Kenneth Scot Stremsky
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I am glad to be a citizen of the Republic of the United States of America. I am a creative and strategic capitalist who wants to use capitalism to help solve many problems and increase economic growth in many countries.
Male
39 years old
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire
United States
Last Login: 4/16/2009
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Kenneth Scot Stremsky's Interests
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| General | The more faith people have in their leaders and the less faith they have in themselves the less Individual Liberty, freedoms, and wealth they are likely to have. People should not trust any person 100 percent. This is especially true when dealing with government leaders. A person should not trust the person's self 100 percent. I do not trust myself or anybody else 100 percent.
I hope people will read George Washington's Farewell Address. It is one of the most amazing things ever written. He was right about political parties and many other things. www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/farewell/text.html
If the highest federal corporate tax rate is NOT greater than 15 percent, many businesses may hire more people, increase wages of many people, and increase dividends. Pension funds of government employees may do a lot better. Many businesses may have an easier time obtaining loans and investments. More innovation and manufacturing may take place in our country. There may be less need for food stamps and Medicaid.
The highest federal income tax rate for individuals should NOT be greater than 15 percent. Middle class people and wealthy people will be more likely to consume which may help create jobs in the private sector. People who are employed in the private sector are able to make mortgage payments, reduce their debts, buy things, and pay taxes to the federal government and state governments.
I have more than 11 years of part-time customer service experience in retail stores. If consumption decreases, many people who work in retail stores are likely to lose their jobs. If consumption increases, many retail stores may hire more people.
Social Security might want to buy gold, silver, and other commodities. Social Security might want to invest in small companies in many countries.
Please read STATE GOVERNMENT EXPENSES AND REVENUES. The less the federal government taxes individuals and businesses the more that state governments may tax individuals and businesses. I added to it on January 26, 2009 because of feedback I received on www.newgeography.com. I have discussed education, manufacturing, public transportation, and other topics on newgeography.com which you may read by going to www.newgeography.com/users/kenstremsky
I hope people will read
"A 545 Billion Private Stimulus Plan
Let's bring home foreign earnings without tax penalty." by Allen Sinai located at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310439653922291.html.
I agree with Allen Sinai that we should "bring home foreign earnings without tax penalty." I do NOT think it makes sense to ever tax "foreign subsidiary earnings" of US companies. We need to encourage US companies to invest in our country. The more investment in our country by companies the faster economic growth may be and the lower unemployment may be. Faster economic growth may help the federal government and state governments obtain more money from sales taxes. Faster economic growth may benefit Social Security and Medicare. Many companies may increase their dividends.
SOME QUESTIONS I HOPE PEOPLE WILL THINK ABOUT
How may we encourage savings and investments?
How may we reduce the amount of harm the federal government causes to state governments and local governments?
How may we help state governments and local governments fund their operations?
How may we improve our manufacturing base?
How may we reduce our need for foreign oil?
How may we improve k-12 educations, college educations, and graduate school educations?
I hope people will read "Free Trade Ideology And The Constitution" by Michael Doliner located at www.swans.com/library/art10/mdolin04.html
I hope people will read "Obama Has the Chance To Be Another FDR -- He Can End the Era of Marijuana Prohibition" by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman which is located at www.alternet.org/drugreporter/120365
I created http://sites.google.com/site/kenstremsky/ on January 25, 2009. I have some humor and other things on it. I may add to it.
Representatives to the United States House of Representatives and United States Senators should NOT receive pensions.
"Tainted Government
How did the Food and Drug Administration let melamine into the U.S. food supply?" by
James E. McWilliams is located at
www.slate.com/?id=2207552
I hope people will check out www.flowthefilm.com. It is an amazing documentary dealing with drinking water.
You may read about Milwaukee's Earn & Learn program which helps teenagers find jobs at www.mkedcd.org/earnlearn. Helping teenagers find jobs and improve their skills makes a lot of sense.
A Cabot Wealth Advisory e-mail dated 12/25/08 "A Dangerous Toy Story" written by Brendan Coffey who is a parent of a young child recommends people check out www.healthytoys.org and www.bodyburden.org
SOME USEFUL WEBSITES
www.cnu.org is the website for Congress for the New Urbanism. I agree with them that we need to make our cities more walker friendly. This may reduce our need for foreign oil, help make our air cleaner, and help reduce obesity.
http://static.uspirg/consumer/
http://consumerist.com
OCCUPATIONAL KNOWLEDGE INTERNATIONAL discusses reducing pollution in developing countries at www.okinternational.org/
www.joelkotkin.com discusses geography and other topics.
I have comments posted on
www.newgeography.com/users/kenstremsky
www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/kenstremsky I discuss Carter and Reagan near the bottom of the profile and you may find what I say interesting.
Union Leader website http://www.unionleader.com,
the Nashua Telegraph website http://www.nashuatelegraph.com
Whiskey & Gunpowder website http://www.whiskeyandgunpowder.com,
and the blog of http://www.robertringer.com.
If you click on my Pics, you may see interviews I did when I ran for United States Senate from New Hampshire in 2002 and my college transcript.
I graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1992 with a BA Degree in Political Science and a minor in Economics. I took geography courses at the University of New Hampshire.
If we want to increase economic growth, reduce poverty, and reduce the probability of violent crime, we need to spend more money on early childhood education and improve the way we teach children. We need to tax parents less so that they are able to spend more time with their children.
You may read about the National Head Start Association at www.nhsa.org.
I discussed my dislike for President Bush and parts of the Republican party platform when I ran for United States Senate in the Republican primary in 2002 in how to increase membership in the Republican party at www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20020721-0 If Democrats had learned from Clinton, they may have done a lot better in 2004.
You may read what I said about the military powers of Congress being greater than the military powers of the President of the United States of America at www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20070214-0
You may read an Amendment to ban the Draft at www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20070215-1
You may read about smoking bans and the role of Government at www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20070302-0
You may read about the United States Supreme Court and some other stuff at www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20070304-0
www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2007/06/17/arbitration_process_often_favors_the_house has
'Arbitration process often favors the house' by Michelle Singletary. I hope people will read the article. I do not like it when the Bill of Rights is getting attacked.
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES.
I want a Presidential primary process that increases the power of small States and makes it easier for candidates who do not have much money to run for President of the United States of America. I want it to take time for a Presidential nominee to be chosen so we get to know a candidate's negatives better and a candidate's positions on the issues better. I want there to be more time available for decent debates. A better Presidential primary process may help us get more and better Presidential candidates.
Each State should have primaries that use secret ballots that make recounts possible. Secrets ballots reduce the probability of coercion. Recounts decrease the probability of fraud. I recommend using paper ballots similar to the ballots that Manchester, New Hampshire uses that people fill in ovals that give people the ability to write in the names of candididates. The ballots are put into machines which I think are optical scanners.
New Hampshire and Iowa should have their primaries in November.
Four weeks after the New Hampshire and Iowa primaries the primaries of the 5 smallest population states should take place.
Four weeks after that the primaries of the next 5 smallest population states should take place.
Every four weeks the primaries in 5 states should take place until the primaries in 37 states have taken place.
After the primaries in 37 states have taken place, the primaries in the 13 largest states should take place.
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
I hope candidates will be able to ask each other questions, answer questions from members of the media, and others.
I hope candidates will be able to have opening statements that last up to 2 minutes. I hope candidates will be given up to 2 minutes to answer some questions.
I hope some debates will last 2 to 3 hours.
I hope some debates will not have more than 4 candidates.
| | Music | Shakira
Tchaikovsky. Very good relaxation music.
Queen
Charlotte Church
| | Movies | I have worked for a national video rental store chain for more than 9 years.
