Michael Felli's TOP 10 changes to make The United States a better Country for everyone..............

[Michael.Felli]

IIRC, it was Demlion, here, that spoke about change and that change doesn't need to be a 100% fix. If there's a problem and you improve the problem by 30%, that's significant. It might not SOLVE the problem, but you are definitely moving in the forward direction. To do nothing, would, IMO, be a crime to humanity.

So, in light of yet ANOTHER mass killing, here are some "fixes" that I'd like to see America make (in no particular order):

1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

I think it's time that we dissolve the House as it now exists. The House of Representatives should be open to ALL Amercians to vote. Premature? Maybe. But, wasn't Democracy "premature" back in 1776, too? At what point then, do you do it? Americans have access to vote via the internet. We can make it happen. Let the PEOPLE speak

2. MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE

Every public school student should be required to do 25 hours of community service in nursing homes and jails every year from junior high through high school. This should be a requirement to graduate

3. REQUIRED CE'S

For some reason, even though no one can say why, there exists this idea that once you are born in this Country, you are a citizen for life. Why is that? Americans should be required to do "x" amount of CE'S every 4 years to KEEP their citizenship.

4. RAISE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAR

We must continue to expect and demand MORE from high school graduates. We must continue to raise the academic bar.

5. MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

How long will America "tolerate" people going postal? Remember that word from the 1970's? It is getting WORSE and will continue to get worse. At what point do you face this challenge?

6. MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION

Sex education should be taught in public schools beginning in elementary school.

7. TAX INCENTIVES TO FAMILIES DOING THE RIGHT THING

Families that work, pay their bills, save for their kids, save for retirement, obey the law should be rewarded. Analogously, people who pay their bills are REWARDED with a high FICO - hence, low interest rates on loans. These families deserve tax breaks. It is, IMO, positive reinforcement.

8. THE RIGHT TO DIE

Uh, there's like 7 BILLION people on this planet. Soon to be 8 BILLION and climbing fast. We no longer have to worry about the human race having children. If someone wants to leave this planet, who are you to deny them their right to die? Death comes with life.

9. FREE EDUCATION

For the exception of specialty schools (e.g., medical school), getting a Bachelors degree should be free. This year, President Obama said that CC should be FREE. I'm not the only one who thinks along this line, obviously. It benefits everyone. The more educated people are the LESS crime they commit. It is a statistical fact.

10. FORGIVENESS

Inevitably, no matter how well we create a society, there will still be people who commit crimes. What should we do? We need to create a system for these people to WORK their way back into the mainstream population. We can't let these people simply become repeat offenders b/c they have no other option. There needs to exist a path they can get on to rehabilitate themselves.

PEACE! Let's start making it happen, people.

 

[wilbury]

I'll take 4, 6, 7 and 8. The rest are dumb. "Free" college education? It's not free, just paid for by someone else. Way too much of that in this country now.

 

[pmjoe]

If we could get 90%+ voter turnout in every election, I'd be content for now. I could even be happy with 80%+ turnout! If most of them would take a little time to be informed, even better.

I believe improved voter turnout would also indirectly get at your list of changes above. The country's biggest issue is voter apathy.

 

[BBG65]

I'll take 4, 6, 7 and 8. The rest are dumb. "Free" college education? It's not free, just paid for by someone else. Way too much of that in this country now.

Agreed. When these activists want college loans forgiven, what they really mean is they want the taxpayer to pick up the tab. My wife and I plus student loans put our sons through college and I don't think I should have to pay for others' education.

 

[91Joe95]

And the number one way to make America better... (drumroll please)... Michael Felli leaves the country!

Thank you, thank you, try the veal.

Seriously, when are you going to retire this Felli moniker? The mackdaddy ones were so much more fun. What, did they get busted on that Ashley Madison site or something?

 

[RobBliz]

IIRC, it was Demlion, here, that spoke about change and that change doesn't need to be a 100% fix. If there's a problem and you improve the problem by 30%, that's significant. It might not SOLVE the problem, but you are definitely moving in the forward direction. To do nothing, would, IMO, be a crime to humanity.

