Agenda for the Next Administration

[ODUsmitty]

1. Cut all federal budgets by 20%. Hold managment accountable to meeting targets using zero-based billing exercise and replace those that cannot.
2. End the Dept of Education. Cut funding to Dept of Agriculture by 50% - end electrification projects, subsidies to not produce, and loan programs. Cut funding to the DOL and HHS by 35% using criteria of item #1.
3. Overhaul federal retirement program to match realities of private sector. Don't interere when state/municipalities do the same.
4. Overhaul Social Security. Raise current retirement age to meet funding requirements. Treat as you would a bankruptcy (since it is) and allow non-retirement aged citizens to opt-out, receiving a % of lifetime conributions (35-40%) rolled directly into a 401k account and exclusion waiver from receipt of SS benefits in the future.
5. Get completely out of the United Nations. End all funding and program support. If they want to stay in New York, do not provide any support for diplomatic movement around the city.
6. Repeal the Health-Care Bill. Encourage portability across state lines and pooling of small company employees to receive better premiums.
7. Get out of Afghanistan.
8. Place annual and lifetime benefit cap on the recipient class benefits. Make sum total of Welfare, Section 8 housing, food stamps, and Medicaid reimbursements 10% below minimum wage for 2040 hours annually. Provide incentive at one-year and five-year anniversary of freedom from those programs.
9. Amend constitution to prohibit those receiving Medicaid, Welfare, Foodstamps, and Section 8 housing from participation in federal elections. Do not interfere with states when doing the same.
10. Build the border fence....without walkways on bridges.
11. Allow 6-month period for all illegals to self-deport. For those who participate, expedite a new temporary worker visa for their return and collect all taxes from these folks. Deport the rest with no opportunity to legally enter the US again.
12. Provide no entitlements to illegals or those on aforementioned temp worker visas.
13. End the federal CZAR nominations. If an agency needs a head, let them be approved through the Congressional process like othe appointees.
14. Place limts on what Congress can do during any lame-duck period.....namely items requiring funding and federal mandates.
15. Limit Congressional members to two-terms and overhaul/reduce congressional retirement perks.
16. Get out of the automotive, health-care, banking, and student aid businesses. Blow up Fannie Mae an Feddie Mac and sell of assets to where they belong - the private sector.
17. End gender and race-based quota systems for government employees.
18. Provide congressional oversight of agencies such as EPA to prevent unelected government officials from enacting mandates without a check and balance - i.e. naming CO2 as a priority polluatnt that needs taxing and government control.
19. Provide 4-year college tuition for anyone who honorably enlists and serves in the armed forces for 4 or more years. Use existing GI bill structure to build up funding for living expenses, etc during the post-military education years.


That would keep the administration busy for the first-term........

[mainejeff]

18. Provide a telescope to every tax paying American so they can see Russia from their house.

[houndawg]

19) Nationalize oil refineries.

[ODUsmitty]

I forgot....

20. Make liberal idiots take an IQ test prior to getting posting access on message boards.

[Grizalltheway]

1. Cut all federal budgets by 20%. Hold managment accountable to meeting targets using zero-based billing exercise and replace those that cannot.
2. End the Dept of Education. Cut funding to Dept of Agriculture by 50% - end electrification projects, subsidies to not produce, and loan programs. Cut funding to the DOL and HHS by 35% using criteria of item #1.
3. Overhaul federal retirement program to match realities of private sector. Don't interere when state/municipalities do the same.
4. Overhaul Social Security. Raise current retirement age to meet funding requirements. Allow non-retirement aged citizens to opt-out, receiving a % of lifetime conributions (35-40%) rolled directly into a 401k account and exclusion waiver from receipt of SS benefits in the future.
5. Get completely out of the United Nations. End all funding, and sell the property in New York.
6. Repeal the Health-Care Bill. Encourage portability across state lines and pooling of small company employees to receive better premiums.
7. Get out of Afghanistan.
8. Place annual and lifetime benefit cap on the recipient class. Provide incentive at one-year and five-year anniversary of freedom from those programs.
9. Amend constitution to prohibit those receiving Medicaid, Welfare, Foodstamps, and Section 8 housing from participation in federal elections. Do not interfere with states when doing the same.
10. Build the border fence....without walkways on bridges.
11. Allow 6-month period for all illegals to self-deport. For those who participate, expedite a new temporary worker visa for their return and collect all taxes from these folks. Deport the rest with no opportunity to legally enter the US again.
12. Provide no entitlements to illegals or those on aforementioned temp worker visas.
13. End the federal CSAR nominations. If an agency needs a head, let them be approved through the Congressional process like othe appointees.
14. Place limts on what Congress can do during any lame-duck period.....namely items requiring funding and federal mandates.
15. Limit Congressional members to two-terms and overhaul/reduce congressional retirement perks.
16. Get out of the automotive, health-care, banking, and student aid businesses. Blow up Fannie Mae an Feddie Mac and sell of assets to where they belong - the private sector.
17. End race-based quota systems.

