rogue49 for President

OK, an idea came to me.
I spout off enough BS in politics, I should put my money where my mouth is.

But this is a mock campaign, so I'm using mock money.

I'll start by setting down my platform, policy, philosophies, etc...
You throw any question you want at me.
Questioning my policy
Asking me my position on ANYTHING.
Asking for details on those items.

Like a horde of reporters.
Or you can be a critic or opponent.
Or just an "average" citizen pissed off at losing their, whatever...

Basically, I'm hoping other "candidates" start their own threads,
representing themselves...with them stating their ideas.
And also have ANYTHING thrown at them...and have to take a position.

You don't have to be any specific party, or represent any group.
Just be a pure Prez wannabe.
I know I'm up for the challenge.
Are you???

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OK...I'll start, here we go.
I'll add as we go, as I remember things to "address"
And I can change my position, but then again...you can peg me on my "flip-flop"
--- merged: Jul 11, 2012 1:16 AM ---

• Reduce military by at least 10%, emphasizing a more flexible tactical philosophy, not the standard of fighting 2 major wars.
• Remove the Bush tax cuts, or let them go.
• Raise the Social Security age minimum to 70
• Reduce the amount compensated to medical re-imbursement to doctors and medical facilities. (they are paid too much now)
• Attempt to stop all subsidies
• Push the SEC to start criminally procecuting with more intent, and investigate more
• Try to re-organize the government structure, reducing most redundancy.
• Close tax loopholes, make it more linear.
• Refine the current healthcare system, start looking at Insurance "glut", allow cross-state carriers.
• Emphasize a more Libertarian point of view on social policy
• Legalize Pot

Well, that will get me going.
Have at it.

 

He must be Republican.

hmm...let me address these points...I don't have much time on my "facetime" segment on this opinion show today.

• But of course, I support it...I'm proposing it. I support the military and our troops completely,
  but the methods and planning have become inefficient and glutted. While it may have been necessary in the past
  to support 2 separate large-scale wars, the nuclear deterent has made a different context. Now, military action needs to be focused and quick.
  Not like a sledgehammer, but used with more precision like a doctor's scalpel. Previous contract were provide in conflict of interest,
  to support a district or an executives interest. A review must be made to see if projects are truly necessary.
  10% scale-down should be an easy goal to attain with this in mind.
  
  
• No, I believe it should be across-the-board...otherwise you are giving our opponents an argument and an out.
  In relative terms, resolving these cuts for lower tax brackets would be a minor burden at best, easily absorbed.
  It would be "nice" to pick & choose here, but that would just complicate the tax code more.
  
  
• No, this would complicate the SS process even more. Social Security was created at an earlier time when people's lifespans were narrower.
  Because of modern society and progression in technology, lifetimes have expanded with better choices.
  I want the choice to be linear, because this is what start glutting the system, making it inefficient.
  It is easily said, 70 is the new 65...let's make it clear
  
  
• I do not agree with the "accountable care organization" approach, there is an inheritant conflict of interest I've found
  and the quality of care is lacking in comparison
  
  
• Subsidies are inflating the cost of commodities, and placing an unnecessary burden on our citizen's cost of living
  and the necessary resources of our businesses. It is too easy to rationalize a subsidy, too difficult to remove them when not "necessary"
  
  
• Then this is what I was saying, we need expand the authority of the SEC to allow bringing white-collar criminals to justice.
  We jail those who steal our cars or break into houses, but we don't go after those who trigger losing BILLIONS of dollars through their own greed??
  
  
• Sir, I would ask of you to make a more pointed statement or question than simply "support", this is too ambiguous.
  It is too obvious that there is too much glut, redundancy and uncentralized coordination in our government structure.
  
  
• I'm not proposing a "flat tax", I agree that would not be productive. But I would like to uncomplicate the tax code. Perhaps with a "plateau plan"
  or a staired approach, but making each stage straight-forward and clear. Most loopholes would be resolved.
  
  
• All have to disagree with you, insurance companies currently leverage the "out of state" clause to avoid making necessary payments.
  The U.S. is one country, with the business and personal dynamic becoming more flexible everyday.
  It is not like in the past, where people or companies were exclusive to their state.
  The federal government will re-enforce regulation on the agencies to protect our citizens, since across state commerce is our prerogative.
  
  
• I couldn't agree with you more. But we need to think about how to get this concept into one constitutional amendment or over-arcing policy
  These are very difficult to push thru, the more we piece-meal it, the more complicated our battle.
  
