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The #toshi2020 platform

Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
Economy:

1) Flat tax with a standard deduction tied to a percentage of the median family income. No other deductions. Same rate for corporations and individuals. Same rate for carried interest/capital gains and regular income. Simple and transparent even if it gives up some of the redistributive effect.

2) New Civilian Conservation Corps-type entity. The government will become the employer of last resort. If you can't get a job then you can get minimum wage and skills training if and only if you show up consistently, on time, and sober. Jobs would be for building hard infrastructure (e.g. bridges and highways) as well as improving and maintaining parks and open space. It's time for a new New Deal.

3) Abolish welfare. In its place establish a universal basic income program for all Americans. No means testing or anything besides providing identity and citizenship. Amount TBD but in the ballpark of $10k per working age individual, $2.5k per kid. This sounds extravagant but it'd replace all other forms of state aid.

4) Free trade is fine, but only if the agreements have protections for workers and the environment that are on par with ours, with an enforcement mechanism. We will not off-shore our external costs, but direct competition when the playing field is level is good for everyone in the long run.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
Education:

1) No vouchers as church-state separation is clearly eroded when public money goes to parochial schools. Charter schools are great, but they need to be regulated such that kids are not shortchanged. Revisit Common Core--there has to be some sort of global standard to assess kids' performance but examples seem to indicate that this is not an ideal solution as it stands. This standard should and will be dictated at the Federal level, as kids compete on a national and global scale after graduation. Growing up in a backwoods state is not an excuse for ignorance and should not be.

2) Direct research and policy resources to figuring out why cultures value education differently. Are the benefits of education just not perceivable in some communities because they're at a hand to mouth level of existence? (See basic income program above.)

3) Regulate the spigot of Federal education loans. Loans will not be disbursed if the student doesn't demonstrate that they can graduate on time and with a career path post-graduation that will let them pay off their loans in 10 years or less with a manageable debt burden. Manageable is what income based programs would take: 10 or 15% of income above poverty level for one's family size.

4) Allow refinancing of all student loans, Federal or private, to a variable rate tied to the (very cheap) Treasury bill rate for the loan's terms. Change bankruptcy law to treat student loan debt as equivalent to other unsecured debts, thereby eliminating a huge giveaway to the banking industry.

5) Expand Head Start and other early childhood education programs to have enough ECE-2/3/4 spots for all those interested. Sliding scale payments based off of family income, capped at a reasonable amount.

6) Eliminate affirmative action at all levels. Instead have supportive programs for learners at, below, and above each nominal grade level. The bar should be the same for everyone, and this should be clear.
 
Pesqueeb

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,293
16,727
Riding the baggage carousel.
Only if I get to be your running mate. Think about it.

1. Cracker white
2. Unburdened by elitist, liberal, higher education
3. Blue Collar employed
4. Somwhere in the house, I own a couple of guns.

I could make the unwashed horde run to your door. It would show you care about and can relate to the common man
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
Environment:

1) Carbon tax (a Pigovian tax) across the economy. Magnitude will be calculated to reflect the external costs of a given source of emissions.

2) Eliminate solar subsidies. Also eliminate oil and natural gas subsidies. Let them compete on their own merits once the carbon tax internalizes said external costs.

3) Invest in public infrastructure to be leased back by energy companies for energy storage and distribution so that we can take advantage of the wind resources that are located in places where not many people live.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
Pesqueeb said:
Only if I get to be your running mate. Think about it.

1. Cracker white
2. Unburdened by elitist, liberal, higher education
3. Blue Collar employed
4. Somwhere in the house, I own a couple of guns.

I could make the unwashed horde run to your door. It would show you care about and can relate to the common man
Click to expand...
It'll be like Obama/Biden all over again, only with a different shade of pigment on my part (and much less basketball skill).
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
Health:

1) Allow people to not have health insurance, if and only if they sign a waiver from EMTALA, which is the legislation that mandates they be seen in ERs regardless of ability to pay. Want out from the system? Fine, but you're truly out unless you pay to play. Otherwise allow the private insurance system to exist in its current form for those who like their coverage, but institute a nationwide Medicare-equivalent public option for those who don't opt out. Sliding scale subsidies for premiums with a gradual phaseout at about 400% of poverty level--there shouldn't be any abrupt cutoff so as to penalize those who work.

