1. Well since we are dreaming here, I'll give it a shot. I'd like to see a president (I don't care about the party affiliation) with the nuts to really address health care in this country. We don't need, nor ever needed, healthcare reform. We need insurance reform. FACT. We need someone who isn't afraid to tick off the 2 largest lobbies in this nation. I've written a novella on the subject that would make BBallfan proud on this board. But that's where it needs to start. Take the $ out of the pockets of the legislators and real reform would happen. The ACA or whatever the hell their calling it now went totally bass ackwards to try to address the problem. And my guess is that either the president (through no fault of his own frankly) doesn't understand, or wasn't advised about the core of the issue. Sure Mr President, this will ensure that all Americans have access to "affordable" healthcare. Couldn't be further from the truth. All the while fully aware of the absurd pile of cash from companies like Humana, or Pfizer, or (insert your fave here) that prop up our elected officials all with the promise of the status quo and inflammatory, wholly unregulated (although they feign otherwise) gouge of the American public.

 

Find that guy and I'll vote for him.

 

2. I'll be dipped in :poop: if I'll vote for any form of "income equality" after paying my own way through professional school and busting my hump for nearly 2 decades so some joker who has no friggin' gumption can have some of my pile. PASS. And anyone who thinks that is a good thing has to have a screw loose. A flat tax, fine. Everyone pays the same % would be cool with me.

 

None of these things listed above in all of the posts will or can be addressed by our government as it is currently constituted. We have to demand campaign finance reforms before anything can be accomplished. So that's my "issue."

 

Like.

Areas of emphasis:

 

1. Continue to address man-made climate change.

2. Develop a plan to bring back jobs that have moved overseas in the past quarter-century. Reverse the trend of corporate inversion and tax avoidance. If a big company pays zero in U.S. taxes, toss their file cabinets and potted plants onto a garbage barge in the Atlantic Ocean, then give the barge a shove in the direction of Bermuda.

3. Ensure the stability of Social Security and Medicare.

4. As Barry Goldwater argued in 1964, keep the government (and the influence of organized religion) out of people's lives when it comes to social issues.

5. No more Scalias on the Supreme Court.

6. Is it time to reinstitute the WPA?

 

**********

 

Any changes in the taxation system need to be well-thought-out. A flat tax, for instance, likely would severely impact low-income families and senior citizens living on a fixed income.

 

I'm also not convinced that term limits would be beneficial. This would just increase the power of paid staffers in Congress.

 

A balanced budget might well be ruinous to the economy.

 

 

 

Five Amens from the atheist corner !!!! :thumb:

1. Redo the ACA or whatever it is. Selfishly I like the pre-existing conditions clause in there, but the rest is garbage IMO.

 

2. Stop the ridiculous war on drugs. It's a waste of time and money. Legalize it, and tax the crap out of it.

 

3. Stay the hell out of social issues. We need as little government involvement in our personal lives as humanly possible.

 

4. Stay out of foreign affairs that don't concern us.

 

5. Reduce/eliminate the IRC. Whether you make $20K or $20M a year, you pay the same percentage in taxes.

 

6. Stop needless spending. Cut social programs such as SS, welfare. We need to stop with the handouts.

 

7. Revamp immigration. Anyone here illegally, with a criminal record, is shipped out, and can never return. Those here illegally that have clean records, make them pay a fine, and go through the proper channels to become legal immigrants. We need to make the LEGAL immigration process easier and quicker. Our country was founded as a melting pot for people of all walks of life, from all backgrounds. We need to make sure those around the world who are looking for a better life are able to get one here. You screw up though, you're out for good.

 

Mostly good points IMO. I'd argue that SS isn't a "handout"--I don't remember having an option when I started working at 15, other than jail maybe? SS needs to revamped, but it's not the program's fault we let the politicians raid it over the years for their give-away programs??

 

I'm all for a reasonable immigration program to allow those here illegally that haven't otherwise been in trouble, have paid their taxes, etc. a path to legal status. Main concern is that they have no right to any social programs or voting rights until they achieve the "legal status" and they wait their turn behind those who've gone through the process the right way.

 

All the social programs that are being horribly abused need to stop--Time to quit buying votes with the giveaways!

This all reads more like a personal political platform than what we want in a president, but I suppose those two may not be very different. I've been told my personal politics are a little strange but I'll do my best to project them onto a potential political candidate...

 

1) I want someone who believes in subsidiarity -- in all its forms -- that is to say, those things that are best handled by families should be handled by families; those things best handled by communities should be handled by communities; those things best handled by cities should be handled by cities, and so on.

 

2) Subsidiarity ought not be restricted to government. Big business has the potential to be harmful in ways similar to big government; in fact I'd say the two grow most quickly as they work in concert like they're doing now. We need a leader unafraid to address the supposed "too big to fail" institutions. Banking reform, insurance reform, etc.

 

3) To my mind, the most insidious combination of the problems outlined above is the profitization of our justice system: private prisons with incentives to deny parole, court systems and county governments collecting massive fees on the backs of people with no alternative and little means to pay. It should be taken on.

 

4) We should ensure the security of Americans around the world with a strong, effective military and a capable, strong-willed state department. Ending preemptive strikes and inaccurate bombing campaigns will give local and regional institutions a chance to coalesce and operate, making the world safer overall.

 

5) Most of all we need a president who not only preaches these principles, but will actually act upon them. As we've seen in the decades since the turn of the century, the executive office has taken ever more power unto itself... because than was the easy way. Time and again Congress has deferred to the presidency and our leader, despite what he may have said, took the expedient path and acted. It's the most difficult task facing any office holder: willingly giving up his or her own power.

 

That's a start anyway.