WE HAVE PERMISSION TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM
Mandates are the "honey do" list of the revolution. Some mandates will require Constitutional amendments, others are policies to be passed as bills in the Senate. "And so what evolved in America was an employer-based system. It may not be the best system if we were designing it from scratch. But that's what everybody is accustomed to. That's what everybody is used to. It works for a lot of Americans. And so I don't think the best way to fix our health care system is to suddenly completely scrap what everybody is accustomed to and the vast majority of people already have. Rather, what I think we should do is to build on the system that we have and fill some of these gaps." HUH ??? Now is the time to reform...historical accident...don't think the best way to fix our health care system is to suddenly completely scrap...(so) fill some of these gaps.
It is important to understand that 300 million CITIZENS own this country. There is no way to have someone or some entity (businesses) pay for anything. WE are the ultimate payers for everything WE get from the Federal government.
BUDGET
There will be a balanced budget amendment. Right now our Federal government borrows money without asking permission from the citizens who's children and grandchildren will be paying back the loans with interest. This has to stop. The Federal government will be required to spend only within what it receives in revenue. For 30+ years or until the Federal debt is paid off, the Federal government will be required to run a $300 billion per year surplus to pay down the debt. There is no choice but for us to pay what we owe to others. The Budget Amendment will activate in year 2017 giving the first Office of the Presidents 4 years to get spending under control. The budget should be reduced as the federal government grows smaller. Remember, there are 151 citizen State Senators who get to vote on the size of the budget.
While I believe any religious reference or reference to God should be absent from any Federal facility and from being printed on our currency, I do believe that a little Shakespeare should appear in every Federal facility:
"Neither a borrower nor lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."
(husbandry means work)
HEALTH CARE
Health Care is a States issue. We have 50 of them. Each State becomes responsible for the health care of it's residents. 99% of all health care is provided to a patient in the State where the patient resides. What gets paid for health care within a State, stays in that State. States will have reciprocal arrangements with all other States to cover Citizens traveling out of their home State. Each State has the incentive to reduce their healthcare costs, whichever health care delivery model they choose. The Federal government is to act solely to set minimum standards and to be a safety net for healthcare for the States that can't figure it out on their own.
From President Obama's first "internet town forum" March 26, 2009:
"Now is the time to reform the health care system -- not four years from now, not eight years from now, not 20 years from now. Now"
"The problem is, is that we have what's called a legacy, a set of institutions that aren't that easily transformed. Let me just see a show of hands: How many people here have health insurance through your employer? Okay, so the majority of Americans, sort of -- partly for historical accident. I won't go into -- FDR had imposed wage controls during war time in World War II. People were -- companies were trying to figure out how to attract workers. And they said, well, maybe we'll provide health care as a benefit."
We Have Permission to Change the System...health care should be a "benefit" provided by employers only by their choice, not mandated by law. Health care is the responsibility of the individual and the communities in which we live.
TAXES
WE own this country. WE are the only entity that pays taxes. There is no such thing as businesses paying taxes. Currently businesses collect taxes for the government, and then pass along those costs to YOU, their customer in the form of higher prices. Plus we are taxing the wrong thing, productivity (income tax) instead of consumption (sales tax). If there is a social engineering part to a tax system it should be to encourage and support citizens to be as productive as possible while at the same time encourage them to be frugal consumers.
We will enact the Fair Tax The USA will become a tax haven for businesses so job creation will be large and immediate. An estimated $10 trillion that sits offshore legally avoiding paying US taxes will be repatriated and put to work in our economy. The Fair Tax is calculated to replace current revenue to the Federal Government. To get our house in order and start running $300 billion annual surpluses the tax rate of the Fair Tax will have to be increased.
The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including:
A progressive national retail sales tax.
A prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level.
Dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality.
Repeal of the 16th Amendment through companion legislation.
EDUCATION
12-month curriculum and reward good teachers with much higher pay. EVERY qualified student will have access to a 4 year college degree regardless of financial need. But for the most part education will be a State issue, not Federal. BUT, the Federal government is going to invest huge amounts of money in K-12 education - a large portion of money from reduced military spending will be invested into education, "beating swords into plowshares"
MILITARY
Smaller but effective. WE go where invited, or WE go in groups with allied countries.
ENERGY
This is fascinating, the concept, not necessarily the do-ability:
"We The People" MUST evolve from a Type 0 civilization to a Type 1 civilization. Our survival as a civilization depends on it. A Type 1 civilization is a WORLD civilization that is peaceful and prosperous and among other things ends the stupidity of burning non-renewable fossil fuels. This entire JeffBlock2012 revolution is about becoming a Type 1 civilization. Like the internet, an Evacuated Tube Transport certainly makes it a smaller world. Please do agree with me that IF we are to become a Type 1 civilization then the USA should lead the way, after first getting our own act together.
