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Topic: what would you fix?
msharmony's photo
Wed 01/31/18 12:26 PM
Edited by msharmony on Wed 01/31/18 12:27 PM
It puzzles me that people scapegoat politics and media about the things they dont like in America but refuse to credit them for the things that allegedly make us so 'great'.

and some of the same that have so many of their own apparent grievances about what drives american culture (media, education, and politics) Still are so offended when others dont share their symbolism about near worship of things like flags and anthems.

But all that aside ...

Im asking for an 'immigrant free' topic, What things that have NOTHING TO DO WITH IMMIGRATION OR TERRORISM, would you want to see improved in America? And (here is the part for grown ups) what SUGGESTIONS do you have for working towards those improvements?


I would like to improve the educational system, by focusing more on curriculum that prepares kids to be competitive in the economy in which they are living, AND unless we go back to expecting a parent to be HOME with children, giving them direct influence, perhaps focusing as well on teaching civil skills and coping skills for obstacles they may face in life.

I would like to improve the economy by focusing on regional wages that match the living expenses in that area. If, for instance, your average expense for a 2 bedroom is 1000, bringing home 1500 after taxes probably wont cut it. So that person making 12 bucks an hour isnt really making much of a 'living' wage if they have any dependent.

I would like to improve our media, though I know it cant be done for legal reasons, but I would like much more accountability for the veracity of any type of reporting where someone is drawing an income from an employer, stockholders, sponsors ,,,etc. I think there is far too much freedom to spread misinformation to a public thats far too eager for the next scandal.

I would like to improve the plight of urban and impoverished areas through financial education about investing, portolios, networking and information that the well off take for granted , that others are never even exposed to.

I would like to improve the plight of struggling single parents by investing in regional single parent communities, where the parents help each other and agree to a 'domestic' partner that can be HOME and take care of HOME and dependents while the other works, far too many children no longer have mother and father together and the two adult dynamic is something I believe fosters greater opportunity and security for them and for their futures.


,,,just some ideas. What ideas do you have that have nothing to do with immigration or any specific politician?

no photo
Fri 02/02/18 10:02 AM
Ok Ms, I'll jump in.

"Entitlements".
We have become a nation that is dependent on government
in almost every part of our lives. With a 23 Trillion
plus dollar debt, our country is a fast sinking ship
with no rescue in sight. We can point our fingers
at each other and but the fact is, there is no easy remedy
coming.
What our wonderful politicians want to do now is remove the
so called debt ceiling and with it any fiscal responsibility
altogether. Just print more paper money is their remedy.
We have had it good for a long time but the party is soon to be
over and we all be singing "Nearer my God to thee".
JMHO

mightymoe's photo
Fri 02/02/18 10:24 AM
Tax breaks for businesses that build products here... the more Americans they employ, better tax breaks and other incentives, like maybe a 10% deposit, based on annual income, into a 401k or something of the recipients choice

Tom4Uhere's photo
Fri 02/02/18 10:30 AM
I've already written a lot on this subject.
Here are a few points for consideration, in no particular order...

The POTUS is supposed to be the representative of all the people of the United States. They cannot possibly 'face to face' talk with every citizen in the nation. They reference the 'will of the people' from the House of Representatives.
Your State's Congressmen cannot possibly 'face to face' talk with every citizen in their respective states. They reference the will of their states citizens from their states counties.
This goes down the ladder like this until we get to your local town officials. The Mayor is supposed to listen to and talk with the citizens of his community. It is up to each citizen to make their votes known.

Issues that can be handled at the community level are supposed to be handled by the community leaders in accordance with the majority vote of their citizens.
When issues are balloted for things beyond the community, Your community leaders take your majority votes to the next level of government and the state officials act according to the majority votes of the citizens of all the counties/communities/cities. Those issues that cannot be handled at the state level are then taken by majority vote of that state's citizens to the federal level of government. The POTUS then looks at the numbers of votes and acts in accordance with the majority of the citizens of the nation.
If the POTUS is doing their job right. The entire nation is represented.

Congress takes the majority votes of each state and deliberates law in accordance with the majority vote of the citizens of the nation. POTUS can review congress's decision if he feels that the majority vote of the citizens is not accurately represented.

What is happening, Certain persons in that chain are over-riding the majority vote of the citizens for personal or financial gain. The sheeple of this nation sit idle while this becomes the normal procedure. Instead of firing the offenders on the spot, the media distracts the people from the issue or clouds the people with doubts.