I recommend some movies at www.geocities.com/kstremsky1/movierecommendations.html | | Television | General Hospital. I have been watching General Hospital since I was a young teenager. I wonder if Ned will be a regular on the show again.
Army Wives. I like how the show has helped real Army Wives.
Jericho
Early Edition
Veronica Mars
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Kim Possible. I hope new episodes will someday be made. I hope new movies will be made. | | Books | George Washington's Farewell Address www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/farewell/text.html It is one of the most amazing things ever written. He was right about political parties and many other things.
www.bibliomania.com
Executive Qualities by
Joseph M. Fox
How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier
THE ART OF WAR by
Sun Tzu
The SECOND REVISED EDITION of STRATEGY by
B.H. Liddell Hart
THE COMING GENERATIONAL STORM
What You Need to Know about America's Economic Future by
Laurence J. Kotlikoff and
Scott Burns. The book discusses Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The books ideas dealing with Medicare and Medicaid may be very beneficial.
PROMOTING YOURSELF
52 LESSONS FOR GETTING TO THE TOP ... AND STAYING THERE by
Hal Lancaster
111 DYNAMITE WAYS TO ACE YOUR JOB INTERVIEW by
Richard Fein
Reader's Digest Penny Pincher's Almanac
2,753 surprising ideas for getting the most of your money, home, and possessions edited by
Don Earnest
THE Safe Shopper's BIBLE
A Consumer's Guide to Nontoxic Household Products, Cosmetics, and Food by
David Steinman and
Samuel S. Epstein
Clark's Big Book of Bargains by
Clark Howard
How to Sell Anything to Anybody by
Joe Girard. An amazing book dealing with selling and relationships.
THE INVISIBLE TOUCH
The Four Keys to Modern Marketing by
Harry Beckwith
The Accidental Salesperson
How to Take Control of Your Sales Career and Earn the Respect and Income You Deserve by
Chris Lytle. His short stories are awesome sales primers.
THE AUTOMATIC MILLIONAIRE
A POWERFUL ONE-STEP PLAN TO LIVE AND FINISH RICH by
David Bach
US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL
Some selling websites
www.gitomer.com
www.sellingselling.com
www.apexperformancesystems.com
www.entrepreneur.com | | Heroes | MY DAD'S MOM - She got me interested in politics and War movies
Socrates
John Locke
Princess Diana
Rosa Parks
Jesse Owens
George Washington
George Washington Carver
The following geocities.com links are not spam. I do not understand why MySpace.com says they are. They are text files that have no ads on them. I created the text files so I could discuss several great books. I highly recommend people read the books. John Locke has influenced me more than any other author. I first read John Locke when I was a teenager.
You may read what I wrote about John Locke years ago at
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/lockeone.txt
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/locketwo.txt
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/lockethree.txt
You may read what I wrote about Machiavelli years ago at
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/machiavellione.txt
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/machiavellitwo.txt
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/machiavellithree.txt
You may read what I wrote about the ART OF WAR by Sun Tzu years ago at
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/suntzuone.txt
www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/suntzutwo.txt |
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Kenneth Scot Stremsky's Details
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| Status: | Single | | Orientation: | Straight | | Zodiac Sign: | Capricorn | | Children: | Undecided | | Education: | College graduate |
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Kenneth Scot Stremsky's Schools
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EDUCATION, ENERGY, MILITARY ISSUES, TAXES, HEALTH CARE, POVERTY
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Kenneth Scot Stremsky's Blurbs |
About me:
INTRODUCTION
I have been interested in developing economy economics since I was a student at the University of New Hampshire. The less underground an economy is the more money that governments may obtain from sales taxes and income taxes. Many countries in Africa, South America, and Asia may want to adopt the recommendations I make for the United States of America.
"Hiding in the Shadows
The Growth of the Underground Economy" by Friedrich Schneider and Dominik Enste is located at www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues30/index.htm
"The Economics of Developing Nations and the Global Financial Crisis" by Vikas Shah is located at http://thoughteconomics.blogspot.com/2008/12/economics-of-developing-nations-and.html
The Great Depression would have most likely ended sooner if taxes on individuals and businesses had been significantly decreased to increase demand and Congress had negotiated trade agreements that were win for us and our trading partners.
If governments want to unleash human potential, they should stop taxing interest from savings accounts, dividends, capital gains, and estates. Individuals and businesses will have much more incentive to invest in poor parts of our country and other countries.
Long term, I am hopeful. I expect our leaders to make mistakes. I expect them to learn from some of the mistakes.
If the economies of developing countries grow a lot, they may buy a lot more of our products and services.
INFLATION, INCREASING THE POWER OF STATE LEGISLATURES, AND MANUFACTURING
The deficits may cause very high inflation which is especially bad for people on fixed incomes and people who have saved money. If the federal government is serious about creating jobs and growing the economy and wants to reduce the probability of very high inflation, it should stop taxing capital gains, interest from savings accounts, dividends, and estates. Middle class people and union members who have mutual funds would benefit from capital gains and dividends not being taxed.
The federal government should sell a lot of the land it owns to raise capital and reduce the national debt. State governments should obtain some of the money the federal government obtains from the sale of the lands.
An Amendment to the United States Constitution could be adopted that allows State governments to make gold coins and silver coins. Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution says "No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money, emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
If State governments are allowed to "coin Money" - make gold coins and silver coins, more gold and silver may be found. This may reduce the amount of harm caused by the federal government. When a currency is not backed by anything tangible, hyperinflation may result in a short period of time. That is history folks. Learn from history or suffer the consequences. State governments may want to encourage a lot more gold mining, silver mining, and other mining on land and in ocean waters. There may be a lot of minerals in ocean waters. State governments may want to look for more ways to obtain minerals from trash in existing landfills. State governments may want to do a lot more trading with foreign governments that are able to pay for things with gold, silver, and copper.
Before Amendment Seventeen was passed, State Legislatures chose United States Senators. I would like an Amendment to the United States Constitution adopted that gives each State at least 3 United States Senators and allows each State Legislature to choose at least 1 United States Senator. I would like an Amendment to the United States Constitution adopted that allows State Legislatures to repeal federal laws, federal regulations, trade agreements, and treaties. I would like an Amendment to the United States Constitution adopted that allows State Legislatures to recall (fire) their Representatives to the United States House of Representatives, their United States Senators, the President, and the Vice President.
Many businesses may want to ask for payment in gold, silver, and copper.
The federal government and State Legislatures may want to loan money to automobile companies and other manufacturing companies that make products in our country. Some of the companies could be foreign owned. SOME OF THE COMPANIES COULD BE SMALL COMPANIES. The federal government and State Legislatures may want to buy stock in many manufacturing companies that make products in our country. This may increase economic growth and per capita income over time. This may improve our ability to pay off the national debt over time. Companies that make products in our country may cause less air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution to be produced on our planet than companies that produce products in China.
UNLEASH HUMAN POTENTIAL
Think about how many fewer problems we would have if we unleash human potential. We have the ability thanks to the internet of having an education system worthy of the 21st century instead of our current one basically designed for the 18th century.
Our country and other countries need to be thinking of many different ways to use market forces to reduce poverty and increase wealth over time. Governments may cause a lot of harm to people and increase the size of their underground economies which may harm tax revenues by making activities illegal that should be legal.
SOCIETY
If you do not care what happens to other members of society, do not expect other members of society to care about what happens to you. Do not expect police protection when you are being beaten. Do not expect to be saved when your house is on fire. Do not expect people to care when you are sick or injured. If you think others should always fend for themselves, then you need to fend for yourself in all ways at all times.
