What would you reform?
- Thread starter AceHBK
- Start date
tellner
Senior Master
That's actually a simple one.
Back in 1886 the Supreme Court decision in[FONT=arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1] Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company[/SIZE][/FONT] (sorta, kinda) that corporations were persons under the Fourteenth Amendment with rights and independent existence like a real human being. As originally constituted corporate charters were issued by States and could be revoked if they no longer served the public good. They were viewed with suspicion by most people, and there's a library full of precedents where they were dissolved when they were considered destructive. It was only later that we fell under the bizarre notion that just their existence was a positive good and the working out of some sort of Natural Law.
So I'd reform that and make it easier to rein them in or get rid of them. I'd break some of the wall that keeps their officers safe from what the corporation does and hold them financially and legally accountable for crimes they commit from behind the veil. And I'd apply the same standards to them that are applied to flesh-and-blood human beings. If you live in a "Three Strikes" jurisdiction and a corporate entity commits three felonies over the course of its existence it gets the equivalent of a death sentence. Its charter is revoked. The assets are auctioned off by Marshals or the County Sheriff on the next business day and divided between creditors and shareholders, and it ceases to exist. If malfeasance or negligence cause human death the Board of Directors gets the penalties for manslaughter. If it was in connection with a crime they hang.
If I could reform a second thing I'd institute the Carthage Draft.
Here's how it would work...
Back in the day the City-State of Carthage practiced human sacrifice. Of children. But it wasn't quite like a lot of their neighbors. In times of severe trouble every aristocratic, noble and wealthy family had to pony up a child to be burned to death in public. Nobody got out of it. Everyone with serious money or power had to pay in the same terrible coin.
I'd update that for today.
If there's a war, police action, GWOT, "global projection of force" or any of the other euphemisms the Carthage Draft goes into effect immediately. Every member of Congress, every Senator, every Cabinet Secretary or Executive Branch officer above a certain rank, the Vice President, the President and what the hell let's toss in the Boards of the Down Jones Industrials and the Fortune 1000 contributes. They contribute one of their children. If they don't have children a grandchild, sibling, spouse, niece or nephew will do. The closer the blood relation the better.
That lucky young person is in the Army or the Marines for the duration. There are no deferments for any reason. They don't get to be in the Air National Guard or safely back in Washington. They become Cavalry Scouts, Forward Radio Operators, Riflemen or any of the other two or three statistically most dangerous MOSs. They're in from the day hostilities begin to the day the last serviceman or woman is withdrawn and must be in active combat units in hostilities. If they die or are disabled the family ponies up another.
Back in 1886 the Supreme Court decision in[FONT=arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1] Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company[/SIZE][/FONT] (sorta, kinda) that corporations were persons under the Fourteenth Amendment with rights and independent existence like a real human being. As originally constituted corporate charters were issued by States and could be revoked if they no longer served the public good. They were viewed with suspicion by most people, and there's a library full of precedents where they were dissolved when they were considered destructive. It was only later that we fell under the bizarre notion that just their existence was a positive good and the working out of some sort of Natural Law.
So I'd reform that and make it easier to rein them in or get rid of them. I'd break some of the wall that keeps their officers safe from what the corporation does and hold them financially and legally accountable for crimes they commit from behind the veil. And I'd apply the same standards to them that are applied to flesh-and-blood human beings. If you live in a "Three Strikes" jurisdiction and a corporate entity commits three felonies over the course of its existence it gets the equivalent of a death sentence. Its charter is revoked. The assets are auctioned off by Marshals or the County Sheriff on the next business day and divided between creditors and shareholders, and it ceases to exist. If malfeasance or negligence cause human death the Board of Directors gets the penalties for manslaughter. If it was in connection with a crime they hang.
If I could reform a second thing I'd institute the Carthage Draft.
Here's how it would work...
Back in the day the City-State of Carthage practiced human sacrifice. Of children. But it wasn't quite like a lot of their neighbors. In times of severe trouble every aristocratic, noble and wealthy family had to pony up a child to be burned to death in public. Nobody got out of it. Everyone with serious money or power had to pay in the same terrible coin.
I'd update that for today.