  
• If this is true, then the Federal statutes should be revoked. States could then have some discretion as to whether they support it or not.
  At the moment, Federal law supersedes any support for Marijuana progression.

 

Ok, here are some broad spectrum ones.

Economic Policy - Capitalist, but with some regulation and actual enforcement. And leverage government to rebuild infrastructure.
Energy Policy - While I support clean energy, it is not thru subsidies...the same as with the oil industry. There is a balance to environmental concerns.
Foreign Policy - I don't believe that the U.S. should be as aggressive as it has been lately. Keeping it quiet should be the emphasis.
Social Policy - Very Libertarian, the government shouldn't be regulating the lives or lifestyles of its citizens.
Environment - Not so much Green, as Clean. Government should protect its citizens from healtth concerns, and prosecute obvious polluters.

Just getting started.
Damn, it takes times getting these all out and getting the details.
I might just have some sympathy for other politicians....Nah.

Any other candidates yet??

 

I would move more in the direction of stronger regulatory oversight with actual enforcement. American capitalism is like a chicken running with its head cut off after the cat's been let out of the bag.

Private ownership would still be in the main, but the banking system would get a major overhaul and would be brought more in line with the Canadian system.

There would also be some economic planning via government initiatives with investment in infrastructure, which would include the usual plus a tie-in with a new energy policy that would see widespread government incentives for the private industry to start projects for renewable capacity.

Some of the infrastructure investment will include joint funds for states set aside for investing in libraries, schools, and hospitals, with priority given to low-income or otherwise crippled areas.

My first day in office, I will allocate a full half of the current subsidies and tax benefits given to the oil industry and divert it into renewables. The party in the oil industry is over. It's time to do business.

Tax breaks/credits/benefits for businesses and homeowners who meet energy efficiency standards.

Come more in line with U.N. mandates and goals. No unilateralism. Peacekeepers, not peacemakers.

Focus on new initiatives for cooperation regarding trade and development to open up new ties that are both fair and beneficial.

Offer grants to any organization that participates in relief work, building infrastructure, and treating disease in Africa. Long-term goal: eradicate malaria.

Reduce military spending by 25%. This will include closing a number of bases in areas such as in NATO countries, etc. This will also include the widespread decommissioning of hardware and placing new limits on recruitment. Long-term goal: capping military expenditures as 3% of GDP.

Very liberal/social democratic. Capitalism is damaging. Good social policy is the countermeasure.

Government regulations either initiated or tightened to ensure environmental protection. The world is getting smaller, and too much has already been lost. Long term goal: greatly reduce pollution for both environmental and health reasons.

That's it in a nutshell. I would never get elected.

 

Well, thank you for your input gracious Canadian citizen and media member.
We appreciate the valued insights of our upstairs neighbor.
Although your nation's path is bit different than ours.

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With my background in technology, I have come to have a concern the we are not leveraging our expertise in conjunction with our government.
It is my belief that much is wasted or lingering due to the lack of being able to deal with the newer greater dynamics of our nation.
Economics are more diverse and happen faster.
People and entities are more mobile and interstate and global than ever before.
Policy and rules are becoming more & more complex.

The government as it stands and conducts business currently, cannot keep up with the pace.
So I propose to leverage our computer expertise, along with our nation's knowledge of data analysis and trending.
To create a centralized repository that will assist keeping track of our processes.
Internal department analysts and cross-department analysts (who have been cleared) will track trends and patterns throughout.
Providing Quality Assurance and attempting to be more proactive in catching issues before they occur.
This includes a portion to focus on potential criminal or regulatory violations, to be forwarded to the appropriate authority to review in more detail

This way, it will help prevent being caught with blinders on.
So focused on our immediate tasks or just what is in front of us, that we are not aware of other pending issues.
It will help broaden our knowledge base and keep on top of the game.

While this has been ongoing within the DHS and other police entities,
I believe that this is not going far enough in sharing information.

Please let me emphasize, this is NOT an expansion of ANY delve into our citizens or corporations privacy.
This is simply utilizing already established records within the governmental departments as they are getting processed.

We need to understand what is happening across the board.

 

Well, since I'm a "shoe-in" and not running against anybody else on the board.

I'm going to up the ante on our nation and it's needs.

I'm going to propose a redistribution of our current allocations.
Please do NOT go strictly by the percents, the math won't work out,
please recall that the larger decreased allocations atop have funds significantly higher than those being increased below.

