How would YOU reform the government?

There will be a none and an other option with a line. I just feel that if people are forced to vote they'll take more of an interest in politics which is something this country needs to do.

edit: I should also mention something else I'll pass.

• To vote citizens must present a government authorized ID at the polling location. This ID will be granted to the citizen upon his or her 16th birthday and will contain a microchip. This chip will contain information such as their medical history and whether or not they're licensed to drive a car. It will also contain their criminal record and voter status. The ID will be verified with a thumbprint.

edited 11th Aug '12 6:44:26 PM by Kostya

Disagree there. People should vote. No question. If a small fine will make them do so then fine with me. Unless you are dying or incapacitated you have no excuse for not doing so.

edited 11th Aug '12 6:24:01 PM by EveXOXO

I don't like the microchip idea... I'm not keen on such government interference on you. And voter ID laws get disenfranchisement problems, so I Ds should be directly issued at the time of vote registrations for free.

Now using Trivialis handle.

I forgot to mention it will be free. Basically you go to your local federal courthouse or other such location upon turning 16. They'll issue you an ID and register you for a driving test if you desire one. While there you can also register to vote.

Note: I changed it to 16 because I remembered that was one of my reforms. The voting age is going to be lowered to 16.

edit: Maybe I said it wrong but it's just a way for the card to store the various information on you that it needs. I feel it would lead to a more efficient system than having to carry around various I Ds like driver's licenses and medical I Ds and such and would help reduce voter fraud without laws being passed that could disenfranchise people.

edited 11th Aug '12 6:46:03 PM by Kostya

I hear you on the microchipping (has anyone proposed that though?). Too 1984ish for my tastes.

ETA—-why do you think 16 year olds should be able to vote? Genuine question and no snark intended.

edited 11th Aug '12 6:46:06 PM by EveXOXO

Most 16 year olds have a job in my experience which means they pay taxes of some kind. I feel if they are getting taxed they should have the right to vote. I don't put it lower than 16 because most people are in high school by then and are thinking about career plans so I think they've matured enough to have a voice in how this nation is run.

edit: I suppose I should clarify that the microchips will not be used to obtain GPS data or some such. It will just be a way of keeping all the data a citizen should need in a small object that can be used to easily verify their identity.

edited 11th Aug '12 6:51:25 PM by Kostya

Makes sense.

I don't know about you but I am for bringing the drinking age back down to 18. If you can vote, drive, get married, join the military and go to jail then I think you can have a beer if you want.

I also want to lower the drinking age and pass a few other laws but they're not really government reform which makes them off topic.

edit: I'd also make voting day a national holiday. All businesses would be forced to shut down except for those that are required such as hospitals, police stations, fire departments, etc.

Those employed at those places will be given a chance to vote within those facilities. If their job prevents them from taking the time to vote their fine will be waived.

edit 2: Based on a suggestion I received I have decided that voting for public officials will be conducted on a Friday and the following weekend. That Friday would still be a national holiday and all businesses that need to stay open such as Hospitals must give their employees at least one day off during that period to allow them to vote.

edited 11th Aug '12 7:10:30 PM by Kostya

I think you should start a new thread then cause I want to see what you have to say.

Do we need voting to occur in only one day? It might be better to have 2-3.

Now using Trivialis handle.

I honestly think 1 day is good enough as long as absentee votes are handled correctly in all possible ways.

Point. I suppose we could move voting day to Friday and give everybody a three day weekend to vote. I edited my post accordingly.

I'd rather not but I suppose I will mention one specific thing I feel adamant about since it can apply to elections.

• Any agency that uses the radio, newspaper, or TV as its primary medium must not lie or willingly distort facts pertaining to the government or else they will face a fine. Facts such as predictions for the budget or deficit based on various reforms or bills are defined as projections by recognized non-partisan sources such as the Congressional Budget Office and Tax Policy Center. If a news outlet is accused of not meeting these criteria it will be investigated by the FCC. Upon being guilty several things will be assessed.
  • If the agency is found to have intentionally lied or distorted facts in any manner they will be fined. Three offenses in this manner will cause them to lose their license.
  • If the agency is found to have unintentionally lied due to not understanding something or being misinformed they must either publish or issue a verbal retraction of their claim and correct themselves.
• The independent non-partisan sources that will be used as the basis for facts will be overseen to ensure they retain their non-partisan status and do not intentionally lie in any fashion.

I freely admit this one will be a pain to enforce and will probably have to be changed heavily but I feel it's a good base and should cut out a lot of the bullshit "news" that airs around election time.

edited 11th Aug '12 7:10:50 PM by Kostya

Idea: All non-essential government programs are funded through Kickstarter (or a government-run equivalent). You want fusion power, then vote with your dollars!

If that seems too extreme to you, let the government provide matching funds for projects deemed high-priority.

<><

Heres an Idea- a portion of everyone's taxes is theirs to do with what they please(of course, some has to be given to the government directly), maybe a portion of a percent. that money can be distributed to a number of government supported works.

If nothing else, it'd help nasa!

BACK TO THE MOON, BITCHES!!!

I'm baaaaaaack

YES!

<><

I mean really. If they had 60's level funding still, we could have a freaking MOON BASE BY NOW. And Not even an international one like the space station *

, One built in the shape of an giant eagle JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT!

I'm baaaaaaack

I bet if we agreed to include a massive flat-screen TV so large as to be visible from earth we could get corporate sponsors to cover like 60% of the cost even before the crowdfunding kicked in.

<><

yes!

Just don't let fox sponser it!

I'm baaaaaaack

I like the idea of choosing where parts of your taxes go. Obviously these things would need more than that but it's a start. You could also have some control over where they can't go.

Well, I think what should happen is that the government has to set it's budget BEFORE the public gets to choose where it's money goes. that way they cant just balance it out. I mean, they'll try of course, but they wont be able too fully.

I'm baaaaaaack

Honestly, I think the 'average human' is already hardly qualified to vote, so I wouldn't trust them with power of budgets.

it'd be only a small percentage. probably not even that. maybe a thousand dollars or so each...

running quick numbers, that adds up to about 2 billion dollars for the whole country. that might be a bit TOO much control...maybe 500 based off minimum wage.

I'm baaaaaaack

I honestly like that idea but I don't think it will ever happen. Mainly I am worried about the fact there is such a general hatred towards the poor at the moment that there may not be enough tax money voluntarily being given to social programs.

Not sure if this is okay to post, but the Philippines under Duterte wants to change it from a national to a federal government to correct the injustices done (e.g. Metro Manila is where the jobs are and a lot of people go there and those who don't get it are homeless).

Some sectors of the public/government aren't warming up on it.

https://postimg.org/image/ej31jc1o3/

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

When they say "Federal Government", what exactly what do they mean?

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."