10 Fixes for America
Financial Clarity - The United States although one of the strongest financial countries in the world, we still have plenty of issues. People go to Washington to get wealthy. They should be going to Washington to help the citizens they represent first and put their own interests as part of the collective group. Too often, we see an elected official go to Washington (or even their own state) with a net worth of a few hundred thousand and within 2 years has over $10 Million in net worth. This is wrong and the PAC money and legal bribes need to stop. All PAC money needs to come from individual citizens and not corporations. No one individual should be able to donate more than $500 to a campaign, either in dollars or purchasing of books, dinners, etc. This money flow to politicians will have to stop or our country will be a country with no foundation, only sold to the highest bidder.
We should enact a hiring freeze of all government entities except the department of defense. Technology use should allow government entities to reduce employee count and overhead.
Many individuals at the Fed will be put to work at the Department of Fraud and Abuse. No more NGO's and fraud will be stamped out by using data for entities that are clearly abusing the system. States will be rewarded for stamping out abuse by getting more money for education, roads, and infrastructure. Fraudulent coding is also rampant by many healthcare providers. No healthcare will be reimbursed for individuals not verified as US citizens.
1.
Education Part 1 - We need to give the States the number one say in education. We should have one person at the Federal Level oversee 50 individuals who represent one state and they each have one assistant. They report back to the Secretary of Education how the State is doing and they are in charge of showing how the money is spent at the State level and reporting back on literacy, etc. The $20 Billion in the budget would be given back to the states based on the number of students in each state for the State Superintendent and Governor of each state to see how that money is spent. They can use it to rebuild, hire teachers, etc. as they see fit. Results are published on a national test how each state is doing and the people can decide if they want change at the state level. We would save $20B per year.
This would allow schools to have more resources for safety and pay teachers more. This would attract the best to teach and shape our children with "education integrity". No politics or social disguises in schools.
2.
Education Part 2 - The Federal government will no longer make college loans. All colleges and universities can enroll in the American Education Plan if they choose. This plan will put funding at the State and/or federal level. Each student who is accepted and enrolls will attend for Free to the college of their choice (if admitted). For each year they attend college, they will pay a 5-10% education payment (based on college choice) of their earnings for 5 years (per year of school) after they graduate or within 12 months of not attending a college or university. This will be paid to the college/university (fronted by the government - remember they are involved now financially). This will align the interests of the university with the student. They each will have a vested interest to study something that has importance and can fund their education. Further, it will push the universities to stop taking any warm body and leave them on the hook for student loans in the event it does not work out. Not all children are ready for college at 18 or should attend college. So you could have a 20 year education payment, or each university will publish their expenses and you can pay off that amount at any time prior to the 20 years.
3.
Health Care - should be a right, not a privilege. However, people have to take responsibility for themselves as much as they are able. We should allow groups like Medishare or Christian Care, or anyone else who wants to start a group sharing of health care costs to be allowed for corporate or individual insurance coverage. The large insurers have a vested interest and the government will not "designate" these groups as coverage. The costs of these groups is substantially less (less than half) than large insurers because they work to the benefit of the insured, not the stock options or shareholders of a corporation. Yes, it will cut profits of the large corporations, but this is capitalism.
The Federal government should open their costs on all medicines and procedures so all know what costs are available. There should be an online menu of items and who carries it and individuals can select the physician or hospital at the fee they want. We will also publish costs across states and allow insurers to cross state borders.
We should make "minute clinics" available for everyone. This will help create preventative care for all Americans. This can be funded on a national level at less than we currently spend and overseen by the states.
4.
Taxes - This may be one of the simplest fixes if we can correct the buying of votes with the PACs as described in number 1 above. We make all tax preparers fiduciaries of tax responsibility and they must pass a competency test like the CPA or EA exam. Anyone using these services is exempt from audit, however the EA or CPA must take a fiduciary stance when verifying and reporting income.
We must also setup the IRS to be able for an individual to be able to key in their basic W2 and income statements and file their taxes online with an amount owed or refund. Since W2s get reported as well as 1099s, it should be simple to navigate a simple return by the IRS with or without filing. We could save $10B per year.
5.
Climate Change - Yes, the climate changes from years to years, some for the better, some for the worse. Global warming may be an issue in some areas, and some it may not. The major cities with all the buildings, asphalt, etc. are hotter than the rural areas with more trees. We need to focus our attention on water, polluters, and recycling. It is simple to require all households and businesses to recycle. Further, tax incentives for solar, thermo, etc. can create an entire new industry here in the United States and alleviate any reliance on outside sources. The extremists on both sides are wrong on this one. There are times on earth when carbon dioxide levels were much higher than today, there is empirical data to support this. However, this does not negate the fact we should focus on clean energy, food, water, etc. to better our living standards for the future.
6.
Spending - The Federal government or government in general is not the best allocators of capital. They are the biggest waste. We need to focus on defense/security, roads, infrastructure, and quality of living standards. We could fix healthcare and a myriad of issues by simply going to a one spending class per bill. Pork spending would not be allowed, you could not add any spending on a bill unless it was a direct impact to the bill. For example, we would not allocate money for a clock in a roads bill. Each issue or piece of spending has to be voted on individually and stand on its own merits. We could save $200 Billion annually.
Rand Paul's common sense approach of reducing spending by 6 cents of every dollar has merit, however, some should be cut by 100% and others by less (defense).
7.
Term Limits - We passed term limits in Westfield, Indiana. The first time ever in the State of Indiana, only to be voted down by a Republican House and Governor in Indiana. It is time taxpayers are represented by those around us, and not those "above" us. No office should be held more than 2 terms. The argument of those who believe in them, but just for others is absurd and outdated. We do not need continuity to spend money we don't have or print. The only way we can stop the bribery of America's future is to enact term limits. Voting each election is not a term limit. If you are in office, you have the advantage to raise money for your PAC/campaign and the "accomodation" of voting for interests will stop!
I personally ran for city council against a long-time spender who begged for money repeatedly for votes to ensure we had a Mayor who stayed in check for the taxpayers. The mayor had a rubber stamp in the past and enriched he enriched family members often. This is beyond a Federal issue, although the Federal government is one of the largest wasteful spenders of all times. NO PAC MONEY. All existing PACs can only exist for the term of the campaign. Any funds leftover will be sent to the Federal government as a direct payment of debt. Also, only $500 is allowed to be contributed for any campaign which includes dinners, book purchases, etc.
8.
Armed Forces - The group we should thank the most needs our support. We should pay them more than comparable or average wages. We should also invest in technology so we do not put them in harm's way at all costs. Technology is the new weapon of today and tomorrow. We should embrace it further. We should also make sure they are equipped with the latest and greatest of all resources. This is non negotiable.
No Armed Forces have to pay for their uniforms. Uniforms will be made in America and anyone who serves 4 years will have 4 years of college for Free.
9.
The Border - Another simple fix. All entrants must be registered and have a background check prior to entering. We welcome all as Americans, but you must align with American values. This is dignity of others, life and work. Unfortunately, not all will be accepted, but we will accept not based on money, or social status, but integrity.
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