The Country According to aloon

It hit me as I was driving home from Waterloo the other night. It took approximately 2 hours but I believe I have got it all firgured out. People say "Our country is going down the toilet!" Or "Our bowls are overflowing." I think I may have the right answers to figure out how to keep our country out of the toilet. Let's try a new way of looking at it. I believe my ideas are nothing new, but old ideas crafted to a "new, cutting edge" way of promoting it. Let's see if people gather together and say "Hey, we don't want it to work this way and we want it to work Angie's way!" I think we could have an awesome country. But the thing is we all need to work together on this. We have to realize we are all in the same life's ship and to harm another is like harming ourself. We are the world. Remember that song? It is basically like the song says. So here is how this is going down. First thing is to legalize marijuana. Tax the crap out of it. Just like tobacco. Everything is taxed. And it would be absolutely necessary that those marijuana cigarettes that the company (job opportunities) only use natural casings. No paper dipped in fourmaldyide, no addictive additives or other chemicals will be added to the marijuana cigarettes. And did I say tax these cigarettes and other products made from this? Tax, tax, tax. Part of those tax dollars gathered (more jobs) would go to health care. Out of the tax dollars, 25% would go to US health care. This would be put into the country's healthcare system. The other 75% would go to each state's health related programs. Those state programs would receive 75% of the tax dollar so they could take care of patients that come thru their health care facilities. These percentages could be changed or inter-changed but you get the idea. And speaking of clean papers, tobacoo companies would be required by law (we have to do this) to use natural casings on cigarettes. No more filters, paper dipped in formaldiyde, nor additives such as nicotine and anything else. Natural tobacco. Again, the same taxes would be applied cigarettes and all tobacco products. Right now the legal age to purchase tobacco products is 18. So let's make the marijuana products 18 years old to purchase. And while we are at it, we need to change the age of alocohol related products to 18. Oh, now you think I have lost my marbles. But realistically, the more you push stuff to the backroom it becomes more pleasurable and wanting. Parents need to realize if their college student never consummed alochol in high school, they are going to find it on a college campus and it won't be a small high-school kegger party. Yes, too much alochol is a bad thing. Drinking and driving is a bad thing. Smoking pot and driving is a bad thing. Smoking cigarettes is a bad habit but it is not illegal to smoke and drive. But that smoking while driving is considered distracting driving. So is texting while driving and so is eating while driving. So is putting on makeup while driving. There is a lot of distracted driving. What needs to be done is have our smart car developers make cars that operate only when the driver's hands are on the wheel and it senses from the driver's fingers foods, smoke, alcohol at the touch, the vehicle will not start. Now, I realize everyone is shouting at me like I am a liberal hippie and unrealistic commie. But think of it. With all the distractions taken away, the highways will be safer. Cars would not drive if we were eating in them. Cars won't run if we were drinking alochol or smoking pot. Or cigarette products. But you may say, "I have to drink my morning coffee while driving to work?" Take a train to work. Ride the bus. Walk to work. Ride a bike. Carpool. You may say we don't have enough money to pay for public transportation. And I ask you, don't you want safer streets and highways? We have to rethink how we are using our great earth. There are not unlimited supplies. We have to be in conservation mode. What we do to our earth affects us. So we need new high-tech vehicles. That means new jobs. And here is my a big revolation, companies that take their manufacturing jobs out of the country will pay double in taxes. No way around it. If they keep their manufacturing jobs in the country, they will pay a flat 10% income-tax. Their workers will be a flat 10% income tax. We all will pay a flat 10% income tax. Regardless of what we earn, we all will pay 10% income-tax. No one will cheat. Why would you? We all pay the same amount. But what if I can't work? Then you would be considered a "patient" and your job would be "patient" status. As a patient you would have certain responsiblites. Those would be defined as restricted as defined as "unable, either physcically or mentality to be held accountable." Under those circumstances, they would not be able to live without supervision. Supervisors would be qualified medical assistants and professionals. More jobs. How would we as a country pay for this? We would pay for it out of our 10% incomes tax. Think of Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. Their 10% would surely cover the cost of hiring medical assistants for these type of positions. But you think someone will cheat the system. When this would happen, the person who is caught would be forced to clean sidewalks, public-bathrooms, work in trash piles and recyclable plants. They would never be allowed to work at a desk job. Their punishment would be to clean up our waste. Period. If a bank president, city clerk, school secretary, CF0, anyone would is in a position of managing other people's money and financial abilities were found to be unlawfully using money this is what they would be required to do. Those people who operate ponsi schemes would be collecting trash for the rest of their life. They would work in sewers sytems, not at a desk-job. They would be cleaning walls of septic systems, collecting boxes, bottles etc. Prisons would no longer be a place where the prisoner sits in a room watching TV. Prisons would be a place where prisoners would be required to work. Prisons would be required to come up with a business plan to generate a service/product that the country/state would benefit from having. So depending upon where the prpison is located would dependent upon what service they could provide. Everyone would be expected to work. Everyone has some skill that they bring to the table. They would be expected to use that skill while being incarecerated. Even sex offenders, murderers, and other hardcore criminals. We have to stop products that are being imported cheaply. Those items would risk double tax. We have got to get back to having ourselves produce items our country uses. In the beginning, stores that buy/sell USA made product would only pay 10% income tax. If they were selling products manufactured/imported from other country, they would pay double. That is only 20% income tax but you can see what the cost-cutting measure would be. And what if you were an immigrant? Apply to become a US citizen, fill out an application form and send in your application fee. Just like applying for college, a flat rate of $50 or $100 and you have your application form in. Then as an applicant you would be responsible for paying 10% income-tax on your income. Remember, everyone pays a flat 10%. From rich to poor, you earn money you pay 10% of that. Oh, churches and any religious organziation would pay 10% of earned-income. So all citizens living in the US under religious protection would be paying 10% income tax. And the native people of the US would be given their reservation property and would manage their land as they see fit. They would be able to build or see as they see fit to their reservation property. They would be required to pay 10% income tax. Our borders would not be an armed fortress but a business of application process center. Homes, businesses and schools would be sprouting up along border towns as people from Mexico seek refuge from the Mexican government. Those people, would apply for citizenship, pay 10% of their income-tax and would be part of US. What about businesses or people that claim the did not earn any money in the taxable year? Easy, every business person would be resonsible for paying 10% tax-earned income. Even if they show they did not make money but lost money they would be forced to sell. Someone else could come in to buy their business. That way small, first time businesses could open up and see if they could earn some money and make a "go of it." It would be noted that not one corporation, company or individual could own a majority of said businesses. It would be up to only 30% of the total market. That way we would encourage growth and competition. And everyone would still be required to pay 10% income-tax. People who would be caught trying to own control of more than 30% of that business would be considered unlawful and would be considered criminals and be forced to work in garbage, sidewalk cleaning, public bathroom cleaning etc. We are all in this together, we can work together to have a society that not only takes care of ourselves, but we take care of each other and our great resource Earth.