If you care about others, do not expect others to care about you. There are good people who appreciate favors. There are bad people who do not appreciate favors.
I support food stamps, Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, police protection, fire protection, and many other government safety nets for national security reasons and other reasons.
Hyenas sometimes eat lions. You may be very strong and powerful. When you are alone and surrounded by hundreds of enemies, your strength and power may not matter much.
People may want to learn from the exploits of Genghis Khan.
It is not possible to prepare for every possibility. Banks fail, banks get robbed, insurance companies go out of business, fire may destroy thousands of homes, natural disasters take place, and many other things may go wrong.
Educated people realize that a lot of good and a lot of bad have been done in the name of capitalism. Some government regulation is good. Too much government regulation is often bad. If you think we should not have government regulation, do you want 5 year olds working in coal mines, water not safe to drink, food not safe to eat, and cars that often explode?
Educated people realize that there are good people and bad people in all races and all religions.
I wish more people would think logically before they write. Ignorance of logic and history is not something to be proud of.
The child who receives food stamps today may be a soldier, police officer, fire fighter, or soldier in the future. A police officer today might have never become a police officer if a parent had not been able to receive food stamp assitance or other assistance in the past. Society depends upon connections. If you want people to always fend for themselves, you should not benefit from those who have been helped directly or indirectly. A sickly child may grow up to be a great Doctor, CEO, or soldier. Brain power matters.
The more faith that people have in their leaders and the less faith they have in themselves the more likely that corruption, loss of Individual Liberty, and the loss of freedoms will take place.
Governments should care about Individual Liberty, freedoms, law & order, public safety, and national security. Individual Liberty and freedoms do not matter much if you are constantly endangered. Law & order, public safety, and national security do not matter much if you do not have Individual Liberty and freedoms.
OPPORTUNITY
A free newsletter I get has the following "Ex nihilo nihil fit" which means "from nothing nothing is produced".
My retort is simple - where ignorant people see nothing, educated people may see opportunity. The following is a version of a story I read a while ago. Two farmers are looking to buy farm land and they both see land that has rocks on it. One farmer thinks the land is worthless because the land has rocks. The other farmers realizes the land is valuable because the rocks are high quality diamonds. Problems are often opportunities. The bible story dealing with Egypt says to prepare for 7 years of famine during 7 years of feasting. Smart farmers and planners prepare for bad times in good times and prepare for good times in bad times.
A LAW THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE PASSED THAT I DOUBT WILL BE
Members of Congress for the next 5 years may not take any lobbying jobs with companies that have received bail out money.
Members of Congress may not take any campaign contributions from employees of companies that have received bail out money.
I discuss THE EQUATION and LIBERTY on the War, Liberty blog entry. If you read John Locke, you may appreciate it and other things I discuss more. You may also better appreciate my discussion of the issues more if you have read The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Machiavelli's Discourses, The Federalist Papers, and the United States Constitution. I hope people will think about how screwed up things often were during the Roman Empire and what took place after the Roman Empire ended. People who want to learn more about how the Roman Republic ended should read Caesar: A Biography by Christian Meier. If Caesar had cared more about the Republic than himself, the Roman Republic might have survived and had a very bright future.
PATENTS AND DEROY MURDOCK
Deroy Murdock wrote a very interesting idea dealing with patents on the Union Leader website on December 9, 2008. He mentioned that innovation may increase if "anyone granted a new patent enjoy the revenues it generates for, say, five years tax-free." This might help many small businesses obtain loans and investments.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD SELL SOME OF ITS LAND
To raise capital, reduce the national debt, help fund Social Security and Medicare, and do other things, the federal government should sell a lot of the land it owns. If you type federal government owned land on a search engine, you might be surprised at how much land the federal government owns. Some of the money the federal government obtains from the sales of the land should go to state governments.
FOOD STAMPS, WEALTH CREATION, AND JOB CREATION
If the economy grows, there may be less need for food stamps and Medicaid.
If the federal government stops taxing capital gains, interest from savings accounts, dividends, and estates, many people may donate more money to food banks, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters.
The more wealth that is created the more consumption that takes place. The more consumption that takes place the more jobs that are created. The more wealth that is created the more luxury cars and luxury boats that get sold. The more luxury cars and boats that get made the more people making luxury boats and luxury cars. When demand for luxury boats and luxury cars increases, the companies that make luxury boats and cars buy more machine tools, robots, and other things from other companies who may increase employment when demand for their products increases.
The federal government should not tax interest from savings accounts and dividends. If the federal government does not tax interest from savings accounts and dividends, people will not need to obtain as much money from Social Security. The more capital available to businesses the more likely they are to hire workers and spend more money on job training, research & development, and plant & equipment.
The federal government should eliminate the capital gains tax and the estate tax to encourage wealth creation.
Congress should consider not having businesses match Social Security contribution and Medicare contributions on wages above $25,000 a year. If businesses do not have to contribute as much money to Social Security and Medicare, they will be able to hire more workers, increase pay of many workers, and spend more money on job training, research & development, and plant& equipment.
Congress should consider passing a 2 percent national sales tax that is placed on most items other than food, shelter, health care, and education. If a national sales tax is passed, the federal income tax on individuals and businesses should be reduced at the same time. Some of the money from a national sales tax could be used to fund Social Security and Medicare. The more money that a national sales tax takes in for Social Security and Medicare the lower the Social Security tax and the Medicare tax could be.
FARMING
The federal government and state governments should care more about small farms. Sugar subsidies should end. If the federal government and state governments continue to subsidize farming, most of the money should go to small farms. They may want to encourage more organic farming. They may want to encourage more farmers to not use antibiotics in cows and chickens. They may want to encourage many deer farms that produce meat and leather products. They may want to encourage farmers to grow hemp in our country and make hemp paper, hemp clothing, hemp shoes, hemp ropes, and other hemp products. I would like marijuana, heroin, and cocaine to be legalized, regulated, and taxed for people who are at least 18 years old
We need to care more about obtaining drinking water from the oceans and rain water.
THE MORTGAGE MESS AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE
If our Democrat elected leaders, Republican elected leaders, voters, and non voters had learned from the Savings and Loans Crisis, the mortgage mess would not exist now. If Congress had properly regulated financial institutions, the mortgage mess would not exist now.
The sooner Congress requires down payments on homes and fixed rate mortgages the better.
Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution says Congress has the power
"To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes"
"To coin money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures"
Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution says
"No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time."
Congress should consider backing our currency with gold, silver, and other commodities.
Congress should eliminate the Federal Reserve or veto many decisions made by the Federal Reserve when Congress wants to.If the Federal Reserve continues to exist 2 members of the United States House of Representatives and 2 United States Senators should sit on the board of the Federal Reserve. If 3 of these members of Congress want a Federal Reserve decision to be vetoed, it should be vetoed. If a majority of the United States House of Representatives wants a Federal Reserve decision to be vetoed, it should be vetoed. If a majority of the United States Senate wants a Federal Reserve decision to be vetoed, it should be vetoed.
ILLEGAL DRUGS, CRIME, GLOBAL ECONOMY, AND TAXES
The United States of America should legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana, heroin, and cocaine for people who are least 18 years. Most non violent drug offenders should be released from prison so that there will be more room for violent criminals. If they are legalized, regulated, and taxed, there most likely will be less violent crimes in the United States of America, Mexico, and Colombia. If Mexico is able to spend less money fighting violent drug gangs and spend more money on developing its economy, fewer illegal immigrants may come to the United States of America, many illegal immigrants may leave the United States of America, and more Mexicans may be able to buy products and services from the United States of America. If State governments are able to spend less money dealing with illegal immigrants, they may be better able to reduce their taxes. Terrorists would most likely obtain less money from their opium if more farmers grow opium in Afghanistan.
