controlled substance in the same way that alcohol and tobacco are controlled. People are going to use Marijuana whether it is legal or not. Just like with alcohol and tobacco, moderation is key. Impose a limit on what is legal to have and what is not. Because this will be a luxury item, it can be taxed just like alcohol and cigarrettes are. This will generate more income to fund programs such as the college funds. It will also save money as focus can be shifted away from policing this as an illegal substance.
7) Legalize Prostitution. Again, this activity happens whether or not we as Americans choose to believe it does or not. My reasoning for legalizing it is the similar to my reasoning to legalizing Marijuana. I also believe that it will help to save money in the health care field. If prostitution were regulated, condom use could be imposed and as such could help to reduce the spread of STD's.
8) Lower the drinking age (rename to age of consumption to include Marijuana and Tobacco usage) to 18. My reasoning for this is that the college years, from 18-22 are typically the years where young adults do most of their drinking. Because these people cannot legally drink in a public place, often times they are doing it at home and often times are binge drinking to get drunk quickly. Often times these people then get behind the wheel of a car to go out with friends so they can spend time at whatever location they had planned to go to in the first place. By putting these people in bars, the bartenders can somewhat control binge drinking and can cut people off when they think they have had enough. Also, these people will help the economy by spending their money in the bars which are typically owned by local business men/women.
If this were to happen, I think consumption education needs to be pushed harder in schools. Make sure it is understood that it is OK to drink, but keep it in moderation and always designate a driver. By forcefeeding a message that its not ok, it gives it a sense of forbidden fruit.
9) Last but not least... Universal Health Care and Regulation of the Health Care Industry. For too long, many Americans have been unable to get the health care that they so deserve due to inability to afford insurance. Health Care costs have sky rocketed and have out paced inflation consistently. This sector really needs to be regulated more efficiently. I'm not talking about a complete government take over, but definately some oversight into this area. As a right, each and every American citizen deserves to be treated with the best care available without worry of how they will pay for it. This type of regulation is successful with other areas of public service and I think it can be successful with Health Care as well. For example, if my house catches on fire because some asshole doesn't like me for some reason, I rest assured that when I dial 911, I get a team of firefighters to my home to put out the fire and try to save my belongings. I also rest assured that my local police department will investigate this and arrest the person who caused the crime. This costs me nothing more than I have already paid in taxes.
These are my ideas. Write me in come election day. I promise to do everything in my power to make these happen should I be elected.
I'm Opus and I approve this message.
Here are the things that I want to change should I become president:
1) Move to a flat tax model. This serves 2 seperate purposes. A) Eliminating tax breaks to the rich (yes I realize tax breaks to middle class will be eliminated as well) and B) attempting to eliminate excessive spending by the government. My proposal would be to move to either a 15 or 17% flat tax. Come tax time, this is easy to calculate. You take your annual salary, find out what 15% is, and that is what you should have paid to the government throughout the year. If you haven't paid enough, you cut a check. If you overpaid, you get a check back from the IRS. This eliminates the ridiculous amount of forms that need to be filled out each year and subsequently will eliminate the need for excessive amounts of processing by the IRS. Thus, we will be able to save money that is otherwise needlessly spent.
2) Find areas in the government that needlessly waste money and either eliminate them or streamline them to save the money. In times like this, America needs to tighten its belt a bit and that should start at the level of the government. There is no reason to put this squeeze on the American people.
3) Bring our troops home. A timetable needs to be put in place to withdraw our troops from around the world. Not just Iraq or Afghanistan, but everywhere. These troops should be protecting OUR borders.
4) Reduce foreign aid, possibly eliminate it. In these times, America is the one in need of aid. Why are we sending billions of dollars oversees when the American people are suffering themselves.
5) Setup college funds for every child when they are born. This should be done as soon as a birth certificate is issued. Start the account with $5 and then match all deposits by parents/relatives up to $1000 each year until the child turns 18. If the child chooses not to attend college and instead wants the money, put a 75% withdrawal penalty on it.
6) Legalize Marijuana. Make this a controlled substance in the same way that alcohol and tobacco are controlled. People are going to use Marijuana whether it is legal or not. Just like with alcohol and tobacco, moderation is key. Impose a limit on what is legal to have and what is not. Because this will be a luxury item, it can be taxed just like alcohol and cigarrettes are. This will generate more income to fund programs such as the college funds. It will also save money as focus can be shifted away from policing this as an illegal substance.
7) Legalize Prostitution. Again, this activity happens whether or not we as Americans choose to believe it does or not. My reasoning for legalizing it is the similar to my reasoning to legalizing Marijuana. I also believe that it will help to save money in the health care field. If prostitution were regulated, condom use could be imposed and as such could help to reduce the spread of STD's.
8) Lower the drinking age (rename to age of consumption to include Marijuana and Tobacco usage) to 18. My reasoning for this is that the college years, from 18-22 are typically the years where young adults do most of their drinking. Because these people cannot legally drink in a public place, often times they are doing it at home and often times are binge drinking to get drunk quickly. Often times these people then get behind the wheel of a car to go out with friends so they can spend time at whatever location they had planned to go to in the first place. By putting these people in bars, the bartenders can somewhat control binge drinking and can cut people off when they think they have had enough. Also, these people will help the economy by spending their money in the bars which are typically owned by local business men/women.
If this were to happen, I think consumption education needs to be pushed harder in schools. Make sure it is understood that it is OK to drink, but keep it in moderation and always designate a driver. By forcefeeding a message that its not ok, it gives it a sense of forbidden fruit.
9) Last but not least... Universal Health Care and Regulation of the Health Care Industry. For too long, many Americans have been unable to get the health care that they so deserve due to inability to afford insurance. Health Care costs have sky rocketed and have out paced inflation consistently. This sector really needs to be regulated more efficiently. I'm not talking about a complete government take over, but definately some oversight into this area. As a right, each and every American citizen deserves to be treated with the best care available without worry of how they will pay for it. This type of regulation is successful with other areas of public service and I think it can be successful with Health Care as well. For example, if my house catches on fire because some asshole doesn't like me for some reason, I rest assured that when I dial 911, I get a team of firefighters to my home to put out the fire and try to save my belongings. I also rest assured that my local police department will investigate this and arrest the person who caused the crime. This costs me nothing more than I have already paid in taxes.
These are my ideas. Write me in come election day. I promise to do everything in my power to make these happen should I be elected.
I'm Opus and I approve this message.
