If you could change anything in the world/American politics, what would it be?

[alang1216]

The voters reject the duopoly

You prefer a parliamentary system?

How did you come up with that from what i said?

Google says:
du·op·o·ly
/d(y)o͞oˈäpəlē/
noun
noun: duopoly; plural noun: duopolies

1. a situation in which two suppliers dominate the market for a commodity or service.

We have a two-party, political system. I assumed from your writing you'd prefer a multi-party system. Am I wrong?

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Pretty self explanatory...…….

Require anyone interested in running for government office to be thoroughly investigated before being allowed to run for office at all levels...….so we don't have to listen to the woulda/shoulda/coulda's that might put them away any day now.

Also term limits for all government positions.

 

[RodISHI]

Make sure that it was illegal beyond a doubt for any politician or their aides to receive any moneys from any group or business that they were involved in helping to establish legislation for.

 

[Votto]

state your reason why and how would you do it

I'd replace the Democratic Party with an America-oriented political party.

I'm not too particular how it would be done.

As I recall more Americans voted for Dems in the last election so maybe it is the GOP that is not America-oriented.

Your premise rests on two very shaky assumptions.

1. The voters decide the elections
2. The voters are well informed enough to know how to vote.

And just who will decide #2, concentratd wealth and power?

That is for you to decide.

 

[denmark]

state your reason why and how would you do it

If you could change anything in the world/American politics, what would it be?

I would make mandatory a “test” to be given monthly to each leading politician (& candidates prior to election) that would measure their honesty and understanding of recent basic facts/evidence in science, world affairs, and national vs global economics.

A valid lie-detector test would be ideal, but that’s not available yet. At least oral/written knowledge tests are easy to administer.

The public needs to know who is leading them.

 

[g5000]

Okay, I'm going to assume I am not restricted to changing just one thing. So here's the second thing I would change.

I would raise the Social Security and Medicare eligibility ages to 70, and index the retirement age to 9 percent of the population going forward.

When Social Security was established in 1935, only 5.4 percent of the population was over 65.

When Medicare was established 30 years later, 9 percent of the population was over 65. (That's where my 9 percent figure comes from.)

Today, 15 percent of our population is over 65.

A larger and larger percentage of our population is being supported by a shrinking percentage of our population.

We are living DECADES longer than out ancestors. We should be WORKING longer.

Common sense.


Just like with tax expenditures, indexing the retirement age to the ever increasing longevity of our population would provide a huge relief to our strained treasury.

With tax expenditure reform, we could lower income tax rates for everyone and balance the budget.

With Social Security/Medicare reform, we could lower payroll taxes for everyone.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Sloganeering nincompoops. "MAGA!"

Big difference from "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!" and "Turn America into Venezuela!", eh?

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

state your reason why and how would you do it

I'd replace the Democratic Party with an America-oriented political party.

I'm not too particular how it would be done.

As I recall more Americans voted for Dems in the last election so maybe it is the GOP that is not America-oriented.

Democrats voting for Democrats is no surprise. 50 years of nonsense in public education, media and culture will produce all kinds of confused, sloganeering nincompoops.

To accomplish your "fundamental change" you will need far more than a popular vote, guaranteed.

So the majority of Americans are confused nincompoops

Nope, just Democrats and their symbiotic ilk.

Sounds to me like you not only hate America but also hate Americans.

My family has been here and fighting you people since the 18th Century. It's not America or Americans that I hate.

 

[francoHFW]

Bring back the fairness doctrine or something like it, so we have a few minutes an hour of reality on the GOP propaganda machine. Especially 4 demagogues like Rush Limbaugh Savage Levin Fox primetime. 2 minutes an hour to get the zombies out of their fugue state and tell them what is actually going on here, ie the GOP giveaway to the rich and their phony scandals which is all the dupes know about... This is THE story of the last 35 years.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Bring back the fairness doctrine

It works both ways, and would require equal time to be authentic. Think Rachel could shut up that long?

 

[g5000]

The Fairness Doctrine was a colossal failure.

 

[g5000]

Sloganeering nincompoops. "MAGA!"

Big difference from "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!" and "Turn America into Venezuela!", eh?

"THE JEWS WILL NOT REPLACE US!"

 

[francoHFW]

Bring back the fairness doctrine

It works both ways, and would require equal time to be authentic. Think Rachel could shut up that long?