If there's a war, police action, GWOT, "global projection of force" or any of the other euphemisms the Carthage Draft goes into effect immediately. Every member of Congress, every Senator, every Cabinet Secretary or Executive Branch officer above a certain rank, the Vice President, the President and what the hell let's toss in the Boards of the Down Jones Industrials and the Fortune 1000 contributes. They contribute one of their children. If they don't have children a grandchild, sibling, spouse, niece or nephew will do. The closer the blood relation the better.
That lucky young person is in the Army or the Marines for the duration. There are no deferments for any reason. They don't get to be in the Air National Guard or safely back in Washington. They become Cavalry Scouts, Forward Radio Operators, Riflemen or any of the other two or three statistically most dangerous MOSs. They're in from the day hostilities begin to the day the last serviceman or woman is withdrawn and must be in active combat units in hostilities. If they die or are disabled the family ponies up another.
Big Don
Sr. Grandmaster
The tax code. There is no reason for the tax code in this country to be so ungodly complex. Accountants and tax preparers are not owed jobs. The simplification of the tax code would save BILLIONS of dollars, which could then be spent on goods and services that could be TAXED, thus raising revenues.
RandomPhantom700
Master of Arts
While I can't be too specific on how, I think Education in America would be my first candidate for reform. Greater investment of government dollars so that more and better teachers can be hired, realistic and actually supportive grading systems, elimination of standardized tests, elimination of political agendas in curriculums...the list goes on.
Big Don
Sr. Grandmaster
The government throws HUGE amounts of money into education. Throwing money at problems rarely solves them.
I'd outlaw the practice of dentistry.
Because if you outlaw dentistry, the physicians (M.D.'s) will fill the gap...and they'll be able to demand that insurance companies cover it. Then you'll no longer be able to identify who grew up poor by their bad teeth, and people with jaw pain will get it treated rather than ignored.
Podiatrists and optometrists get paid because they do work that would otherwise be done by M.D.'s, and they do it cheaper. Outlaw dentistry, and only otorhinolaryngologists will have dental drills...and you better believe that the AMA will see to it that they get their money. These problems will be treated by physicians, at medical clinics, emergency rooms, and everywhere else the poor go for treatment. That means more kids (and adults) getting needed care that is now considered merely "dental" (not "medical").
I'm 100% serious. Vote for me for governor and I'll do away with licensing for DDS/DMD graduates and give them free tuition to complete an M.D. at State University, then encourage them to train as the new breed of stomatologists.
Because if you outlaw dentistry, the physicians (M.D.'s) will fill the gap...and they'll be able to demand that insurance companies cover it. Then you'll no longer be able to identify who grew up poor by their bad teeth, and people with jaw pain will get it treated rather than ignored.
Podiatrists and optometrists get paid because they do work that would otherwise be done by M.D.'s, and they do it cheaper. Outlaw dentistry, and only otorhinolaryngologists will have dental drills...and you better believe that the AMA will see to it that they get their money. These problems will be treated by physicians, at medical clinics, emergency rooms, and everywhere else the poor go for treatment. That means more kids (and adults) getting needed care that is now considered merely "dental" (not "medical").
I'm 100% serious. Vote for me for governor and I'll do away with licensing for DDS/DMD graduates and give them free tuition to complete an M.D. at State University, then encourage them to train as the new breed of stomatologists.
ChadWarner
Green Belt
Prison. They are mini camps for criminal training and racisim not to mention out of control aggression. The link between organized crime and prison gangs is evident in human trafficing and drug dealing. Prison should be safe first and foremost. No commisary and a regulated diet devoid of sugar. We do not need to produce bigger, stronger and faster criminals to pray on working class peoples.
I believe it costs the US tax payer 100,000 thousand a year to house and feed an inmate and costs the average college student born in the US 20,000 plus to get an education. Criminals committing crimes in prison is a failure of the justice system and the lackys who come up with the systems that dont work.
I see no need to treat prisoners inhumanly but I do see a need to isolate them from each other. We are the largest producer of durable goods in the world hence the weak dollar and that means taxes. Tax dollars are to be spent on the betterment of American society.
I believe it costs the US tax payer 100,000 thousand a year to house and feed an inmate and costs the average college student born in the US 20,000 plus to get an education. Criminals committing crimes in prison is a failure of the justice system and the lackys who come up with the systems that dont work.
