5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
If you had the powers of persuasion (heaven help us if you really did, but this is idle fancy here) to rally America to tackle 5 core reforms, what reforms would you choose? In the conservative spirit, let's keep them to reforms that the government could legitimately make, not of the silly "I'd outlaw war" or "I'm going to nationalize healthcare" types. You've only got 5, then you'll either retire or, well...
To kick off my own list (in no particular order):
1. Remove professional trade associations from the process of accreditations. Get the teachers out of deciding who becomes teachers, get the ABA out of law schools, get AMA out of medicine, etc. These medieval guild relics have so gamed the system that they wield policy power disproportionate to their numbers.
2. End the War on Drugs. This has been the camel's nose regarding civil liberties and has introduced a corruption and rot into our entire legal and police systems. I'm not saying to legalize drugs (that's a separate debate), but our methods of combatting them have led to every podunk police department and obscure federal agency thinking they need a SWAT team. It has militarized our police beyond all necessity or control.
3. Take 5 years to phase out ALL subsidies, ALL price supports, and ALL foreign aid programs. Let industries fend for themselves. Congress has piled on many many layers of transfer payments, tax abatements, credits, and Lord knows what else over the decades to the point where many markets are distorted, and resources mis-allocated. I would include in here a wide assortment of personal tax breaks too.
4. Force federal agencies to clear ALL regulations through Congress. Executive branch agencies should never have been allowed the level of autonomy they enjoy. If regulators have to explain themselves in public, it reduces their incentive to write laws whenever they get bored.
5. Take 50 years to phase out and abolish Social Security. This program (as was predicted many decades ago) absolutely prevents people from saving for themselves, discourages people from marrying during their youth, discourages childbirth, pits the old against the young, encourages a neglect and abuse of the elderly, and breeds a total dependency on the government.
Pipe dreams all I'm sure.
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Nov '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Now, if all those of you who said they support Govicide's #4 voted...
Ron Paul...
Just sayin...
Mar '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Fred Cole: Now, if all those of you who said they support Govicide's #4 voted...
Ron Paul...
Just sayin... · 23 minutes ago
I know where you're coming from on this. But Ron had other baggage. Rand shows great promise though.
That being said, we owe Ron much for bringing these ideas up time and again.
May '10
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Note that many of these are structural reforms, as opposed to specific policies. I believe that many of our current difficulties arise from Progressive vandalism of the structure built by our Founders, and that positive results will and only can flow from restoration of that edifice.
Nov '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
I'm with you except #2. The increasing militarization of the police force is a major problem, however I believe the 'terrorist threat', and bureaucratic SWAT teams are worse. I would replace #2 with border control and enforcing immigration laws- esp. just allowing border states to protect themselves. I truly wish that Republicans could just concentrate on the Flat Tax over the next four years. Just getting this one thing done would be a major win, however regulation is the biggest threat to our freedom.
Nov '10
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
There has been a good commentary and excellent additions to the first list of five. Since this is the case, I am going to highlight my favorite five:
Flat tax based on consumption not income.
Federal government pared back to the original cabinet departments (exPost Office)
Free Banking
Repeal 17th amendment
Repeal Obamacare and open the entire country to interstate commerce in medical insurance (any insurance for that matter) -- in other words use the commerce clause as was the original intent.
Feb '12
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
I suggest these because so many good ones have already been proposed:
1. eliminate Fannie and Freddie
2. privative student loans
3. something needs to be done about academia, its left leaning faculty, the tenure system, and its acceptance of funding from countries unfriendly to America (eg Saudi Arabia)
4. repeal/cancel all laws, policies and regulations that negatively impact freedom of religious expression
5. repeal/cancel all laws, policies and regulations that provide advantages based on ethnicity or gender
Nov '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
skipsul
I know where you're coming from on this. But Ron had other baggage. Rand shows great promise though.
That being said, we owe Ron much for bringing these ideas up time and again. · 38 minutes ago
Well, then, let me rephrase:
Now, if all those of you who said they support Govicide's #4 voted...
