Another mid term election in the USA is only a few days away. Politicians are racing against time to promise wonderful things to convince voters to support them. In a town hall format, for example, each person might have less than a minute to make a brief statement and ask a related question to the Congressional candidate. I encourage everyone to participate in the democratic process, because what alternative is there really? If you do not lift your voice in support of ideals you value, then other people will be happy to drown out your silence with demands of their own. However, it would be good if everyone participates with an open mind and an inquisitive approach that questions how politicians will deliver on their promises, and what politicians will do to help clean up the mess made by politicians. In an effort to be helpful, I offer these questions for voters to ask politicians. I anticipate that readers can contribute more questions that should be asked, and I offer thanks to those who already have. These questions are intended to be more than an effort to educate the politicians, but also to very specifically pin slippery and evasive politicians down to real and honest viewpoints which will not be easily ignored or conveniently reversed after the election. Since there is no reason to expect the brain dead and otherwise complicit media to ask any serious questions, that effort must be led by citizens at every opportunity. If you read this set of questions too late to ask a politician before the November 4 election this year, save the questions until 2016. I have little doubt that the problems we face then will include the same ones as now, though they will be worse in magnitude because of the added delay in working to implement a real solution to the serious issues that America faces.
1) Will you pledge to read the Constitution in detail, and follow the Constitution meticulously in any bill that you support or vote for?
2) America has lost too many jobs because the failed policy of free trade allowed foreign nations with low labor costs to take American manufacturing jobs. Do you support returning jobs to the USA through fair trade (which requires an equitable balance of trade with each nation)?
My viewpoint:
Returning jobs to America should be a primary mission for all politicians. That objective must be accomplished by moving away from the disaster called “Free Trade”, and replacing it with Fair Trade. Free Trade may sound good to those who want a one world government, and it did result in cheaper imports, but it has cost the USA too many jobs. As USA industries relocated to Asia where people work for much lower wages than in America, our citizens are left with only a small fraction of the job opportunities we once had here. It is essential for Congress to impose sufficient tariffs on the imports from each nation to insure that we have an equitable balance of payments with that nation. No doubt, all prices would rise substantially when we implement the essential fair trade approach that America needs, but jobs that left the USA to nations where people work for much lower wages would return to America, and USA workers would then have a level playing field on which to compete based on quality and innovation, rather than only on very low wages. National strength flows from production, and fair trade would return production to the USA. More information is available at this link:
The half percent solution to the USA financial problems
3) America can never repay the 17 Trillion dollar national debt, and cannot even reduce spending enough to avoid borrowing more every year. Further increasing the national debt is theft from whoever is gullible enough to loan new money to the USA. Do you pledge to support efforts to stop the theft of any new funds by balancing the Federal budget every year?
My viewpoint:
It will be no surprise to most readers that the USA is financially bankrupt. Anyone who does not understand that fact needs only to ask when the USA budget will eliminate all dollar deficits and return to an extended period of dollar surpluses that would be needed to pay down the USA dollar debts. Never is the only correct answer, and bankrupt is the inescapable conclusion. The USA has taken on massive debts that no one can imagine will ever be repaid. Government income is much less than the annual expenditures, so the debts continue to grow without limit. USA states and cities are at the financial breaking point due to overwhelming financial obligations at the same time that tax receipts are much less than are necessary to fund excessive levels of government spending. Individuals are burdened by inadequate job opportunities, and increasing numbers of people are becoming permanently dependent on subsidies from the bankrupt and deep in debt government. More information is available at the link in #2 above.
4) Congress is expected to work within a balanced budget (just like all USA citizens) and to limit spending to the funds that are available, without borrowing additional funds to spend while ignoring the fact that none of the borrowed funds will ever be repaid. Will you pledge to refuse to spend more money than the USA has to spend, and work to limit USA spending to funds it actually has without adding more debt that will never be repaid?
My viewpoint:
Many people have looked at where the USA is and where its going, and have concluded that there no longer exists a solution to the financial problems. The pessimists conclude that it is impossible for the USA to kick its addiction to the free money it receives by “borrowing” as much as it needs, and promising to repay loans, but knowing full well that all debts will be defaulted upon because it is impossible to ever repay any of the loans. The pessimists also point to politicians since 1981 who never even talk about balancing budgets, but who focus instead only on moderating the rate of increase in USA debts. Now that the debt levels are so high that it is impossible to ever consider repaying those debts, pessimists are sure that politicians will continue to push the USA higher up the debt mountain until the economy eventually falls abruptly into the default cavern below. The commentary in the link in #2 outlines a more optimistic possibility in which a planned and orderly transition to use of silver and gold as money can be implemented before a dollar crisis destroys the dollar as money. More information is available at the link in #2 above.
5) The USA has taken on global responsibilities to act as world policemen, even though the infrastructure within the USA is badly deteriorating and the financial strength of the USA is eroding with each additional dollar of increased debt. Will you pledge to reallocate needed USA resources to improving the internal strength of the USA, and to reduce the scope of the American empire to one that can be supported with only the remaining available resources?
