Would you be in favor of the following changes in the federal government / congress?

1. No. It would just give more influence to lobbyists as the "experts" on issues that Congresspeople have to rely on. I would be in favor of longer terms for the House, though, to eliminate the endless campaigning.

2. No. There are legitimate times to deficit spend (war, for example). In other cases, it occurs because of a drop in tax revenues - if you further cut spending, you just compound the problem.

3. Yes

4. No. There is no evidence this would be in any way beneficial for society.

5. No. But I would love to hear your reasoning for it, as well as your explanation of how the Fed works and why it's so terrible. I'd also love to hear your government funding mechanism without an income tax.

6. No. I prefer a healthier society.

 

1. Absolutely.

2. Yes, barring genuine emergencies.

3. Hell ****ing yes.

4. No.

5. Absolutely not.

6. Hell ****ing NO.

 

1. No
2. No
3. Yes, if it's possible for ALL elected officials
4. Hell no
5. No
6. Hell no

 

I've probably been baited, but here goes anyway:

Yup. Some of the old coots just get voted back in by name recognition but are terrible members.

Nope. Rampant idealism relative to the national debt could hamper us at stressful times (like now) when money needs to be spent.

Sounds good.

Nope. Keep 'em and improve their efficiency somehow. While I don't like people sucking up the welfare and social security when it's not necessary (they can easily get a job and provide, they just choose not to), I think there are also a ton of cases where it's absolutely necessary.

That said, I don't know much about how social security or welfare works. My thoughts are basically at a high level: social security is money for old people that don't have any, and welfare is for non-old people that don't have any.

I'm fine with a progressive income tax. I can't quite articulate why, but it's not like someone making more money would suddenly become less wealthy than someone making less money because of it. I'm not making millions upon millions, but I'm making a pretty decent chunk of cash at age 27 which I could see rise, and I don't mind paying more and more as I make more and more.

Nope. Ammend it with a public option or something. Still, the current bill is better than what we had so I don't think it should be repealed.

So, in summary:

1.Yes
2. No
3. Yes
4. No
5. No
6. No

 

I would also be in favor of reformed lobbying - eliminating all trips, gifts, etc completely. Lobbyists should serve only one purpose: providing information and expertise. There should be no personal benefit of any sort to the Congressperson from discussing an issue with a lobbyist.

 

A better question is do you agree that the GOTea Party is for the following platform?

- Repeal the Affordable Care Act (Health insurance Reform)
- Privatize Social Security or phase it out altogether
- End Medicare as it presently exists
- Extend the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy and big oil
- Repeal Wall Street Reform
- Protect those responsible for the oil spill and future environmental catastrophes
- Abolish the Department of education
- Abolish the Department of energy
- Abolish the environmental protection agency
- Repeal the 17th Amendment which provides for the direct election of senators

 

Would you be in favor of the following changes in the federal government / congress?

1. term limits for senators and congressmen just like for the presidency.

Not in favor. Instead, i would like to see the incentives for staying in Congress limited severely. If someone genuinely wants to serve their country and not because it is a stepping stone or way to get rich, by all means let them do so.

2. a true balanced budget amendment that would completely eliminate deficit spending of any kind to avoid further escalation of the national debt.

Undecided.

3. a true campaign contribution reform to allow total transparency of ALL contributions to ALL elected officials.

Absolutely, without a doubt. 100%.

4. termination of all federal social security and welfare programs; obviously this would have to be a tiered dismantling and some things could be transferred to the state level if said state wanted it.

Cut WAY back on the military. Get us out of Afghanistan and Iraq and Germany and Japan and other non-hot zones. We DO need a presence on the Korean DMZ because that war ain't over yet!

5. removal of the privately owned federal reserve and progressive income tax in favor of moving back to a federally backed treasury note and, if needed, a flat tax applied equally to all citizens.

No way. Make the progressive income tax rates pre-Reagan era.

6. repeal of the health care bill.

No, expansion of the health care bill to true universal health care.

 

1. term limits for senators and congressmen just like for the presidency No, because term limits are in place to prevent presidents from becoming dictators.

2. a true balanced budget amendment that would completely eliminate deficit spending of any kind to avoid further escalation of the national debt The national debt is not that bad. When it gets bad enough, people will stop lending to us. Debt leads to growth.

3. a true campaign contribution reform to allow total transparency of ALL contributions to ALL elected officials Unnecessary.