The POTUS should publicly isolate every state representative on unedited NEWS coverage and ask each one a few select questions that must be answered immediately and without hesitation.

1. What is the most important issue for the citizens of (insert state name)?
If the answer is not accurate - That state representative is not doing their job and should be fired on the spot.
2. Is your state's spending within budget? Anything other than a YES should instigate a federal audit commencing on the next working day.
3. What percentage of your citizens vote at the community level? Any answer below 50% should require a level by level investigation of that states government starting on the next working day.

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Possible Solution: All nominees at the starting of the election process are afforded the same screen time and exposure. Each has a equally set budget to perform their campaign.
Once their budget is funded, all remaining donations go to all the other candidates equally.
Once all the candidates are fully funded the remaining donation sums are then divided to the nation in a tax refund to all citizens.
All candidates must be held to our personal moralities. Since they are asking to represent us, should they not be held to the same standards of each of this nation's citizens?
Each candidate's personal behavior should be scrutinized. Candidates that are found being other than model citizens need to be expelled from the process.
(I say process because is should not be a race, we are not looking for a winner, we are looking for a representative)

Not all citizens can be role models. We are created by our life experiences and the choices we make based on those experiences. Everyone has different experiences and some are worse than others. Being a role model is only part of the equation. Taking responsibility for our own actions may be the most important thing we could do.

Somewhere in history we allowed the media to dictate where responsibility lies. They want you to think that all guns are bad, all Muslims are terrorists and anyone that doesn't think like they dictate are insignificant. A person is the one that does things, we are all persons.

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Each Community has a Local government.
Those Local communities have County government.
The Counties have State governments and
State governments have Federal government.
There are 50 states that have multiple Counties each and each County has multiple Cities and Towns.

The reality is:
There are two 'parties' in the USA,
The Elite and the Workforce.
There are 'Elite' in every level down to the smallest community.
They control the governments while hidden from public view.
The 'Elite' may or may not be 'persons'. Many 'Elites' are 'Entities'
'Elites' allow the 'Workforce' to have the illusion of freedom when it satisfies their agendas.
They do this by manipulating the public's opinions via their controlled media releases, withholding or granting services or instigating unrest.
The 'workforce' gets so caught up in their daily stress they fail to notice how they are being controlled.
It is easier to live if they just 'go with the flow' and 'The Flow' is what the 'elite' dictate.

There is a growing awareness happening in the 'workforce' party of my country.
They are beginning to realize that the 'elite' are the minority. The 'elite' know the 'workforce' is growing wise to them. They have been instigating control methods at an increasing rate. While most of the 'workforce' still fall for the manipulation there are growing numbers that are seeing the ruse.

There is a change coming to the USA and it is not an election. If the 'elite' do not back down, there will be a war. The more they push, the worse it will get. Their best option to remain in control is to give the 'workforce' more liberties and benefits. They need to reign in the unrest. Regain control. The problem with that is they refuse to relinquish their power over the 'workforce' in any way. When the masses get tired of warring among themselves, the focus will be on those actually responsible.

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War Games (1983) Global Thermo-Nuclear War "No matter who plays - You Lose" The problem is not the candidates, The problem is the people that allowed them to be candidates. It is not a national level problem it is community level, personal level. When people get together and vote 'Yay or Nay' and raise their hand to do so, they make a statement of their vote personally for all to see. They take responsibility for their decision. Anonymity in voting is allowing people to decide without taking responsibility.
Consider your local Mayor. Did you vote for them or against them? Do you participate in Town or City Hall meetings? Did they promise things to you that they did not honor? Why are they still there?
Consider your State Representatives. Did you vote for them? Do they honor their promises and actively represent your will to the nation? If not, Why are they still there?
No matter who you vote for at any level of government a certain dishonesty and misrepresentation of the people's will is expected. Why is that? Where is it written or implied that We The People are willing to tolerate this?
This election is already lost. Who lost? We The People Lost. How can we fix it?
We can start to fix it by firing or jailing those that misrepresent the will of the people. Stop tolerating all the reasons they give for being dishonest and dishonorable. Is that who We The People are? We the People are you and I and every other citizen of this nation. We outnumber the elite. This is our country - Its time we started taking it back. Put down your phones, Turn off the media hype and start thinking like a responsible citizen. STOP BEING SHEEPLE

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The First thing we must all realize is that people in public office are not there to make our decisions for us but to listen to our concerns and put them into effect for all citizens. We elect our public officials to represent our will as a people regardless of how they feel personally. Their job is to listen to what we want and try to make it happen. Not everyone attends all the public meetings all the time. The only way a public official can grasp the will of the people is for them to go to where the people gather and ask the questions.
Our National government is a multistage entity that begins with you and rises thru stages to a national concensus at the office of the president. There are many levels between those two points that governing entities should be making things happen. Not all concerns need to rise to the top. It is the job of each elected representative to accomodate the will of the people for the concerns that can be handled at their level of influence. Local issues handled at local levels and so on.

