What would you do if you were President?

Let's assume you'd get majority support from SCOTUS, Congress, and House Reps on any policies you wanted to pass. Also you'd receive majority favorable support from U.S. citizens in this made up scenario. What would they be? I expect there to be glaringly obvious issues with anyone's Presidential policies including my own such as where will the money come from? What parts of our current existing budget will receive cuts to make up for these newly provided services? This isn't so much a process to see who is right or wrong with their proposed policies, so much as what would be the repercussions on taxpayers and U.S. citizen quality of life if these policies were enacted?

Mine would be:

- Universal Healthcare
- Free College with greater emphasis on job training for technical positions the U.S. has a shortage of qualified people in like healthcare, IT and trades spread across the nation.
- Significant cutbacks on tax subsidies towards big corporations
- Decriminalization of drugs and more funding towards behavioral health and rehab facilities
- Legalize prostitution
- Significant cutbacks on military budget
- Such a department may already exist but if it doesn't, I'd create a department built specifically around transparency and where exactly and what % of your tax money goes where. Each existing government entity will receive annual, five and ten year reviews and will be graded on their efficiency. If a government entity is shown to be inefficient after a 10 year period, it will receive less of the tax budget than in prior years. If a government entity is shown to be inefficient because it is receiving too little funding then after further investigation, it will receive an increase and will be required to display a working model of how their department will be run better before receiving additional funding. This will be judged on a case by case basis as well as from polling of citizens that actually use specific government services.
- Overturn Citizens United v. FEC


Universal Healthcare

- I'd merge the existing budget of Medicare and Medicaid spending with an overall single payer system. Those already receiving government healthcare assistance will be added by default to the single payer system.
- Existing private corporations that provided employee based health insurance will still exist and it'll be up to the employee to decide which option to take. If you're happy with your existing health insurance, you can keep it. If your employee health insurance doesn't quite cover all your personal necessities, then government single payer system will fill in the void to cover your personal necessities. Corporations that offer health insurance to their employees will receive tax deductions for services provided.
- Significant cutbacks to our military budget will be made to help allocate more funds towards a single payer system.
- Taxes will likely go up for everyone to cover any remaining budgetary costs.
- Existing health insurance companies will be given anywhere from a 5 to 10 year leeway to adjust their business models towards the newly introduced single payer option.
- Tax money that goes towards helping the poor and indentured for things like ER visits will now simply be apart of the single payer system
- Initially funding towards spreading awareness of a now existing single payer option and how to apply for it will be provided as well.

Possible consideration in adding a fat tax and smoker tax. I'm against taxing people's preferred lifestyle choices but with a single payer system where taxes will likely be higher for everyone, cutting costs by having an an unhealthy lifestyle tax will cover some of that burden and also discourage unhealthy habits that can be especially costly to taxpayers. You still have the freedom and the right to live as unhealthy as you choose. There will just be an added cost to it since every taxpayer is all in on this. Again, I'm iffy on passing a policy like this but I'd consider it.

Pros(s):

Every single American citizen will be covered for all healthcare needs.
Greater more affordable access to preventative healthcare methods will be more widely available lowering the need for more life threatening medical procedures that can be more costly.

Con(s): Private sector health insurance companies and their employees will probably be hit hard by this implementation even with some leeway provided.
Healthcare will likely be diluted in quality of services provided especially towards more specialized forms of treatment.
There will be an even greater shortage of qualified healthcare professionals to fill the void of an increasing population. Wait times for healthcare appointments could be longer at least initially.
Healthcare Professionals pay will be less market driven so they will likely receive either the same or less pay as before.
A solution to the already existing shortage of healthcare professionals would be to make recruiting qualified employees abroad even easier than it is today.


Free college / Cutting corporate tax subsidies

Just from what I've gathered reading various sources online, it appears the U.S. provides at least $100 billion in tax subsidies annually towards big business. I know in the state of Texas on average taxpayers give big corporations roughly $1.76 billion in subsidies annually. Again for the state of Texas you could allocate $1.25 billion annually in tax subsidies towards covering college applicants tuition and still have $500 million in tax subsidies to offer big corporations. I'd also implement regulations that made it so cities within the same state as one another couldn't outbid each other with state tax dollars to entice a company to build a factory in their city. If anything I'd offer greater tax subsidies to companies that are willing to locate in lower income areas around the U.S. than more densely populated cities. This would cut back inefficient usage of tax subsidies making it more cost effective for taxpayers.

