Five progressive or liberal ideas that will not fix Americas problems.
1. Taxing Churches
This is something that may raise some good money for a year or two, but churches are smarter than most people give them credit for. There will be negotiations and consolidations and the larger churches will become just like many corporations who figure out legal ways to avoid taxes. While the smaller churches will simply foldm or close shop, for lack of a better term. Often, these smaller churches do more good for the community than people realize because pastors are better connected their parishioners. You may find that schisms and other disagreements may heal as churches combine to save money. In the end, you may increase revenue from taxing churches, but not as much as seems like you would get now.
If your goal is to see religion fade away, you are not likely to see that either. Pushing hard may cause believers to unite in ways that we can't really understand today. Many sects are bound by generations of traditions. These things don't just go away overnight.
If your goal is to cause changes within the religious sect, such as forcing them to change views on homosexuality, don't expect that to happen either. Again, this has to do with generations of traditions.
Also, here in the United States, we have that pesky First Amendment which reads, "Congress shall not pass laws favoring a practice of religion or denying the free practice thereof." Of course, there are limits to this, such as with anti-polygamy laws from the late 19th century. But even those may not survive Supreme Court muster if they were ever to come up for review again. (This, by the way is why Utah is currently not allowed to prosecute religious co-habitation, although bigamy is still off-limits.) Clearly, to not favor a practice of religion, if one is to tax churches, one must tax them all equally.
However, what if the church that you want to tax is clearly discriminatory in their practices and beliefs? I would advise to rely on the law. However, it is against legal precedent to write laws that force churches to change beliefs. With a few exceptions, courts have declined to allow use of the law to influence religious practices. Generally, the question you would need to answer is, "why would you care about an organization whose tenets you don't agree with?" In other words, "find a religion that you agree with and join them."
What will work instead? Build the economy. With a strong economy, church goers will fall into higher tax brackets, and will donate more to their church which could reduce the demand on public safety nets in addition to filling tax coffers. It will reduce the public burden on two fronts. A strong economy may have a different effect. Many people turn to religion during hard times, and tend to forget about it during prosperous times. As many sociologists have said, beginning with Calvin, "nothing will kill religion faster than prosperity will." Prosperity will give people other things to do with their Sunday mornings. If you really want a religion to go away, make people wealthy.
2. Raising the Minimum Wage
Wage is something that is relative. If minimum wage is raised, eventually everyone will get a wage increase, and the low wage earners will either not as well off or at best, where they were before. The effects are only temporary realized at best. Businesses have ways of dealing with minimum wage increases that create unintended consequences. Personally, if I owned a business, I wouldn't think twice about passing on my cost increases to customers after a minimum wage increase. After all, with more money, aren't people better able to afford it? Occasionally, yes the minimum wage needs to increase to keep up with inflation. But wage increases can also be inflationary in and of themselves.
What will work instead? Training programs to help people escape minimum wage jobs. Holding the line on college tuition, especially at state-run schools. This will give people hope to escape low-wage jobs. People tend to eat a McDonalds when times are rough, and at costlier places, where employees are paid and treated better, during prosperous times.
3. Raising Taxes on Wealthy
They who are "the wealthy" know how to work the system. Sure, it will sound like politicians are doing something, but there will be some sort of loophole, tax shelter or write-off that will be found. He who has the gold makes the rules. The rich also contribute a lot of money for political campaigns, and no one gives money without it being tied to consequences. Do you really think that a new tax be passed without a way to escape it? If taxes on the wealthy increase, loop holes will be written to the laws.
What will work instead? Again a strong economy is the answer. Think of taxes as an irrigation canal that comes from a river. It is easier to divert water from a raging river than a dry one. Some loopholes, however, are just silly. A mortgage reduction for a first house...wonderful. For a second house...OK? For a third house?...that is just wrong. For a fourth house?...You got to be kidding me? But yet, it is there. If you can afford 3 houses, you don't need a mortgage deduction. The tax code is full of examples like this., it's worse than Aged Swiss. No wonder Trump does not want to release his tax statements. We could close some of those loopholes.
4. Repealing the 2nd Amendment
This will reduce gun violence, for certain. It will not, however, end murder or even mass murder. People intent on causing harm to others will find a way to harm others if there is not access to guns. The 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms are part of the Bill of Rights. To people who want to curb this liberty, I would ask, what right is sacred to you and would you be willing to give up that right for a little more security?
What will work instead? Programs that reduce violent behavior. Perhaps reducing access to violent TV programs, violent movies and violent video games. We keep saying, "violence isn't the answer." However, in movies, television and video games, and even in real life, we constantly see the message, "violence IS the answer." We need to ensure that our messages are consistent.