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Every community has community leaders. I think the position of Mayor is the initial governing entity but there are leaders that are not elected yet hold sway over the opinions of our citizens. Those are Pastors and Priests, Local Barbers & Hairdressers, Bartenders, Business Owners and Neighborhood Watch Leaders. Community, Borough, Town and City Mayors need to hear what the citizens of their appointment are concerned with on a steady basis. Not only do they need to listen to concerns and ideas from their citizens they should gather the citizens ideas and solutions to community issues that each and every one of us are faced with. Their job, is to take that gathered information and determine if it is a local issue or needs to be alerted to the next higher governing authority. For local issues, Their job is to assign the right agency to enact the changes needed to fulfill the wishes of their citizens. If those wishes are not fulfilled what is the point of Freedom? Local changes that require funding that exceeds the taxbase funding allowance need to be broght to the citizens attention by feedback so the citizens can determine if the increased costs are worth the additional taxes to make it happen. This requires that public official to have all their ducks in a row with all the information required for the citizens to make a proper decision. YES, They will be required to actually think and do some work.
So, How do you start this thing?
First, We need to think about the time an elected official has available. There are 5 work days per week at 8 hours per day. There are 52 weeks in the year. Elected officials are paid by salary, therefore their job is not governed by a time clock. If you are a salary employee you know that sometimes your job requires you to work extended hours to get the job done. Why should elected officials be any different?
Three days of the week, our Mayor should be listening to the citizens and taking notes. Visiting with Junior and Seniors in school assemblies, Visiting their local colleges, industries and businesses. Visiting local churches after session to hear the will of the people.
The other two day of the week should be dedicated to enacting the will of the people and pushing their higher level concerns up the governing ladder.
Not every week needs 3 days here or 2 days there. If the workload is too much for one person, send a team to accoplish the goal and record each session. Make those recordings available on the local government website for streaming. Open the site for comments with a sign-in so citizens can give instant feedback.
Every local government website should have a comments and issues page. Comments should be restricted to membership that requires a citizen to list their address (which is rejected if the address is not withing that governing jurisdiction) and age (age because you must be 18 to vote). If you are concerned enough to comment you should be dedicated enough to put your name on it.
Why go to High Schools?
Our children in 11th and 12th grade are about to become our citizens. While some of their decision making processes are still developing they will be the most forthwith to issues that concern them. While their votes don't yet count, it can give the Mayor a glimpse as to future issues within the community.

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The next level of governament is the county (parish) level (I think). Each of the mayors of municipalities within that county report to the governing county (Commissioner?). They bring forth all the issues that cannot be handled in the local offices. The county then looks at funding available, Concensus of the people of all the Mayor's research and determines which issues can be handled at the County level. They redirect funds, set county statues and enact county changes on those issues that relate to their county. They gather research and feedback of all the citizens of their jurisdiction on items needing higher authority and get all their ducks in a row and take those issues to the State governing authority.
The county elected official makes routine visits to each of the local Mayor's municipalities. They spend time (3 days to a week) at the offices of those Mayors and see first hand the will of the people and the task of the Mayor's official needs. They gather up all this data and use it to enact the will of the citizens within their jurisdiction.
They MAKE NO PROMISES to the citizens. No government entity should make promises at any level.

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The County authority needs to investigate what their neighboring counties citizens concerns are. Not only should they be gathering information from their citizens they need to consult with neighboring county authorities to garner the will of all the citizens. That information should be made available to the public and public feedback should be made available.
Perhaps the citizens of one community have an idea that could benefit other communities across the state? A government that represents the best for all the citizens will promote that idea across their influence. They get all their ducks in a row and present that new idea to their citizens. They take the feedback from that and either make it so or reject it based on their citizens will. If the citizens in your county think that all county roads should be painted green then the governing officals need to make all the county roads green reguardless of whether they think it is a right call or not. They were elected to public office to enact and enforce the will of those citizens...Period.

