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ECONOMICS - If you were benevolent dictator, what rules would you impose?
- Thread starter TraderZones
- Start date
flat tax
health vouchers
school vouchers
no lobbying with money - no lobbying by people getting a govt check or NGO or military check in the last 10 years.we
cap on property tax of 1%.
public lands and airwaves get market returns.
temporarily find ways to encourage manufacturing and jobs in us.
Targeted protection for certain industries. We need to keep steel and car production. Certain food production and certain technologies.
The easy way is to come out and say to the world we support tariffs in these industries. If you wish to trade with us deal with it. perhaps create a few of your own. if you do not like it so what. We are willing to live with a slightly lower GDP if it keeps jobs and is in the interest of our national security.
health vouchers
school vouchers
no lobbying with money - no lobbying by people getting a govt check or NGO or military check in the last 10 years.we
cap on property tax of 1%.
public lands and airwaves get market returns.
temporarily find ways to encourage manufacturing and jobs in us.
Targeted protection for certain industries. We need to keep steel and car production. Certain food production and certain technologies.
The easy way is to come out and say to the world we support tariffs in these industries. If you wish to trade with us deal with it. perhaps create a few of your own. if you do not like it so what. We are willing to live with a slightly lower GDP if it keeps jobs and is in the interest of our national security.
Thank you all for telling me how ignorant I am. I appreciate it. This board is full of towhhallers and fox news watchers; I get that. Typical thread on here is you guys lamenting how something isn't free market enough and then high fiving all the other dittoheads that tell you how great you are for starting the thread.
before we can get anything done we must clean up DC. There are 514 plus criminals plus their aids, lobbyists etc.
Unless you have serious reform that is political, all this economical stuff is mute. We have been bamboozled by the politikos and the system is corrupt and rotten to the core. No matter who is in the WH or what they say or do....the system is crap as is.
you need to fix the following;
1) campaign financing
2) lobbying influence
3) enforce current laws
once this is done
1) tax system needs fixing
2) multi party system is a must as both parties are defunct ridden with criminals, we need more than the f'ing 2 parties (I HATE BOTH!!!) see part one for this...
Unless you have serious reform that is political, all this economical stuff is mute. We have been bamboozled by the politikos and the system is corrupt and rotten to the core. No matter who is in the WH or what they say or do....the system is crap as is.
you need to fix the following;
1) campaign financing
2) lobbying influence
3) enforce current laws
once this is done
1) tax system needs fixing
2) multi party system is a must as both parties are defunct ridden with criminals, we need more than the f'ing 2 parties (I HATE BOTH!!!) see part one for this...
Quote from TraderZones:
ECONOMICS - If you were benevolent dictator, what rules would you impose? NOTE - please stick ONLY to economic rules (even if loosely), not things like religion, personal taste, etc.
Good topics include: taxes, business, trading rules, govt pet peeves, pension, medical, international trade, states vs. federal issues, public works, etc.
I will start with a few:
ONE -----------------------------------------------------------
CAR INSURANCE. Currently, you pay more if:
-- you have a lower credit score
-- you are young
-- you are single
-- you are male
-- (believe it or not) someone ELSE hits YOU. I was read ended by someone in heavy traffic, who was ticketed by the police for not allowing enough room. MY rates went up 30%. What is the matter with paying based only on your driving record?
TWO -----------------------------------------------------------
We (USA) have federal, state, county and local levels of govt. Usually with their own roads, legal system, taxing, etc. Sometimes they tax, and then pass on tax funds to other levels, including In my new world, at least one llevel (county) would be gone. Connecticut has no actual county govt and does fine: http://www.ct.gov/ctportal/cwp/view.asp?a=843&q=246434
THREE -----------------------------------------------------------
Slash corporate taxes and do everything possible to encourage businesses and wealth to come back ONSHORE.
FOUR -----------------------------------------------------------
Every level of government would be prohibited from spending more than they take in. Secondly, no " Bad year - every single service is slashed - govt salaries, expenditures like schools, etc.
FIVE -----------------------------------------------------------
Throw out the current taxing system, put together all recommendations ever floated that has gained traction (fair tax, flat tax, value added tax, whatever).
SIX -----------------------------------------------------------
Remove the ability of unions to kill companies. Growing up, I watched unions close 2 large local companies because they refused to renegotiate when foreign competitors were squeezing the companies. Look at what they are doing to the big 3 car makers. Look how they dominate the construction industry in metropolitan areas. I know a college prof who painted his office. The college union filed a grievance, and came in and repainted his office and billed the college. Time to throw most of them out. The sweat shop days are over...
I totally agree that campaign finance is the key to turning around our politics. However, giving money politically has been viewed as free speech. Outside of a constitutional amendment I don't see how to stop this corruption. Our politics would be in a totally different place if only individuals could give money & not PACs, Corporations, Unions, etc.