Gary Johnson...
Just sayin...
Apr '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
All federal laws have a ten year sunset clause so that the law must be debated and voted on again. This might keep legislators from enacting new laws.
Apr '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Skipsul, you have a fine list there.
Mar '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
For the record, I, too, am no fan of the income tax at the Federal level. I believe it's unconstitutional. And it's also immoral because it is a direct tax on survival. So, I guess it would've been much easier for me to put eliminating it as my #1.
However, I have to admit the rascal in me would love to really see how many people would pay their complete taxes without them being taken out of their paychecks directly. True, some people--particularly private contractors--already collect their gross income and then pay in an I-9 situation.
But, having lived in Vegas for many years, I'd put the over/under at 50 percent as to how many income earners, in a "gross" situation, would pay the required amount without shorting the Fed Gov.
So, I suppose my #1 would be more of a scientific tax study than anything else but it would be entertaining!!!
Jan '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Feb '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
KC Mulville · 30 minutes ago
Can you elaborate on this...what do you mean?
Mar '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Fred Cole
Well, then, let me rephrase:
Now, if all those of you who said they support Govicide's #4 voted...
Gary Johnson...
Just sayin... · 1 hour ago
Gary Who?
Just kidding, he's that guy in the wookie suit right?
It will be a long time before Libertarians gain real power in the Republican party. My sister is VERY involved there (free state project, Porcfest), and it's like herding cats. It's kind of like trying to organized a convention for procrastinators.
Oct '10
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
So y'all're ok with the BCS?
Jan '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
St. Salieri
Can you elaborate on this...what do you mean?
One example is that I don't like the idea that Julian Assange (of Wikileaks) or Bill Kellar (of the New York Times) can publish classified information obtained from Bradley Manning. Manning committed a crime when he distributed the classified information, and Assange (and then Kellar and others in turn) perpetuated the damage by publishing it.
There was some merely embarrassing information in the Manning cables, but there was also information that seriously endangered our forces.
The sane thing would have been to bring the case to a judge, and the military could argue about what should be excluded. But because the press has privileged protection, the judge couldn't prevent publication. Instead of a judge making the decision, an unaccountable editor at the New York Times made the decision.
I chose my three reforms because I think they have a ripple effect. Giving the press those special privileges means giving them to people who aren't accountable. That's a huge ripple effect. We do need watchdogs on the government, but if the watchdogs aren't accountable themselves, we've only exchanged one tyranny for another.
Nov '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
skipsul
Gary Who?
Just kidding, he's that guy in the wookie suit right?
It will be a long time before Libertarians gain real power in the Republican party. My sister is VERY involved there (free state project, Porcfest), and it's like herding cats. It's kind of like trying to organized a convention for procrastinators. · 51 minutes ago
So, instead we get Mitt Romney.
May '10
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Actually, I want to change my #5 (and Edit doesn't work on an iPad, Webmaster please note!)5. Amend the constitution to forbid all transfer payments from the Federal Government to any State, County, or City government.My previous suggestion regarding closing down cabinet departments was too tactical, and would happen anyway as a side effect of the structural changes I suggested.
Dec '10
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
There are tons of good reforms we could talk about, but I can't think of a better place to start than with your list.
However, I also think that we should pass a law that makes it mandatory that whenever a government employee - elected, bureaucratic, and judicial - uses the word 'Constitution', they must make air quotes with their fingers. I think I heard that on a Ricochet podcast, and I think it's brilliant.
May '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
I only have two modest, but probably untenable suggestions:
Besides greatly simplifying the tax code, can we also forbid the use of tax laws to encourage/discourage certain behaviors? For example, cigarette taxes seem to me (a non-smoker) to be totally out of hand.
Can we forbid the practice of tying unrelated riders into legislation? I'd think this would eliminate a great deal of earmarking.
May '11
Re: 5 Fundamental Reforms - Your Picks
Govicide, the Constitution was amended to specifically allow a federal income tax so it can't be unconstitutional.