That would keep the administration busy for the first-term........

Why not ban corporate welfare whores from federal elections, too? Oh right, then there'd be no one to fund them...

[ATrain]

1. Agreed, or make that the average. I'm sure some budgets (defense) should be left alone while others (NASA) should be increased. You can offset that by requiring sharper reductions in unnecessary departments (Education comes to mind).
2. Not completely eliminate Dept. of Ed, but I do support reducing it to next-to-nothing. We do need some national standards so kids in Alabama can get (hopefully) the same quality education as kids in Massachusetts.
3. DISAGREE COMPLETELY. However, I do support not giving raises to federal workers when the country is having record deficits, or any deficits at all. Those of us who work in government could make more money with salaries in the private sector. And yes, I have seen the graphics showing how federal workers make twice as much and state/local workers avereage a few $K more than private sector employees, but when you dig deeper you begin to see that many federal workers are in DC where cost of living/wages are higher across the board (and the private sector is by far NOT the largest employer in the area).
4. Agreed completely
5. Agreed completely
6. Agreed completely, along with tort reform
7. Disagree. Ramp up operations, move into the uncontrolled areas of Pakistan.
8. No idea
9. Disagree. Receiving federal aid does not trump basic rights.
10. Agreed completely
11. Agreed completely, and also let those who've been trying the legal way for forever to be expedited as well.
12. Agreed completely
13. Agreed completely
14. Agreed completely
15. Agreed completely
16. Agreed completely
17. Agreed completely

[blueballs]

Great post... that should be the new Contract With America.

The only thing I would alter is drug testing for aid recipients and have a walkway on top of the fence for military snipers.

[ODUsmitty]

Edited #8 for clarity.

I agree with the drug testing idea, as well....

[AZGrizFan]

Edited #8 for clarity.

I agree with the drug testing idea, as well....

Thanks, JB, that's much clearer.

THat's an agenda I could get behind.

[oldsloguy]

I might want to add a work requirement for welfare to #8. Pick-up litter, sort recyclables from trash etc.

[free7694]

Great ideas. I love 'em all. I'd add this one, though:

Tear up the tax code and start from scratch with either a flat income tax, or preferrably, the FairTax. Also, either severely reduce the role of or completely disband the IRS.

[ATrain]

Oh, here's another idea: Tobacco is treated the same as drugs and alcohol when it comes to Social Security disability. Right now, if someone is shown to get better if they'll stop drinking or doing illegal drugs, they're denied. Not the case with tobacco.

[kalm]

So you've reduced our expenses, easy enough. But how is the private sector going to replace those government jobs you cut in addition to the millions of private sector jobs lost during this depression? What industries are going to show growth and compete on a global scale and who is going to create and maintain the infrastructure to support them?

And what about energy? Oil is going to become more and more expensive and oil markets will become more and more volatile? How does the free market withstand this volatility?

[AZGrizFan]

So you've reduced our expenses, easy enough. But how is the private sector going to replace those government jobs you cut in addition to the millions of private sector jobs lost during this depression? What industries are going to show growth and compete on a global scale and who is going to create and maintain the infrastructure to support them?

And what about energy? Oil is going to become more and more expensive and oil markets will become more and more volatile? How does the free market withstand this volatility?

IT's not the Govt's job to fill the void in employment by creating more needless government jobs.

[ODUsmitty]

kalm-

Not quite the response I expected from you, but I'll play.

The second term would focus on some of the things of which you discuss......

21. Expedite renewal of NRC permits and encourage growth of additional nuclear capability on existing sites (already started, but a VERY slow process). Set reasonable target to increase electrical generation from nukes by 50% over 15 year period.

