Posted by
skep41 on Monday, October 27, 2008 12:29:51 PM

I've
been shooting my mouth off about how misguided everyone else is. Its
almost as if I were a Democrat, insulting everyone else without
revealing what I would do in the current situation. Thats a valid
question to ask of anyone who casts as many aspersions as I do. What's
Skep's plan?
Lets assume that I have the political power to
pass any bill through the legislature and then the executive power to
enforce them. Here is some of what I would do:
Pass a
Constitutional Amendment forbidding the Federal Government to meddle in
education and mandating that only local school districts shall make
educational decisions. It would limit the size of these districts to
100,000 students. Implementation of this would include the disbanding
of the Federal and States Departments of Education and keeping only a
small statistics-gathering entity under the aegis of some other cabinet
department. It would also include the immediate ending of subsidized
and guaranteed student loans, an end to Title One and Head Start and
the myriad other wasteful and ineffective federal education
programs.All subsidies to higher education would cease immediately.
I
would immediately announce a two-year freeze on all cost of living
adjustments in transfer payments, food stamps, salaries and government
contracts.
I would implement by a Constitutional Amendment a
flat tax so that everyone in the country pays taxes and has an
incentive to keep them low. I would include in this tax a maximum rate
of 20% of income which can only be raised beyond that by a one-year
increase by a two-thirds vote of Congress and signature by the
President.
I would eliminate all capital gains taxes and repeal Sarbanes-Oxley.
I
would create an approval process for nuclear power plants, oil
drilling, pipeline construction and other energy-related projects that
would allow anyone in opposition to have one opportunity to submit
their objections to the project and make their case with no further
litigation. The rights of people to sue for damages caused by these
activities would not be compromised.
I would remove all restrictions on energy extraction, requiring a reasonable level of protection against environmental damage.
I would end all subsidies for 'alternative energy'.
I would officially create a forum so that encourages advocates of economic
destruction to effect the climate publicly come forth with scientific
proof that carbon emissions cause climate change and debate openly and
fairly with the scientists who are refuting this nonsense.
I would immediately end all agricultural subsidies.
I
would make Supreme Court and Federal Judge terms six years and pass a Constitutional
Amendment that redefines the powers of the court, limiting their
ability to legislate from the bench.
I would drastically change
the criteria for Class Action suits and explore reforms in tort law.
The loser in any suit should be liable for the court costs to cut the
number of nuisance lawsuits.
The 'deep pockets' concept should be limited or eliminated.
I
would pass a Constitutional Amendment making Public Employee Unions
illegal and union membership in the private sector completely
voluntary. No more closed shops.
I would pass a Constitutional
Amendment mandating that legislative districts be drawn in a way that
maximizes competition instead of creating safe districts. Government
bureaus and contractors would be forbidden to lobby and run political
campaigns to increase their funding. With full and instant disclosure I
would eliminate the contribution limits for individuals to political
campaigns.
I would pass a Constitutional Amendment requiring the
re-registration of every voter. A digital thumbprint and photo would be
required after proof of citizenship is presented to the registrar. The
severely disabled can be registered in their homes by an election
official but all other voters will be required to show up at the polls
to vote and provide sufficient identification. The mentally incompetent
and the homeless would not be eligible to vote. Passage of a simple
civics test will be mandatory to screen out the ignorant and the
illiterate. The test will be in English only.
I would pursue
free trade and remove as many restrictions on trade as possible. These
moves would involve reciprocal actions by our trading partners,
especially China.
I would explore ways to decentralize or privatize Medicare and aggressively attack fraud in the system.
I would end all government housing programs.
I
would cut our funding to the UN and only fund projects that advance
democracy or aid refugees. I would make it clear that American foreign
policy will be predicated on our national interests and that there will
be immediate consequences to countries who oppose those interests.
These
are just a few of the things that I can think of. The touchstone would
be to decentralize and de-bureaucratize as much as possible. There
would be an immediate effect that would result from the drastic
downsizing of government that I propose. Several million people would
lose their jobs. The freezing of transfer payments and COLAs will cause
further hardship. But if we dont do anything, or worse yet, enact some
to the proposals emanating from the Democrats than a lot more than
several million people will lose their jobs. The people who would lose their jobs under my regime will lose their
jobs eventually and permanently in the economic collapse that will
happen if the current course is followed.The economy will go into a
prolonged depression, one which will possibly be permanent if the
socialist policies that are being proposed and the ballot-box stuffing
now taking place cause permanent change in the system.