So, in light of yet ANOTHER mass killing, here are some "fixes" that I'd like to see America make (in no particular order):

1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

I think it's time that we dissolve the House as it now exists. The House of Representatives should be open to ALL Amercians to vote. Premature? Maybe. But, wasn't Democracy "premature" back in 1776, too? At what point then, do you do it? Americans have access to vote via the internet. We can make it happen. Let the PEOPLE speak

2. MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE

Every public school student should be required to do 25 hours of community service in nursing homes and jails every year from junior high through high school. This should be a requirement to graduate

3. REQUIRED CE'S

For some reason, even though no one can say why, there exists this idea that once you are born in this Country, you are a citizen for life. Why is that? Americans should be required to do "x" amount of CE'S every 4 years to KEEP their citizenship.

4. RAISE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAR

We must continue to expect and demand MORE from high school graduates. We must continue to raise the academic bar.

5. MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

How long will America "tolerate" people going postal? Remember that word from the 1970's? It is getting WORSE and will continue to get worse. At what point do you face this challenge?

6. MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION

Sex education should be taught in public schools beginning in elementary school.

7. TAX INCENTIVES TO FAMILIES DOING THE RIGHT THING

Families that work, pay their bills, save for their kids, save for retirement, obey the law should be rewarded. Analogously, people who pay their bills are REWARDED with a high FICO - hence, low interest rates on loans. These families deserve tax breaks. It is, IMO, positive reinforcement.

8. THE RIGHT TO DIE

Uh, there's like 7 BILLION people on this planet. Soon to be 8 BILLION and climbing fast. We no longer have to worry about the human race having children. If someone wants to leave this planet, who are you to deny them their right to die? Death comes with life.

9. FREE EDUCATION

For the exception of specialty schools (e.g., medical school), getting a Bachelors degree should be free. This year, President Obama said that CC should be FREE. I'm not the only one who thinks along this line, obviously. It benefits everyone. The more educated people are the LESS crime they commit. It is a statistical fact.

10. FORGIVENESS

Inevitably, no matter how well we create a society, there will still be people who commit crimes. What should we do? We need to create a system for these people to WORK their way back into the mainstream population. We can't let these people simply become repeat offenders b/c they have no other option. There needs to exist a path they can get on to rehabilitate themselves.

PEACE! Let's start making it happen, people.

View embedded media

No. 11...ship you to China.

 

[Michael.Felli]

Agreed. When these activists want college loans forgiven, what they really mean is they want the taxpayer to pick up the tab. My wife and I plus student loans put our sons through college and I don't think I should have to pay for others' education.

Ah, yes. The status-quo people. If it was good enough for you, why change, right?

Here's the thing Professor. How much money is NOT being spent in the economy by people in debt to student loans? How badly does their missed student loans hurting their FICO preventing them from buying a house and paying property taxes? Not to mention the lost revenue to the economy, did I mention that?

How do you feel, Professor, about paying taxes to send OTHER PEOPLES KIDS to public school? Does that make you irate?

 

[Michael.Felli]

I'll take 4, 6, 7 and 8. The rest are dumb. "Free" college education? It's not free, just paid for by someone else. Way too much of that in this country now.

Exactly WHY are the rest (ahem) dumb?

 

[LionDeNittany]

How do you feel, Professor, about paying taxes to send OTHER PEOPLES KIDS to public school? Does that make you irate?

Your idea of free college is fine IF your other idea of pushing the bar for HS exists.

Inevitably though what will happen (as with most gov't programs) is that the bar for HS will go lower and numbers of college students will increase.

Also community service is one of the biggest scams out there. I worked at my parents business in HS. I played one sport and worked after practice. I worked 12 to 24 hours each weekend. When football was out of session I worked form 2:40pm to 7pm every day after HS.

Should I also now have to do some BS community service work to please someone like yourself?

Community service should never be a requirement in a society like ours.

LdN

 

[JR4PSU]

The House of Representatives should be open to ALL Amercians to vote.

What do you mean by this? Are you saying that everyone should be able to vote regardless of age? Or are you saying that the votes that the HOR's make should actually be open voting to the public?

If it's the later, question would be: If the HOR is abolished, who authors the bills that ALL Americans vote on?

 

[JR4PSU]

community service in nursing homes and jails every year

Why only nursing home and jails? Why couldn't someone do community service by cleaning up litter. Or volunteering in a homeless shelter. Or a soup kitchen. Or .......