If many countries legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana, heroin, and cocaine for people who are at least 18 years old, they may be able to spend a lot less money fighting criminals and have more money to spend developing their economies. The less underground an economy is the better able a government may be to obtain revenues from sales taxes and income taxes.
AMENDMENT FOURTEEN AND HOMOSEXUALS
Amendment Fourteen of the United States Constitution
Section 1
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
I am a heterosexual male who likes women a lot who is angry that the Federal government and State governments discriminate against homosexuals. The Federal Government and State governments may not treat heterosexuals better than homosexuals because of "equal protection of the laws." Homosexuals should be allowed to marry in civil ceremonies and homosexual married couples should qualify for the same benefits that heterosexual married couples qualify for from the Federal government and State governments. Homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the United States military in combat positions and non combat positions. A person should not have to lie about the person's sexual orientation to fight for our country. I hope that many religions will allow homosexuals to marry in religious ceremonies.
INCREASING GASOLINE TAXES, BUSES, PASSENGER RAIL, SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
I think the Federal gasoline tax and the New Hampshire gasoline tax should be increased.
The federal government should spend more money on buses within cities, buses between cities, and passenger rail. If people have an easier time getting to jobs and from jobs, governments may be able to spend less money on food stamps and Medicaid. Fewer families may need to have 2nd cars and 3rd cars allowing them to have more money for non transportation related expenses. We may use less foreign oil and be able to spend less money on the military. The air may be cleaner and fewer students may lose time from school because of asthma attacks. Fewer parents may lose time from work taking care of sick children.
The federal government may want to use some of the money it takes in from a higher gasoline tax to help fund Social Security and Medicare.
New Hampshire should use a higher gasoline tax to improve its roads and bridges.
New Hampshire should use some of the money it obtains from the rooms and meals tax for buses within cities, buses between cities, and passenger rail. New Hampshire may be able to save money on food stamps and Medicaid. New Hampshire may get more tourists which could help it obtain more revenues from the rooms and meals tax and business profits taxes on restaurants and hotels.
I hope many businesses will decide to advertise inside of Manchester Transit Authority buses. There is plenty of advertising space inside of Manchester Transit Authority buses. People may see an ad inside of a bus longer than the person sees an ad in a magazine.
I hope people will support bus service in Manchester, New Hampshire. I have been using the buses for many years. Many people depend on the buses to get to work and home from work. If people are not able to use the buses, they may not be able to work which could increase unemployment compensation costs, food stamp costs, and other costs.
Many senior citizens depend on the bus. If they are not able to use the bus, many senior citizens who should not be driving may decide to drive.
The Route 5 bus and the Route 9 bus should be combined together so that Hannaford and SNHU are on the same route again. The Route 1 and route 7 buses should be combined together so that Dartmouth-Hitchcock and VA Hospital are on the same bus route again. Bus fares for non senior citizens will probably have to be $1.50 to $3 per trip.
AFRICA, AFRICA, AFRICA, AFRICA
I have been thinking about Africa since I was a teenager. So much potential. So many problems. Famines. Genocides. Child soldiers. And other things.
I have been thinking about the creation of a United States of Africa since I was a student at the University of New Hampshire that would have a constitution similar to our own and maximize Africa's mineral wealth and other wealth. Many parts of Africa have rich farm land. Attacking private property and wealth creation has led to agriculture problems and other problems.
The survival of the human race may depend upon what takes place in Africa.
The United Nations should have significant troops in Africa to decrease the probability of genocides. The United Nations needs to use force in Somalia and other places. Most of the troops should come from African countries and have people from many different religions and tribes. More investment and better usage of donations will most likely take place if Africa has more Law and Order.
The sooner many African countries have currencies backed by gold, silver, and other commodities the better. The sooner many African countries do not tax interest from savings accounts, dividends, capital gains, and estates the better. More investment may lead to more consumption and more money taken in from sales taxes and income taxes.
The federal government and State governments may want to do a lot of bartering with African countries for gold, silver, and many other things. This could lead to cleaner water, better septic systems, better health care, and other things for Africans.
Child 'slavery' now being imported to U.S
One child's story speaks for the thousands locked in silent servitude is located at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28415693/
It may take many decades and possibly more than a century to solve many of Africa's problems.
The May 4, 2008 The Boston Globe Magazine on page 8 has a great letter to the editor from Perry Conrad of Haverhill dealing with Lawrence, Massachusetts which says "The Commonwealth should remove the sales tax on all items sold in Lawrence so businesses can compete against bordering Salem, New Hampshire, where all the new businesses and jobs go, and create tax incentives to entice new business development. The city of Lawrence should have zero property tax for five years on any foreclosed property to entice revitalization."
I was born in Boston and lived in Lowell for a period of time before moving to Nashua for second grade.
Massachusetts should ask the Federal Government to pass a law that says that people and/or businesses who invest in Lawrence businesses and hold the investment(s) for at least 2 years do not have to pay any capital gains taxes on those investments. New Hampshire and other states should ask the Federal Government to pass similar laws for depressed regions in their states.
depts.washington.edu/learncpr/
www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-cpr/FA00061/
I ran for United States Senate from New Hampshire in 2002. I ran for President of the United States of America for a short period of time. You may read some comments about LIBERTY and the role of government I wrote years ago at www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/libertytext.txt
I LOVE LIBRARIES
On June 4, 2007, I wrote "I think libraries reduce crime and poverty. I have loved libraries for most of my life. If we spend less money on libraries, I think we will have more violent crime and more poverty. Libraries reduce the harm that our nation's lousy public k-12 schools cause. We spend more money on a per student k-12 public education basis than most countries in the world and we often get crap. If we spend more money on libraries, we might reduce violent crime and poverty. The gap between the rich and the poor might decrease if we spend more money on libraries. Sometimes, I think we have lousy public schools so that the dropout rate for minorities will be high so that we will have plenty of low wage labor. I have known about the sky high drop out rate for Hispanics since I was in high school more than 18 years ago."
the reading room movie with James Earl Jones is mentioned at www.imdb.com/title/tt0446769/. I have worked for a national video rental store chain for more than 9 years and the reading room is one of the best movies I have seen dealing with education. One of the best ways to reduce poverty in our country and significantly increase economic growth might be to have many thousands of reading rooms similar to the one shown in the movie throughout the country especially in poor urban areas and poor rural areas. The reading movie has tutoring, computers, magazines, books, and many other things.
FREEDOM WRITERS movie which is mentioned at www.imdb.com/title/tt0463998/ discusses how to improve k-12 education. It is based on a true story. You should check out the special features. You may read about the Freedom Writers Foundation at www.freedomwritersfoundation.org that discusses many great ideas for improving k-12 education.
'European observations on U.S. public education' by
Dr. Dirk C. van Raemdonck is located at
www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0800useduc.htm
music of the heart movie which is mentioned at www.imdb.com/title/tt0166943/ is based on a true story. If we want children to do better in life, we have to help them improve their creativity by funding music education and art education in k-12 schools.
Music Education is discussed at
www.menc.org
COOPERATIVE EDUCATION
You may read about the benefits of cooperative education at
www.uakron.edu/ccm/employers/empcoop/new/empbenefits.php
www.egr.msu.edu/mc-ice/inst.shtml
I hope more junior high schools and high schools will have cooperative education programs similar to Northeastern University's www.northeastern.edu cooperative education program. The drop out rate might decrease, students may do better in school, students may get more college scholarships, students may get into more colleges, and may get better paying jobs if cooperative education programs are supported more than they are now.
