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Our money is paper, and not based on anything real. It is printed to cover debt. We need to stop the fiat money system and go back to money backed by precious metals.
Our corporations have left the nation, along with jobs and trade. We need to solidify our borders and tariff imports. Push our corporations back home again. Everything to be imported must be taxed. All US corporations must be taxed on their foreign holdings, and taxed again based on the percentage of foreign-national share-holders they have.
We need to address why we make some things illegal and why other things become subsidized. We have no unified method. It has become a hodgepodge and makes no sense, thus we make no sense. Every chemical, every drug, every physical item [which does not inherently have the ability to kill large populations] must be made legal. Then if it is dangerous it's manufacture should be licensed and taxed. Anything that is not a WMD, that you can grow and produce yourself, should be allowed. Anything that you produce for retail should be taxed.
Foreign oil is killing us, we need to stop importing oil. When we were the highest 'lifestyle' nation we could afford to import oil, now that so many other nations have become huge oil consumers, we must stop competing with them for oil. We have our own oil. We must stop importing oil, and we must use our own oil.
We sit on the world's supply of coal, we need to use it.
We also sit on nearly 40% of the world's supply of sustainable peat fuel, our neighbor to our North sits on 45% of the world's supply of self-sustainable peat fuel.
We need more power plants. Why we have allowed our legislators to cause brown-outs and high utility rates is insane. We need more power plants, now. Lower utility rates and more jobs would follow.
Obviously we must continue to encourage the development of alternative power methods.
We need to follow Oregon's health care lead, and become medically discriminatory. Free check-ups, and all preventative treatments which avoid long term illness later in life should be provided. But costly elective procedures, and $1million surgeries for the elderly must stop. Prevention is cheaper and economically feasible. Multiple procedures for each person, with each procedure costing over $100,000, when multiplied by every citizen in the nation, is not sustainable economically.
Not every child is a high IQ. Get over it. Not every child will earn a Phd. I know that this is an insulting idea, but we must face facts. Some folks are rocks. A free education for high-GPA / high aptitude children makes sense. Vo-Tech training for lower ability children also makes sense. Gearing a public-ed system with the goal of making every child a brain surgeon is stupid. If one child only has the natural ability to succeed with a 6th grade education, then do it, and put him on a career path to succeed with that level of education. if the next child has the ability to 'shine' up to an 8th grade education, then do that, and offer him appropriate Vo-Tech at that point. Ff another child, ... and so it goes all the way to where only a tiny portion of students are truly 'gifted' and those can work their way through to become physicists, or doctors, or bio-chem engineers.
So I have discussed: Economics, jobs, borders, tariffs, drugs, oil, power, health care, Education,
It's a lot simpler (but not easier) than that. We need to join the community of global nations and accept them as our friends an neighbors, instead of as customers to be ripped off. We need to learn to live on a reasonable share of the planet's resources. We need to adopt a neighborly and cooperative attitude within our own country, instead of buttressing the prevailing system of rewarding only those can greedily grab the reward. We need to think in terms of progress being the betterment of everyone, not just the winners.
What America needs is not to change a thousand tiny details, but to change a single mindset. Much of the world has already followed the American example, and we now see where it got us. We need to set a new example---the rest will follow. We can still be (if that is so important to us) the leader.
We set out to make this "a more perfect union" with five simple goals by wihch to measure our progress: establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty. We turned the Constitution over to people who have made it a less-perfect union. We need to take it back.
America should have been keeping their eye on the ball and seeing what European countries have been doing over the past several decades with their healthcare, economy, education, etc. They seem to things going much better then the U.S. we’ve dropped to the 38th in the rank of countries now. Failed healthcare, failed education, failed economy, failed national energy program, the list goes on and on.
I’m not being negative or anti-American ~ I love my country as much as the next guy, but I do want the nation to be the “best†that she can be and we have failed miserably. Constructive criticism always brings out the best. We need to look at what works elsewhere and make changes that will work instead of sticking our finger in the air and yelling “we’re number one!â€. If you want to be #1 you need to change for the better.
Continuing a failing program and expecting something better is just crazy thinking.
I agree with almost everything EXCEPT your health care plan---what happens when someone DOES get sick and needs extensive treatment! Preventative care may delay the big costs, but it will only delay it! Almost everyone is going to have some illness or disease if they live long enough! And then, how do we pay for that?
I also agree with Jtur88--we HAVE to take this country back--we've given away our power! Congress is totally corrupt. Oust them!
Our money is paper, and not based on anything real. It is printed to cover debt. We need to stop the fiat money system and go back to money backed by precious metals.
Too late for that, the genie is out of the bottle. Plus, when liquidity problems hit, what are you going to do?
In addition, on a global level, when the price of gold is going up, you'll have some severe deflation and you're just exacerbating the economic downturn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
Our corporations have left the nation, along with jobs and trade. We need to solidify our borders and tariff imports. Push our corporations back home again. Everything to be imported must be taxed. All US corporations must be taxed on their foreign holdings, and taxed again based on the percentage of foreign-national share-holders they have.
Corporations are global now. Frankly, if you're going to impose extreme punitive measures on their foreign activities, they're just going to leave. if you think outsourcing is bad now, just wait until they're no longer in the US, period.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
We need to address why we make some things illegal and why other things become subsidized. We have no unified method. It has become a hodgepodge and makes no sense, thus we make no sense. Every chemical, every drug, every physical item [which does not inherently have the ability to kill large populations] must be made legal. Then if it is dangerous it's manufacture should be licensed and taxed. Anything that is not a WMD, that you can grow and produce yourself, should be allowed. Anything that you produce for retail should be taxed.
