An Idiot’s Guide to Bettering America

I have written ten items with as little explanation as possible to get the point across.  I have expanded on these matters in other writings.  However what is most relevant is not the specificity explained, but the consensus to recognize that economics guides these issues for a better functioning government.  Economics is a science of human motivation, of recognizing likely outcomes with imperfect decision makers wavering between interest for the self and the group.  These are the steps in order of priority that I feel will aid our richest nation on the planet from the current path of our county, which if we stopped to analyze given our wealth our resurrection is vastly more feasible than the powers that be would have us realize.  For they have the preponderance of power and wealth and the easiest path to maintain their allotment is to pit us against each other and make our problems appear as unsolvable as possible.  

1.      End the drug war, decriminalize marijuana, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, mushrooms and a slew of other substances and make them regulated taxable substances in raw material purchase programs with domestic farmers for some drugs and South and Central American governments for cocaine and a new Afghani government for opium.  Reprioritize public safety budgets and treat addiction as a disease inside health budgets.   

2.      Single-payer health care for all United States citizens.  End all private health insurance companies and premiums.  Replace with a health care tax based on income and fluctuating deductibles and per service copays based on current income for anyone under sixty and historical adjusted gross income for anyone over sixty.  Allow the system to negotiate drug prices and medical device costs as a whole to compete with the globe as the market, not our own country.  Implement a digital infrastructure over the web for every citizen to see up-front copays per service by location based on their AGI grade, along with the total cost to the tax payer owned system.   

3.      Switch all government retirement to Defined Contribution and reverse and ban defined benefit retirement for any government employee past or present.  Transition by reviewing the average return on investment per year per plan and allocate the employer contribution portion invested to participants based on quarters of service actually worked for the taxpayers.  Employee contributions are returned at what the employee contributed at the United States one year Treasury-bill rate per year invested.  If the system is at a loss the market risk goes back to the participant, not the taxpayer to make the system commensurate with the majority of private citizens results of market risk.  If there are excess funds after this allocation, the amount will be split based on quarters of service.  All retirements will move forward as defined contribution and more closely link current salaries with the competitive market place. 

4.      Cap all Federal and State wide campaign spending on elections for television and radio based on per capita census data.  Require candidate number to be used in pool to allocate funds requiring candidate approval prior to air on public airwaves.  

5.      Ban on ex-federal office politicians, staff, and aids from lobbying in Washington D.C. for ten years after serving public.  No federal politician or politician’s spouse including supreme court justices can own direct stock in any publically traded company or any private company that has a federal contract.  All stock would have to be liquidated or converted to a government bond or U.S. Treasuries.  If you don’t like it don’t run.  All 401k plans would be required to have an all U.S. security investment option included.  Limit congressional salaries and benefits to term only.  Cap congressional salaries at eighty percent of the median income in the district they represent based on digital IRS data.  

6.      Make environmental fines thirty-percent of all reported revenues in America for that company in any calendar year violation occurs with a twenty year look back and make the clean air and water act apply to fracking.  This will internalize environmental health to all energy companies and allow the private sector to lead our mutual health.  Prioritize renewable energy on government buildings including solar and wind farms to act as manufacturing center hubs in each state.  Transition sewerage and water treatment systems to implement solar to fuel lift and treatment stations and pumps to save taxpayer’s long term electricity costs.   Link local farmers with a digital infrastructure to facilitate purchase club memberships for produce and other healthy foods.  Make DNA ownership of a seed illegal.  

7.      End religion’s non-profit deduction status.  Only organizations with a public purpose can offer a citizen a tax deduction.  Religious organizations can still provide tax deductions to operate assistance programs for housing, food, domestic abuse, medical, psychological counseling, but tracking service requirements are required as they are with other nonprofits and donations have to be designated and tracked on 990’s.  Donations to build a house of worship building or a religious leader’s salary will no longer be tax deductible.   

8.      Cap military spending to a percentage less than one hundred percent of the combined top five other global military budgets. End drone attacks, which breed more people who want to kill Americans than they eliminate.   

9.      Expand school choice vouchers and nonprofit charter schools with parental choice with an addendum that all textbooks outside of any religion class be subject to approval by a national review board that the books do not contain explicit religious information or education.  Prayers in private schools receiving voucher funding are allowed before or during class, but not in lesson plans, particularly science.  

10.  Invest in digital infrastructures for data sharing and security in the areas of: education, health care, utility billing, fire protection, police protection, youth recreation leagues, music, dining, nonprofit services, food assistance, volunteering, housing assistance, job training, and local farming etc.  Create a governmental website like facebook which shares all this information as a hub or a group of linked spurs off a hub on a national level to link to a person’s zip code.  This will facilitate the evolution of the digital classroom and doctor’s office with a platform that fosters ingenuity and lower’s access costs to taxpayers.

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