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At present there are 50 states in our nation. The State level of government should deal with state level issues. State level issues are issues that the citizens of that state are concerned with. They get that information from the counties within that state. When a Mayor polls their citizens at the local level, part of the information that they need to pass on is county and state issues. We are a free nation. Part of our freedom is unity. Unity is needed at all levels of government. Not every issue of state requires a unity. Only issues that will be state sanctioned. State Sanctioned means all the citizens of that state stand united in that issue by majority. That unity must be traceable all the way back to local levels by majority. Any issue that is not majority is not a state issue. An example might be Prohibition. If the majority of a state chooses to be alcohol free then the state OFFERS up the choice to make the entire state alcohol free. Each citizen then is afforded the opportunity to cast their vote to yay or nay. Those votes are tallied and the result dictates the policy.

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How do we get issues needing decisions out to the citizens?
At every level of government there needs to be a channel/website/location available where concerned citizens can review all the data on all the issues at all levels of their government. We have the technology, grasshopper.
Libraries, Local, County and State Offices, Churches (Render unto what is the King's to the king and unto what is God's to God er something like that) and Kiosks in shopping centers. Phone apps and websites. Television and Radio channels, commercials and PSA's. Provide 800 numbers, mail-in polls and website comment sections(with sign-in). Billboards and signs could alert citizens to check for more information on hot or time sensitive issues. Each office at all levels could make their feedback phone numbers public on billboards and signs.
Feedback on issues is not the only thing important. ALL the information needed for our citizens to make an intelligent informed decision needs to be made available in plain simple language so all may understand. I hate wading thru legal talk. Legal talk is fine for courts of law but information dissemination needs to be plain, simple and to the point. Direct affecting information needs to be clearly stated as well. To make this happen it will cost this much and this is what we have available to dedicate to it. To make it happen it will require this much money from you over this amount of time. You will pay this amount by this method. Of the cost involved, your fellow citizens across the city, county, state or country will contribute this amount. This will be completed by this date and your obligation will be fulfilled by this date.

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The FEDERAL level of government is a consensus of each and every citizen in our nation. Issues of the federal government are issues that can only be handled at the national level. OUR POTUS represents the will of all the people in our nation. That job is not to make our decisions for us. It is to listen to the will of all of us and act accordingly. Your POTUS is not there to enact what they see fit for us. They are there to enact what we see fit for us. It doesn't matter if they agree or disagree with what we want. It is not for the benefit of corporations or interest groups. Consider this: If an interest group is national level it indicates that the lower governing officials are not doing their jobs.
The POTUS should be visiting local communities without fanfare. A visit from the POTUS should not be a ceremonial event. POTUS needs to randomly visit as many communities as possible in their elected time frame and gather feedback on how effective national concerns are being met. Its Wednesday, I saw POTUS at Walmart when I went shopping. He/She was concerned as to if my needs on the recent change were fair and just. I'm gunna be on TV because he answered my concerns and told me where I can find more information about them.
We elect our POTUS to represent our nation to the world. We don't really like war but we feel very strongly that each person should be treated with respect and dignity. We do understand that other cultures have different ideas about things but we are willing to teach our version of enlightenment to anyone interested in learning. We refuse to tolerate hatred and oppression. We are a free nation with citizens that choose our way of life. Here is the person that reflects our truest beliefs and customs.

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NATIONAL SECURITY
The individual cannot be trusted with all secrets concerning national security. No public venues can be trusted with national secrets. There are things that the POTUS and related must have available and know so that they can keep all citizens of our country safe.
Our POTUS must be trusted to make decisions based on what our citizens want for any occasion relating to the safety of our citizens.
How can POTUS know what the citizens want for things that are secret?
We have the technology and the intelligence to create a polling system so POTUS can gauge the will of the people on any scenario that may come up.
The polls can be worded n such a way to garner the consensus of the citizens in any scenario. Those polls can be kept current to show changes in public opinion.
We have a cyber attack imminent on our electrical grid. Polls show that citizens want any measures initiated to prevent the attack up to and including loss of web services for a limited time. That tells POTUS that convenience of the internet takes backseat to preservation of our utility grid.
There is a threat at a location that is protected by world entities. The threat is against our nation and if successful could change our established way of life or endanger our citizens in their homes. This require lethal action by our forces. Should we take such action? Feedback on that scenario tells the POTUS that the citizens of this nation stand behind the required actions needed to prevent this occurrence. If enough scenarios are presented, Our POTUS will know where the nation stands on any security issue that may occur. POTUS can then take the needed action to guarantee the safety of our nation. After such action is taken, POTUS discloses the action to our citizens via the feedback network previously established.