22. Provide curbs around the EPA's policy-making abilities to ensure some sort of Congressional oversight. This agency is out of control and counter to sensible free-market growth. Placing limits on CO2 as a pollutant when the scientific community is nowhere near united on Global Warming is reckless and economically harmful.

Its not the government's not private sector's responsibility to find jobs for displaced workers. For those government workers worth a damn, they will compete and will win in the private sector in their respective fields. For those not so sharp, they will either need to retrain (like displaced private sector workers) or move into less lucrative professions better suited for their skills.

[ODUsmitty]

dang AZ Griz....you beat me to it!!!!

[AZGrizFan]

dang AZ Griz....you beat me to it!!!!

Yes, but FWIW your answer is much more eloquent.

And longer.

[kalm]

kalm-

Not quite the response I expected from you, but I'll play.

The second term would focus on some of the things of which you discuss......

21. Expedite renewal of NRC permits and encourage growth of additional nuclear capability on existing sites (already started, but a VERY slow process). Set reasonable target to increase electrical generation from nukes by 50% over 15 year period.

22. Provide curbs around the EPA's policy-making abilities to ensure some sort of Congressional oversight. This agency is out of control and counter to sensible free-market growth. Placing limits on CO2 as a pollutant when the scientific community is nowhere near united on Global Warming is reckless and economically harmful.

Its not the government's not private sector's responsibility to find jobs for displaced workers. For those government workers worth a damn, they will compete and will win in the private sector in their respective fields. For those not so sharp, they will either need to retrain (like displaced private sector workers) or move into less lucrative professions better suited for their skills.

21. With nuclear power only equating to 8-10% of energy consumption - and that's with all of the subsidies - I'm not sure that a 50% increase in 15 years is going to solve the problem. Not to mention the safety and clean up costs.

22. Prior to the EPA, the Spokane River, near where I live, was devoid of all life and at times combustuble. I have friends from Libby MT, where W.R. Grace and Co. passed mesothelioma on to thousands through their vermiculite mining operations while hiding the evidence of it's toxicity for as long as they could. Polluters have proven they will maim, kill, and hide the evidence for the sake of profits. A clean environment is of huge importance and invaluable. The EPA is a neccessary evil because certain people and the corporations that run them are greedy and untrustworthy.

As for displaced workers, I don't neccessarily disagree - especially during good economic times. And as I think you point out, the private sector isn't responsible for job creation either - especially in a global economy. So for the sake of - as you say "sensible free market growth" where are the decent paying jobs going to come from that sustain our middle class and our economy? We are fastly becoming an exchange economy where I'll mow your lawn if you flip my burger. That does not create wealth.

The fact remains that consumer spending is what drives our economy, and consumer spending is driven by low unemployment and wages. Cutting government jobs at this point and flooding the labor force with more workers will further stagnate wages and guarantee a continuation of the recession. (btw, the same argument can be made for increasing social security age limits)

Now that might be what's neccessary, but explain that to the voters, warn them that belt tightening will require an extension of the depression for the foreseeable future and a further cut to entitlements and welfare and your administration will never see a second term.

[AZGrizFan]

The fact remains that consumer spending is what drives our economy, and consumer spending is driven by low unemployment and wages. Cutting government jobs at this point and flooding the labor force with more workers will further stagnate wages and guarantee a continuation of the recession. (btw, the same argument can be made for increasing social security age limits)

Now that might be what's neccessary, but explain that to the voters, warn them that belt tightening will require an extension of the depression for the foreseeable future and a further cut to entitlements and welfare and your administration will never see a second term.

And the fact remains that being a "consumer based economy" has gotten us into this mess. We need to get back to MAKING stuff and not just consuming stuff. We can't survive long-term on being a service-based or consumer-based economy.

[native]

So you've reduced our expenses, easy enough. But how is the private sector going to replace those government jobs you cut in addition to the millions of private sector jobs lost during this depression? What industries are going to show growth and compete on a global scale and who is going to create and maintain the infrastructure to support them?

And what about energy? Oil is going to become more and more expensive and oil markets will become more and more volatile? How does the free market withstand this volatility?

