if cloud no.9 was president

[Garland]

I'd kill welfare and any other similarities to a socialist state. The leechers of society would be out of luck. I'd kill a good 3/4 of the government bureaucracy. The US would be a pure capitalist state. I'd remove a good portion of the laws. The legal system would be brought back to the basics, and only the more important crimes would be illegal - crimes such as murder, rape and theft. Drug laws, prostitution, antimonopoly laws- they just congest the system. 90% of the lawsuits would find themselves with no grounds to go to court. Taxes would be a straight %, so that by default those who make more pay more. Tax brackets are confusing and unnecessary.

Education would recieve all of my attention. Dumb people annoy me. I want to trim their numbers. I also don't want my nation's education system to be as low on the international roster as it is. The US is one of the most prosperous nations in the world, and we should be proportionately better educated as a result of such. Better educated people make better businesses, doctors, scientists and such. The whole nation would benefit if everyone was smarter on average.

Military service would be compulsory at 18, similar to the system imposed in other nations. The military has a way of making people more responsible, and productive in society. Military service would be for men and women - there would be no bars to frontline service. Equal rights means equal responsibility. Women would no longer get the rewards without the risk.

The military would be streamlined. There are too many redundant branches. Army and Marines and National Guard - they're all the same. There would be one branch of the military for people who fight on the ground. There would be one branch for people who fight at sea. There would be one branch for people who fight in the air. There would be no crossovers. The army would not have airplanes, and the navy would not have ground soldiers. Keep it simple, I always say.

Congress would not be in charge of its own payrate. No government body should have the power to vote itself more money. By and large, government pay would cut significantly. The government serves the people - it's not an aristocracy. Term limits on a presidency would be removed. A good president should be allowed to run as often as the people wish it. Elections for all government positions would be held biannually. Politicians should be kept on task for their entire term, and not for only the last year before reelection. A president shouldn't have 3 years to ruin a nation before being held to task, and a senator shouldn't have 6. Government responsibility is important.

The electoral college would be abandoned. Direct elections better represent the people. Also, the democratic and republican parties would no longer recieve any national support. Their funds and power would be solely on their own efforts. Ideally, I'd like to encourage a political system where a multitude of political parties have a viable chance at government office.

Foreign relations would be given priority over national interests. I want the US to be respected around the world. The days of unilateral decisionmaking would be at an end. Free trade, Kyoto environmental treaty, many things would the US enter in on that it hasn't in the past. On the issue of foreign relations, the US would be at least militarily, an isolationist. The military affairs of other nations would remain their affairs alone, and no support will they recieve from the US. This would save a lot of money.

Money saved from the complete axing of so much of the government would first go towards removing the national debt. The US will be in the black again. After the US is in the positives again, with a healthy surplus, the money would be returned to the people. In fact, taxes would drop so that the people would never lose said money in the first place. A rich population is a productive population, and I'm all in favor of increasing society's productiveness.

[Teek]

i thought i was the anti-christ?

Oh, don't flatter yourself. You're the average European (and American living in California). You only assert yourself a hell of a lot more.

[Leeza]

Because I agree with most of what they do and the country needs a good shaking up.

This has to be the staff mocking us. Please let it be that.

No, I'm not mocking. I mock only Meat Puppet and Raistlin.

[Pant Leg Eater from the Bad World]

Military service would be compulsory at 18, similar to the system imposed in other nations. The military has a way of making people more responsible, and productive in society. Military service would be for men and women - there would be no bars to frontline service. Equal rights means equal responsibility. Women would no longer get the rewards without the risk.

The military would be streamlined. There are too many redundant branches. Army and Marines and National Guard - they're all the same. There would be one branch of the military for people who fight on the ground. There would be one branch for people who fight at sea. There would be one branch for people who fight in the air. There would be no crossovers. The army would not have airplanes, and the navy would not have ground soldiers. Keep it simple, I always say.

wouldnt this just defeat the purpose of the military. it is by volunteer and should stay that way.
And the reason there is a army, marine corp, navy, and air force, is not just to fight in one certain place. It is best that they fight allover. the point of having these different branches is because the styles and training are different.

[Cloud No.9]

the worst thing you can do is clog up the army with people who don't want to be there.

and see leeza loves me after all.

[Gnostic Yevon]

I'd rather not have compusery millitary service.

And I think the best way to end poverty, or at least reduce it is to make sure that graduates have actual skills. I don't think you can cheap-ass your way to a nation without poverty.

[Garland]

My logic was that a nation with lower taxes would have a population with more money. My whole plan involved cutting and streamlining, with compulsory programs such as military service, aimed at giving the population the skills it needs. A compulsory military service is only bad when a nation is at war. In my paragraph about foreign relations, I intended to hint that the Iraq situation would never happen again. I only wanted compulsory military service for the benefits it gives to skills and responsibility.

[bipper]

Here is my crazy idea.

Government take a flat cut of 60% taxes - Or whatever the budget would need be.

Level 1: We can say level 1 would be the government. Make sure that the government had enough money to run itself. This would basically include the suits, police, firemen, etc.

Level 2: Supply us all with Basic post grad education, health care, and other advanced neceties.

Level 3 could be more like a Gas allowance - where you basically got 20 bucks of free gass a week or whatev. Anything more would come outta your pocket. In the case that taxes need to be modded, or budget gets too tight - this is where the roll backs would happen. Then they would work thier way down the tier.

Hey - its not perfect ... just an Idea. If I knew my bases would be covered - then yes I would not mind higher taxes.

Bipper - votes twice for cloud 9

[Teek]

My logic was that a nation with lower taxes would have a population with more money. My whole plan involved cutting and streamlining, with compulsory programs such as military service, aimed at giving the population the skills it needs. A compulsory military service is only bad when a nation is at war. In my paragraph about foreign relations, I intended to hint that the Iraq situation would never happen again. I only wanted compulsory military service for the benefits it gives to skills and responsibility.

I'm with the rest of them. Personally, it sounds great (more or less), and I like that you're lowering taxes, destroying needless bureaucracy, etc. However, I see no point for compulsory military service. It's the same reason I hate a socialist state; let the people who want to be in the army be in the army, and let the rest of us alone.

For teaching skills, why not beef up education?

[Cloud No.9]

i would think all tax should be on income tax. the rest can be seen as tax on the poor. this would include a removal of fuel tax, council tax, VAT, inheritence, NI, road tax, tv license etc. just take all the money from a single source and share it out across the departments and needs. 60% income tax would actually not change people's overall spending power. but i would als like to see progressive tax and a roof limit on earnings to prevent the super rich.

[Teek]

but i would als like to see progressive tax and a roof limit on earnings to prevent the super rich.

In the thirties, there was an attempted constitutional amendment, one that would limit the average man's wealth to one million dollars.

You already know where I stand on that, but I thought you might find that interesting. (Sorry, I can't remember the details.)

[Cloud No.9]

with the system people could still say they earn x amount. so they would still get the ego kick off it which they do now. because for the super rich there is no other reason.

[lordblazer]

if cloud was president then this world will not exist due to the fact that we would blow each other up before this happened.

[Cloud No.9]

why?

[T-MaN]

More emphasis on art and definitely music in schools, less emphasis on trying to chase a ball.

EDIT: And help the environment too, yeah.

Yup, I'd do something like that. I think there should be more Art in schools.