I highly recommend people read
'The Sack of Washington
Comparisons of America and Rome are everywhere these days, whether deploring an over-extended military, social decadence, or illegal immigration. A more disturbing-and largely ignored-similarity lies in the wholesale privatization of the U.S. government, which has blurred the line between public good and personal gain. In an excerpt from his new book, Cullen Murphy charts a dynamic that is more dangerous than corruption, unprecedented in scale, and visible everywhere from Hurricane Katrina to the Iraq war, to the justice system' which is located at
www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/06/murphy200706
OPERATION ENTERPRISE
I highly recommend that high school students and college students consider taking part in Operation Enterprise conducted by the
American Management Association. I attended it while I was a college student. Operation Enterprise helped me become a lot less of an introvert and taught me a lot about the world of business by introducing me to business leaders. It was one of the best learning experiences of my life. I was able to attend it because of a scholarship. Minority students might especially benefit from participating in the program. You may read about Operation Enterprise at www.amanet.org/oe
DALE CARNEGIE
I recommend people read books by Dale Carnegie. I have read several. You may find out about courses based on his genius at http://www.dalecarnegie.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE ISSUES
I discuss some New Hampshire issues at www.geocities.com/kstremsky1/newhampshireissues.html
EDUCATION
'How Nebraska Leaves No Child Behind' by Sonja Steptoe is located at
www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1626423,00.html
I discuss ideas for improving k-12 education and college educations in my education, military issues blog entry. The Federal Government and all State governments should consider copying Nebraska. Parents should be lobbying the Federal Government and State governments for this type of testing. Businesses should consider providing money to make it easier for all States to have testing similar to Nebraska. The ability of businesses to be competitive with foreign businesses depends upon educated employees.
HEALTH CARE OF VETERANS
Our country needs to be treating our Veterans a lot better if we want people to fight for us. I have known about lousy medical care at Veterans hospitals for more than 10 years. Members of Congress should not get a better health care plan than Veterans receive. Members of Congress should see the Doctors of Military Hospitals and/or Veterans Hospitals. Members of Congress should get their surgeries and other health care needs met at Military Hospitals and/or Veterans Hospitals. Soldiers and Veterans should get their health care needs met before members of Congress get their health care needs met.
PLANNING AND PREPARATION
The United States of America needs to spend more time thinking about potential threats it may face more than 20 years from now and how best to prepare for them.
The less dependent your region is on other regions for food, water, electricity, and energy the better off your region may be if a natural disaster or other disaster takes place.
The May 15, 2007 Bottom Line PERSONAL VOLUME 28 NUMBER 10 on page 16 mentions the "Eton FR300 Multipurpose Radio." I bought mine many months ago. You may read about it at www.etoncorp.com
You may read about disaster preparation at
www.fema.gov
www.redcross.org
www.cdc.gov
www.usamriid.army.mil
People may want to check out the book How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier
'Muslim Melting Pot by Ms. Irshad Manji is on page A16 of the June 4, 2007 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. She is "a senior fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy, is author of "The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's call for Reform in Her Faith" (St. Martin's, 2005).
She writes
"As a reform-minded Muslim, I say that honoring any religion of peace through violence is like preserving virginity through premarital sex. Think about it."
LEARNING FROM FAILURE
Failure is the best teacher there has ever been. Failure is the best teacher there will ever be. Learn from your failures and the failures of others. We should be encouraging businesses to risk failure. If we do not encourage businesses to risk failure, we should not expect great innovations and higher living standards. We are not the only country in the World that knows how to innovate and many other countries are led by people far more competent than our leaders. We need to have fewer regulations on businesses and we need those that we have to make sense and be written in language an 8th grader should be able to understand. The best way to reduce poverty especially in poor urban areas and poor rural areas is significantly greater economic growth. Significantly greater economic growth is not going to occur if we do not reward business success a lot more than we do now. Our governments are killing many small businesses with red tape that is not needed.
People repeat the pasts mistakes because they do not learn from them. Our Republic is dying because our people think it can't die. The Roman Republic became an Empire. Germany got taken over by Nazis.
AMENDMENT SEVEN OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
"In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."
I believe binding arbitration agreements that many people have to sign with brokerage firms, health insurance companies, and other companies are not constitutional "when the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars." People may want to take cases to the United States Supreme Court when they are not allowed to have "trial by jury" "when the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars".
SOME WEBSITES
www.stratfor.com
www.csmonitor.com
www.ft.com
www.janes.com
www.concordcoaltion.org
www.medicarerights.org
www.americanprogress.org
www.thegreenpapers.com
SOME SAFETY RELATED WEBSITES
www.missingkids.com
www.thesafeside.com
www.bobstuber.com
www.justyellfire.com
www.hendersonville-pd.orgPreventionTips/RapePreventionTips.html
wwww.karatetips.com/articles.womensselfdef.asp
It is possible that many of our nation's missing children were murdered by teenagers who are serial killers. Teenagers have killed people at schools.
MY MOTIVES, MY TACTICS
If you question my motives, my tactics, my anger, and my contempt for many people, I hope you will consider the following. A friend of mine was murdered by a drunk driver in 1980 when I was 10 years old. He never got the chance to graduate from high school and make his dreams come true. Many other children have been murdered by drunk drivers. No issue is more important to me than the safety of children because of my friend's murder. Many people were murdered by drunk drivers before January 1, 1980. Many people have been murdered by drunk drivers since January 1, 1981. Many drunk drivers have murdered people on different days. I would like drunk drivers who commit murder to get life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
Why do people keep re-electing members of Congress who give themselves pay raises while significantly increasing the Federal debt? Our non real Federal debt was less than one trillion dollars on January 20, 1981. Our non real Federal debt is now more than 10 trillion dollars. Our real Federal debt includes our liabilities for Social Security and Medicare. I hope people will read
THE COMING GENERATIONAL STORM: What You Need to Know about America's Economic Future by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Scott Burns. The website for Scott Burns is http://assetbuilder.com
www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-05-28-federal-budget_N.htm?csp=1 has
'Taxpayers on the hook for $59 trillion' by Dennis Cauchon.
DO YOU THINK OUR SOCIETY VALUES EDUCATION?
Why do we have parades for professional athletes who do not do much of anything useful for society? Why do we not have yearly parades for good teachers and great teachers who our society is dependent upon? Why do we not allow real public school choice in k-12 education? Why do parents not care more about their kids than they do? They want competition for gas stations and restaurants. Why are they not demanding a lot more competition in public k-12 education?
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Because the government is attacking Amendment One of the United States Constitution by establishing religion and making it harder for the "free exercise" of religion to take place by saying that public money may only go to to secular (atheist) public k-12 schools, I would like an Amendment to the United States Constitution adopted that allows public money to go to religious k-12 schools. When public money may only go to secular (atheist) k-12 schools, religion is being established in the form of atheism. When public money may only go to secular (atheist) k-12 schools, it is harder for students to have "free exercise" of their religious beliefs. Competition may improve results, reduce racism, and reduce the dropout rate for minorities. I would like the constitutional Amendment to say something like
"Public money may go to private k-12 religious schools, public religious
k-12 schools, private religious colleges, public religious colleges, private religious graduate schools, and public religious graduate schools. If public money goes to the schools that belong to one religion, public money must go to the schools belonging to other religions as well."
Racism is dumb and bad for our country. Religious hatred is dumb and bad for our country. Hatred of women is dumb and bad for our country. Hatred of men is dumb and bad for our country. Hatred of homosexuals is dumb and bad for our country.