2) Re-evaluate all Social Security Disability claims. We are a nation of work, not disability. If the problem is lack of work see my CCC proposal above. If the problem is lack of healthcare, see my subsidy and public option proposals above. SSD should be for those with verifiable disabilties but should not be the source of sustenance for 10%+ of a state's population as is the case with West Virginia. This is not good for dignity, for a sense of self-worth, or for our society's productivity as a whole.

3) Stop subsidizing parking and road construction. Emphasize public transit, as one of the benefits of being on a train with other people is that you can't hide your own habits and habitus any more. Japan is a fit country in part because the vast majority of people walk or bike to train stations to get to work. There's an exercise component but there's also a component of seeing what society looks like. This is missing in our current society of garage to garage in one's private car, where incredibly unhealthy habits are enabled.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
Justice and equality:

1) Mandatory review of all police and sheriff department stop, arrest, charging, and sentencing data. If the data reveal racial or other biases then the DOJ will launch an in-depth review to determine the key issues underlying the disparity.

2) Decriminalize drug possession for all drugs. Keep dealing and trafficking illegal. Pardon all those serving sentences currently. Increase funding for addiction rehabilitation programs. The goal should be to get addicts healthy and productive, not stewing at society's expense in a jail cell. Retrospectively commute sentences of prior felony convictions for drug possession so as to expunge that from the resumes of millions of now not so young black men.

3) See CCC and guaranteed basic income programs as above.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
National Security:

1) Withdraw troops from foreign lands, regardless of whether the host country is paying for their presence indirectly.

2) Re-evaluate all current weapons programs for their utility and cost-benefit ratio. Utility to congressmen in a particular manufacturing district is not a valid criterion.

3) Stop the drone wars.

4) Stop illicit incursions into other nations' territories.

5) If regime change is desired (e.g. Assad) pursue it via the UN, not via funding erstwhile domestic-in-that-nation terrorists.

6) Mandate eVerify or whatever it's called for all employers of any size. Illicit payments outside the tax system will come with harsh punishments for the employer and employee alike. Physically securing borders is impossible (see "people flying in and overstaying visas") so make the financial incentives such that the legal path is the preferred one. There will be no deportation force, on the other hand, and police will not be enlisted as ICE agents as that is counterproductive.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
kidwoo said:
That reads how I imagine a Michael Bloomberg platform would.


Flat tax and charter schools? Oil, coal etc get their start with subsidies but no more for the new kids?



Ham sandwich please.
Click to expand...
Did you miss the carbon tax bit? That alone is a big boon (a deserved one in my opinion) for carbon-neutral technologies.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,146
13,340
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
Toshi said:
Did you miss the carbon tax bit? That alone is a big boon (a deserved one in my opinion) for carbon-neutral technologies.
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Nah, that's good! But that's not the same thing. Nor would it produce an equivalent in outcome IMO.

And even orange foolius (thank you so much for that JohnE) said some things I liked, it was the sum total that was nuts.

And another thing: 2) New Civilian Conservation Corps-type entity. The government will become the employer of last resort

That kind of thing always sounds good, but ignores quite a lot of gov't jobs. What about groups like NOAA? You really trust private industry to "competitively" conduct environmental research and run a weather forecasting operation? To handle the data they use as anything but impartial reporting? I don't. Look at some of the things that pass for 'research' now in the biotech world on campuses. Private funding alone can fuck things up.

What about the bureau of indian affairs? You want to turn that over to the private sector? Say hello to more pipelines (or windfarms) all over sacred grounds.

There are things the government does that has no place in the private sector. And these jobs exist for the sole purpose of doing it correctly, which is sometimes very different than doing them for profitability.
 