 

[JR4PSU]

Americans should be required to do "x" amount of CE'S every 4 years to KEEP their citizenship.

What kind of stupidity is this? While it is definitely preferred that citizens be civically knowledgeable, requiring it in order to maintain your citizenship is simply downright stupid.

 

[JR4PSU]

MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

For whom? Are you suggesting every single American go through psychological counseling? Really? Are you a psychologist by chance?

 

[JR4PSU]

MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION

I'm pretty sure we are already there. And it isn't a good thing.

 

[JR4PSU]

FREE EDUCATION

So now you want the quality of all four year college degrees to be on par with our current public education system. Right.

 

[JR4PSU]

I have to say Feli, you give incredibly little thought to the musings you make.

 

[sammyk]

I will go further. Everyone should give at least 2 years to the military now what

 

[Michael.Felli]

Your idea of free college is fine IF your other idea of pushing the bar for HS exists.

Inevitably though what will happen (as with most gov't programs) is that the bar for HS will go lower and numbers of college students will increase.

Also community service is one of the biggest scams out there. I worked at my parents business in HS. I played one sport and worked after practice. I worked 12 to 24 hours each weekend. When football was out of session I worked form 2:40pm to 7pm every day after HS.

Should I also now have to do some BS community service work to please someone like yourself?

Community service should never be a requirement in a society like ours.

LdN

Where in the Constitution is public education a RIGHT? That came later, IIRC, in the 1800's. Imagine if we abolished public education. How long till the populace no longer could read and write and have basic math skills. Who, then, would man our battleships, for example?

As for COMMUNITY SERVICE, nursing homes and jails are quite the humbling entity. Ever been to one? Kids need to see what life is all about (and, IMO, the sooner the better).

We live in a HIGH TECH society and it is geting MORE HIGH TECH by the moment. It is exponential. I will defer now to Carl Sagan...

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

We should do this! Will you volunteer as tribute??

 

[Michael.Felli]

What do you mean by this? Are you saying that everyone should be able to vote regardless of age? Or are you saying that the votes that the HOR's make should actually be open voting to the public?

If it's the later, question would be: If the HOR is abolished, who authors the bills that ALL Americans vote on?

Uh, in 1776, did our forefathers know about the periodic table? Microbes and viruses? Different types of blood? Multiple galaxies? If they communicated with Mother England, it was by boat.

Uh, times have changed. In 1776, yes, we NEEDED Representatives to go to Congress - hopefully, on our behalf. It is becoming clear that in todays time, we no longer need that, do we? The entire House has to be changed. Yes. Americans in their District should be able to vote INSTEAD of Representatives. Americans are hard wired, now. And, they will be even more hard wired in the next generation.

We need to move toward becoming a TRUE Democracy.

 

[wbcincy]

1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Please no. The last thing we need is the ignorant masses voting on day-to-day issues.

2. MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE

Nope. Don't believe in forced labor.

3. REQUIRED CE'S

Yikes...people are going to be awfully busy fulfilling your slave labor and forced adult education requirements.

4. RAISE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAR

Empty words. Akin to Wandstadt saying Pitt players need to "run faster." Everyone has agreed forever our HS education system should expect more and achieve more. Hardly novel. Problem is they seem unable to figure out how. So unless you have a plan for how, saying "make school better" is pretty free of thought.

5. MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

And your society gets better and better. It sounds like you were inspired by Ayn Rands The Anthem, insofar as you thought the government was on to a pretty good thing.

6. MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION

See above.

7. TAX INCENTIVES TO FAMILIES DOING THE RIGHT THING

I'm on board with simplifying our tax code and eliminating loopholes, etc. You seem to want to add another layer to it. No thanks.

8. THE RIGHT TO DIE

Agreed. I thought about a Joe Paterno-esque reply here along the lines of "the only right to die I'm concerned with, Mr. Felli, is yours!" But I didn't want to be meanspirited. Yet now I did it anyway. For the record I don't want you to die, that line just came to mind.

9. FREE EDUCATION

I believe that each state should have a public institution of higher education that is free to those have been residents of the state or parents have been residents of the state and paying taxes, etc there. Not going to replace the higher education system entirely, but I would support each state having such an institution. Beyond that, the gov't should remove itself entirely from funding higher education.

