What would you do if you were President?

[maplesky7]

I'm needy. Thanks Mahonri.

 

[Judy]

1. Flat rate income tax. Unfortunately, we'd the have to deal with millions of unemployed IRS workers. Not even so sure ANY income tax is constitutional: http://www.losthorizons.com/Cracking_the_Code.htm

2. Get off the cases of people trying to exercise their civil liberties. Gays in the military, fine. Prostitution as a profession, fine. Drug use, fine (think how much money and jail space that would save! Addicts make their choices, despite laws. And I promise you it would be highly welcome to terminal cancer patients, who are screwed at present.)

Many other examples: ethnic groups who see dog or horse as a food, as a random example. Why on earth should the government tell us what we can or cannot eat? Sorry, abortion goes on this list. Personal choice, between patient and doctor; not the government's business. Does not matter what I would do; neither me or a legislator gets to choose -- you do. Big deal to me is that a court would allow this to become a legislated issue. None of their business. Same for guns: constitution says we can have firearms; end of conversation. Just examples.

And yes, I see having chickens as just another example. I actually feel that laws and ordinances against them are unconstitutional. Even roosters. I cannot see any constitutional argument against raising one's own food that would hold up in the Supreme Court. We should certainly have a right to keep food sources, whether eggs or meat, and that is the end of it, IMHO. NYC taxis and barking dogs are much noisier and more annoying, and I don't see anything in the Constitution that prevents us from being noisy, anyway. Even if we give some credence to noise ordinances, which I do not, the fact remains that barking dogs are much more of a noise nuisance than roosters ever thought about being. Of natural sounds. We won't even talk about 4 wheelers or boom boxes.... And I would bet that the background noise of a typical city is louder than roosters, anyway. Where I live is certainly quieter than anywhere I lived in Chicago, despite the neighbors' barking dogs and crowing roosters.

 

[addiedunn]

Quote:
I see....the new german shepherd owner wants to pick on the water dog that doesn't swim. You're mean, deb. Funny, but mean.

 

[addiedunn]

I would get rid of that silly law that says once you are elected to congress, whether you are re-elected or not, you will receive lifetime benefits. I refuse to even vote for a member for congress, now.

And I would tax the crap out of companies who send American jobs overseas.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

I'd paint the White House red.

 

[hollymh]

I would ensure that anyone who killed someone was killed in the exact manner that they killed the person in… Obviously with the exception of self defense, but there would be no deals, no getting out of it and none of the sitting on death row for years crap, you kill someone, you die the same way! I know it is farfetched and almost crazy, but I just hate to see people getting away w/murdering kids and other people, I think it would help to alleviate the climbing number murders. Then, I would resign, I don't like politics.

 

[turney31]

I would make sure people on welfare were working for it. ( cleaning,mowing,painting,picking up trash,babysitting)

 

[hollymh]

Quote:
Oh, that’s a good one, I would also mandate drug testing on all welfare recipients… I had to do it in order to work, in turn pay taxes so those in need could have welfare and I don’t see why they are exempt from it.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Quote:
Sounds great. I just wish the real world works like this. Manufacturing companies go overseas because their costs are lower there. Their costs are lower because the workers make a fraction of what we do and the host countries are not trying to save their environment. So how do they compete here against other companies who ARE doing this once they are not allowed to? They wouldn't be able to and would go out of business because American consumers won't buy their more expensive goods. We, being cost-aware and needing to stretch every dollar, will continue to buy the cheapest goods despite where they are manufactured.

Our problems are complex. Simple answers sound so great. But if it was that simple, we wouldn't be in this fix. We are Americans. IE we are free--free to choose where we will do business AND where/what we will buy with our own money. The very freedom to do these things actually makes it harder to fix the mess we are in. But I, for one, am not willing to give up my freedom to choose what to buy and where to buy it. Nor am I willing to give up my higher wages to match those in poorer countries.

The whole thing is a mess and I do not see any quick or easy solutions. We NEED to sell overseas and not just to ourselves, so if we refuse to import their goods, they will refuse to import ours. Protectionism vs free markets. We cannot have it both ways.


Rusty

 

[Julie08]

I would make everyone take parenting classes before having children