Pick a group of people you do or don't like, and design policy to reward and penalize them. Nice.
Every policy has unintended consequences.
My big ideas:
* Print $2T of money, build 200 nuclear breeder reactor plants, and subsidize/mandate all new passenger cars are battery powered. Use excess military to provide security for the plants. Losers: fossil fuel industry and middle east big oil interests. Winners: the rest of society. Unintended consequence: Population boom (results from cheaper energy) and problems that come with it, namely more vulnerability to viral epidemics, property price boom, and less space available per person.
* Make all health care research government funded (and amp up investment), thus keeping profit rights to government for discoveries. Design policy to make efficient use of this government investment. Also reduce patent ownership time on private drug discoveries. Eliminates profit gorging from resulting drugs found. Lowers health care costs. Losers: Private healthcare investors. Winners: Most of the rest of the public. Unintended consequences: Unknown - massive govt sponsored investment may be wasteful or less efficient.
* Limit malpractice rewards to negligible amount. Losers: malpractice insurance companies, attornies, occasional victims of malicious doctors. Winners: doctors, health care consuming public who benefit in doctors' lower marginal costs and thus increased competition in the field.
The list goes on.
Personally I don't care for the high paid attorney bunch, and wouldn't mind any policies designed to penalize them. (problem is, the slimey class will find every loophole to evade policies... and black markets come to exist to ensure their continued reward)
Every policy has unintended consequences.
My big ideas:
* Print $2T of money, build 200 nuclear breeder reactor plants, and subsidize/mandate all new passenger cars are battery powered. Use excess military to provide security for the plants. Losers: fossil fuel industry and middle east big oil interests. Winners: the rest of society. Unintended consequence: Population boom (results from cheaper energy) and problems that come with it, namely more vulnerability to viral epidemics, property price boom, and less space available per person.
* Make all health care research government funded (and amp up investment), thus keeping profit rights to government for discoveries. Design policy to make efficient use of this government investment. Also reduce patent ownership time on private drug discoveries. Eliminates profit gorging from resulting drugs found. Lowers health care costs. Losers: Private healthcare investors. Winners: Most of the rest of the public. Unintended consequences: Unknown - massive govt sponsored investment may be wasteful or less efficient.
* Limit malpractice rewards to negligible amount. Losers: malpractice insurance companies, attornies, occasional victims of malicious doctors. Winners: doctors, health care consuming public who benefit in doctors' lower marginal costs and thus increased competition in the field.
The list goes on.
Personally I don't care for the high paid attorney bunch, and wouldn't mind any policies designed to penalize them. (problem is, the slimey class will find every loophole to evade policies... and black markets come to exist to ensure their continued reward)
1. True economic crimes illegal - theft, fraud, extortion, government-chartered monopolies etc.
2. Caveat Emptor - think before you buy/invest, no whining or suing afterwards unless rule 1 was broken.
3. 10% bounty for anyone reporting an economic crime.
4. Non-military government spending restricted to maximum 5% of GDP, no exceptions.
5. Military spending maximum 5% of GDP during peacetime.
6. Tax set at the rate which would balance the budget (which is 10% of GDP maximum) and pay off national debt within 7 years. Once it's paid off, tax would be set at a level to equal spending.
7. In wartime or states of emergency, deficit spending allowed. Once peacetime returns, repeat step 6.
8. Forced wealth redistribution/transfer payments made unconstitutional.
9. Tax evasion made a civil, not criminal offence, on a par with falling behind on a commercial or personal debt.
10. Sole regulatory regime for the economy would be the concept of fiduciary duty - similar to how a professional advisor like a lawyer or doctor must act in your interests. So employees, management, and board would be mandated to act in the best long-run interests of the company whilst dealing honestly with customers, shareholders, partners etc. Under this rule, recent banker bonuses could be sued and reclaimed on the concept that the bankers did not follow their fiduciary duty to manage risk, and have made bonuses whilst engaging in loss-making activity. Mutual fund companies who charge 2% for an index-tracking S&P fund could be sued etc.
11. "Equal treatment" clause for all legal entities such as trusts, corporations, charities. So everyone gets taxed at 10% (or whatever the rate is) and it is unconstitutional/illegal to tax anyone more or less than anyone else. Industry specific tax incentives, subsidies, tariffs or penalties would be illegal.
12. Tax to be raised by the following means only: value-added tax, tariffs on imported/exported goods, corporation tax, property tax. Income tax on individuals to be unconstitutional.
13. All taxes and tax rates to have 5 year sunset clauses, so they must continually be voted in by majority to stay at the current rate.
14. Plain English law for all contracts. If a jury of 12 cannot understand it, the contract is deemed null & void.
15. No tax on state employees. Salaries revised down to reflect the higher value of the tax-free income. This is to eliminate the pointlessness and expense of taxing someone who is paid with tax revenues from the public purse.
