Originally posted by TrueLies
Health Care
Taxes
Middle Americans
Upper class and Lower class
Social spending
War
Economy
What would you like to see happen in 2005? Let's keep it simple, smart....
Health Care. Institute a system of government-financed universal health care, to be financed by taxes on employers and payments by individuals. The employer taxes would be such that employers who currently pay for health care for their employees would pay new taxes in approximately the same amount.
The result would be quality healthcare for everyone, including the 40 million currently uninsured. The French currently pay about half per capita what we are paying for health care, and everyone is covered. There is no waiting list for operations and hospitalization. You can go to the doctor of your choice. You don't need a referral to see a specialist.
Taxes. Immediately cancel all Bush tax cuts and make progressive tax increases to bring back budget surpluses of $200+ billion. This will result in paying off the national debt in less than 20 years. Once the debt is paid off, the Federal Government will save the $200+ billion per year in interest payments currently being paid on the national debt. Since the budget surpluses will no longer be necessary, taxes can then be cut a total of $400+ billion per year.
Social Spending. If universal health care is instituted, Medicare and Medicaid can be immediately abolished, saving the Federal Government hundreds of billions a year. These savings can be used to put Social Security on a sound financial footing and permanently abolish poverty and homelessness in this country. There are currently 3 million homeless in this country. If you paid them $10,000 per year each, the homeless problem would be solved. Cost? $30 billion per year. But I would advocate a broader solution, a guaranteed annual income, to make sure everyone can at least afford the basics of shelter, food, and other necessities of life. I haven't done the math, but based on $30 billion to take care of 3 million homeless, I am pretty sure the total cost would be far less than the hundreds of billions currently being spent on Medicare and Medicaid.
War. Immediately withdraw all U.S. military forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. Pass a constitutional amendment forbidding the President from committing U.S. military forces to combat without a Congressional declaration of war, unless the United States, U.S. embassies, or U.S. military forces are under direct attack.
Economy. The guaranteed annual income would produce a large new source of consumer demand and a huge economic boom. Paying off the national debt would take the Federal Government out of the credit markets, tending to lower interest rates, which is good for the economy. The $400 billion tax cut after the debt is paid off would be a tax cut we could afford, unlike the irresponsible Bush tax cuts.
), and have all hospitals &
clinics owned privately whenever possible (but publicly when there's a need for it and no private organization available), but have government
regulate it for safety and ethics. (But, as always, be careful not to overregulate, either.) 
) 
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Therefore, I support the US military and the 'war on terrorism'. However, the US should not stretch its military too thin, and it should consolidate
its forces into as few bases as possible, in as few countries as possible, and bring home as much of the US military as possible when it can be done.
Self-defense is not as simple as it was back in the days of swords, horses, and boats; the fact that the US had to go to Afghanistan to attack the
group that was the ringleader of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the US illustrates this. I also think that Bush and any future US President should
choose our battles carefully -- we can't eliminate all the bad guys and rougue countries at once, but we can take them out one at a time... 
