If I were king, I would do the following. I am sure it would be a disaster, and I have not given these royal decrees the many months of deliberation they deserve. They just sound good over a nice bottle of scotch. These decrees would result in great immediate pain for many – too bad for them. Glad I am king and can exempt myself from any pain they may cause.
There would be incalculable unintended consequences. Some I do not know how I would implement – I would leave those minor details to the poor minions who would have to do the implementing. I believe that it would bring forward the collapse that is inevitable, but might well minimize the total pain. I would, in no particular order:
– Eliminate public unions
– Eliminate government funded retirement schemes for public servants
– Eliminate all corporate taxes
– Eliminate payroll taxes, including social security. And hence ultimately eliminate social security.
– Require everyone to self-fund retirement
– Eliminate food stamps, and implement mobile food banks distributing the necessities of life – rice, beans, flour, powdered milk, etc.
– Implements Sheriff Arapaio’s prison program everywhere
– Immediately expel all illegals
– Eliminate the anchor baby rule
– Eliminate signs in Spanish, or classes taught in Spanish, etc.
– Remove all military from conflict, save in events of invasion that threaten world war
– Implement a flat tax from dollar 1 of earnings, at say 20% or 25%
– Eliminate all personal tax deductions, save for charitable contributions
– Limit maximum wages that a company can pay an employee, say to perhaps $5 million
– Require schools be in session year around
– Require concentration on math, English and science in school
– Stop funding non-essential university courses – ie. the arts, etc. would need to self-fund
– Require teachers to pass exams in order to teach
– Change OHS laws to reflect general societal risk, instead of being much more rigorous as they are now
– Severely punish nations that allow dumping or theft of intellectual property
– Require a balanced budget
– Eliminate farm subsidies
– Reduce the number of Congresscritters by half
– Limit public servant salaries to national average wage
– Disallow voting for public servants
– Eliminate all gun laws
– Require banks to hold appropriate reserves
– Eliminate capital gain tax rates and charge at personal tax rates
– Implement corporal punishment for certain crimes – graffiti, theft, etc.
– Require national service for all 18 year olds
– Require anyone receiving government assistance to work for such assistance
– Eliminate political donation by any group, and limit the amount any individual can donate to say $100 total per year
– Make Congressional/Senate terms say 5 years, with no re-election
– Eliminate executive orders
What other things should/can be done? What would other kings do?
And I am sure that many, many holes can be shot in my decrees. I am a benevolent king, so I will hear all complaints. You need not fear retribution. Really.
Muck – yes, it was but a bit of flight of fancy. Good fun, and some terrific comments. A bit of daydreaming to keep the doom away!
What a great list for your first bottle of scotch. Now you need to pull together a few more bottles, and a few future cabinet members and really get to work. Screw it, if you are going to piss off that many people all at once you might as well go full bore and piss ’em all off.
And we wouldn’t need 20% flat if EVERY income producing activity was taxed. Right now the rich guys hide behind their “capital & long-term” assets and income to pay very little in taxes.
I’ve never been able to figure out how it is “fair” for a guy making $10 an hour to pay 25% of his income to the taxmen with the guy making $1 Billion a year pays 15%, or less. Kinda’ a head scratcher.
I’d vote for you, for your one term.
As the old saying goes about a dead lawyer, “it’s a start.”
Teresa – capital gains tax is too low.
But the tax on dividends is not. Business income is taxed at around 40% in many cases, and then it is taxed again when it is distributed. The business owners are entitled to credit for that tax they alraedy paid through the business.
If A business made $100, and paid 40 dollars tax, it would leave $60. If that is taxed at 40%, then they would be left with only $36 dollars, even though they had made $100. That is extreme and is bullshit.
When people clain the “rich” are paying less percentage than secretaries, if it is capital gains tax, it is perhaps true. If it is based on dividends, it is total bullshit. They are paying well over 50% if it is dividend income, despite the way the MSM and the Dems try to spin it.
I am not opposed to taxing capital gains at a much higher rate than what is currently the case. But it will kill off some incentive if not done carefully. For sure fully tax gains on public stock, etc. But do not fully tax capital gains on small business. In many cases, those folks grew the business from nothing, and it is their only asset. They put in the effort and took significant risk in hopes of having something at the end. If you tax that too hard, you will make it even harder for small business.