(It feels a bit like Andy Rooney meets Oprah Winfrey)
1) Immigration. Let it be known that to stay in the US if
you come illegally, you must give 2 years of service to your new country. Have
congress create special units, teach them English, give them orders.
a. Give up citizenship to your old
country. Dual citizenship isn’t allowed in the US military
b. Don’t want to join the military
or do not qualify? Serve in another capacity.
Not only does our military need more soldiers and sailors,
it would be a disincentive for others who are not serious about being a
positive contributor to this country to come in the first place.
2). Get the cell phones out of our children’s hands especially
while at our schools. There is no good reason to have them while in class and
multiple reasons why they should not. It’s ruining their emotional wellbeing, causing
dangerous consequences from predators, consistently a distraction, and taking
away from nature, physical activity, social engagement and on and on. And teach
civics, self-reliance, problem solving and life skills.
3) Realize what we are doing to half of the citizens in this
country by not listening to them, shoving significant, new cultural changes
down their throats, and then criticizing them endlessly. People don’t like
change. Isn’t there a better way to foster personal growth and acceptance of
diversity? The motives were good, but the methods of correction have stretched
too far in one direction. Like an overextended rubber band, it is going to
cause an over-reaction in the opposite direction. It has created the Donald
Trumps of the world rising to be these people’s heroes and leaders.
4) For many years there has been an increasing war on men;
in entertainment that includes humiliation, blame for every society failure, no
credit for all the innovation, creativity, protection, loyalty, or formation of
the most equitable form of government ever devised. From Jackie Gleason to Married
with Children to Barbie, men have taken the brunt without complaining. Any
human being benefits from recognition. It’s gone solely to the minorities and
women for too long. This too is an over-correction. In correcting the inequity
of the sexes, we seem to have demonized one and that should be curbed now. We
must appreciate men too. What world are we bringing our boys up into?
5) Our tax code is incredibly complex, with layers upon
layers of new rules piled on top of it with each new administration. Within the
rules are conflicting laws, mesmerizing rules of qualifications for deductions,
contributions, taxability of cash flows, ridiculously difficult for the average
tax payer to understand themselves. Attempts to simplify it always fail. Let’s
start with personal income, corporate returns will be more complicated, but
should also be addressed next. An example, have simple exemptions for family
members, with income tax brackets starting at an income of $35,000, more for a
family. Flat income tax of 10% up to 100,000, 15% up to $200,000, 20% for up to
$300,000. 30% for all over $400,000. A taxpayer making $125,000 would have an
effective bracket of 10.25%. This should leave enough of a living wage with the
taxpayers.
6) Now onto health care. I am a capitalist, however, as
stated in a quote by Vaidya Brahmanand Swamigal, “Wealth earned from medical
science is always contaminated as it comes from the suffering of others. Thus,
it must be practiced with compassion and humility. Without greed and ego.” This
presents a problem. We see, from other countries who have social health care,
the downside: long waits for appointments, less motivation on the medical
community, innovations lagging, those who can afford it come to countries like
ours, which provide state of the art treatment and prompt care.
Yet, between Big Pharma and medical care, money runs the
show. Treatments that are effective but bring little profit receive little attention,
profits often run the care choices instead of what will bring more wellbeing to
the patient. You can’t patent natural products, so those go unseen. We do need a
new form of healthcare based on prevention, not waiting until symptoms become debilitating
and then treating the symptoms instead of addressing the cause. Perhaps a
tiered system from social medicine choices to for profit choices. But it isn’t
quite there yet.