10. FORGIVENESS

Back to empty words again. Might as well be Donald Trump saying "we'll replace what we have something terrific!" There already are plenty of programs and services in place to help reintegrate criminals and put them on the right path. So just saying "make it better" isn't a plan.

Finally...I hope JR4PSU paid attention to how multiple quotes can appear in a single reply!

 

[Obliviax]

IIRC, it was Demlion, here, that spoke about change and that change doesn't need to be a 100% fix. If there's a problem and you improve the problem by 30%, that's significant. It might not SOLVE the problem, but you are definitely moving in the forward direction. To do nothing, would, IMO, be a crime to humanity.

So, in light of yet ANOTHER mass killing, here are some "fixes" that I'd like to see America make (in no particular order):

1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES don't completely disagree...but....people don't know the issues. For example, a local woman changed her name to an Irish name and ran for judge. Most of the judges are Irish in the CLE area (or Italian) and it has a very high Irish population. Despite having almost no expereince, she beat out a highly thought of person (on both sides). She also campaigned with a ten year old photo. What would we do to vote on classified information?

I think it's time that we dissolve the House as it now exists. The House of Representatives should be open to ALL Amercians to vote. Premature? Maybe. But, wasn't Democracy "premature" back in 1776, too? At what point then, do you do it? Americans have access to vote via the internet. We can make it happen. Let the PEOPLE speak

2. MANDATORY SERVICE I like it. Simply make it part of their high school education and drop some of the weird crap like shop and home ec.

Every public school student should be required to do 25 hours of community service in nursing homes and jails every year from junior high through high school. This should be a requirement to graduate

3. REQUIRED CE'S Can't agree on this one. Who decides what "CE's" to do? What is the value? I think citizenship needs to be defined (anchor babies are a case in point no matter if you think they should or should not be citizens it should be defined).

For some reason, even though no one can say why, there exists this idea that once you are born in this Country, you are a citizen for life. Why is that? Americans should be required to do "x" amount of CE'S every 4 years to KEEP their citizenship.

4. RAISE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAR Problem isn't the high schools, its the parents (or the parent). Here in CLE, the best schools are actually getting the least funding per student because the parents in these high end communities do so much work with their kids. City schools get as much as ten times the funding, but the schools are a complete mess. Part of the problem is that the teachers have no power. You can't get rid of troubled kids and they are ruining it for everyone else. We've thrown money at this problem for decades and its getting worse. Have to try something else.

We must continue to expect and demand MORE from high school graduates. We must continue to raise the academic bar.

5. MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING Worthless and way too controversial. Should free counseling be available? it is. Mandatory? No.

How long will America "tolerate" people going postal? Remember that word from the 1970's? It is getting WORSE and will continue to get worse. At what point do you face this challenge?

6. MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION Sex Ed is mandatory. But at the 5th grade level. My daughter just took the class. The problem is, if taught much younger, kids don't understand it anyway. What should be taught, at a young age is "its your body", but that isn't sex ed.

Sex education should be taught in public schools beginning in elementary school.

7. TAX INCENTIVES TO FAMILIES DOING THE RIGHT THING Totally agree. one party pays off the poor to vote for them (even sending busses on election day). The other one pays off the rich. Middle class gets screwed.

Families that work, pay their bills, save for their kids, save for retirement, obey the law should be rewarded. Analogously, people who pay their bills are REWARDED with a high FICO - hence, low interest rates on loans. These families deserve tax breaks. It is, IMO, positive reinforcement.

8. THE RIGHT TO DIE Agree, but am concerned people off themselves during a short time of grief but would be fine in a week (divorce, death in the family, etc.)

Uh, there's like 7 BILLION people on this planet. Soon to be 8 BILLION and climbing fast. We no longer have to worry about the human race having children. If someone wants to leave this planet, who are you to deny them their right to die? Death comes with life.

9. FREE EDUCATION Govt subsidizes this with student loans and grants anyway. I don't want to pay for a kid to live off of my tax earnings (in direct violation of your issue #7) to get an art degree or other crappy degrees. Perhaps subsidizing STEM majors....but only if they graduate. If they quit, they owe.