THE CASTE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States of America has a pretty bad caste system. Thankfully, the caste system of the United States of America is not as bad as India's caste system. If we are not careful, the caste system of the United States of America could be almost as bad as the caste system that India has now. Hopefully, the United States of America and India will get rid of their caste systems. If we get rid of our caste systems, our economies and per capita incomes might grow significantly. We might have a lot less violence in the United States of America if we get rid of our caste system.
ENERGY SECURITY
http://www.swans.com/library/art13//mdolin21.html has
'Oil and War' by Michael Doliner.
We need to significantly reduce our demand for foreign oil. I discuss some ideas to do this on energy, military issues.
articles.moneycentral.msn.com/News/GasPricesHighButNotHighEnough has
"Gas prices high -- but not high enough
A stiff tax increase and $4-a-gallon fuel could end American's addiction to gas-hogging SUVs and curb dependence on OPEC. But don't count on politicians to line up for higher taxes' by David Kiley. I discuss a $1 or more per gallon military tax to help pay for our military on energy, military issues blog entry. We are now providing funding for terrorist groups by buying foreign oil. Many countries are helping Iran build nuclear weapons. The cost of gasoline at the pump should include more of the military costs related to the providing of it.
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070518/us_nm/fuel_hydrogen_dc has
'New fuel for 21st century --aluminum pellets?' by Julie Steenhuysen. Aluminum pellets may help produce power from hydrogen for many automobiles in the future. Aluminum pellets may help produce power from hydrogen for many homes and offices in the future.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070528/ap_on_bi_ge/farm_scene_1 has 'Bill urges farmers to grow energy crops' by Dirk Lammers.
NATIONAL GUARD AND COAST GUARD
All of our National Guard members and all of our Coast Guard members should be back within our borders within the next 6 months. The National Guard should be doing more to patrol our borders with Mexico and Canada and be better prepared for dealing with natural disasters. The size and budget of the Coast Guard should at least be doubled so that it is able to do more homeland security jobs and save more lives.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
The Federal Government should pay 100 percent of the cost of providing public k-12 educations to illegal immigrants and the children of illegal immigrants including those children born in our country. The Federal Government should pay 100 percent of the cost of Medicaid for illegal immigrants and the children of illegal immigrants including those children born in our country. The Federal Government should pay 100 percent of the cost of jailing illegal immigrants and the children of illegal immigrants including those children born in our country. The Federal Government should pay 100 percent of the cost of Food stamps and other anti-poverty programs for illegal immigrants and the children of illegal immigrants including those children born in our country. Local governments and State governments should send bills to the Federal Government for the previous things and the Federal Government should pay them because the Federal Government is responsible for keeping illegal immigrants out.
PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18742634/ has
'Pregnancy discrimination is on the rise
EEOC seeing more complaints, filing more suits on behalf of affected women' by Eve Tahmincioglu
People and businesses may want to consider boycotting businesses that discriminate against pregnant women.
NATIONAL SECURITY
I hope people will check out
www.third-way.com/data/product/file/88/Third_Way_Security_First_Report.pdf which has
SECURITY FIRST
A Strategy for Defending America
by William Galston, Elaine Kamarck, and Sharon Burke. It is over 50 pages long and it has many great ideas. It is too bad they are not running the show now instead of the Bush Administration.
MY POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND POLITICS
I ran for United States Senate from New Hampshire in 2002. I ran for President of the United States of America for a short period of time. I may run for elective office in the future.
I hope more people will run for elective office. Two of the main reasons I created this website are to provide information to people who run for elective office and help voters obtain information on the issues.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18277094 has
'Taking the second tier seriously
Are the maverick GOP hopefuls having an effect in the Presidential race?' by Tom Curry.
You should not expect to win if you run for elective office. You may get to get positions discussed that may someday be adopted. Do not expect to be appreciated for many years to come. I thought I would get less than 100 votes when I ran for United States Senate. I ended up getting more than a 1000 votes. I thought I would receive little coverage outside of New Hampshire. Because of a personal ad I put on my website, I got interviewed by The Associated Press. You may read the interview with The Associated Press on my Pics. The interview with The Associated Press led to me getting coverage in several states, Australia, and I think mentioned in Portuguese. I heard from women from several states and a woman from Brazil. You may read the personal ad and my discussion of it at www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/personalad1.txt
I thought the ad made sense to do for strategic reasons based on THE ART OF WAR by Sun Tzu and reasons dealing with Guerrilla Marketing. I highly recommend reading at least one book dealing with Guerrilla Marketing. Some of the selling books I mention under books convinced me it might help me get some coverage for my campaign.
You may read some comments on New Hampshire issues at
www.geocities.com/kstremsky1/newhampshireissues.html
PROTECTION OF SOLDIERS
On May 18, 2007, HARDBALL WITH CHRIS MATTHEWS discussed that soldiers are being banned from using DRAGON SKIN body armor. This is another example of our government not caring about our soldiers. Our government sends soldiers into combat without the proper supplies when it is possible to supply them first. Our government is forcing our soldiers to serve after their contracts have expired. Our government is providing our soldiers and Veterans with lousy medical care. Soldiers should be allowed to use any body armor they want. Soldiers, police officers, and others may want to use DRAGON SKIN body armor. You may read about DRAGON SKIN body armor at www.pinnaclearmor.com/body-armor/dragon-skin.php
On May 22, 2007, I read www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18790506/
'Army: Dragon Skin armor failed battery of tests
Findings released after NBC reports it could be superior to military gear.'
The military may be telling the truth about the body armor. The military may be lying about the body armor. People should not forget about how the military lied about Pat Tillman's death. Soldiers should be able to use DRAGON SKIN body armor and any other armor they want.
You may read some comments about why legal immigration may increase the size of our economy and increase living standards at www.geocities.com/kstremsky1/legalimmigration.html
SOME QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT "TO ELIMINATE ALL REDISTRIBUTION-OF-THE-WEALTH PROGRAMS."
Do you think government should ever help someone out?
Do you think government should help someone out after a natural disaster?
Do you believe we should have government regulation?
Do you think we should have laws?
I am curious if you out of touch with reality people support anarchy and violent French style revolutions. If you think violent French style revolutions could never happen in our country, you are insane and you need to be in a mental institution so that you do not harm yourself and other people.
SUCCESS IN WAR DEPENDS ON TOTAL WAR CAPABILITIES
k-12 educations and college educations provide for intelligent soldiers, intelligent leaders, intelligent workers who make weapons and other things, and intelligent people who run factories that build weapons and other things
job training programs - teach people skills that may help them build weapons and other things
health care for soldiers and Veterans - the better the health care is for soldiers and Veterans the more likely that people will want to serve in combat
health care for society - the better your health care system is the more likely you will have healthy soldiers when you need them
Social Security and Medicare - if you do not care about people when they are old why should people fight for you when they are young
Food stamps and other anti-poverty programs increase the odds young people and others will be healthy to fight for you. Makes it less likely people will want to be spies and do other things for your enemies. Decreases the odds your society will have a violent French style revolution.
increased legal immigration increases the likelihood that you will have more citizens who will fight for you and build weapons
increased law and order at home - domestic tranquility makes external Wars easier to fight. When people think their family members are safe, they may be far more likely to fight for you.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18706138/ has 'Friends don't let friends join MySpace: Posting on networking sites is like a tattoo- only worse' by Helen A. S. Popkin. I agree with many of her comments. If I did not care more about our Republic than I do myself, I would not be doing this.
INFORMATION ABOUT ME
I am a humorous man of integrity who discusses more issues in greater detail in serious ways than many people who run for President of the United States of America. I studied the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire some when I was a teenager. Presidents of the United States of America have been assassinated. Presidential candidates have been shot. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.