Of course, but putting your garbage propaganda out in the real world, it won't last a second...

 

[francoHFW]

The Fairness Doctrine was a colossal failure.

It stopped garbage like Rush Limbaugh and fox primetime.

 

[Brain357]

Get rid of the lobbying. All our politicians are bought and paid for. The people come after the special interests.

 

[g5000]

The Fairness Doctrine was a colossal failure.

It stopped garbage like Rush Limbaugh and fox primetime.

It stopped freedom of speech and freedom of the press, you mean.

Here, let me show you something. This is from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. IMHO, the best political science book of all time.


"All the political journals of the United States are, indeed, arrayed on the side of the administration or against it; but they attack and defend it in a thousand different ways. They cannot form those great currents of opinion which sweep away the strongest dikes. This division of the influence of the press produces other consequences scarcely less remarkable. The facility with which newspapers can be established produces a multitude of them; but as the competition prevents any considerable profit, persons of much capacity are rarely led to engage in these undertakings. Such is the number of the public prints that even if they were a source of wealth, writers of ability could not be found to direct them all. The journalists of the United States are generally in a very humble position, with a scanty education and a vulgar turn of mind. The class spirit of the French journalists consists in a violent but frequently an eloquent and lofty manner of discussing the great interests of the state, and the exceptions to this mode of writing are only occasional. The characteristics of the American journalist consist in an open and coarse appeal to the passions of his readers; he abandons principles to assail the characters of individuals, to track them into private life and disclose all their weaknesses and vices."

Tocqueville Book 1 Chapter 11

 

[francoHFW]

Get rid of the lobbying. All our politicians are bought and paid for. The people come after the special interests.

Protected by the GOP, the Democrats are with you...

 

[francoHFW]

The Fairness Doctrine was a colossal failure.

It stopped garbage like Rush Limbaugh and fox primetime.

It stopped freedom of speech and freedom of the press, you mean.

Here, let me show you something. This is from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. IMHO, the best political science book of all time.


"All the political journals of the United States are, indeed, arrayed on the side of the administration or against it; but they attack and defend it in a thousand different ways. They cannot form those great currents of opinion which sweep away the strongest dikes. This division of the influence of the press produces other consequences scarcely less remarkable. The facility with which newspapers can be established produces a multitude of them; but as the competition prevents any considerable profit, persons of much capacity are rarely led to engage in these undertakings. Such is the number of the public prints that even if they were a source of wealth, writers of ability could not be found to direct them all. The journalists of the United States are generally in a very humble position, with a scanty education and a vulgar turn of mind. The class spirit of the French journalists consists in a violent but frequently an eloquent and lofty manner of discussing the great interests of the state, and the exceptions to this mode of writing are only occasional. The characteristics of the American journalist consist in an open and coarse appeal to the passions of his readers; he abandons principles to assail the characters of individuals, to track them into private life and disclose all their weaknesses and vices."

Tocqueville Book 1 Chapter 11

The greatest generation started the fairness doctrine in 1949 oh, and it worked great at keeping demagogues off the airwaves. Then Reagan and our ridiculous conservative movement did away with it. And let the BS brainwash begin...

 

[g5000]

Get rid of the lobbying. All our politicians are bought and paid for. The people come after the special interests.

Freedom of association is critical to our survival. Special interest groups allow us to amplify our singular powerless voices.

We need to reform this process the right way. Earlier in this topic I explained how outlawing tax expenditures would have a tremendous impact on campaign finance by removing the legal incentives to bribe our politicians to put tax deductions, exemptions, and credits in the tax code.

I like the idea I saw in an Alan Arkin movie once. He played some kind of weird character who somehow became influential over America. And his idea was that politicians should have to wear coveralls like Indy race car drivers, and they should have patches showing who all their sponsors are.

He also said they should be required to wear clown noses.

In the next scene, a Senator was on a talking head show complaining about the new law. And he had a clown nose.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

state your reason why and how would you do it

- Ban lobbying in all branches of federal and state government through legislation
- Revisit the Citizens United decision and overturn it.
- Make term limits mandatory in all branches of federal and state government
- Cut tax expenditures
- All tax cuts must include spending cuts or automatic veto
- Dissolve the fed and the fcc through EO
- Sponsor legislation to increase cultivation of alternative energies.