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FINANCIAL BUDGETING
Our tax money is what establishes our financial limitations. Just like you, No government entity should spend more than the amount available. For government purposes, there is not such thing as credit. If the money is not there right now, it does not get spent...PERIOD.
Federal tax money is collected from every working citizen in our nation. It goes into an account that is a defined amount. That money is represented as $1. Of That Dollar, it should be divided into 51 parts. One part goes back to each of the 50 states and ONE part goes to the Federal government. This means that $1.96078431373 of every dollar is what each state and the federal government receive.
BUT you say, How will we pay for all these federal programs that we have out there - we really need some of them!
Most of the federal government programs currently in effect do not benefit most of the citizens of our nation. They are slanted to specific industries or locations that you and I will never experience.
If each state receives its fair share of tax, any federal entity that is state bound can be paid for by that states share of the pot. Those entities that are national and are available to every citizen can be paid for by every state back to the federal government via a bill. Call it the overhead of national unity.
Of that $1.96078431373 that the federal government gets. It pays the cost of all salaries of all federal employees, overhead of all federal mandates and all expenses. If there is not enough money to cover those bloated salaries then changes must be made because American citizens are not going to spend money we don't have to make certain citizens comfortable while most of us fight to make ends meet.
If a state requires more money than available from federal, state and local taxes provides they can petition the remaining 49 states for a donation. The petition is agreed upon by that state and then the petition is offered to the remaining 49 states for approval. Each of the 49 states then asks its citizens if it can donate such funds to such and such state. If the citizens agree and amount is agreed upon and t5he funds are then GIVEN to the state in need. The total amount needed is presented and the remaining 49 states then make it up as a donation. If the total is not achieved the needing state either makes up the difference or ends the financial obligation. The citizens are made aware of that fact.

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POTUS is NOT meant to enact his or her will upon our citizens. POTUS is there to represent the will of our citizens as a nation.
Your Mayor is not there to run your city as he or she sees fit. Your mayor is there to run your city as you see fit.

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As far as I am concerned, The mayor of a local community needs to have the most power. This is the person with whom you personally trust with your concerns. Concerns that directly affect the quality of your life.
When things are good we don't question but when things go bad we tend to look for the reasons. Is it because someone else did it or is it because of our individual personal choices? When it is our fault it is an "aw ****' moment but if it is because of our elected official we tend to look at why it happened to assign blame. Too many times we can assign blame to an elected official acting in their best interest instead of ours.
Well, You elected that person. Too often we are faced with electing the least destructive individual to represent our desires. Its becomes a matter of vote for "A" so we don't get stuck with "B". I think that we need to demand that we have a "C" option that exceeds all our needs.
There is this thing in our nation that makes us think that we have to select certain individual based on their financial backing or political ties. We seem to think that political agendas deem a candidate worthy because of past individual accomplishments. I tell you you are full of ****. The best political candidate is the one that knows that they represent the citizens. It is the person that despite disagreeing with public consensus fights for what his/her people want. That person represents the American Citizen.
Creating an America that you want to live in is YOUR responsibility. It will take you being intelligent and knowledgeable on issues of local, state and national importance. The time for sitting idle and letting your country go to **** is over. If we don't act now, our children will inherit the legacy of our complacency.
There is no instant fix. We have become accustomed to instant gratification but this cannot be fixed by just saying we want it to be so. Each and every citizen must make an effort to save our nation. We need new ideas, better methods and people willing to help make those ideas and methods a reality. This post is to get you thinking, not to dictate. How can we fix what is broken if we don't realize the break? Where do we start when we do understand the need is great? Perhaps with posts like this? Perhaps, one of my fellow citizens will read this and decide that things need to change..now? Perhaps that citizen will have the influence, money and power to make such a change happen? Perhaps not and we will continue wasting away to our own demise?
I, personally, will not live long enough to see a significant change for the better. I am okay with that. My grandchildren deserve a US of A that I was promised but not fulfilled. We are not the land of opportunity anymore. We are the land of instant gratification and oppression. The media tells you what to think, how to feel and what to buy. Giant corporations take your money and horde it against you by locking those dollars away from you. The rich keep getting richer as you fight to survive. Things are going great...right? You fight with your spouse over money. You treat you children, your children!, like they are a burden and fight for them to only be humiliated among your peers. Your schools are alien, your workplace hostile and social life is anything but.
You took God out of the equation and you wonder why life is so harsh. Your values of family are now based on me, me, me instead of we and us. Your work ethic is the almighty dollar instead of satisfaction on a job well-done.
Instant gratification, personal acknowledgement and the justification of your own existence has become your reason for being. You think that your opinion and beliefs are the most important and that anyone else is just full of **** unless they agree with you.
To believe that everyone else is wrong is a sign of delusion. As a nation we believe that freedom is the only way of life worth living so we try to force that idea of freedom on the rest of the world. We go to war and force other cultures to embrace our idea of freedom. Then, We wonder why the world hates us.