Yep, unfortunately, laws aren't always consistent. However, getting rid of the FDA and allowing all drugs, I'm not sure I'd like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
Foreign oil is killing us, we need to stop importing oil. When we were the highest 'lifestyle' nation we could afford to import oil, now that so many other nations have become huge oil consumers, we must stop competing with them for oil. We have our own oil. We must stop importing oil, and we must use our own oil.
The US doesn't produce enough oil to satisfy its consumption. We cannot simply substitute US-produced oil for foreign oil, there isn't enough produced in the US, nor does the US have sufficient reserves. This is completely insane--the solution would be to cut back on oil consumption.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
We sit on the world's supply of coal, we need to use it.
We also sit on nearly 40% of the world's supply of sustainable peat fuel, our neighbor to our North sits on 45% of the world's supply of self-sustainable peat fuel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
We need more power plants. Why we have allowed our legislators to cause brown-outs and high utility rates is insane. We need more power plants, now. Lower utility rates and more jobs would follow.
So are you suggesting that the government build more power plants? Plus, building them would take a while, this isn't exactly a short-term fix. Or are you suggesting that the government subsidize the building of power plants? Or relax regulations surrounding the building of power plants? If it's the latter, well, if they build them in your backyard, sure, ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
Obviously we must continue to encourage the development of alternative power methods.
We need to follow Oregon's health care lead, and become medically discriminatory. Free check-ups, and all preventative treatments which avoid long term illness later in life should be provided. But costly elective procedures, and $1million surgeries for the elderly must stop. Prevention is cheaper and economically feasible. Multiple procedures for each person, with each procedure costing over $100,000, when multiplied by every citizen in the nation, is not sustainable economically.
Finally, something I can agree with. Free prevention makes a lot of sense, rather than costly treatment (especially if the patient can't afford the treatment and the state must eat the cost, anyway).
Also, I agree that costly procedures for the elderly (while desirable on an individual level) don't make much sense when you could use that to pay for many inexpensive preventive measures that prevent costly illnesses later in life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
Not every child is a high IQ. Get over it. Not every child will earn a Phd. I know that this is an insulting idea, but we must face facts. Some folks are rocks. A free education for high-GPA / high aptitude children makes sense. Vo-Tech training for lower ability children also makes sense. Gearing a public-ed system with the goal of making every child a brain surgeon is stupid. If one child only has the natural ability to succeed with a 6th grade education, then do it, and put him on a career path to succeed with that level of education. if the next child has the ability to 'shine' up to an 8th grade education, then do that, and offer him appropriate Vo-Tech at that point. Ff another child, ... and so it goes all the way to where only a tiny portion of students are truly 'gifted' and those can work their way through to become physicists, or doctors, or bio-chem engineers.
So I have discussed: Economics, jobs, borders, tariffs, drugs, oil, power, health care, Education,
Fini
I agree with this, too. Not everyone needs a college education, so offering vocational training to those who do not show the necessary aptitude for college is a sensible idea. We do need to get rid of the idea that college is for everyone, especially considering how expensive a college education has become.
...
Corporations are global now. Frankly, if you're going to impose extreme punitive measures on their foreign activities, they're just going to leave. if you think outsourcing is bad now, just wait until they're no longer in the US, period.
Once a corporation is over-seas it is no longer dealing with US dollars, it can stay there.
Quote:
... Yep, unfortunately, laws aren't always consistent. However, getting rid of the FDA and allowing all drugs, I'm not sure I'd like that.
Why get rid of the FDA, we need them, to ensure drugs are not poisons.
Quote:
... The US doesn't produce enough oil to satisfy its consumption. We cannot simply substitute US-produced oil for foreign oil, there isn't enough produced in the US, nor does the US have sufficient reserves. This is completely insane--the solution would be to cut back on oil consumption.
The US determines this.
Most US oil wells are capped.
Of course we are not pumping right now, congress will not allow US oil to be pumped.
Quote:
... So are you suggesting that the government build more power plants? Plus, building them would take a while, this isn't exactly a short-term fix. Or are you suggesting that the government subsidize the building of power plants? Or relax regulations surrounding the building of power plants? If it's the latter, well, if they build them in your backyard, sure, ...
I have lived for many years within 100feet of live nuc reactors, they are perfectly safe.
Get a grip.
Quote:
... I agree with this, too. Not everyone needs a college education, so offering vocational training to those who do not show the necessary aptitude for college is a sensible idea. We do need to get rid of the idea that college is for everyone, especially considering how expensive a college education has become.
Keep in mind that college is not expensive in all states.
Keep in mind that college is not expensive in all states.
This is a well-kept secret. State colleges and universities are very affordable in many states, so that most students can earn enough money during summer holidays to pays all their tuition fees.
In California, all state colleges and universities were tuition-free into the 1960's. that defect was repaired by Governor Reagan.
Keep in mind that college is not expensive in all states.
This is a well-kept secret. State colleges and universities are very affordable in many states, so that students can easily earn enough money during summer holidays to pay all their tuition fees. However, students from out of state would be approximately double the fees for in-state students.
In California, all state colleges and universities were tuition-free into the 1960's. That defect was repaired by Governor Reagan.
This is a well-kept secret. State colleges and universities are very affordable in many states, so that most students can earn enough money during summer holidays to pays all their tuition fees.
In California, all state colleges and universities were tuition-free into the 1960's. that defect was repaired by Governor Reagan.
Yes.
I attended a small state university system. At the time they had 13 campuses scattered around the state. [You may have heard of them; UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Fresno, UC San Diego, etc]
They raised the semester tuition fees while I was attending up to $50 per semester for full time students. There were riots!
I attended college from 1983 until 1987 in Fresno.
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