For the exception of specialty schools (e.g., medical school), getting a Bachelors degree should be free. This year, President Obama said that CC should be FREE. I'm not the only one who thinks along this line, obviously. It benefits everyone. The more educated people are the LESS crime they commit. It is a statistical fact.

10. FORGIVENESS Maybe but no matter how hard you try, I still won't root for Vic or Rice.

Inevitably, no matter how well we create a society, there will still be people who commit crimes. What should we do? We need to create a system for these people to WORK their way back into the mainstream population. We can't let these people simply become repeat offenders b/c they have no other option. There needs to exist a path they can get on to rehabilitate themselves.

PEACE! Let's start making it happen, people.

View embedded media

 

[AWS1022]

You want everyone to vote yet you want testing to be a citizen. How about testing to be able to vote? In that way at least the people voting on decisions will have a basic idea of what's going on in the world prior to their vote.

As far as free college, as far as I can tell the only people that have trouble going to college are the people who make money. Anyone with a fairly reasonable income is considered rich by the government and they're the ones who have difficulty putting their kids through college. I have two in college now and it's tough. People who have no money can go to college for free.

 

[91Joe95]

Ah, yes. The status-quo people. If it was good enough for you, why change, right?

Here's the thing Professor. How much money is NOT being spent in the economy by people in debt to student loans? How badly does their missed student loans hurting their FICO preventing them from buying a house and paying property taxes? Not to mention the lost revenue to the economy, did I mention that?

How do you feel, Professor, about paying taxes to send OTHER PEOPLES KIDS to public school? Does that make you irate?

I think you just mentioned you need a class in remedial economics.

 

[91Joe95]

I have to say Feli, you give incredibly little thought to the musings you make.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he ruminated on his thoughts for days at a time.

 

[TarheelFlyer]

These are all interesting ideas, but they all have issues.

If you dissolve the House, what keeps the majority from just voting themselves more and more money from the treasury?

You are going to require me to do Community Service? Okay, so who decides if the service you perform qualifies to meet the standard, and what are the consequences of that?

Mandatory CE does not fix anything. What CE does a trash man with no GED take?

Fixing the school system is something we have talked about since I was old enough to talk, so over 40 years. The way to fix education is to get parents to understand that they must reinforce what the teachers instruct them on. My wife, an elementary education instructor complains about the following...every kid in America is taught to the middle. A class of 20, the top 5 get ignored cause they know the material, the bottom 5 get ignored cause no amount of teaching is going to help that kid be on that mental level right now. The middle 10, that is the focus of the teachers and who the tests are written for. We must get over the fear of failing kids who didn't learn the material.

Mandatory Psych --- I have never had a day of it, and I am not unstable in any way. What we could offer is better access and coverage for those people, a very small number, who actually do need it.

Sex Ed is the responsibility of the parent, not the government. I'm sorry but you have trouble finding 2 parents who agree on what the kid should be taught let alone finding a standard the country can agree on.

Tax Incentives to parents "doing the right thing" - so who decides again what is the right thing? You? Obama? George Bush? Simplify the code and keep judgements out of the mix.

Right to die is the biggest non-issue made into an issue in this country. Have you heard of suicide? It happens every day, nobody was able to stop them. If you are 95 and want to end your life...end it. The issue is not named correctly. The real debate is can my granny look at me and say....I'm 95 and don't want to live, help me end my life. Honestly, this is a really small percentage of individuals and we have better things to focus on.

If Free Education was the solution to our issue, then we wouldn't have high schools which suck so bad.....Taking that model to the upper levels only promotes a bad system further up the chain. That is not to say that college isn't broken...it is, but that isn't the fault of cost necessarily. High School Education = Free = Broken......College Education = Cost = Broken. I could be wrong, but logic would tell me that the financial element is not the issue.

The final statement again is not named correctly. I can forgive a criminal who steals things, or who beats a woman, or who sells drugs, or who trains dogs to fight, but the reality is this is a 2 way street. The element that is missing in my experience is TRUST. Trust is earned, not given.

I am not sure at the moment there is a way to fix this country, because every issue has been politicized. Everything is about posturing for gain of their own political purposes. Until we can have honest discussions about the issues looking for solutions rather than winning for one's side, we will continue down the rabbit hole.

 

[tallahasseelion]

These are all interesting ideas, but they all have issues.