My viewpoint:
America must embrace the philosophy to limit the role of government to enforcement of responsibilities. One of the reasons that government finds it difficult to stop the theft! is that government seems to think that it has a mission to do everything that anyone wants done. To succeed with a stop the theft! approach, We the People must demand that government operate only within the framework of its available income, and that it does only the things that are necessary to enforce responsibilities. Government does not have the resources needed to police the world or to interfere with foreign governments, so it is necessary to restrict the military mandate to only protection of the USA borders and coastal waters. Phase out and eliminate government sponsored “insurance” (including Flood, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, health, and programs of other government agencies that do not enforce responsibilities, and could easily be performed by private businesses). Only by limiting the scope (and power, and expense) of government to the essentials which are required to enforce responsibilities can we hope to stop the theft! More information is available at the link in #2 above.
6) The intent of the Constitution in setting up two houses of Congress was to require those bodies to compromise as needed to reach a consensus about the best action to take on a Congressional action, but in recent years, the two houses controlled by different political parties resort to political power and brinksmanship to force one sides’ view onto the other side. Do you pledge to support efforts to modify the Congressional rules as needed to promote cooperation and compromise within and between the houses of Congress to insure the American people get the thoughtful and cooperative government they are promised?
7) In recent years, the amount of money spent by candidates for Congressional seats has exploded into unimaginable sums. That is clear evidence that the victor of the election sees too much value (power, rewards from lobbyists, and a bright future of a rich retirement from a long career in the government) in winning. Will you pledge to support efforts to limit the rewards lobbyists and their corporate sponsors can provide to only giving information to members of Congress? Will you also pledge to support efforts to limit the terms each person may hold, so Congressional seats will revert to the intended honorable public service instead of the current financial viewpoints based on a projected career and lucrative retirement?
8) In many ways, both large and small, Congress exempts itself from requirements imposed on citizens, or awards itself with benefits that its bosses (the people who pay taxes) cannot get. Will you pledge to limit your support for passage of laws to only those that apply to the people and to members of Congress equally?
9) Some politicians in the past have promised anything to get votes, but then simply ignored those promises after winning an election. Will you agree to be held personally liable for failure to follow through after winning an election on promises you made during the campaign?
My viewpoint:
Voters need to have protections to empower their political will. The first is an obvious extension of common law. When any person makes a promise to do a specific thing in exchange for something of value, that promise becomes a contract enforceable by law. A politician's promise, in an attempt to gain valuable votes, should be considered to be a binding verbal contract with the voters. Just as with any other contract, politicians who later break their promises should be subject to legal action to compensate the voters for damages caused by the broken promises. Specifically, voters should be empowered to file class action lawsuits against any politician, including candidates for the Presidency, who, after winning an election, break promises made during the campaign. No politician is forced to make promises before an election that cannot be kept. If a politician chooses to make specific promises to get votes, and then does not give the voters what was promised, then that politician deserves to be personally subjected to a class action lawsuit for abrogation of a verbal contract with the public trust. More information is available at this link:
10) The ACA (“affectionately” known as Obamacare) is an immense step toward permanently positioning the USA further into Socialism. Do you agree that it is better to provide jobs and real opportunities for people, than to give them pacifier benefits at the expense of the people who do have jobs? Will you pledge to work for the repeal of ACA, and to motivate people to exercise personal responsibility in providing their own insurance needs instead of asking for handouts?
My viewpoint:
Government cannot “give” anything to anyone because government has nothing to give. Instead, government takes by force from other people, wastes a significant portion through inefficiency or fraud, and then redistributes the remainder. The new vision here is that government should return to the basics of doing only those actions which are required to enforce responsibilities. Only by limiting the scope (and power, and expense) of government to the essentials which are required to enforce responsibilities can we hope to stop the theft! More information is available at this link:
11) Nancy Pelosi is infamous for saying that the complicated and huge ACA bill must be passed so we can find out what is in it. Do you support the right of the people to know in advance what is included in a bill that Congress will vote into law? Do you pledge to read (personally or your staff) every detail in a bill before you vote “Yes” on it to confirm your support for ALL of the included details?
12) Some bills voted on in Congress are so huge, complicated and convoluted that many of the unnecessary excursions or riders attached to the bill are simply boondoggles or gifts to friends or supporters, or lobby interests. Will you pledge to support any effort to streamline all bills so that they contain only clauses that are specific and necessary for the central issue of that bill, and that the bill to be voted on will specifically exclude all earmarks, or gifts, or quid pro quo payments that are unrelated to the central reason for considering the bill?
13) “Executive Orders” should be limited to providing details or guidance about current laws, but not allowed to bypass the Legislative branch to create new laws, and thereby circumvent the separation of powers carefully defined in the Constitution. Will you pledge to oppose any Executive Order that does in fact exceed the Constitutional mandate that requires laws to be enacted by the Congress?
