My suggestions for fixing the problems of our country:

Disclaimer: Some people may find these suggestions offensive. Suck it up. It’s my opinion, not yours. Mere suggestions is all they are. Also, I apologize for any repetition of suggestions I may have posted already.

1.      Have registered voters vote once per month on every proposed federal, state, and local law. This accomplishes several things: prevents corporate lobbyists from ‘buying’ officials to pass or fail a law; makes our country truly a government “of, for, & by” the people. All we really would need our representatives for is to propose and write the laws. It will also be a HUGE wake up call to the citizenry of these fine states of America because it will put much of the responsibility back on our shoulders, where it belongs. As voters, we will be forced to become well versed in reading, critical thinking, source evaluation, and in our civic duties and all that those entail including our responsibilities as well as our freedoms.

2.      If #1 is put into place, then pay these representatives a fair wage with the same health care benefits the rest of the nation gets, with a reasonable retirement package. None of this “for life” crap. When a minimum wage worker who has worked their entire lives at a fast food chain gets these kinds of retirement packages, then our elected officials can have it. Make them save, struggle, invest (gain or loss) like the rest of us.

3.      If any elected official is arrested and convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to any charge other than a misdemeanor, fire their asses. This is what usually happens to regular civilian workers. Why should elected officials be any different? If one (or more) is fired, then whoever was ‘runner up’ is given the opportunity to assume the office. If that person cannot or will not for whatever reason, then allow one week (7 days) for another candidate to announce his/her willingness (this is an absolute deadline) and hold a vote at the next regular voting time (see #1), unless the termination occurs within 14 days of the regular voting time in which case the election would be held at the next month’s regular voting time.

4.      Legalize drugs. Yes. I am NOT condoning the use or distribution. However, legalizing drugs would solve several problems: prostitution, some domestic assaults, and if they were legalized and monitored like many OTC and Rx meds, alcohol, & tobacco there would be more control over it. Also, tax the hell out of all of them! We do it for tobacco, alcohol, vehicles, any number of things. The taxes collected go to fund things such as education, low-income housing & assistance programs, mental health programs, and yes, even drug rehabilitiation. If states (and many do) can offer free nicotine patches, lozenges, and/or Chantix to people who want to quit smoking and have it actually help, then they can do something similar with drugs and drug rehabilitation.

5.      For that matter, legalize prostitution. Mandate monthly or weekly health checks. Make prostitutes carry current licenses and identification of said health checks. If it’s a legal occupation, then they can and should have to pay taxes from their wages.

6.      Prisoners on death row: once all of the appeals have run out, provide them with an option to do good for others and volunteer to participate in medical/drug research for cures, treatments, and such for diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease…the list is endless. This is a choice for them, not a demand. And they only get one chance to sign up. If they say no the first time, no taking it back at the last minute. They can even be reimbursed similar to “normal” citizens…only whatever they would have been compensated goes to crime victims organizations and funds. Or, better yet, it gets divided up between things like that and law enforcement agencies, which are always overworked, underpaid, and certainly underappreciated.

7.      Make executions live, pay-per-view events. No, I’m not kidding. If death row inmates choose not to participate in medical research, then the victim’s family (families) should be able to authorize the televising of the convicted’s execution. Again, these funds could be divided between the victim(s) families, crime victims funds/organizations, and law enforcement of whatever state is holding the execution. People would pay to see this. I’m not necessarily saying I would or would not, but I know people would love to watch. Why? Well, for the same reason shows like Jerry Springer’s old talk show lasted so long…we love the morbid, sick, and twisted. If the media is going to play on our thirst for long-distance dirty laundry (i.e.- the Simpson trial & others), then maybe it’s time to make it count. Obviously, just knowing execution is a real possibility in some states isn’t the deterrent it was meant to be. Why? Again, it’s one of those psychological long distance things – ‘it’ll never happen to me, even though I know it happens’. Just like ‘oh, the neighbor down the street is so good with kids and does so much for the community, I can’t believe he/she molested a (my) child!’

8.      No one graduates any kind of high school (public or private) without having passed with at least a 90% overall grade ‘real living’ course. This course will include all of the following: creating a budget; learning how to balance checkbooks/debit accounts; how to create a savings account and maintain it; basic investment knowledge; learning about credit cards (the good, the bad, and the ugly); how to create a weekly/monthly menu and shop for it; how to maintain important vital records at home or other areas; how to schedule appointments of all kinds and maintain a working calendar; how to do dishes by hand as well as a dishwasher; how to sort, wash, dry (both machine and line-dry), and fold all forms of laundry; how to sew a button, mend a hem, and repair small tears or snags; how to cook several basic meals (pre-packaged and from scratch) – including boiling eggs, using both charcoal and gas grills, and baking items such as cakes; basic first aid (washing, antiseptic sprays/ointments, bandaging) and what constitutes a real emergency and what may not; job search preparation including resume writing, interviewing techniques, employment contract reading & comprehension, and how to search for jobs in the many areas now available; civic duties such as how to register to vote, how to find and follow proper channels for various complaint procedures; how to read a lease for an apartment, home, automobile; and finally Netiquette a.k.a how to properly respond to emails, the difference between personal, informal, and formal communications, internet safety for themselves and family members. Why do I say this? Because too many families, schools, and the general public are allowing these things to slide. We expect parents to do it. Parents, for many reasons, may not be doing it. We also just seem to expect kids to pick it up through observation, osmosis, or some such. It simply doesn’t work the way it’s been being done lately. These are basic living skills and too many students entering college today honestly have no idea how to clean the toilet, much less make and maintain a household budget for themselves (or their families once they start one of their own).

9.      Drop the life terms for Supreme Court Justices. Make them elected officials as well. This goes back to several of the above suggestions, but if they were elected officials, it would waste less Congressional hours in hearings for approval, cost less money across the board, and make it easier to remove the ones I will refer to as ‘pot stirrers’ who, once they got on the bench, only want to disagree with as much as they can and try to stir up as much drama, crap, and general fuckery as possible.

10.  My final suggestion: make all elected offices for the same length of time. No more of this two years for this position, four years for that one, one year for yet another one. All of the elections for office take place on the same day, either every two or every four years. I suggest four years. If that seems like it’s too much to vote on in one sitting for your federal, state, and local government officials then make it a two day event, but keep it with the regular voting time (see #1).