25 Doctrines for a Better Society

1. Public schools will be funded at the state level rather than the local area. Rich areas and poor areas will not have different qualities of education. Public schools will be funded at the expense of the whole public, sending kids to private schools or not having kids don’t provide an option to opt out of paying for the education of the general public. An educated public benefits everyone.
    
2. Public servants in the field (teachers, firefighters, police, soldiers) will be paid more. Administrators will only be paid more based on their years in the field.
    
3. Politicians will be paid the median wage of the area they represent.
    
4. Property taxes and sales taxes will be repealed, to be replaced with a more progressive income tax (such as nobody pays any tax on the first $25k they earn and everyone pays 50% on everything over $450 they earn, with varying tax brackets in-between). Capital gains will be treated the same as regular income. No cap on security tax. I don’t believe on being taxed both when you earn money and when you spend it. I also don’t like that you can lose your property just because you fail to pay a never-ending tax on it. Inherited wealth and land is treated as income (with an exemption on the first $100-500k of it).
    
5. All bacon shall be crispy, not limp or burnt.
    
6. Student loan rate will be 0.1%. Public colleges will be free for students who maintain a B average or higher.
    
7. Blue laws will be ruled unconstitutional.
    
8. Businesses will be able to deduct double the amount of a worker’s salary on salaries up to $100k from taxable profits. This will encourage higher salaries and the put the money in the hands of the people rather than government. This will apply to employees who are US citizens or those with work Visas.
    
9. A nation with no poverty is a nation with less crime.
    
10. The original, theatrical versions of Star Wars, with only cleaned up original special effects, will always be available for sale on whatever highest definition format is available.
     
11. There will be no law barring consensual activity between adults. We can discuss the resurgence of pistol duels later.
     
12. Protect the environment and inspect our food. We need an FDA and EPA. Though, people should be able to take unapproved, experimental drugs if they really want.
     
13. Legalize all drugs. However, only licensed dealers and suppliers can provide them. Cut out the murdering drug lords and terrorist profits from the drug trade. Advertising recreational drugs will be illegal, but businesses that sell them will be taxed to fund programs to help addicts.
     
14. Background checks required for all gun transfers/sales and ammo. No exceptions. For ammo, background checks need only be done once a year. No other restrictions on firearms but keep the Class 3 license requirement for certain weapons. Work to get states to agree on one good training requirement for concealed carry permits so that it makes sense for one’s license to work in all states. That will include: proficiency with a firearm, knowledge of safety, and knowledge of related laws.
     
15. Minimum wage will provide an actual livable wage if working 40 hours. Currently, that should be about $14/hour. All jobs will have paid sick, maternity, and paternity leave.
     
16. Election days will be national holidays so that everyone can participate. Transportation will be made available to polling locations for those who have need of it.
     
17. Abolish the Electoral College. Move power from the states to the people.
     
18. Only individuals can make campaign contributions with a limit of $10k per person. No other entities may do so (be they businesses, special interest groups, or labor unions).
     
19. Parties must hold their own private primaries. Elections will require the winner to secure 50% of the vote. If none get that, a runoff election will be held between the two options that got the highest votes. This will enable third parties to better compete.
     
20. Pizza Hut will sell in the US every type of pizza they sell across the world because some of those pizzas are awesome.
     
21. Any war on foreign soil mandates an increase in taxes (minimum 2%) on the people to pay for it. Politicians better think twice before engaging in war and make damn sure it’s worth it. Eliminate the draft. We haven’t used it when needed recently anyway. A volunteer army is sufficient. A nation of cowards doesn’t deserve to survive.
     
22. Expedite our immigration process. If people are being transported in barrels in trucks driven by gangsters over here, our immigration process must be pretty terrible. Make those already here and working, going to school, or in the military into citizens if violating immigration law was their only crime. Also, military service guarantees citizenship.
     
23. If the government is ever under budget (ha), a refund will be issued to taxpayers in their tax returns.
     
24. Major cities will have high-speed mass transit between them.
     
25. The government safety net will include food, housing, and health care for all citizens. A society must be judged by how it treats its least.
     
26. Abolish "for profit" privatized prisons.