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Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
I didn't say I'd abolish those entities. This is a distinct program that wouldn't replace them--can't replace scientists with dudes building trails and digging ditches.
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
Pesqueeb said:
Only if I get to be your running mate. Think about it.

1. Cracker white
2. Unburdened by elitist, liberal, higher education
3. Blue Collar employed
4. Somwhere in the house, I own a couple of guns.

I could make the unwashed horde run to your door. It would show you care about and can relate to the common man
Click to expand...
I would vote you but have serious issues with Toshi's platform. After careful review I have discovered its composed entirely of words.
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
Toshi said:
Post #20 already has that angle covered.
Click to expand...
I only have 10 fingers and 2 of them might be thumbs so the math escapes me... otherwise I support a flat tax based on the cubic square feet of real estate and SUVs. Also based on the number of children; parents with more children should pay more tax not less. Nothing destroys the environment faster than children... so no reward for producing more than one child.
 
ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
Toshi said:
Economy:

1) Flat tax with a standard deduction tied to a percentage of the median family income. No other deductions. Same rate for corporations and individuals. Same rate for carried interest/capital gains and regular income. Simple and transparent even if it gives up some of the redistributive effect.
Click to expand...
I see the benefits of such meassure, if there was a single entity governing the world.... but I cannot see how you can keep the US as a competitive economy in this scenario.

Capital is free to roam the world, labor is not.
Investors/capital will move offshore, and unemployment would ensue.
 
johnbryanpeters

johnbryanpeters

Hero
Sep 27, 2001
36,066
16,488
Making moss sad in New Haven, Vermont
Toshi said:
Justice and equality:
...
2) Decriminalize drug possession for all drugs. Keep dealing and trafficking illegal. Pardon all those serving sentences currently. Increase funding for addiction rehabilitation programs. The goal should be to get addicts healthy and productive, not stewing at society's expense in a jail cell. Retrospectively commute sentences of prior felony convictions for drug possession so as to expunge that from the resumes of millions of now not so young black men...
Click to expand...
What about growing dope? Legal or not for non-commercial purposes?

Serial Midget said:
...flat tax based on the cubic square feet of real estate and SUVs. Also based on the number of children; parents with more children should pay more tax not less. Nothing destroys the environment faster than children... so no reward for producing more than one child.
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
Toshi said:
Education:
3) Regulate the spigot of Federal education loans. Loans will not be disbursed if the student doesn't demonstrate that they can graduate on time and with a career path post-graduation that will let them pay off their loans in 10 years or less with a manageable debt burden. Manageable is what income based programs would take: 10 or 15% of income above poverty level for one's family size.
Click to expand...
i see the student-debt problem in the US (and health costs too) as an issue rooted in the commercialization of a perfectly inelastic demand.

add easy-entry, long-term financing to perfectly inelastic demand and you get people mortgaged for life and the current quagmire with higher education in the US.

my take on the matter? European style higher education and health.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,625
12,692
In a van.... down by the river
Serial Midget said:
<snip> Also based on the number of children; parents with more children should pay more tax not less. Nothing destroys the environment faster than children... so no reward for producing more than one child.
Click to expand...
As a father of 3 children I say, "Bravo, sir!" - I wish there had been some disincentive to having children when I was... procreating. Not saying that I don't love the little bastiges, but I'd sell them for medical experiments.

:D
 
stevew

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,571
9,577
SkaredShtles said:
As a father of 3 children I say, "Bravo, sir!" - I wish there had been some disincentive to having children when I was... procreating. Not saying that I don't love the little bastiges, but I'd sell them for medical experiments.

:D
Click to expand...
don't fuck in the front hole....

 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,240
7,687
ALEXIS_DH said:
I see the benefits of such meassure, if there was a single entity governing the world.... but I cannot see how you can keep the US as a competitive economy in this scenario.

Capital is free to roam the world, labor is not.
Investors/capital will move offshore, and unemployment would ensue.
Click to expand...
Depends on the rate. Cut bloated defense enough and the rate would be manageable, and there certainly are perks to having a simple and straightforward system.
 
Pesqueeb

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,293
16,727
Riding the baggage carousel.
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