Before we stop burning fossil fuels, or say as a first step, we might consider the Pickens Plan. By 2013 T. Boone Pickens and his Pickens Plan will be in it’s fourth year. WE will help things along by taxing imported oil to the $150 per barrel level to maintain an economic incentive for alternative energies to be developed. This oil tax will be spent on supporting alternative energy R&D.
The Pickens Plan.
“There are several pillars to the Pickens Plan:
- Create millions of new jobs by building out the capacity to generate up to 22 percent of our electricity from wind. And adding to that with additional solar generation capacity;
- Building a 21st century backbone electrical transmission grid;
- Providing incentives for homeowners and the owners of commercial buildings to upgrade their insulation and other energy saving options; and
- Using America's natural gas to replace imported oil as a transportation fuel in addition to its other uses in power generation, chemicals, etc.
While dependence on foreign oil is a critical concern, it is not a problem that can be solved in isolation. We have to think about energy as a whole, and that begins by considering our energy alternatives and thinking about how we will fuel our world in the next 10 to 20 years and beyond.”
On May 12, 2009, Jimmy Carter testified in a Senate hearing that the energy challenges haven’t changed much since he was President, primarily because of special interests of the oil industry. We’ve gone from 46% of our oil imported when Carter was President (1977 to 1981), to 60% today.
SUBSIDIES
"So what's wrong with cheap food and cheap meat — especially in a world in which more than 1 billion people go hungry? A lot. For one thing, not all food is equally inexpensive; fruits and vegetables don't receive the same price supports as grains. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a dollar could buy 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of vegetables or 170 calories of fresh fruit. With the backing of the government, farmers are producing more calories — some 500 more per person per day since the 1970s — but too many are unhealthy calories. Given that, it's no surprise we're so fat; it simply costs too much to be thin. " My observation after reading the article is "yes, there is no free lunch, but maybe there should be a free apple?" If we want to subsidize food, then at least let's stop being stupid and subsidize the healthy calories. Yes, today it simply costs too much to be thin, and our growing (pun intended) obesity problem is costing "We The People" billions in healthcare costs. Subsidizing healthy calories should result in lower healthcare costs. I'm not sure what the "law of unintended consequences" of a "free apple" would be, but I'm willing to find out!
I'll only write about one example.
Time Magazine's cover of August 31, 2009 is "The Real Cost of Cheap Food".
It's an article worth reading word for word, but here's a paragraph:
MARITAL RIGHTS
Every citizen has the right to choose 1 human to legally marry. Any and every married couple will have nothing more and nothing less than equal protection in all matters concerning civil law in all 50 States. For any citizen who objects to this based on his/her own moral or religious beliefs then do note that you are fully within your rights to try to convince others to live within your moral or religious beliefs.
OTHER MORALS
We have to stop trying to legislate morality – it doesn’t work and is wasteful of $billions. Gambling, prostitution, alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes will all be legal – legalize, regulate and tax, with help available to those with problems with these products or services.
OUR NEIGHBORS & IMMIGRATION
We should also take this opportunity to invite in a few new States – Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and yes even Cuba – extend an invitation to the people of Cuba that we would welcome them as a State. Or, we could create 1 new State called The Caribbean Basin.
IMMIGRATION
While I’d like to say “give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free…” (inscription on the Statue of Liberty), we have to be smart about immigration. It is not necessarily clear to me or any economist that an economy automatically adjusts to provide jobs for a growing population. We need to take some time to digest this revolution before welcoming more people to become citizens of the USA. The Fair Tax might help in this regard as the prebate feature is available only to citizens – an illegal immigrant is going to be further disadvantaged economically compared to his/her citizen neighbors. BUT, our post WWII economy has been fueled by population growth. More people means more houses, transportation, stores, etc. Also it appears we're now not even welcoming foreign Engineers who graduate from our Universities wanting to stay here. For at least 15 or 20 years we should be granting citizenship quickly to about 2 million people per year who want to live here.
And speaking of neighbors:
Reportedly only about 30% of colonialists were in favor of revolution against the King of England. It’s difficult to report on the sentiment of the other 70% but at least it was “us against them” and “them” were people in a country all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. In the Revolution of 2013 it will be neighbor against neighbor. Those against this platform will include the 435 Representatives of the House of Representatives, lobbyists, anyone who earns their living because the income tax code is complicated (maybe 500,000 people), and anyone who owns or has a stake in for-profit health care. Many against this platform will be those with knee-jerk reactions of “you just CAN’T change the Presidency and Congress”. Then there will be lots of citizens who will always believe that the solution is simply to elect the “right people”.
We have ALL been indoctrinated with "...if only we elect the right politicians...all will be well..."
If YOU believe this to be true, then you won't vote for me.
If YOU believe America needs radical change, and quick and large-scale action is our only hope, then I invite you to participate in molding JeffBlock2012.com with YOUR input - both criticism and contribution are welcome.
WE THE PEOPLE...
Have Permission to Change the System!