These might sting a bit but are sorely needed…
4. termination of all federal social security and welfare programs; obviously this would have to be a tiered dismantling and some things could be transferred to the state level if said state wanted itThe reason we have these social safety nets are because we engage in free trade. The benefits of free trade outweigh the costs of the safety net, so there is a net gain.

5. removal of the privately owned federal reserve and progressive income tax in favor of moving back to a federally backed treasury note and, if needed, a flat tax applied equally to all citizens - Nope. Unknowledgable politicians should not run our monetary policy. Also we should become stricter in enforcing our tax code.

And the final thing…
6. repeal of the health care bill
As a doctor, the health care bill is a good thing. As a citizen, it is a good thing.

These are some of the most fringe ideas I have ever read.

 

1. term limits - MAYBE, depends on how it is structured

2. a true balanced budget amendment - NO

3. a true campaign contribution reform - YES, and the GOP is filibustering a step in this direction as we speak

4. termination of all federal social security and welfare programs;- NO

5. removal of the privately owned federal reserve and progressive income tax - NO

6. repeal of the health care bill - NO

 

I would love to hear your views on each of the suggested changes.

 

Yep. 2 terms for Senators and 5 terms for Congressmen.

No, but I'd support it with just one exception: declared war.

Absolutely

Yes for welfare. No for Social Security. And if we didn't already have social security, I wouldn't support adding it. And I would support a privitization like Peru has done. Defined benefit plans are designed to go broke.

Yep. In a heartbeat.

Yes.

 

No, and as always, you go for the extreme.

 

Clarification, because I can't read: I don't support a true flat tax. I would support a flat tax on income above a certain level.

 

1. no
2. no
3. yes
4. no
5. no

 

No
No
Yes (to include candidates as well)
No
No
No

 

If you're asking as a total package, no.

If you're asking us to itemize....

1. yes, in one form or another, though I like mulder's answer to this also.

2. yes, with provisions and prerequisites for exceptions.

3. Undecided. In some ways yes, in some ways, no.

4. no

5. no

6. no

 

1. hell yes to term limits - i like mexico - president gets one 6 year term. limit of 2 terms for other offices. perhaps a provision to allow one to run for their old office after sitting out 1 or 2 full terms?

2. yes - however, as ron paul states over and over, the only way we will get our financial house in order is by dramatically scaling back our global empire - no military bases spread all over the world - no foreign interventionism - no nation-building - no pre-emptive wars resulting in 10 year occupations - and no tax cuts for the rich, especially during a time of war. somehow, i dont see the average republican/"conservative" going for all that.

3. yes and i would also ban all lobbyists.

4. no. and this kind of goes back to #2 - when republicans/"conservatives" talk about cutting spending they look at social/welfare programs, some of which actually help people in our own country. and they totally ignore the biggest drain, which is the stuff i talked about in #2. again, the only way to get our spending under control is to reign in our global empire/military.

5. curious...i am all for eliminating the fed though.

6. yes, b/c this health care bill was a sell-out - there is no public option as obama promised - instead there is a mandate forcing you to buy insurance. the bill forces millions of new customers on the health care industry so how could they not like it? i would fully support a public option.

 

1) Yes
2) Yes (sort of)
3) Yes
4) No
5) Maybe
6) No
7) Tax Religious Institutions (i.e church, mosques, etc) - Yes

 

1. Term Limits: I could go either way. If we did do a term limit, I'd want it to be pretty long. I'm actually much more interested in the service of the Justices. I think they should be term-limited at least, and, ideally, elected.

2. Balanced Budget: Qualified no. We need some flexibility in handling finances. I do think some mechanisms should be in place to more actively discourage deficits, however.

3. Campaign finance: Sure, transparency is good. Honestly, though, I'd go a lot further and bar donations from corporations and would consider a public-finance-only electoral process.

4. Terminate SSA & welfare: No, I would expand them. They may need some rationalization, but right now we're not pulling our weight yet.

5. Removal of Federal Reserve and progressive income tax: No. I'm not sure what the beef is with the federal reserve, but I probably don't agree with you. As for the income tax, I think making it progressive is essential to a well-ordered society. If the rich want their wealth to be tolerated by the poor, they'll have to pay.

6. Repeal Healthcare: Hell no. See #4. Again, the legislative process may have given us a mess, but we should be making it better, not getting rid of it.