What REAL changes do we need to make America great again?

Jackson

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Dec 31, 2010
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1. I would propose a compromise between liberals and conservatives. A tax raise of 5% for those who's income is $2,000,000 and above for the next 10 years and an across the board cut of 10% funding of every government funded program and Department for the next 10 years ( the same 10%, not an additional 10% each year).

2. Right to work laws in every state. No person should have to dues to hold a job.

3. Corporations and lobbyists will be limited to $50,000 annual campaign donations to any candidate.

3. Private citizens will be limited to $10,000 annual campaign donations to any candidate.

4. A candidate cannot use personal funds for campaign purposes except for meals and lodging.

5. Unemployment benefits limited to 52 weeks, encouraging people to take jobs beneath their grade while still looking for better employment.

Any others?
 
Seal our borders. Use the military to secure a 5 mile wide zone along the Southern Border.

Enforce our current illegal immigrant laws. Fine and jail those that knowingly hire illegals, deport all we catch.

Cut Federal funding to States that protect illegal Immigrants. Cut Federal funding to any Government that knowingly protects illegals.
 
At the moment I was writing the post, I thought that perhaps in 10 years, we may have learned something and have our act together. But you are probably right.
 
1) Allow the Bush Era Tax Rates to expire. All levels.

2) Increase the upper tax rates for corporate taxes. Make companies choose between investing and hiring, or paying that money in taxes.

3) Bring our troops home. From Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, South Korea, Japan ... bring them home.

4) Increase funding and support for Education, Science, the Arts and reward people and companies for Innovation and improved R&D. We did not become the greatest country on the planet by waiting for someone else to invent something.

5) Along those lines, increase job training programs nationwide to help the unemployed find new jobs.

6) Once 4 and 5 are in place, start making stuff again. Pretty simple really.


We could do all of those things right now. None of them are radically new ideas.
 
5. Unemployment benefits limited to 52 weeks, encouraging people to take jobs beneath their grade while still looking for better employment.

Are you demented? The problem isn't about people being willing to take jobs "beneath their grade." It's the fact that the jobs aren't there, at any level. And most businesses won't even touch a person who is "over qualified" because they won't trust that person to stay with the company. And it's not like they don't have plenty of less qualified people from whom to choose.
 
1) Allow the Bush Era Tax Rates to expire. All levels.

2) Increase the upper tax rates for corporate taxes. Make companies choose between investing and hiring, or paying that money in taxes.

3) Bring our troops home. From Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, South Korea, Japan ... bring them home.

4) Increase funding and support for Education, Science, the Arts and reward people and companies for Innovation and improved R&D. We did not become the greatest country on the planet by waiting for someone else to invent something.

5) Along those lines, increase job training programs nationwide to help the unemployed find new jobs.

6) Once 4 and 5 are in place, start making stuff again. Pretty simple really.


We could do all of those things right now. None of them are radically new ideas.

:clap2:

Bravo.

I would add..

7) Re-invigorate our space program. Get a moon colony up. Humans are explorers and America has been one of the most innovative societies in history.

8) Change some of the focus of our armed forces. Bush actually started doing this to a small extent. Have them be able to respond quickly to world wide disasters. Not only is that the right thing to do, but it pays off in the end in terms of good will. And we are fully capable of doing this and it would justify a good deal of the defense budget.
 
Reduce taxes, increase incentives for corporations to move here. Hang out a big sign that says America is Open for Business.

End welfare programs like general relief, WIC, medicaid, except in rare circumstances.

End National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, etc.
 
Reduce taxes, increase incentives for corporations to move here. Hang out a big sign that says America is Open for Business.

End welfare programs like general relief, WIC, medicaid, except in rare circumstances.

End National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, etc.

And how would that help us?
 
Reduce taxes, increase incentives for corporations to move here. Hang out a big sign that says America is Open for Business.

End welfare programs like general relief, WIC, medicaid, except in rare circumstances.

End National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, etc.

And how would that help us?

The same way pre-ghost Scrooge helped Bob Crachit..
 
5. Unemployment benefits limited to 52 weeks, encouraging people to take jobs beneath their grade while still looking for better employment.

Are you demented? The problem isn't about people being willing to take jobs "beneath their grade." It's the fact that the jobs aren't there, at any level. And most businesses won't even touch a person who is "over qualified" because they won't trust that person to stay with the company. And it's not like they don't have plenty of less qualified people from whom to choose.

Actually I am going to agree with you, had it not been that I read an interview from the Nobel Prize winning economist, Thomas Sargent yesterday.

Studies found that in Europe and the US that when a person is employed, their "human capital" (worth) grows, making them valuable employees. Once they are unemployed, they lose their job, they begin losing capital right away. The longer they are unemployed, the more capital is lost, making them undesirable candidates for employment. This today, we find that recruiters and emplyers are looking at other corporations to take away their employees and actually put in advertisements, UNEMPLOYED NEED NOT APPLY.

What was meant as a Safety Net for the jobless actually turned into a trap by extending benefits and encouraging people to not take any job and waiting for the perfect one. A very interesting study. Sargent won the Nobel Prize this week.
 
Reduce taxes, increase incentives for corporations to move here. Hang out a big sign that says America is Open for Business.

End welfare programs like general relief, WIC, medicaid, except in rare circumstances.

End National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, etc.

And how would that help us?

Dunno, it would seem to me that it would simply place a lot (and I mean a lot, tens of millions) below the line of absolute poverty.

