JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum The US Bounced A Check

Tricia,

I'd still prefer something for TIME, so that anyone on aid must spend at least 40 hours away from their home and children and losing all that personal time just like those who work, pay taxes and pay their welfare have to do. They should be looking for work, learning job skills and there is PLENTY of infrastructure work for able bodied men and women to do. Anything one able bodied man or woman can do, any able bodied man or woman can do when it comes to physical labor. Lots of trash to pick up everywhere, lots of roads to fix, signs to paint, buildings to paint, landscaping to do, every community could use volunteer labor for loads of projects. Want welfare? Go to work. For those who can't physically do tough manual work but can function, then a nice volunteer desk job (plenty of phone bank work). For those who can't mentally and physically function (i.e. the totally disabled), they deserve support and care long term. I think that is totally fair to everyone. If you don't show up, are late more than 3 times (like any normal job), cause trouble or don't work hard you are fired from benefits and on your own. That's as fair as it gets.

I also think that illegal drug and over the legal limit alchohol testing should take place and if you fail, you're out for 1 year until you've demonstrated you are clean with monthly testing. Also 100% fair. If you're an addict, you can go to prison (for using illegal drugs) and dry up there cold turkey with reasonable medical assistance. You'll still be expected to work for your food and board. Prisoners should also have to work (and many do) if they want anything beyond a cell, a bed, food and a uniform. Want TV time? Work. Want books to read? Work. Want time with visitors? Work. Unwilling to work for your food? we'll offer a feeding tube for nutrition until you decide you'd like to earn your keep while you pay your debt to society.

I believe in a safety net for people... but it should come with heavy strings attached and a lot of personal responsibility. Uninterested in that? Then work it out on your own and leave tax payers alone.

Also, no subsidies for any business. I'd also offer the same health care to all government workers now offered to members of the military, only not for free. In reverse, I'd offer military members in actual harms way the level of health benefits for them and their families that US Senators and Presidents get. Also, NOT special benefits of any kind including retirement to politicians. We don't want them to spend their careers in government work. We want them to come for a short time and then go back to normal work like everyone else. I'd also be for double length sentences and penalties for any lawmakers who break those same laws compared to everyone else who must follow them. If they can't follow the laws they create, they should lead by example and serve time doing the same hard labor as the rest. The time for having law breakers in offices (the list of lawbreakers from BOTH parties in current office is a national disgrace!). I also think any serious criminal conviction should cost you voting rights for life.

And while we're at it, a balanced budget ammendment should be in effect immediately. And if circumstances cause us to have to surpass the budget (natural disasters, war etc.) taxes should go up immediately upon occurence to pay for it. I think all medicaid/medicare/social security monies should have to be set aside in each budget and not touched period. I also think we should return to either a Gold standard or some other precious metal or commodity (steel, copper, rare earth minerals, oil etc.) to back our money going forward. I'd also dismantle the Fed immediately. Financial corruption should result in life sentences of hard labor for anyone found fixing the stock market, insider trading, bank fraud resulting in loss of value to shareholders should have to be paid back by those who did it, or they should serve out their lives paying as much of it back as possible behind bars. Accepting bribes as a government official should result in a life sentence. Accepting money from a foreign entity to influence our government should result in a life sentence for treason.

It's time to get the criminals out of our government. I also think we should either have a 100% equal trade balance with a country, or we should tax their products to make up the difference plus 20% on top. That way US workers can get back to work MAKING things instead of just BUYING things. The IRS should be disbanded and replaced with a one page flat tax. The only changes must be to the flat percentage paid by a level of income and nothing else and must be passed by congress.

Would any of these things, all of which I feel are fair and reasonable, (like expecting out politicians not to be crooks and not to be lifetime politicians with no clue what the real world is like) ever be passed? Probably not. But I have to wonder why not? Why can't things be fair for a change?

Brian