I tried to research what other developed nations provide tax subsidies that the U.S. does and couldn't really find anything substantial. I'm assuming (potentially wrong assumption) the U.S. gives far more in tax subsidies to big business than other developed nations do in the world. I'd lower the amount in tax subsidies we give big business to match other competitive developed nations who likely offer even less than we do to big business.

Not all college programs will be free either. Only those in education fields the U.S. job market needs most but lacks qualified individuals in higher waged jobs. In other words you won't receive a free ride pursuing say a Communications degree or a Liberal Arts degree. Those degree plans will still exist but citizens will be expected to cover more of the cost, which would still be significantly less than what tuition is presently Students that do end up having to cover more of their own tuition will receive a tax break like exists now for students.

Pros:
- Smarter people in general
- Less dependency to hire people abroad outside the U.S.
- More Americans with a higher earning power and thus a greater ability to pay higher taxes being in a higher income bracket. The investment made in college applicants especially in competitive waged fields would pay for itself back in taxes with a successful rate of return on interest.
- Less dependency on government aid like welfare, food stamps, etc. the poor are dependent on to get by.

Cons:

- Possible potential for big companies to allocate themselves outside the U.S. hurting our job sector and economy. I find this unlikely if my assumption that we give tax subsidies to big corporations far more than other developed nations is correct. Matching tax subsidies the rest of the world offers would probably still make them prefer to stay here since we're still the only major economic superpower in the world although other nations aren't trailing behind as much.

 

Part 2

Decriminalizing drugs

Roughly 1% of all adult U.S. citizens are in prison. A good chunk of these people are serving time for recreational drug use. Instead of serving time in prison, an offer of drug rehabilitation will be given instead as well as confiscation of all illegal narcotics.

Roughly $74 billion annually goes towards funding correctional facility institutions. Cutting back on the number of prison sentences by decriminalizing drug use would cut cost back on funding towards it since there will be less people serving time. Drug rehab will allow people finally sick of drug use to receive the help that they need instead of serving a harsh prison sentence where true rehabilitation is unlikely.

Pros:
- Law enforcement can focus more on major crimes like theft, assaults, murder instead of petty street drug busts.
- Less people in prison
- Cost cutting towards funding prisons since there will be less prisoners.
- More people off drugs for good
- This also goes more hand in hand with increasing funding towards behavioral health programs. I'm not for changing the 2nd Amendment but providing more mentally unstable people with behavioral healthcare access should lower the number of mass casualty shootings we see on the news too often.
- Major drug dealers will still be given the full extent of the law. This is more aimed at people that are busted with a gram of whatever illegal narcotic they got and end up serving prison sentences longer than most sex offenders.

Cons:

- Honestly can't think of any other than any costs in tax dollars that might come from this

Legalize Prostitution

Pros:
- Taxes
- Prostitutes are required to get regular health check ups. This results is less STDs passed around and customers are less likely to get sick too.
- Prostitutes are safer since they'd work in brothels where there is security if a suspicious customer is present. Less sexual assaults subsequently because of this.
- Sex trafficking would be lessened.
- Divorce rates would go down.

Cons:

-It would offend religious people.

DISCLAIMER: Again not saying any or in fact all of these policies don't have their worthy criticism. It's just what I'd do if I had the power and support. What would you do to try and make this country better?

 

Nah, I just like to write in general and think about stuff like this. Too often we complain about so and so problem without even really entertaining a thought on how to fix it. Like healthcare. Just thought it'd be interesting to read your viewpoints on what would be your ideal United States of America and also your pros and cons to whatever policies you think would make the U.S. "great again."

On this board I also read that if you disagree with so and so policy, you're automatically labeled a Trump supporter or a liberal when there's policies conservatives disagree on within their own circle just like there's disagreements with policy among the liberal circle. To avoid false character accusations, this is your opportunity to give people on this forum your thoughts on what would be an ideal U.S.