5. Legalizing Drugs
This is one that both leftists and extreme right wingers agree on. You may create a tax revenue source in a business that is today tax free, but it won't last. As soon as banks feel comfortable in doing business with those who are now drug dealers, either new big businesses will evolve or existing big business, like Big Tobacco, will take over. Government will not be able to put this genie back in the bottle. And society will pay the price with the consequences of higher levels of addiction. We all pay the price of alcohol abuse in higher absenteeism, unemployment, welfare, broken marriages and families and in recovery programs. We will see more of those expenses with legalized drugs.
I know that many of you will correctly point out that in some countries in Europe, drugs have been legalized...blah, blah blah. To them I say, show me the science. Just because it SOUNDS logical, doesn't mean it will work. Remember, what you read about happening in Portugal doesn't mean it will work here where the culture is so different. Addiction is a bad thing whether or not the government collects taxes on it.
Despite what you have been told about the benefits of legal pot in some states in the US, people are making big money off of it. There are also, and you are not told about this, many people suffering because of it. Legal pot has many of the same consequences for families that alcohol and other additions have. Legalizing it doesn't take away those consequences. This is why it was banned in the first place.
What should be done instead? I support efforts to reclassify marijuana and some other drugs as Schedule II drugs to allow research into their potential medical benefits. Medical opioids have provided much relief to people, but at the price of prescription drug abuse. Canniboids show promise to provide the same relief without the addiction. There are probably other Schedule I drugs with the same promise.
I am definitely not for recreational drugs.
But I am not only picking on Liberals today. Look for Five Conservative Ideas that will not Fix Americas problems that has also been published.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Why Good People Do Not Run for Political Office
One complaint I read and hear about the pool of candidates for president from everyone is about the lack of quality. Why don't good people run for office any longer? If you were asked to run for office, would you? Let's take a moment and examine what someone who runs for office goes through.
1. How politicians are labeled.
Politicians are often labeled as cheats and liars. Mostly, this happens because it is perceived that people trade their votes for favors from supporters. Let's face it, this does happen, but this is not true of 90% of people who have served politically. It's the 10% who really are that give the whole profession a black eye. Even if you are perceived in the public eye as honest, people will still call you self-serving or find some way to belittle your character. If you are a decent person, do you want your good name dragged through the mud simply because of your job?
2. Party thuggery
If political parties were eliminated, it would be very difficult for people to win. Therefore, unless your name is Ross Perot, you can't win unless you join a party. Don't stray from the boat if you really want to win. You can be a pro-choice Republican, or a pro-life Democrat, but don't let the party leadership find out. If you rock the boat too much, don't expect support from the party rank and file, you RINO or DINO-whatever.
Party leaders, like Harry Reid, for example, are, in every sense of the word, thugs. When you try to represent the best interest of your constituents, you don't want to be told by a someone who is supposed to be a peer and a equal that you have to tow the line they lay out.
3. A lack of understanding of political roles on the part of the voting public.
Most Americans are happy to blame Congress and the President for everything that goes wrong in the country. But it is much more complicated than that. Most of what effects us from day to day, actually comes from either the state legislatures or your local city council and school board. Most people don't understand why 80-90 percent of Congress win re-election even though they have a 15% approval rate. (Hint, most US House races are decided once every 10 years.) The most important race that effects your day-to-day life is your state legislator, not the President.
So you want to run for the State House? Try convincing enough people that you matter. The President in more glamorous, and gets the media coverage. But most of the laws that affect your day to day, as well as the people who draw political boundaries, your state legislator, do so in relative anonymity. The more glamorous office gets most of the credit and most of the blame. What office would you run for.
There is nothing wrong with partisanship.
4. Going under the microscope.
Nobody cares about your sex life until you run for office. Then everybody wants to know everything. Why put your family through that?
5. Combative work environment
Would you want a job where you argue with half of your co-workers every single day? How about dealing with a member of the press who disagrees with you? And then you get to go home and face your constituency. Think of your toughest day at the office. Every day is like that for a politician.
6. The Ideal Candidate
No one measures up completely to this standard. And this standard is different for different people.
7. Money
It takes a lot of money to run for office. For many, a lot of your own money, at least to begin with. You have to raise money. You have to, for most people, take a leave of absence from your regular job to get elected. Once you win, most people take a CUT in pay?
I know that I am going to get crucified for this, but yes, people in office are not getting paid enough, unless you count the notoriety that comes with political service.
Here is a good example. Let's say that you are the vice president of a medium sized corporation. This is what most Tea Party people feel would be a good qualified candidate for Congress. You would give up your pay check of 400,000 to 700,000 per year to take a job that pays 174,000 per year. Who wants to take a job that requires a 75% pay cut?
If you want better people in office, you have to be willing to pay them more, not less.
Here are my solutions for the problem.
