We have a communication gap between the left and the right. We need to get on message that government is a good thing in people's lives and it makes a difference in our lives each and every day. What may be surprising to some is just how positive a message it could be. Maybe a civics lesson refresher is required for folks to remind them of what government does for them and how it benefits them in ways that they many of us have completely forgotten.
To put it simply, we're all on the government teat and we'd be a damn sight worse off if we weren't.
Here is where I want to remind folks that nothing is free and that in our way, we have all paid for each other's "free ride". I also want to remind folks that when they argue with their conservative friends, just how good we have it, but also offer up some possible ideas for change that would serve as the challenge that our nation needs in order to restore our own national self image and return America to a place where tools, goods and ideas are fostered, nurtured and allowed to thrive once again.
Taxes - taxes are used for the following:
http://www.cbpp.org/...
or for a breakdown that you can find more relevant, perhaps this link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
so we can thank our taxes for
- the roads you drive on
- the planes and airports that you use
- the post office
- standards for food safety
- standards for drug safety
- the national defense
- the cleanliness of the environment that we live in
- the national park service
- The justice system
- The education of our people
feel free to pile on with your own favorites
that's just off the top of my head, have people actually forgotten what in the hell the government actually does? For the benefit of all its citizens, maybe they simply need to be reminded of it from time to time.
Educataion - Maybe we need to scrap the old agricultural system of the three month long summer holiday. Perhaps we need to model our new system like that of Japan, where school is year round, but with three or four breaks of about two to three weeks each, to allow vacations and family time off. Stagger the academic tracks if needs be, i.e. primary school times off are different than secondary schools, it makes little sense for our educational system to only be active 75% of the time. The biggest reason for moving to year round schooling, overcrowding, more students can be accomodated this way. I would also advocate having kids in school longer, move it to 210 to 240 days from the standard 180. Is it tougher on parents and kids and teachers, yup. Will our kids have a better opportunity to be able to compete in the global marketplace, yup.
http://www.emorywheel.com/...
http://www.keyframe5.com/...
It may not be the answer for every educational issue but something has to be done to allow us to face/compete in this brave new world.
Social Security - is actually solvent until 2037, it's government sponsored retirement that every working citizen has paid into. It's not as much of a tax as it is a retirement account. It doesn't need to be tampered with other than to possibly have an adjustment to possibly introduce a sliding scale for higher incomes to have a larger percentage withdrawn.
http://deanesmay.com/...
and my apologies if it sounds like a tax the rich is the only answer to our financial problems, because it isn't, but not taxing them sure as hell hasn't helped out the rest of us in the "trickle down versus pissed on" scanario.
http://www.ohio.com/...
Infrastructure - Folks need to be sent a reminder that huge public works pay huge public dividends. The Interstate Highway System are indeed your tax dollars at work. Airports and airlines, all get federal subsidies, airports are not privately owned and managed. these things operate on a "net loss" but obviously they benefit all that use them. The same goes for the energy that we use, who set those utilities up? Who mandated that all of the country should have access to all of the benefits that electricty brings us? None of this stuff is free, but we share the load.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/...
Makes me wish for the implementation of HSR (High Speed Rail) if for no other reason than to lessen the congestion at the airports and the highways. I could see a system that connects the eastern and western seaboards. I could even see one that connects the midwest and the bible belt. It could be used for freight and tourism and setting up a country wide network, would be a civil engineering project that would take decades and employ tens of thousands of folks and give us yet more choices and options.
http://www.fra.dot.gov/...
http://www.ushsr.com/...
Thanks for your time, I needed to write this to remind myself on how lucky we are to have what we have and the ability and fortitude to change things for the common good.