Increase jbp's proposed government spending cuts from 20% to 60%, allow irresponsibly profligate state governments such as California's to go bankrupt, allow failed businesses to go bankrupt, make right-to-work the law of the land, eliminate public sector unions, eliminate tenure in academia, empower parents with school vouchers, and open the floodgates to both nuclear power and coal. These changes combined with jbp's list would create so many private sector jobs, we would have to import labor for the next 50 years.

[AZGrizFan]

So you've reduced our expenses, easy enough. But how is the private sector going to replace those government jobs you cut in addition to the millions of private sector jobs lost during this depression? What industries are going to show growth and compete on a global scale and who is going to create and maintain the infrastructure to support them?

And what about energy? Oil is going to become more and more expensive and oil markets will become more and more volatile? How does the free market withstand this volatility?

Increase jbp's proposed government spending cuts from 20% to 60%, allow irresponsibly profligate state governments such as California's to go bankrupt, allow failed businesses to go bankrupt, make right-to-work the law of the land, eliminate public sector unions, eliminate tenure in academia, empower parents with school vouchers, and open the floodgates to both nuclear power and coal. These changes combined with jbp's list would create so many private sector jobs, we would have to import labor for the next 50 years.

Tenure. Quite possibly the only thing worse for American ingenuity and work ethic than unions.

[kalm]

The fact remains that consumer spending is what drives our economy, and consumer spending is driven by low unemployment and wages. Cutting government jobs at this point and flooding the labor force with more workers will further stagnate wages and guarantee a continuation of the recession. (btw, the same argument can be made for increasing social security age limits)

Now that might be what's neccessary, but explain that to the voters, warn them that belt tightening will require an extension of the depression for the foreseeable future and a further cut to entitlements and welfare and your administration will never see a second term.

And the fact remains that being a "consumer based economy" has gotten us into this mess. We need to get back to MAKING stuff and not just consuming stuff. We can't survive long-term on being a service-based or consumer-based economy.

I agree completely.

[kalm]

So you've reduced our expenses, easy enough. But how is the private sector going to replace those government jobs you cut in addition to the millions of private sector jobs lost during this depression? What industries are going to show growth and compete on a global scale and who is going to create and maintain the infrastructure to support them?

And what about energy? Oil is going to become more and more expensive and oil markets will become more and more volatile? How does the free market withstand this volatility?

Increase jbp's proposed government spending cuts from 20% to 60%, allow irresponsibly profligate state governments such as California's to go bankrupt, allow failed businesses to go bankrupt, make right-to-work the law of the land, eliminate public sector unions, eliminate tenure in academia, empower parents with school vouchers, and open the floodgates to both nuclear power and coal. These changes combined with jbp's list would create so many private sector jobs, we would have to import labor for the next 50 years.

End corporate welfare, re-instate glass steagal, do away with Freddie and Fannie, allow a bunch of banks on Wall Street to fail, utterly destroy the retirement nest eggs of several generations, and blamo - you have the gigantic re-set that we really need and that nobody has the guts to accept or endure.

Nice platform to run on eh?

[native]

And the fact remains that being a "consumer based economy" has gotten us into this mess. We need to get back to MAKING stuff and not just consuming stuff. We can't survive long-term on being a service-based or consumer-based economy.

I agree completely.

Me three!

[native]

Increase jbp's proposed government spending cuts from 20% to 60%, allow irresponsibly profligate state governments such as California's to go bankrupt, allow failed businesses to go bankrupt, make right-to-work the law of the land, eliminate public sector unions, eliminate tenure in academia, empower parents with school vouchers, and open the floodgates to both nuclear power and coal. These changes combined with jbp's list would create so many private sector jobs, we would have to import labor for the next 50 years.

End corporate welfare, re-instate glass steagal, do away with Freddie and Fannie, allow a bunch of banks on Wall Street to fail, utterly destroy the retirement nest eggs of several generations, and blamo - you have the gigantic re-set that we really need and that nobody has the guts to accept or endure.

Nice platform to run on eh?

At least the New Deal included a bit of infrastructure spending. I'll give you that, kalm.

But your fears of free enterprise (NOT unfettered as you falsely claim) are unfounded. There is a difference between reasonable and fair regulation and blatant un-Constitutional political payola. There is a difference between an efficient safety net and massive income and wealth redistribution for political purposes. Obama made a bad situation much, much worse. We can either continue to slide into economic mediocrity, or we can boldly reclaim the future. Niether Obamanomics nor another New Deal are paths to a successful future.