-20% to the military (an additional 10% versus what I proposed before.)
This is justified by the need to "bring back" our efforts throughout the world and focus more on the our nation.
While I'm not against a projection of power, I believe that the other nations need to participate more, and the U.S. less.
Scaling down also from a WWII scenario, leveraging the threat of our current nuclear stockpile. (and this can be brought down too)
Making it a more dynamic flexible military.
We can use our now existing technology and current allliances to project power (like drones and more...)
While scalling back our resources used for logistics and massive volumes of personnel that are now distributed globally.
We now spend more than the next 17 post-industrial military powers combined.
And redistribute and reallocate the large real-estate assets to more useful purposes.
I believe this is a reasonable goal.

-10% on Social Security
By adjusting the age to 70,
and making incoming funds and outgoing returns scale progressively like my proposed tax scenario (a multiple plateau concept)
but increasing disability availability and turn-around on processing this. (remove the "default" denial current situation)

-10% on Medicare
By removing many inefficiencies and overpayment in the system.
Integrating Mediaid & Obamacare into it, this becomes the primary healthcare component.
Managed by Heath & Human Services.

-10% to the Department of Agriculture
We are not the Agrarian society that we were once, it is not a primary component, yet still important and significant. The dynamics have changed.
I would likely roll this into the Department of the Interior also.
And redistribute and reallocate the large real-estate assets to more useful purposes.

+30% to Infrastruture
Reemphasize this and create a pool for future needs.

+30% to FEMA
Also create a pool for future potentials and deal with increasing costs in emergency funds and requests.

+30% to NASA
Re-establish a large goal or two, make the re-design the existing inefficient and glutted system.

+30% to Computer Security
We are still running behind the trends on this issue, we need to catch up.

And more to come...
Any savings provided by the reallocation and redesign would be put towards the debt.
I believe this would be reasonable and balanced.

Although a lot of contractors and bureaucrats with their projects and political terroritories would be upset & impacted.
But I care more about the nations' needs and our citizens' cares...not providing for the status-quo or leaders' egos or finances.

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A base restructuring starting with Cabinet-level organizations. (there are too many entities, it is inefficient and glutted, redundant focuses)
This is NOT to say each are not important or significant, but there CAN be a better power structure.
Each has a certain focus or mandate.
Subdepartments are NOT subsided or have less "authority" or "input", but take lead or primary focus from higher portion.

• Department of Defense- (protection)
  • Department of Security (let's get rid of the darn "Homeland" what are we old-school Germany???)
• Department of State- (foreign)
  • United States Ambassador to the United Nations
  • United States Trade Representative
• Department of Treasury- (money)
  • Department of Commerce
  • Small Business Administration
  • Council of Economic Advisers
• Department of Justice - (criminal/prosecution/investigative)
  • Consumer Protection Agency
  • ATF (Firearms and investigative portion)
• Department of the Interior - (Natural/Internal/Infrastructure)
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of Transportation
  • Department of Energy
  • Environmental Protection Agency
• Department of Health & Human Services - (Focusing on the needs & welfare of our citizens)
  • Department of Education
  • Department of Labor
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Department of Veterans Affairs
  • FDA (and expand to ALL herbs/foods that may affect persons)
    • ATF (Alcohol & Tobacco portion)
• Office of Management & Budget - (managing the bureaucracy)
  • White House Chief of Staff (works in conjunction with OMB/EOP)

 

As an open minded candidate, I'm all for discussion and review.
And will consider alternatives.
I do not need to make a stand, just to save face or not be called a "flip-flopper"

This is just an initial proprosal.
I would like all perspectives to be considered with subject matter expert.s
But I also don't want this to linger...we've accumulated too much under one umbrella over time.

And, there would be of course, a necessary reconsilation Act by Congress
and a following reconsilation of various laws and policy.
There of course would need to be a Reorganization Council to work with the Executive Office extensively.

The way DHS is currently setup with its internal bureaus (FEMA, customs, etc),
you may be correct in a conflict of interest with DoD.

However, Please do note...just because you are seeing this at the Cabinet-level organization,
there would be a reorganization of underlying subportions under larger portion also.
The key is focus and mission.

FEMA under DHS does not fit, so it would likely go under the new Department of the Interior.
While Customs would stay under Dept. of Security.
I envision Secret Service would divide its responsibilities in two.
With the Security portion now going under the focus of Department of Security
and its Counterfeit portion go back to Department of Treasury or even better, Department of Justice. (criminal)

This is going to take some significant review, feedback & effort.
It is not an undertaking lightly done.
But it is necessary to get rid of the inefficiencies and redundancy. (including allocations of funds and resources)

Just because, "It's always been done this way" or "it will be difficult and painful" is not an excuse not to act and move forward.
We will be a better nation for our efforts.