If you dissolve the House, what keeps the majority from just voting themselves more and more money from the treasury?

You are going to require me to do Community Service? Okay, so who decides if the service you perform qualifies to meet the standard, and what are the consequences of that?

Mandatory CE does not fix anything. What CE does a trash man with no GED take?

Fixing the school system is something we have talked about since I was old enough to talk, so over 40 years. The way to fix education is to get parents to understand that they must reinforce what the teachers instruct them on. My wife, an elementary education instructor complains about the following...every kid in America is taught to the middle. A class of 20, the top 5 get ignored cause they know the material, the bottom 5 get ignored cause no amount of teaching is going to help that kid be on that mental level right now. The middle 10, that is the focus of the teachers and who the tests are written for. We must get over the fear of failing kids who didn't learn the material.

Mandatory Psych --- I have never had a day of it, and I am not unstable in any way. What we could offer is better access and coverage for those people, a very small number, who actually do need it.

Sex Ed is the responsibility of the parent, not the government. I'm sorry but you have trouble finding 2 parents who agree on what the kid should be taught let alone finding a standard the country can agree on.

Tax Incentives to parents "doing the right thing" - so who decides again what is the right thing? You? Obama? George Bush? Simplify the code and keep judgements out of the mix.

Right to die is the biggest non-issue made into an issue in this country. Have you heard of suicide? It happens every day, nobody was able to stop them. If you are 95 and want to end your life...end it. The issue is not named correctly. The real debate is can my granny look at me and say....I'm 95 and don't want to live, help me end my life. Honestly, this is a really small percentage of individuals and we have better things to focus on.

If Free Education was the solution to our issue, then we wouldn't have high schools which suck so bad.....Taking that model to the upper levels only promotes a bad system further up the chain. That is not to say that college isn't broken...it is, but that isn't the fault of cost necessarily. High School Education = Free = Broken......College Education = Cost = Broken. I could be wrong, but logic would tell me that the financial element is not the issue.

The final statement again is not named correctly. I can forgive a criminal who steals things, or who beats a woman, or who sells drugs, or who trains dogs to fight, but the reality is this is a 2 way street. The element that is missing in my experience is TRUST. Trust is earned, not given.

I am not sure at the moment there is a way to fix this country, because every issue has been politicized. Everything is about posturing for gain of their own political purposes. Until we can have honest discussions about the issues looking for solutions rather than winning for one's side, we will continue down the rabbit hole.

Totally disagree with your take on the right to die. The issue isn't with 95 year old grannies, it's about 20/30 year olds (or even 40/50/60 year olds) with a terminal disease, which towards the end will become devastatingly painful. Everyone deserves to die with dignity and shouldn't just be told to "commit suicide". Most of us would not be able to do that.

 

[bdgan]

IIRC, it was Demlion, here, that spoke about change and that change doesn't need to be a 100% fix. If there's a problem and you improve the problem by 30%, that's significant. It might not SOLVE the problem, but you are definitely moving in the forward direction. To do nothing, would, IMO, be a crime to humanity.

So, in light of yet ANOTHER mass killing, here are some "fixes" that I'd like to see America make (in no particular order):

1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

I think it's time that we dissolve the House as it now exists. The House of Representatives should be open to ALL Amercians to vote. Premature? Maybe. But, wasn't Democracy "premature" back in 1776, too? At what point then, do you do it? Americans have access to vote via the internet. We can make it happen. Let the PEOPLE speak

2. MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE

Every public school student should be required to do 25 hours of community service in nursing homes and jails every year from junior high through high school. This should be a requirement to graduate

3. REQUIRED CE'S

For some reason, even though no one can say why, there exists this idea that once you are born in this Country, you are a citizen for life. Why is that? Americans should be required to do "x" amount of CE'S every 4 years to KEEP their citizenship.

4. RAISE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAR

We must continue to expect and demand MORE from high school graduates. We must continue to raise the academic bar.

5. MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

How long will America "tolerate" people going postal? Remember that word from the 1970's? It is getting WORSE and will continue to get worse. At what point do you face this challenge?

6. MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION

Sex education should be taught in public schools beginning in elementary school.