The life of our Republic is more important to me than my political ambitions. The life of our Republic is more important to me than my own life. I am going to die someday. Hopefully, I will not die till I am at least 80 years old. In 1980 when I was 10 years old, I learned that no one is guaranteed tomorrow when a friend of mine was murdered by a drunk driver.
You may read my favorite poem IF by Kipling and my comments about the poem that I wrote years ago at www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/iftext.txt
OUR FREEDOMS
The Roman Republic might have never become an Empire and might still exist today if its leaders and its people had fought for the Republic a lot more than they did. I do not think most of our citizens care much at all about our Republic. Most of our citizens think because we have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and the ability to participate in non violent protests now that we will have these freedoms in the future. If most people are not willing to fight for our freedoms, they should not expect us to have our freedoms in the future. People in many countries have been murdered because of their religious beliefs. People in many countries do not get to vote for their leaders. People in many countries are jailed for speaking out against government and are sometimes murdered. People are often jailed for participating in non violent protests in other countries and are sometimes murdered.
The issues are what matters to you and your families. I do not matter to you and your families. On an issue by issue basis, I hope you will think about what I say and improve on what I say.
SAFETY OF POLICE OFFICERS
Two New Hampshire police officers were killed in less than a year. I hope many businesses and others will have fundraisers that will buy bullet resistant vests and bullet resistant helmets for police officers that are made out of KEVLAR and/or similar materials. I started writing about this idea after a Manchester, New Hampshire police officer was killed. Businesses could see which business is able to raise the most money. Businesses could match employee contributions up to a maximum limit the businesses set. Our soldiers often wear helmets. We need to care more about the safety of police officers.
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Who I'd like to meet:
Nurses and farmers.
The best meal I have had was on a family farm in New Hampshire when I was a teenager. It was a spaghetti dinner with sauce made on the farm.
HONG KONG TAX SYSTEM
You may read about the Hong Kong tax system at www.freedomandprosperity.org/Papers/hongkong/hongkong.shtml
AN AMENDMENT THAT GIVES THE PRESIDENT LINE ITEM VETO POWER
Our country may want to pass an Amendment to the United States Constitution that gives the President of the United States of America line item veto power. Congress could veto a President's line item veto with a 60 percent vote of the United States House of Representatives or a
60 percent vote of the United States Senate. If the President of the United States of America has line item veto power, our nation may spend money a lot more wisely than it does now and the national debt may not grow so fast in the future.
STATE GOVERNMENT EXPENSES AND REVENUES, SOCIAL SECURITY
The lower federal taxes are on individuals and businesses the higher state government taxes may be on individuals and businesses. Sometimes, I think state governments spend money better and provide services better than the federal government. I would like state governments to not tax interest from savings accounts, dividends, capital gains, and estates.
It is better for the federal government and state governments to tax different types of consumption than estates, savings, and investments. Estates taxes discourage work, job creation, savings, and investments. Why work as hard as you are able to if your children and grandchildren are going to be punished? Why create jobs? Why innovate? Why take significant risks?
"How Wall Street Can Bail Itself Out Without Destroying The Dollar" by Thom Hartmann is located at www.thomhartman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=998&Item=9
He writes "For us, this Securities Turnover Excise Tax (STET) was a revenue source. For example, if we were to instate a .25 percent STET (tax) on every stock, swap, derivative, or other trade today, it would produce - in its first year - around $150 billion in revenue. Wall Street would be generating the money to fund its own bailout. (For comparison, as best I can determine, the UK's STET is .25 percent, and Taiwan dropped theirs from .60 to .30 percent.)"
I think a Securities Turnover Excise Tax of .25 percent "on every stock, swap, derivative, or other trade" makes sense. Some of the money obtained from the Securities Turnover Excise Tax should be used to help fund Social Security, Medicare, k-12 educations, and college educations. Some of the money obtained from the Securities Turnover Excise Tax should go to state governments.
I hope people WILL READ "Advancing Economies by the Power of Industry" located at www.newgeography.com/files/Power-of-Industry.pdf
Former Senator Fritz Hollings on www.citizensforacompetitiveamerica.com has his him discussing a VAT and other things. He mentions that "In the meantime, we can impose a 10% surcharge on all imports as President Nixon did so successfully in 1971." A portion of the "10% surcharge on all imports" could be used to help fund Social Security, Medicare, k-12 educations, and college educations. A portion of the "10% surcharge on all imports" could go to state governments. If other countries decide to have a 20% or more surcharge on all imports, our country should NOT have a surcharge on all imports greater than 10%.
I discuss ideas for helping state governments after the column "STATE BUDGET WOES" by Matthew Leiphon at www.newgeography.com/content/00497-state-budget-woes#comment-326
I posted comments after Georganne Chapin's "DASCHLE AND STATE-BY-STATE-HEALTHCARE MISTAKES" located at www.newgeography.com/content/00506-daschle-and-state-healthcare-mistakes
I posted comments after Jerry Sullivan's "TOUGH BUDGET MATH FOR CITY POLITICIANS: BAD ECONOMY + HUMAN NATURE = MORE COPS" located at www.newgeography.com/content/00518-tough-budget-math-city-politicians-bad-economy-human-nature-more-cops
I posted comments after Ilie Mitaru's "CURRENT POLICY OVERLOOKS THE NEW HOMELESS" located at www.newgeography.com/content/00507-current-policy-overlooks-new-homeless
I posted comments after Joel Kotkin's "A BAILOUT FOR YUPPIES" located at www.newgeography.com/content/00523-a-bailout-for-yuppies#comment-352
I have posted comments on other columns on newgeography.com at www.newgeography.com/users/kenstremsky
The federal government might not want individuals and businesses for the next 2 years to pay the social security tax on wages below $30,000 a year. Many individuals may have more money to spend and reduce their debts. Many businesses may have more money to spend and reduce their debts which may make it easier for them to stay in business. Many businesses might fire fewer people. Many small businesses may hire more people. If unemployment significantly increases, many more people will not be paying money into Social Security and Medicare. If unemployment significantly increases, the need for food stamps and Medicaid may increase.
I think it makes sense to have the social security tax placed on all wages a person makes in a year. If this is done, businesses should NOT have to match employee contributions above $100,000 a year. The problem with businesses contributing to social security is it may increase unemployment, lower wages, and increase inflation.
If businesses do not have to contribute to social security any more, they may fire fewer people, hire more people, increase the wages of many people, and increase dividends.
We might want some of the money taken in from a higher federal gasoline tax to be used to fund Social Security and Medicare. Social Security might want to buy gold, silver, and other commodities. Social Security might want to buy stock in many small companies in many countries.
The federal government might want to have casinos and hotels especially hotels for the wealthy in many national parks. Some of the money the federal government obtains from these casinos and hotels could be used to fund Social Security and Medicare. State governments should obtain some of the money the federal government obtains from these casinos and hotels.
I discuss different ways of funding Social Security and Medicare on different parts of this website. We may want to do many other things as well to fund Social Security and Medicare.
The Amendments to the United States Constitution dealing with State Legislatures should reduce the amount of harm the federal government causes to the budgets of State governments. I am trying to reduce the harm illegal immigrants do to the budgets of State governments.
ARTICLE 6
"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." WE NEED an Amendment to the United States Constitution that says that any part of any existing Treaty that has been adopted or future Treaty that is adopted may not conflict with any other part of the United States Constitution and if it does so that part of the Treaty is voided. The only way to change the Constitution should be by Amendment of the United States Constitution. An Amendment to the United States Constitution should be passed that allows State Legislatures to repeal Treaties, trade agreements, federal laws, and federal regulations. Please keep in mind that when Article 6 was written United States Senators were chosen by State Legislatures which gave State Legislatures a say in what Treaties were adopted and which Treaties were not adopted.