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It doesn't matter who you voted for.

If the POTUS does not represent you to the rest of the world, You voted for the wrong one.
If the POTUS does not reflect your interests on national concerns, You voted for the wrong one.
If the POTUS can't budget our money, You voted for the wrong one.
If POTUS is more concerned with implimenting their changes than the will of the people, You voted for the wrong one.

Our system of government does not need to be fixed. It needs to be dismantled and disected then rebuilt completely.

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Its easy to complain about what you don't have and throw your arms up and claim surrender but any child can do that. Adults are supposed to be responsible. Take responsibility for your decisions, good and bad. If you tolerate your children not doing well in school, it is your fault that they grow into adults not able to understand life. We are a social species. School is there so we have common knowledge to socially interact. If you don't learn that social knowledge it will be difficult for you to live in a social world. You can't blame anyone but yourself for your decisions. Your job as a parent is to teach your children how to function in a social environment.

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The POTUS represents our Nation and should reflect the best of our lifestyles to the rest of the world. However, he also should represent our practical expression as well. He should have state of the art and current fashion but not exceedingly over-the-top. His representation should be in alignment with the national average in any place it does not affect his safety or our national security. He or She is not King of America but merely another citizen elected to represent all of us.

Salaries of any politician elected to any office should be established at the income average of the citizens they represent. Specific allowances for personal safety and their official security should be accurate to the threat potential.

One example of this (just an example) is the food.
On an average day the average American eats chicken or pork. Not caviar and lobster. We only have prime rib for dinner when we entertain guests or celebrate something. Likewise, the people that represent our nation should only have extravagance when entertaining foreign dignitaries or celebrating significant national events. What they do with their own money on their own time is not our concern.

Our national average is not extravagant so those that represent us should not be extravagant. The extravagance breaks the connection to the people they were elected to represent.

POTUS Current Salary:
$400,000.00 + $50,000.00 Tax Free Expense Account Annually

Current Average Salary of a United States Citizen:
$849 per week or $44,148 per year for a 40-hour work week.
No Tax Free Expense Account.

POTUS Salary should not exceed
$90,000.00 and should not get a Tax Free Personal Expense Account.

District of Columbia average median wage for citizens is currently
$32.63, an hourly rate of $32.63 equates to a weekly pay of $1,305, monthly pay of $5,656, and an annual salary of $67,870. Thus any representative of DC's salary should not exceed $75,000.00 annually.

On the other end of the scale, Mississippi's average is
$14.22, An hourly rate of $14.22 equates to a weekly pay of $569, monthly pay of $2,465, and an annual salary of $29,578.
Thus any representative of Mississippi salary should not exceed $35,000.00.

For an elected representative to gain a salary increase they must assure an increase in their people's salaries first.

Personal and Official money should be separate.

If the senator of Mississippi is called to Washington DC on official business, That cost is covered by the people of Mississippi. If he visits for personal reasons, the cost is covered by his own funds.

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If you look at most 'old' countries in the east there are check points and you had better have your papers and a reason for being there or you get detained. Plus, you can be asked for your papers randomly.

That means they ARE looking at the people in their countries.
I think that is a good thing.

Passports to fly within the states is just a start.
It could spiral to a point that state border crossings have check points at the roads.
We already deal with police spot checks on the highways.

Imagine that anytime you see police they will stop you and ask for your papers if they don't recognize you?

Can you imagine life where the police perform apartment, subdivision or rural spot checks unannouced?

The question becomes which is more important, national safety or personal freedoms?

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The NSA and DHS already has the technology to 'see' the money you carry. We have such a huge electronic fingerprint that they can already know just about everything there is to know about us including our medical history and our favorite television programs. The can tap into our locations from our cars and cell phones and even have the ability to amplify our conversations and see our sillouettes theu walls and roofs.

