If I became US President

If I was taking over as President of the US in 2008, here are the top 5 policies I’d implement:

1. Environmental Policy: Enact legislation addressing emissions and environmental damage. Basically, it would be a pay to pollute policy with escalating costs on a year by year basis. Business will adapt if there is incentive to do so.

2. Make late term abortions illegal: If the baby is determined to be able to live apart from the mother, even with mechanical support, the mother has no legal right to end the life. I don’t believe that any form of non-necessary abortion should be legal, but this is where I’d start.

3. Re-establish a collaborative pre-eminent world force: Like NATO or the UN only without the voices that pull more for their self-interest than for justice. So, Russia wouldn’t be there, but Australia would be. As part of this, both the Afghan and Iraq wars would be driven by this common group and a common foreign intervention policy would be enacted to monitor and control situations like Rwanda and Kosovo.

4. Address the Millenium Development Goals (MDG’s): Using Jeffrey Sachs’ idea of putting a tax, or World Investment Alternative, for the richest strata of American society.

“A 5 percent income tax surcharge on incomes above $200K directed toward the
U.S. contribution to end global poverty, which in 2004 would yield around $40
billion. That surcharge could be paid as a tax to support U.S. government
efforts, or it could be directed by the taxpayer to a qualifying charity or
philanthropy that has registered programs in support of the Millennium
Development Goals.”

5. Invest in public education. Only invest money in public schools and teachers and enact legislation that moves towards integration. People shouldn’t be entitled to a better life and real opportunities simply because their parents are rich. That is the antithesis of the American dream. It may hurt for a few years, but in the long run, it’s the only way to keep America’s competitive advantage. If the rich want to pay for their own educational resources and pay their taxes too, that’s fine. But the country cannot afford to abandon entire segments of the citizenship.

What would these do?

To start, they'd make a big dent in the environmental impacts and work to counteract the damage. Global warming is causing weather problems and is likely to cause significant refugee and geographic problems worldwide within the next 20 years.

Send a clear indication to the public that moral absolutes do exist whether they’re PC or not. Rosie can rationalize anything, but the US Government should stand for the value of human life.
Establish consistency and order in the world. The world needs both freedom and order, not simply one or the other. I don't believe that we can stand by and watch genocides, ethnic cleansings or other oppressions which destroy human life. The UN is constructed to build consensus, not for taking decisive and timely action. While it sounds like a good idea to let these committee type processes to take their course, real lives are at stake.

Impacting the uber rich may impact the campaign finance bottom line but people know it’s the right thing to do. This would allow the US to move towards meeting the MDG’s, reestablishing the country’s moral leadership in the world. Further, as per Colin Powell, addressing poverty and being known as compassionate will curtail potential terrorist hotbeds.

The US is supposed to be about an idea. It’s supposed to be about the land of opportunity for anyone who wants to work hard. It’s built on its advantages by hard work and innovation. To reduce the effectiveness of the education system cuts the legs out from those very principles.

No Iraq policy? That’s right. I think the plan to add 20,000 troops was a good plan. US military policy, when done right, is about using overwhelming force and having an exit plan. So, the 20,000 troops hopefully makes for an overwhelming force. Let them do their job in bringing stability and then work with an allied force to keep a presence in the country for many years to come. There are no solutions that have closure within 5 years that can have a happy outcome.

One thing the Iraq war has brought to light again is the change in American psyche. At one time the US felt that they were invincible. Even if they were down they could and would always come back. The common theme of public comments on Iraq is that it’s time to admit defeat, cut and run. To me, that’s a gutless approach. Regardless of your view on the original validity of the war, the US stirred up the chaos. It’s their responsibility to stick it out to establish order. Anything less would be condemning Iraq to decades of infighting and foreign interference.

In a sentence, I believe these ideas put the focus back on the value of our humanity and the importance of equality and justice inside and outside of the US.

Agree? Disagree? Just think I'm off my rocker. Leave a comment.