1. We have politically correct terms for everyone else. then we should also speak in kind terms for those in office. We should encourage respectful language for everyone, including politicians.
2. While I am not for term limits for office, I am for making rules that ensure that every senator and every house member are equal,
3. School house rock did a good job of letting us know how the national government works. We need more education of how state, county and city government works. State representatives and senators should be better known than most are.
4. Media outlets that present hearsay as news should be banned from access to those running for office. You should be required to prove what you report. Media should lead the way when it comes to respectful language and speech.
5. Family members are off limits.
6. Pay for members of congress, 75% of the average of your last five reported tax returns. No more, no less. If you want a raise, leave congress for at least 5 years and earn more money than you did in your job prior to running for office. For President, 85%. Pension is 50%.
Let me finish this post with one final thought. A boxer doesn't step into the ring without expecting to get punched by his opponent. However, it's not an anything goes proposition. It shouldn't be that way for politicians either.
1. How politicians are labeled.
Politicians are often labeled as cheats and liars. Mostly, this happens because it is perceived that people trade their votes for favors from supporters. Let's face it, this does happen, but this is not true of 90% of people who have served politically. It's the 10% who really are that give the whole profession a black eye. Even if you are perceived in the public eye as honest, people will still call you self-serving or find some way to belittle your character. If you are a decent person, do you want your good name dragged through the mud simply because of your job?
2. Party thuggery
If political parties were eliminated, it would be very difficult for people to win. Therefore, unless your name is Ross Perot, you can't win unless you join a party. Don't stray from the boat if you really want to win. You can be a pro-choice Republican, or a pro-life Democrat, but don't let the party leadership find out. If you rock the boat too much, don't expect support from the party rank and file, you RINO or DINO-whatever.
Party leaders, like Harry Reid, for example, are, in every sense of the word, thugs. When you try to represent the best interest of your constituents, you don't want to be told by a someone who is supposed to be a peer and a equal that you have to tow the line they lay out.
3. A lack of understanding of political roles on the part of the voting public.
Most Americans are happy to blame Congress and the President for everything that goes wrong in the country. But it is much more complicated than that. Most of what effects us from day to day, actually comes from either the state legislatures or your local city council and school board. Most people don't understand why 80-90 percent of Congress win re-election even though they have a 15% approval rate. (Hint, most US House races are decided once every 10 years.) The most important race that effects your day-to-day life is your state legislator, not the President.
So you want to run for the State House? Try convincing enough people that you matter. The President in more glamorous, and gets the media coverage. But most of the laws that affect your day to day, as well as the people who draw political boundaries, your state legislator, do so in relative anonymity. The more glamorous office gets most of the credit and most of the blame. What office would you run for.
There is nothing wrong with partisanship.
4. Going under the microscope.
Nobody cares about your sex life until you run for office. Then everybody wants to know everything. Why put your family through that?
5. Combative work environment
Would you want a job where you argue with half of your co-workers every single day? How about dealing with a member of the press who disagrees with you? And then you get to go home and face your constituency. Think of your toughest day at the office. Every day is like that for a politician.
6. The Ideal Candidate
No one measures up completely to this standard. And this standard is different for different people.
7. Money
It takes a lot of money to run for office. For many, a lot of your own money, at least to begin with. You have to raise money. You have to, for most people, take a leave of absence from your regular job to get elected. Once you win, most people take a CUT in pay?
I know that I am going to get crucified for this, but yes, people in office are not getting paid enough, unless you count the notoriety that comes with political service.
Here is a good example. Let's say that you are the vice president of a medium sized corporation. This is what most Tea Party people feel would be a good qualified candidate for Congress. You would give up your pay check of 400,000 to 700,000 per year to take a job that pays 174,000 per year. Who wants to take a job that requires a 75% pay cut?
If you want better people in office, you have to be willing to pay them more, not less.
Here are my solutions for the problem.
1. We have politically correct terms for everyone else. then we should also speak in kind terms for those in office. We should encourage respectful language for everyone, including politicians.
2. While I am not for term limits for office, I am for making rules that ensure that every senator and every house member are equal,
3. School house rock did a good job of letting us know how the national government works. We need more education of how state, county and city government works. State representatives and senators should be better known than most are.
4. Media outlets that present hearsay as news should be banned from access to those running for office. You should be required to prove what you report. Media should lead the way when it comes to respectful language and speech.
5. Family members are off limits.
6. Pay for members of congress, 75% of the average of your last five reported tax returns. No more, no less. If you want a raise, leave congress for at least 5 years and earn more money than you did in your job prior to running for office. For President, 85%. Pension is 50%.
Let me finish this post with one final thought. A boxer doesn't step into the ring without expecting to get punched by his opponent. However, it's not an anything goes proposition. It shouldn't be that way for politicians either.
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