7. TAX INCENTIVES TO FAMILIES DOING THE RIGHT THING

Families that work, pay their bills, save for their kids, save for retirement, obey the law should be rewarded. Analogously, people who pay their bills are REWARDED with a high FICO - hence, low interest rates on loans. These families deserve tax breaks. It is, IMO, positive reinforcement.

8. THE RIGHT TO DIE

Uh, there's like 7 BILLION people on this planet. Soon to be 8 BILLION and climbing fast. We no longer have to worry about the human race having children. If someone wants to leave this planet, who are you to deny them their right to die? Death comes with life.

9. FREE EDUCATION

For the exception of specialty schools (e.g., medical school), getting a Bachelors degree should be free. This year, President Obama said that CC should be FREE. I'm not the only one who thinks along this line, obviously. It benefits everyone. The more educated people are the LESS crime they commit. It is a statistical fact.

10. FORGIVENESS

Inevitably, no matter how well we create a society, there will still be people who commit crimes. What should we do? We need to create a system for these people to WORK their way back into the mainstream population. We can't let these people simply become repeat offenders b/c they have no other option. There needs to exist a path they can get on to rehabilitate themselves.

PEACE! Let's start making it happen, people.

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Community college is already nearly free. Tuition is about $4,000 and you get a $2,500. Some states offer additional credits. Low income kids get things like Pell grants.

If you raise the bar for high school you'll increase the already high percentage that never graduate. Maybe the bar has to be raised for the families of these kids.

Sorry that you need additional sex education.

 

[LionFan87b]

There are already too many people going to college who don't belong there. Instead, we need more people to get a solid high school education and more people going to trade schools after high school.

 

[BBG65]

Ah, yes. The status-quo people. If it was good enough for you, why change, right?

Here's the thing Professor. How much money is NOT being spent in the economy by people in debt to student loans? How badly does their missed student loans hurting their FICO preventing them from buying a house and paying property taxes? Not to mention the lost revenue to the economy, did I mention that?

How do you feel, Professor, about paying taxes to send OTHER PEOPLES KIDS to public school? Does that make you irate?

The money the taxpayer will be forced to pay will come out of the economy just the same. The difference is that instead of the people receiving the education paying for it, it will be others. Like Margaret Thatcher said, socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money.

 

[JR4PSU]

Uh, in 1776, did our forefathers know about the periodic table? Microbes and viruses? Different types of blood? Multiple galaxies? If they communicated with Mother England, it was by boat.

Uh, times have changed. In 1776, yes, we NEEDED Representatives to go to Congress - hopefully, on our behalf. It is becoming clear that in todays time, we no longer need that, do we? The entire House has to be changed. Yes. Americans in their District should be able to vote INSTEAD of Representatives. Americans are hard wired, now. And, they will be even more hard wired in the next generation.

We need to move toward becoming a TRUE Democracy.

Who authors bills for public vote?

 

[JR4PSU]

Totally disagree with your take on the right to die. The issue isn't with 95 year old grannies, it's about 20/30 year olds (or even 40/50/60 year olds) with a terminal disease, which towards the end will become devastatingly painful. Everyone deserves to die with dignity and shouldn't just be told to "commit suicide". Most of us would not be able to do that.

If you really want to die because you are in too much pain, you most certainly can do it yourself. Many, many, many ways to do it that don't involve a gun barrel in your mouth.

 

[lein]

IIRC, it was Demlion, here, that spoke about change and that change doesn't need to be a 100% fix. If there's a problem and you improve the problem by 30%, that's significant. It might not SOLVE the problem, but you are definitely moving in the forward direction. To do nothing, would, IMO, be a crime to humanity.

So, in light of yet ANOTHER mass killing, here are some "fixes" that I'd like to see America make (in no particular order):

1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

I think it's time that we dissolve the House as it now exists. The House of Representatives should be open to ALL Amercians to vote. Premature? Maybe. But, wasn't Democracy "premature" back in 1776, too? At what point then, do you do it? Americans have access to vote via the internet. We can make it happen. Let the PEOPLE speak

2. MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE

Every public school student should be required to do 25 hours of community service in nursing homes and jails every year from junior high through high school. This should be a requirement to graduate

3. REQUIRED CE'S

For some reason, even though no one can say why, there exists this idea that once you are born in this Country, you are a citizen for life. Why is that? Americans should be required to do "x" amount of CE'S every 4 years to KEEP their citizenship.