16. Lawsuit reform - no punitive damages. Damages limited to the economic damage suffered by the wronged party, plus reasonable legal expenses of the winner to be paid by the loser. Frivolous lawsuit legislation strengthened, based on the "prudent man" concept (i.e. you cannot sue if you failed to take precautions that one would expect from a prudent man). So you could still sue McDonalds for serving scaldingly hot coffee, but your damages would be whatever it cost you to get your mouth back to good condition. No lasting damage = $0 in
damages.
17. Lobbying involving any financial contributions to be reclassified as bribery.
18. Term limits.
2. Caveat Emptor - think before you buy/invest, no whining or suing afterwards unless rule 1 was broken.
3. 10% bounty for anyone reporting an economic crime.
4. Non-military government spending restricted to maximum 5% of GDP, no exceptions.
5. Military spending maximum 5% of GDP during peacetime.
6. Tax set at the rate which would balance the budget (which is 10% of GDP maximum) and pay off national debt within 7 years. Once it's paid off, tax would be set at a level to equal spending.
7. In wartime or states of emergency, deficit spending allowed. Once peacetime returns, repeat step 6.
8. Forced wealth redistribution/transfer payments made unconstitutional.
9. Tax evasion made a civil, not criminal offence, on a par with falling behind on a commercial or personal debt.
10. Sole regulatory regime for the economy would be the concept of fiduciary duty - similar to how a professional advisor like a lawyer or doctor must act in your interests. So employees, management, and board would be mandated to act in the best long-run interests of the company whilst dealing honestly with customers, shareholders, partners etc. Under this rule, recent banker bonuses could be sued and reclaimed on the concept that the bankers did not follow their fiduciary duty to manage risk, and have made bonuses whilst engaging in loss-making activity. Mutual fund companies who charge 2% for an index-tracking S&P fund could be sued etc.
11. "Equal treatment" clause for all legal entities such as trusts, corporations, charities. So everyone gets taxed at 10% (or whatever the rate is) and it is unconstitutional/illegal to tax anyone more or less than anyone else. Industry specific tax incentives, subsidies, tariffs or penalties would be illegal.
12. Tax to be raised by the following means only: value-added tax, tariffs on imported/exported goods, corporation tax, property tax. Income tax on individuals to be unconstitutional.
13. All taxes and tax rates to have 5 year sunset clauses, so they must continually be voted in by majority to stay at the current rate.
14. Plain English law for all contracts. If a jury of 12 cannot understand it, the contract is deemed null & void.
15. No tax on state employees. Salaries revised down to reflect the higher value of the tax-free income. This is to eliminate the pointlessness and expense of taxing someone who is paid with tax revenues from the public purse.
16. Lawsuit reform - no punitive damages. Damages limited to the economic damage suffered by the wronged party, plus reasonable legal expenses of the winner to be paid by the loser. Frivolous lawsuit legislation strengthened, based on the "prudent man" concept (i.e. you cannot sue if you failed to take precautions that one would expect from a prudent man). So you could still sue McDonalds for serving scaldingly hot coffee, but your damages would be whatever it cost you to get your mouth back to good condition. No lasting damage = $0 in
damages.
17. Lobbying involving any financial contributions to be reclassified as bribery.
18. Term limits.
Quote from scriabinop23:
Pick a group of people you do or don't like, and design policy to reward and penalize them. Nice.
Every policy has unintended consequences.
My big ideas:
* Print $2T of money, build 200 nuclear breeder reactor plants, and subsidize/mandate all new passenger cars are battery powered. Use excess military to provide security for the plants. Losers: fossil fuel industry and middle east big oil interests. Winners: the rest of society. Unintended consequence: Population boom (results from cheaper energy) and problems that come with it, namely more vulnerability to viral epidemics, property price boom, and less space available per person.
* Make all health care research government funded (and amp up investment), thus keeping profit rights to government for discoveries. Design policy to make efficient use of this government investment. Also reduce patent ownership time on private drug discoveries. Eliminates profit gorging from resulting drugs found. Lowers health care costs. Losers: Private healthcare investors. Winners: Most of the rest of the public. Unintended consequences: Unknown - massive govt sponsored investment may be wasteful or less efficient.
* Limit malpractice rewards to negligible amount. Losers: malpractice insurance companies, attornies, occasional victims of malicious doctors. Winners: doctors, health care consuming public who benefit in doctors' lower marginal costs and thus increased competition in the field.
The list goes on.
Personally I don't care for the high paid attorney bunch, and wouldn't mind any policies designed to penalize them. (problem is, the slimey class will find every loophole to evade policies... and black markets come to exist to ensure their continued reward)
Has social engineering ever worked?