Topic: How to restore America's power and resolve her problems
The basic principle that America needs to do is adopt no values and strictly commit to a pragmatic domestic and foreign policy. At the moment, America is a very idealist driven country. We have Obama who has appealed to a populist agenda, but whose policies would add to the all ready horrendous inefficiency of the nation. Then there are the religious right who commit to values that are a contradiction to pragmatism. For example, the idea that abortion should be banned would increase the stress on the state. Then there is the abstinence policy that is very unrealistic and causes people to be unable to make informed calculations of the risks they face when they are no longer able to remain abstinent (as what mostly happens). Not that religion isn't an extension of politics or an important tool, but never should it be considered above the practical realities faced by those who are making political decisions.
Unlike Obama, I have some solutions. Here are some of my recommendations.
Public Education:
1. Destroy the teacher's unions
- this will allow greater merit in the hiring process, and permit schools to fire poor teachers without the mile long of red tape imposed by the teacher's unions.
- As a consequence of improved merit of teachers, the students will be exposed to an optimal education considering the practical limitations.
2. "No public funding until frivolous expenses are cut."
-Public funding can not go to pay for frivolous costs that are causing our public education to be unnecessarily expensive. For example, remove the sports teams, the swimming pools, outdoor stadiums and music programs. We can keep the gyms for gym class and that's it.
3. Higher standards
-Our education standards are pathetic. We need to raise them, and have a greater focus on math and science.
4. No more post-modernism
-It's bs and pollutes the minds of our young.
Economy:
1. Less regulation
-With less government intervention, the greater efficiency and thus better service consumers receive.
2. Relax environmental standards
-Using natural gas as a substitute to coal is inefficient and raises prices.
3. Build more nuclear power plants
-It's efficient, clean, and safe.
4. Drill domestic oil
-With more supply, the lower the price.
5. Let Toyota overwhelm America's auto industry
-Lets face it, America's auto industry sucks. Force them to be competitive or be whiped out.
Law and Order:
1. Clear laws that everyone understands
-The law codes are ridiculous
2. Raise the harshness of punishment
-Face it, repeat felons are parasites and will always be. Execute them.
3. Prompt executions
-If you're going to have a death penalty, don't make it inefficient and more costly than life imprisonment.
Government:
1. Turn it in to an efficient machine
-Government exists because it delivers services. It doesn't exist as part of a social contract, by God, or whatever else. Fact is, a government that can not deliver comes to ruin. If you want to remain in power, then you need to efficiently and effectively deliver. This also means reducing the size of government in order to be efficient and cutting back on red tape.
2. Low, flat income tax
-The Fair Tax is dumb, but so is our current one. Fact is it isn't progressive and never will be, and it's so complicated we might as well substitute it with a low flat tax with the minimum number of deductions. That will simplify the system and increase investments in the economy (no capital gains tax/more money in people's pockets with lower tax). It will also reflect the smaller, more efficient government.
Foreign Policy:
1. General
-Challenging the Russians and forcing them to side with the Chinese against us is very dumb. So is entangling our ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and thinking we can bring democracy to a land without a middle class. We not disturb the peace of other great powers by mingling in the affairs of their peripheral zones (countries you influence), and expect that they leave ours alone too (South Americans are our toys). This means leaving Eastern Europe to Russia.
2. Cooperate with the other great powers
-It is in both side's interests to cooperate, rather than America acting with a unilateral foreign policy. Pulling stuff in Eastern Europe is only building formidable alliances against us, and is definitely not a strategic move.
3. Mobility and Terror
-The military policy of "overwhelming force" is the most idiotic military idea ever created. Mobility and Terror has frequently defeated overwhelming force. Consider the Carthaginians completely destroying the Roman army at Canae by being more mobile and having tactical superiority. Also consider how the Bulgarians were able to defeat the 80,000 strong Byzantine army by being more mobile and surrounding them. Even better, consider Ghengis Khan. The Mongol army really wasn't that large or able to occupy the empire it did. It was just very fast, and very ruthless. This advantage allowed it to defeat very power empires that relied on strength, such as the Persian Empire, and command the loyalty of its subjects. America has the most powerful airforce in the world, and it should use the mobility and terror this can offer. This would allow us to strike hard anywhere, preventing anyone like Hugo Chavez from challenging our imperial grip. By entangling ourselves in two countries with "overwhelming force," we commit ourselves to higher casualties and higher expenses - and make ourselves vulnerable to other political forces who wish to undermine our power. It's cheaper in terms of $ and life for us to use mobility and terror with our air force. Our ground forces should be used to occupy strategic locations.
4. Defend the anarchism of international politics
-Silly Europeans and other countries tend to think that there can be active international courts. We should have no interest in that, and continue to respect the old ways, where international justice was carried out by an "anarchistic peerage." If you were a big bulley who threw his weight around, alliances would form to limit or oust you. If you were total slime, you would be judged and punished by that peerage. As a result, we should not compel other states to form alliances against us by being big bullies. The world is now changing, other powers can challenge the US economically and furthermore the world is also economically interdependent. Having a more diplomatic and cooperative foreign policy can thus be a lot cheaper and more effective, but at the same time a powerful "mobility and terror" military can be a useful tool to achieve our goals.
And those are some of my ideas for now.
yes, burn the fields and books so that the only place our children have to go after school is to a gang or 4chan because thats gonna make our future so much brighter.