They only thing that restricts their invasion of our personal lives are the laws that protect us thru our citizen rights.

BUT, If it is deemed a national security matter they have a way around those laws and rights.

It could become invasive very easily under the guise of national security blanketing 'protection'. They don't even have to tell you. All they need to do is declare you or your area an ponit of interest and they can 'look' at anyone. They may be watching you right now. Recording your patterns to a hidden database.

I'm just saying that things can go from bad to worse easily because the technology to do this already exists and it is getting more efficient at a steady rate.

motowndowntown's photo
Fri 02/02/18 10:31 AM
Cut salarys for all people in office by half. Use the money saved to fix our roads and bridges.

mightymoe's photo
Fri 02/02/18 11:22 AM

Cut salarys for all people in office by half. Use the money saved to fix our roads and bridges.
obama gave like 8 trillion dollars to roads and bridges in his first term... I just some toll roads being built...

Workin4it's photo
Fri 02/02/18 11:52 AM
I'll try to keep this shorter than 20,000 words like the previous post. .,the homeless in this country. I'm not talking about those able bodied who refuse to work . I'm talking about the elderly, or anybody that honestly can't do for themselves. Instead of the silly things our government spends our money on like shrimp on treadmills( that's true) to some needless grants , even some programs designed to help protect us from everyday items .(FDA,EPA, etc. ) plenty of room to stream line. Build moderate homes spread out in cities not craned together like low income housing. They could be small 1 bedrooms to big enough for a family.anything that would shelter them. Putting 200 or. So homeless people that have nothing. Putting them together is a situation for violence.

no photo
Fri 02/02/18 02:27 PM

I'll try to keep this shorter than 20,000 words like the previous post. .,the homeless in this country. I'm not talking about those able bodied who refuse to work . I'm talking about the elderly, or anybody that honestly can't do for themselves. Instead of the silly things our government spends our money on like shrimp on treadmills( that's true) to some needless grants , even some programs designed to help protect us from everyday items .(FDA,EPA, etc. ) plenty of room to stream line. Build moderate homes spread out in cities not craned together like low income housing. They could be small 1 bedrooms to big enough for a family.anything that would shelter them. Putting 200 or. So homeless people that have nothing. Putting them together is a situation for violence.


Here in the NYC area the homeless problem is actually shameful. And in these type winters, may die.

For some reason the pure help that the city, state and government should be using to assist these people is not getting thru to these people.

It is actually heartbreaking to see. And I really don't care how they ended up there.. for Christ's sake.. help them

But last week Governor Cuomo announced that the is considering free college tuition to Daca school age children.... free..to all of them.

Now there are two things wrong with that.

We have Americans freezing to death in allies, but no money to help them?

I put 2 kids thru college. I am not rich. I had to take out Parent plus loans that took me 15 ears to repay. The Government gave me... zip... nothing.

But the illegal alien parents and their illegal alien kids get a free ride?

And there is nothing wrong with these two pictures?




Argo's photo
Fri 02/02/18 02:51 PM


Im asking for an 'immigrant free' topic

What ideas do you have that have nothing to do with immigration


require comprehensive reading courses be taught, in the
public school system, beginning in the 6th grade...

Frhe's photo
Fri 02/02/18 03:38 PM
Tom
I honestly I read at least 60-70 percent of what you write

It’s very complex and isn’t for every body

Maybe a brief

no photo
Fri 02/02/18 05:07 PM
I think that Greens comment was was more to the plight of growing homeless
numbers. We have created an entitlement generation. Tie that to a failed
education system and massive drugs available, makes this a problem with
no solutions in sight. We have only ourselves to blame.

mightymoe's photo
Sat 02/03/18 08:17 AM

I think that Greens comment was was more to the plight of growing homeless
numbers. We have created an entitlement generation. Tie that to a failed
education system and massive drugs available, makes this a problem with
no solutions in sight. We have only ourselves to blame.
I blame Obama...

Tom4Uhere's photo
Sat 02/03/18 08:28 AM

Tom
I honestly I read at least 60-70 percent of what you write

It’s very complex and isn’t for every body

Maybe a brief

Like I said at the beginning, I had already written a lot on the subject and I just posted what I had already written.
Most of it was a facebook conversation I had about a year ago.


I think that if anyone wants to see actual change they need to get their friends, neighbors and family to attend all the local government meetings and actually speak up.