I see no need to treat prisoners inhumanly but I do see a need to isolate them from each other. We are the largest producer of durable goods in the world hence the weak dollar and that means taxes. Tax dollars are to be spent on the betterment of American society.
tellner
Senior Master
Education for those who are willing to accept it is the only penal technique we know of which demonstrably reduces recidivism. You can't reach everyone of course. But it's well established that if you give a lot of these guys an alternative, especially early in their criminal career, they are less likely to go back to crime. Unfortunately, the very first thing to be cut during Legislative sessions is - you guessed it! - education and vocational training.
I would reform our monetary system. In 1913, the Federal Reserve bank was conceived in secret by the richest most powerful bankers in the world. Since then, it has been responsible for all of the economics ups and downs and for an inflation that has destroyed the value of our currency. Our standard of living is consistently eroded by the actions of the Fed.
So, this is how I would reform the system.
1. Get rid of the Fed. The United States government, not a private bank, should be in charge of the currency of this country.
2. Get the dollar back on the gold standard. This would end inflation and stabilize the currency because you no longer can just print money out of thin air.
3. Abolish the income tax. This idea was anathema to the founding fathers because they knew that all it would take an individual life and make it beholden to the government. Worse, the 16th amendment was specifically conceived in order to pay the interest that Federal Reserve charges to print our money.
4. End fractional reserve banking. When you make a deposit at a bank, that bank, depending on regulation, can lend it out at 10-100 times the amount. This vastly increases the money supply and enslaves the people with shackles of debt. The availability of credit should be regulated so that it does not erode the value of the currency.
There's so much else that could be reformed, but I believe if we did nothing but this, the people of this country would be far better off. Heck, this might be the only thing we could do to ensure that our country survives in the long term.
So, this is how I would reform the system.
1. Get rid of the Fed. The United States government, not a private bank, should be in charge of the currency of this country.
2. Get the dollar back on the gold standard. This would end inflation and stabilize the currency because you no longer can just print money out of thin air.
3. Abolish the income tax. This idea was anathema to the founding fathers because they knew that all it would take an individual life and make it beholden to the government. Worse, the 16th amendment was specifically conceived in order to pay the interest that Federal Reserve charges to print our money.
4. End fractional reserve banking. When you make a deposit at a bank, that bank, depending on regulation, can lend it out at 10-100 times the amount. This vastly increases the money supply and enslaves the people with shackles of debt. The availability of credit should be regulated so that it does not erode the value of the currency.
There's so much else that could be reformed, but I believe if we did nothing but this, the people of this country would be far better off. Heck, this might be the only thing we could do to ensure that our country survives in the long term.
ChadWarner
Green Belt
The main problem with ed cuts is the administrators are not included. The people running colleges and universities have turned education into a profitable business thus raising tuition for students to the effect some graduate 100k in debt. Granted some are less- nurses with a bachelors that go to state prolly get away with around 23k in debt for their student loans.
Vocational school? Well better to get some training through a community college. I think it is less expensive than the tech schools out there. And there are always trade unions... You can make good money digging ditches or building sky scrapers and a host of other things.
Back to prison- The library is open to inmates and they cannot be refused a book or access to the library. There is an oppertunity, a small one, but not a mandatory one. I see no real problem making inmates study the constitution and state laws followed by testing. Good grades should get them out of a lockdown to continue their education. I just don't think it is wise to have 2.7 million unemployed people doing nothing but sucking off the tax payers. School or work or both then there is no time to plot revenge killings or have gang wars or even racketeering endeavors. Inmates should struggle like the rest of us out here working and paying bills.
michaeledward
Grandmaster
I'm with Tellner and UpNorthKyosa on this.
Eliminate personhood for corporations.
Return to the gold standard.
Both would be best; I'll settle for either one.
Eliminate personhood for corporations.
Return to the gold standard.
Both would be best; I'll settle for either one.
RandomPhantom700
Master of Arts
I didn't say to just throw money at it. The question was "what would you reform?", not "what would you put more tax dollars into?"....although the latter is usually needed for the former.
I agree with you there. If we did that, then most of these other problems would go away.
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