I'm for the education thing. We need to expand education so the future of this country isn't dictated by the rate of technology inflation in other countries.

Innovation is what makes this country as great and powerful as it is, and that innovation is slowly being siphoned off.
 
In my opinion we need to get back to taking the long view. The history of the past fifty years or so would seem to suggest we have become inclined towards short-term gratification (in our nation's collective political agenda and in our private lives). We no longer dream big and plan for the future (e.g. our roads, bridges and schools are crumbling around us and the manned space program is inactive).

We appear to be living in fear and we are divided in our politics. It seems to me we need to unite behind common themes...
 
Actually I am going to agree with you, had it not been that I read an interview from the Nobel Prize winning economist, Thomas Sargent yesterday.

Studies found that in Europe and the US that when a person is employed, their "human capital" (worth) grows, making them valuable employees. Once they are unemployed, they lose their job, they begin losing capital right away. The longer they are unemployed, the more capital is lost, making them undesirable candidates for employment. This today, we find that recruiters and emplyers are looking at other corporations to take away their employees and actually put in advertisements, UNEMPLOYED NEED NOT APPLY.

What was meant as a Safety Net for the jobless actually turned into a trap by extending benefits and encouraging people to not take any job and waiting for the perfect one. A very interesting study. Sargent won the Nobel Prize this week.

None of that arrives at the conclusion you're trying to assert. It does nothing to change the fact that employers will not hire people "beneath their grade" because employers don't trust those people to stick around. Not only that, but managers don't want you doing an underlings job when you could be doing the boss' job. Because that manager will have to worry that you'll take his job. He's just not going to give you the chance to do that in economic times like these.

And as you say yourself, once you're unemployed, you're less likely to be hired nowadays anyway. Everything you've said retains and affirms the fact that the current unemployment problems have nothing to do with people not being willing to accept a job "beneath their grade." In fact, tens of thousands of people in the US have tried to gain employment "beneath their grade" but rejected because they are over qualified.
 
5. Unemployment benefits limited to 52 weeks, encouraging people to take jobs beneath their grade while still looking for better employment.

Are you demented? The problem isn't about people being willing to take jobs "beneath their grade." It's the fact that the jobs aren't there, at any level. And most businesses won't even touch a person who is "over qualified" because they won't trust that person to stay with the company. And it's not like they don't have plenty of less qualified people from whom to choose.

Actually I am going to agree with you, had it not been that I read an interview from the Nobel Prize winning economist, Thomas Sargent yesterday.

Studies found that in Europe and the US that when a person is employed, their "human capital" (worth) grows, making them valuable employees. Once they are unemployed, they lose their job, they begin losing capital right away. The longer they are unemployed, the more capital is lost, making them undesirable candidates for employment. This today, we find that recruiters and emplyers are looking at other corporations to take away their employees and actually put in advertisements, UNEMPLOYED NEED NOT APPLY.

What was meant as a Safety Net for the jobless actually turned into a trap by extending benefits and encouraging people to not take any job and waiting for the perfect one. A very interesting study. Sargent won the Nobel Prize this week.

The national average for unemployment is $300/week. That's $15,600 a year, before taxes, which I think is 10% right now. So that's $14,040 after taxes and even less purchasing power when you factor out sales taxes.

Yes, there will be people happy to stay unemployed and get that money. For them, unemployment insurance is a trap. But there will also be people who hate that situation and will do everything they can to get out of it. For them, unemployment insurance is a safety net.

I think we need to be careful about labeling an entire program as a trap, simply because it traps some people. I would say that's more about the people than the program.
 
Get the MONEY out of our election systems.

It is what keeps us from getting who the people really want to run this country.
 
1. I would propose a compromise between liberals and conservatives. A tax raise of 5% for those who's income is $2,000,000 and above for the next 10 years and an across the board cut of 10% funding of every government funded program and Department for the next 10 years ( the same 10%, not an additional 10% each year).

2. Right to work laws in every state. No person should have to dues to hold a job.

3. Corporations and lobbyists will be limited to $50,000 annual campaign donations to any candidate.

3. Private citizens will be limited to $10,000 annual campaign donations to any candidate.

4. A candidate cannot use personal funds for campaign purposes except for meals and lodging.

5. Unemployment benefits limited to 52 weeks, encouraging people to take jobs beneath their grade while still looking for better employment.

Any others?


How about you start with everyone being an American citizen. And American money used American citizens.

 
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Reduce taxes, increase incentives for corporations to move here. Hang out a big sign that says America is Open for Business.

End welfare programs like general relief, WIC, medicaid, except in rare circumstances.

End National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, etc.

And how would that help us?

The same way pre-ghost Scrooge helped Bob Crachit..


meh.... i always wanted tiny time to die.

:lol:
 
1.) End the Fed

2.) End the Fed

3.) End the Fed

4.) End the Fed

5.) End the Fed

6.) Slash gov't size and spending by slashing budgets, getting rid of many departments (education, homeland security, etc), end the wars, get our military out of dozens of countries.

7.) Get rid of the income tax

8.) Promote freedoms, end the Drug War, let states decide on gay marriage and abortion, etc.

9.) Terms limits, some places in the U.S. look more like a theocracy.

10.) Make my gf cool with bringing some of her girlfriends to bed with us.


JK on the last one :), but the first 9 would help everyone and I'm sure I missed tons.
 

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