Just thinking that things will work themselves out by letting others decide your fate is lazy and irresponsible. If you think there is a problem, how can it be fixed if nobody cares enough to step up to the podium and make their concerns known.

As it is, most Americans just let the government do what they want and complain after the fact.

no photo
Sat 02/03/18 08:05 PM
The incentives they give single mothers! Talking to a young single mother of four at her part time job with the area homes cat. She said she was buying a house with her $14,000 income tax return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They have been buying and seizing people's pension money legally for 30 years and not a dam thing is ever mentioned or done about it. CORP. CORRUPTION, INVESTERS CORRUPTION, GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION. Is there a theme going on here? Sure you can trust the Government
Just ask an Indian.

msharmony's photo
Sat 02/03/18 08:15 PM

Tax breaks for businesses that build products here... the more Americans they employ, better tax breaks and other incentives, like maybe a 10% deposit, based on annual income, into a 401k or something of the recipients choice


Very nice idea.

Tom4Uhere's photo
Sun 02/04/18 08:42 AM
How about tax-free Tuesdays
No citizen pays sales tax on Tuesday.
Businesses keep a record of their Tuesday sales and deduct that amount off their sales tax bill, like an exemption.
It would certainly put more money in circulation.
At first it would be crazy but on Tuesdays, everything is sold at regular price with no discounts.

Set local fair market value on Hospital supplies.
If you can buy a bottle of aspririn for $4 at Walgreens a hospital can't charge you $15 for one pill. If a bandage is available at Walmart for $3 a hospital can't charge you $30 for the same type of bandage.

Do away with individual health insurances. One insurance covers anything having to do with your health. Dental, vision, hearing all covered under one premuium.
Insure the driver, not the vehicle. Its the driver that gets into accidents not the vehicle. The vehicles are automatically covered.
Insure the home owner not the home. The owner is covered which includes the home and anyone, anything in it.

Give veto power to popular vote. Provide secure voting stations where people can sign in with their social security number and cast a veto vote on current issues.

Set up a website and TV channel that has Local, County, State and Federal issues in everyday people talk. Not C-Span, C-Span is boring and confusing.
With the level of secure websites already available it simply confuses me as to why government websites are the way they are?
There should be a website and TV channel dedicated to keeping each citizen in the know about all the things their elected officials are doing. With the websites more information can be hotlinked and on the TV channels more information can be phone linked to automated info recordings.

Separate industry from citizen government.
Corporate entities should have specific rights and regulations established that do not interfere with citizen rights and regulations. "Entities" should have the voting power of one citizen. The same influence as one citizen.

Any business that is established in this country must remain primarily in this country. They can still have foreign divisions but the majority of their business must remain here. No more moving away to avoid national taxes or laws. The foreign divisions are regulated as the base American business. If layoffs are warranted, the foreign divisions get laid off first, closed first before Americans lose their jobs.

mightymoe's photo
Sun 02/04/18 09:00 AM


Tax breaks for businesses that build products here... the more Americans they employ, better tax breaks and other incentives, like maybe a 10% deposit, based on annual income, into a 401k or something of the recipients choice


Very nice idea.
and maybe give (not sure how) more incentives for employees not to unionize...

no photo
Sun 02/04/18 09:06 AM



Tax breaks for businesses that build products here... the more Americans they employ, better tax breaks and other incentives, like maybe a 10% deposit, based on annual income, into a 401k or something of the recipients choice


Very nice idea.
and maybe give (not sure how) more incentives for employees not to unionize...


maybe stop the bailouts of their funds, that would get their attention.

Tom4Uhere's photo
Sun 02/04/18 09:53 AM
Give everybody in the world, one gun with one bullet sealed inside, that can only be fired by them once, during their lifetime.
Walk away and let nature take its coarse.

IgorFrankensteen's photo
Tue 02/06/18 12:58 PM



Tax breaks for businesses that build products here... the more Americans they employ, better tax breaks and other incentives, like maybe a 10% deposit, based on annual income, into a 401k or something of the recipients choice


Very nice idea.
and maybe give (not sure how) more incentives for employees not to unionize...


One way to incentivize employees not to unionize, that worked for DECADES in the past (for the more intelligently led businesses) was to avoid giving them the need TO unionize.

When I worked for IBM, they made it a point to avoid abusing employees for minor profit motives, and to conduct business in ways that were safe, and that showed respect for their employees as people, and every time a major union tried to sign us up, we'd say "thanks, but we're not being abused."

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