Before Amendment Seventeen was adopted, United States Senators were chosen by Stat Legislatures. Amendment Seventeen has harmed State Legislatures because they have not been allowed to pick any United States Senators since it was adopted. State Legislatures lost the ability to have a say in which Treaties and trade agreements which are adopted. State Legislatures lost the ability to have a say on Declarations of War and many other military matters discussed in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.
I would like an Amendment to the United States Constitution passed that allows each State to have at least 3 United States Senators and allows each State Legislature to choose at least 1 United States Senator. Better trade agreements may be passed, better Supreme Court Justices may be picked, and better Ambassadors may be picked if State Legislatures are able to choose some United States Senators
Governments need tax revenues to spend money. Governments need to spend money.
Once a state's population hits a certain size I believe it needs to have an income tax, a sales tax, and user fees. The land size of the state is a factor in this.
New Hampshire should only have a sales tax if the people vote for the sales tax and the rate of the sales tax. New Hampshire should only have an income tax if the peope vote for an income tax and the rate of the income tax. If a sales tax and/or income tax is adopted in New Hampshire, the State Legislature should say how high the property tax may be and/or the people should say how high the property tax may be.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD REDUCE THE MINIMUM WAGE OVER TIME AND EVENTUALLY ELIMINATE IT
If the minimum wage is increased, many teenagers and former prisoners may have a harder time obtaining jobs and skills. How does making it harder for teenagers to obtain jobs and college scholarships that encourage work experience benefit teenagers? How does making it harder for former prisoners to get work experience and support their families benefit them? Do you want to reduce the probability that people will join violent gangs?
If the minimum wage is increased, many people will be fired, many people will work fewer hours, many salaried workers will work more hours for the same pay, and prices are likely to increase. How does making salaried workers work a lot more hours for the same pay benefit them and their families? The more hours that salaried workers have to work for the same pay the more money they may have to pay to people to babysit their children when they are at work.
If the minimum wage is increased, the recession may get a lot worse.
If the minimum wage is reduced, many small businesses may hire more workers and many small businesses may be started. Many businesses may decide to hire people in places that have had high unemployment for a long period of time. Do you want unemployment to be reduced?
You may read about Milwaukee's Earn & Learn program for teenagers at www.mkedcd.org/earnlearn.
The website is mentioned on "City offers options for jobless teens" by
Joel Dresang and Joe Taschler at www.jsonline.com/business/36770639.html
Helping teenagers find jobs and obtain skills makes a lot of sense. I hope governments and businesses will provide significant support to cooperative education programs in our junior high schools, high schools, and colleges that will help students obtain experiences similar to those obtained by students who go to Northeastern University. Fewer students may drop out of high school. Students may do better in school, obtain more college scholarships, and obtain better paying jobs after graduating.
ALLOW PEOPLE TO DEDUCT ENTIRE COST OF DAY CARE
www.unionleader.com has on January 4, 2009 "Kamen response to crisis: A little lunacy" has the following from Lyn of Manchester
"How about unleashing human potential by allowing me to write off the entire portion of my daycare costs as opposed to the fraction allowable under current U.S. tax law. Maybe that would allow us to pay our daycare providers a little better who could in turn pay their employers better."
I think it makes sense for the federal government and state governments to allow people to write off the entire costs of their daycare costs from their taxes. If the federal government and state governments reduce taxes on daycare providers, they may pay their employees more and possibly reduce their prices.
Students who are better prepared for k-12 schools may do better in k-12 schools, make more money working as adults, and pay more in taxes over time. If we significantly improve daycare, we may be able to spend significantly less on prisons.
I think it makes sense for state governments to reduce many of their sales taxes.
If you stop taxing savings and investments, Americans and foreigners who have money are more likely to invest in our country and create jobs. Savings and investments are how jobs and economic growth are created over time. Are the results immediate? No
GEORGE F. WILL'S 1997 "A GI BILL FOR MOTHERS"
I recommend people read "A GI BILL FOR MOTHERS
At last, an idea to pour programmatic content into the often hollow phrase 'family values'" NEWSWEEK page 88 December 22, 1997
"However, the most intriguing idea suggested by Wilson, which he credits to Richard and Grandon Hill, pertains to parents outside as well as inside the underclass. It would offer the equivalent of the GI Bill for a parent - usually a mother - who will postpone a career until children reach school age.
No parent, Wilson says, can "have it all," and in the clash between family and work, the former must be favored. "If we care about how children are raised in their early years, and if, as is now the case, how they are raised is left to overwhelmed women or institutional arrangements, the only way we can restore the balance is by committing money to the task of inducing actions that were once the products of spontaneous arrangements." Hence a GI Bill-style educational entitlement that would enable a parents who stays home with a young child to finish school, attend college or graduate school, or take technical training courses after the child's most formative years.
The original GI Bill's benefits were entitlements of a sterner sort than we have become used to. They were linked to services rendered - services of the most serious sort, involving war. A new version of that entitlement would compensate a parent who forgoes earnings in order to render the vital social function of putting children on the path to social competence."
LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION TO REDUCE SEX SLAVERY AND RAPES
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28161210/ has
"Sex slavery: Living the American nightmare
Shadowy multibillion-dollar industry far more widespread than expected" by Alex Johnson and Caser Rodriguez
If the United States of America and many other countries allow people who are at least 18 years old to be prostitutes, there is likely to be fewer sex slaves, rapes, child abductions, and murders dealing with sex.
More people may get sexually transmitted diseases.
If prostitution is legal, many prostitutes may make more money and be able to keep more of the money they make. Many prostitutes would be able to form unions and have bodyguards. Many prostitutes may be better able to practice safer sex which could reduce the numbers of sexually transmitted diseases they get and give.
WE SHOULD END THE EMBARGO WITH CUBA
We trade with China. We should be willing to trade with Cuba.
The CIA website has interesting comments about Cuba. I hope people will check it out. You may find it by typing Cuba on a search engine.
We should allow in sugar, cigars, and other products from Cuba.
We should increase trade, tourism, student exchanges, and other things with Cuba.
I hope Cuba will someday be a state within the United States of America. I think this would be very, very good for Cuba and the United States of America. I do not think Cuba will become a state before 2020.
STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD ALLOW SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS
This may increase revenues from cigarette taxes and taxes from restaurants. If more people are employed by restaurants, less money might be spent on food stamps and Medicaid.
SOME COMMENTS DEALING WITH ARTICLE 1, SECTION 8 ON MILITARY ISSUES AND TRADE
I discuss many military issues in the energy, military blog entry. My favorite part of it is the Military Trainers Division.
Article 1, Section 8 of Constitution says Congress has the power
"To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water"
"To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations"
"To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces"
"To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes"
Does the Constitution give Congress the power to make an authorization dealing with the military? No
Does the Constitution give Congress the power to make a resolution dealing with the military? No
Language matters.
Congress fulfilling all of its Article 1, Section 8 responsibilities matters.
Congress is supposed to be decided how prisoners of War are treated and how terrorists and other pirates are dealt with.
Article 2 which mentions "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy" does not give the President the power of a king on military matters. Congress may check the President with "To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." Congress may remove troops from a foreign country whenever it wants via "Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." Our founders were worried about the President having too much power on military matters and other matters.
Many members of Congress support Trade Promotion Authority for the President of the United States which is not constitutional because of Article 1, Section 8. If the President negotiates a trade "Treaty" (Article 2, Section 2 of Constitution) the House of Representatives does not get to vote on the Treaty and the Senate has the ability to amend the Treaty via "Advise and Consent".
Members of Congress who are ignorant of what the Constitution says or do not care harm us.
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