14) The President is infamous for saying that if you like your health care plan, then you can keep it, as a way to press for passage of the ACA bill, and for delaying the full impact of the ACA until after this mid term election to avoid further damage to his Democratic supporters’ election prospects. The President has also promised to deliver a major Executive Order about the illegal immigration mess in the USA, and he used that as a selling point to the Latino community to support Democrat candidates in the election, but he offers no details about it until conveniently after the mid term election. Do you pledge to support holding government officials responsible for their statements, and personally liable for all adverse impacts on the American people when the official either changes his approach later, or refuses to provide significant details in time for voters to consider them?
15) There are news stories about West Africans being smuggled into the USA across the southern border, along with other illegal immigrants, drugs, etc. Will you pledge to restrict illegal immigration, tighten control over the USA borders, reduce the illegal drug trade into the USA, and prevent entry of diseases like Ebola?
16) Government statistics are an integral part of the government’s duty to keep citizens informed about the impact on the people due to loss of job opportunities, rising inflation, etc. Changing the definitions of work opportunities or inflation to distort the true data and protect failed government policies is a deep disservice to the American people. Senior citizens who depend on the government’s promise to properly index Social Security benefits (so they can survive the ever rising costs of necessities) is equivalent to stealing from the old and poor. Do you pledge to support efforts to restore the government data methods to compute key indexes by the same methods that were used when government promised to maintain citizens’ lifelines to survive the ill effects that flow directly from bad government policies?
17) The USA tax system is a bizarre accumulation of mountains of fragments and requirements and loop holes, so that it is virtually impossible for ordinary citizens to just compute their tax liability. The IRS has been in the news for abuses, and for refusing to provide data demanded by Congress. Taxes continue to rise because tax levels are not properly indexed to ever rising inflation. Will you pledge to work for simplifying the tax code, for limiting the abusive power of the IRS, and for properly indexing the IRS tax levels?
My viewpoint:
Income taxes and property taxes are fundamentally inequitable, and they should be eliminated. Since any reasonable approach to stop the theft! will essentially re-boot the financial system into a smaller one which can function properly again, that will also be an opportunity to realign the approach that the USA uses to raise needed funds for government operations into a fair and equitable structure. My basic cornerstones for fair and equitable are that every person should have equal rights and equal responsibilities. The government must not use force to take wealth from some individuals so that some of the loot can then be given to other individuals. On the contrary, government can and should refuse to take hard earned wealth from anyone. Instead of paying income and property taxes on wealth that has been earned or saved, individuals should be able to keep their wealth without risk of government confiscation. Instead of taking earned or saved wealth from the people who generated that wealth, government income should be derived primarily from inheritance taxes on the wealth remaining after the owners of that wealth pass away. The current system of taking wealth from workers, while allowing wealthy families to build and pass on huge amounts of wealth to children who may have not yet even been born, is clearly inequitable and unfair. While we petition our government to stop the theft! from foreigners, we should also demand that governments stop the theft! from hard working people in the USA. There is much more detail about this approach to eliminate the unfair and inequitable income and property taxes in this link:
18) There is ample evidence that USA financial markets are manipulated by various entities. Will you pledge to support efforts to restore honest markets and prevent interference by the Federal Reserve, or by the government, or by any business?
19) There has not been a believable audit of the gold in Fort Knox, or of the Federal Reserve operations, for several generations. Will you pledge to support an audit of the gold in Fort Knox, and the operations of the Federal Reserve?
20) Some USA states have made marijuana use legal, while other states and the Federal government continue to prosecute individuals for actions that would be legal in those states. Will you affirm your support for efforts to normalize laws and penalties related to marijuana use throughout the USA?
21) Education is another area of personal responsibility for each individual to be the best they can be. Do you agree that the quality of American education should be improved and that public high schools should have stricter requirements so that all graduates can read, write, and do functional mathematics? Will you pledge to encourage personal responsibility, and to press public high schools to not graduate anyone who chooses to not meet improved academic requirements?
22) The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is a federal law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress, which is tasked by the Constitution to have the authority to declare war. The WPR limits the length of time that USA armed forces can remain in a hostile area to 60 days without Congressional approval. Since passage of the WPR, Presidents have evaded the clear intent of the WPR (to limit the time that USA forces can be tasked to wage war without Congressional authorization) by simply sending informational letters to Congress and saying that each letter resets the WPR clock. Do you pledge to support efforts to clarify the language in the WPR to mean a firm timetable from the start of hostilities until the termination without Congressional authorization?
23) Police across the USA are taking more hostile actions and using more military types of enforcement units against individuals who frequently are innocent of any wrong doing. When police realize they made an error, they claim immunity from prosecution or lawsuits. Furthermore, police too often seize cash or other resources from individuals who are never charged with any crime, but the police hold those resources until the innocent individual can “prove” that his resources are free from any criminal connection. The valuables that police seize under some form of civil asset forfeiture program are then kept by the police and used for police expenses, even though the individuals may never be arrested for any crime, in a lawless process that can only be described as theft by the police. Do you pledge to support efforts to (A) hold police and their supervisors fully accountable (both personally and professionally) for any abuse they inflict on an innocent person, and (B) prevent police from seizing assets of individuals who are not charged with a related crime, and (C) require that police turn over valuables (that are legally seized from real criminals) to the State for disposition, so the police cannot simply keep and use the valuables they take from individuals?
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