4. RAISE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAR

We must continue to expect and demand MORE from high school graduates. We must continue to raise the academic bar.

5. MANDATORY PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

How long will America "tolerate" people going postal? Remember that word from the 1970's? It is getting WORSE and will continue to get worse. At what point do you face this challenge?

6. MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION

Sex education should be taught in public schools beginning in elementary school.

7. TAX INCENTIVES TO FAMILIES DOING THE RIGHT THING

Families that work, pay their bills, save for their kids, save for retirement, obey the law should be rewarded. Analogously, people who pay their bills are REWARDED with a high FICO - hence, low interest rates on loans. These families deserve tax breaks. It is, IMO, positive reinforcement.

8. THE RIGHT TO DIE

Uh, there's like 7 BILLION people on this planet. Soon to be 8 BILLION and climbing fast. We no longer have to worry about the human race having children. If someone wants to leave this planet, who are you to deny them their right to die? Death comes with life.

9. FREE EDUCATION

For the exception of specialty schools (e.g., medical school), getting a Bachelors degree should be free. This year, President Obama said that CC should be FREE. I'm not the only one who thinks along this line, obviously. It benefits everyone. The more educated people are the LESS crime they commit. It is a statistical fact.

10. FORGIVENESS

Inevitably, no matter how well we create a society, there will still be people who commit crimes. What should we do? We need to create a system for these people to WORK their way back into the mainstream population. We can't let these people simply become repeat offenders b/c they have no other option. There needs to exist a path they can get on to rehabilitate themselves.

PEACE! Let's start making it happen, people.

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I'll take just one, eliminate all payroll deductions. You get all of your pay on payday and must write a quarterly check for your taxes. This will give you greater voter participation

 

[JR4PSU]

Please no. The last thing we need is the ignorant masses voting on day-to-day issues.



Nope. Don't believe in forced labor.



Yikes...people are going to be awfully busy fulfilling your slave labor and forced adult education requirements.



Empty words. Akin to Wandstadt saying Pitt players need to "run faster." Everyone has agreed forever our HS education system should expect more and achieve more. Hardly novel. Problem is they seem unable to figure out how. So unless you have a plan for how, saying "make school better" is pretty free of thought.



And your society gets better and better. It sounds like you were inspired by Ayn Rands The Anthem, insofar as you thought the government was on to a pretty good thing.



See above.



I'm on board with simplifying our tax code and eliminating loopholes, etc. You seem to want to add another layer to it. No thanks.



Agreed. I thought about a Joe Paterno-esque reply here along the lines of "the only right to die I'm concerned with, Mr. Felli, is yours!" But I didn't want to be meanspirited. Yet now I did it anyway. For the record I don't want you to die, that line just came to mind.



I believe that each state should have a public institution of higher education that is free to those have been residents of the state or parents have been residents of the state and paying taxes, etc there. Not going to replace the higher education system entirely, but I would support each state having such an institution. Beyond that, the gov't should remove itself entirely from funding higher education.



Back to empty words again. Might as well be Donald Trump saying "we'll replace what we have something terrific!" There already are plenty of programs and services in place to help reintegrate criminals and put them on the right path. So just saying "make it better" isn't a plan.

Finally...I hope JR4PSU paid attention to how multiple quotes can appear in a single reply!

I replied the way I did for effect, not because I don't know how to reply to multiple quotes in a single post.

 

[aferrelli]

I must admit. I like many of your ideas. I would like to add health care for everyone. A country is only as strong as its weakest link. There are millions of weak links in this country because they do not have proper health care. Look at the numbers: life expectancy, infant mortality, obesity, etc. etc. You'll find that many countries are much healthier (stronger) than us.

I don't buy the BS about "American Exceptionalism", and neither should anyone else.

 

[lein]

I must admit. I like many of your ideas. I would like to add health care for everyone. A country is only as strong as its weakest link. There are millions of weak links in this country because they do not have proper health care. Look at the numbers: life expectancy, infant mortality, obesity, etc. etc. You'll find that many countries are much healthier (stronger) than us.

I don't buy the BS about "American Exceptionalism", and neither should anyone else.

You probably were never taught what the term means.

 

[aferrelli]

You probably were never taught what the term means.

Maybe you could enlighten me.