Political Thoughts

Lots of people have been discussing politics lately so I figured I’d add my two cents. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

The other day while jogging I was feeling frustrated about our political situation. I asked myself why I was so frustrated and unable to come to good conclusions. I suddenly had this thought. Politics is our attempt to reconcile human ethics (everybody deserves respect, dignity, and freedom) with natural law (might makes right + land is valuable). It’s a paradox because while we’ll never fully reconcile these two, it’s our responsibility as good people to continue trying.

Capitalism is historically the best political and economic system. It has uplifted millions out of poverty and helps almost everyone wherever it is well-practiced. However, it still has major flaws. Its extreme efficiency allows its beneficiaries too much power to control the lives of employees, avoid paying their fair share of taxes, and deprive society of funds which should have trickled down under supply-side theory, but never did.

 Here are some ideas I think might help:

• Close corporate tax loopholes.
  
• Simplify the tax code to ensure all companies pay a minimum amount of tax commensurate with earnings.
  
• Take the money out of lobbying.
  
• Limit corporate stock buybacks.
  
• Mandatory severance packages for all full-time employees.
  
• Mandatory equity grants for all FTEs at publicly traded companies. (Actors shouldn’t be the only people receiving residuals.)
  
• Every indoor facility where employees work must have heating and air conditioning.
  
• Abolish federal and state income tax for all households making under $50,000 per year. (97% of IRS tax revenue comes from earners above this level so it’s a no-brainer.)
  
• Build safe bike trails (away from car lanes) in every major city and county.
  
• Every road, airport, highway, bridge, tunnel, seaport, sewer system, and building in the country should be repaired or improved. There should not be a single blade of grass out of place in this country as long as there are people unemployed.
  
• Improve “bad”/dangerous neighborhoods. Facilitate affordable straw bale housing so everyone has a decent place to live.
  
• Mandatory jiu-jitsu self-defense training for all school students through blue-belt level.
  
• Avoid dangerous political philosophies such as collectivism, group identity, and Marxism. The proper level of analysis is at the individual level – NOT the group level. Over 100 million people died during the 20th century due to these philosophies. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
  
• Mandatory military service and gun training for all US citizens of a certain age range. (like in Switzerland)
  
• Legalize/decriminalize marijuana, psychedelics, and sex work. More dangerous drugs should be handled through the health system, not the legal system.
  
• Eliminate trade with foreign countries which don’t pay a viable minimum wage and offer good working conditions. Our lifestyle shouldn’t be predicated on people in foreign countries earning only $300 per month.
  
• Bring back “Made in the USA”.
  
• An auxiliary public-facing group (“social facilitators”) should assist local police with social issues and seek to avoid police involvement if appropriate. (“Twenty dollars” is not counterfeiting. Two thousand dollars is. Get people something to eat, drive people home, calm people down; “incident avoidance”.)
  
• Health insurance assistance for those who need it. Affordable/free mental health counselling.
  
• Free accredited online education system (in every subject!) through Master’s degree level.