You become dictator. What do you do?

[legend]

The first thing I would do is hire (yes, hire) a panel of experts to challenge me on all of the following ideas and design the actual policy which is beyond my expertise.

 

All policies would be recommended with cause and effect reasoning and forecasts. A second body of experts would be hired to monitor the effects of the policies and evaluate whether they were failing to hit the forecasts or had unforeseen negatives consequences. Upon these events, the policies would be reworked by the original team, or someone other than the evaluation team with a new set of forecasts.

 

My initial draft of goals would consist of the following:

• Free health care
• UBI and scrap other welfare programs
• Cheap government-regulated housing options
• Increased pay for teachers
• University full-paid scholarships for anyone above a certain performance and who maintains their GPA and credits in college
• Free easily-available abortions
• Legalize and regulate marijuana
• Legalize and regulate prostitution
• Decriminalize all drug use
• Science-based drug rehab covered under government health care
• Send fewer people to jail with permanent record marks in favor of more community service demands
• Reduce military funding over some TBD time period by 25%; work with NATO to distribute responsibility.

 

 

How insane am I?  

 

EDIT: adding one more

• Much stronger gun regulation. Personal ownership would be acceptable for certain kinds of rifles suitable for hunting. All guns released for such ownership would have to be explicitly approved and be more like an ESRB system to avoid people gaming fixed rules. No handguns would be allowed for personal ownership. However, various other kinds of guns (including hand guns) could be "owned" if they were stored at gun-regulated ranges which is the only place they could be used. The security of these ranges would be required to be similar to that of a bank.

[Slug]

I'm on board.  ¡Viva Leyenda!

 

I think the only thing I'd adjust on your list is not making the paid college merit based.  If someone has been resident in and paying taxes to a state for some determined period of time that should translate into X number of years of state college credit each for them and their dependents.

[legend]

18 minutes ago, Slug said:

I'm on board.  ¡Viva Leyenda!

 

I think the only thing I'd adjust on your list is not making the paid college merit based.  If someone has been resident in and paying taxes to a state for some determined period of time that should translate into X number of years of state college credit each for them and their dependents.

 

That's an interesting direction. My motivation was to try and combat paying for people going to college who weren't really working at it, but making it available to anyone who was actually serious about learning. I would absolutely be open to considering other alternatives, or maybe it's a concern that just wouldn't be worth the overhead to try and combat.

[Slug]

1 minute ago, legend said:

 

That's an interesting direction. My motivation was to try and combat paying for people going to college who weren't really working at it, but making it available to anyone who was actually serious about learning. I would absolutely be open to considering other alternatives, or maybe it's a concern that just wouldn't be worth the overhead to try and combat.

I see what you're getting at.  It just rubs me wrong somehow.  I'd assume the program would be tax-funded.  The thought that I could be paying for a public benefit that I don't get to make use of because my kid is a D student or something just doesn't sit well in my head.  It'd be like denying someone that free health care because they don't go to the gym and love tacos a little too much.

 

What I was thinking was that each tax-paying, established resident and qualifying dependent gets X years from initial college enrollment (to cover folks who maybe don't want to or can't go to college immediately out of high school) to earn their degree, academic performance during that period not being a factor.  Any education beyond that (whether they fail to earn their degree in the covered time or desire to continue into higher level programs) they would have to pay for themselves or secure private funding.

[legend]

15 minutes ago, Slug said:

I see what you're getting at.  It just rubs me wrong somehow.  I'd assume the program would be tax-funded.  The thought that I could be paying for a public benefit that I don't get to make use of because my kid is a D student or something just doesn't sit well in my head.  It'd be like denying someone that free health care because they don't go to the gym and love tacos a little too much.

 

What I was thinking was that each tax-paying, established resident and qualifying dependent gets X years from initial college enrollment (to cover folks who maybe don't want to or can't go to college immediately out of high school) to earn their degree, academic performance during that period not being a factor.  Any education beyond that (whether they fail to earn their degree in the covered time or desire to continue into higher level programs) they would have to pay for themselves or secure private funding.

 

To your point, I was actually a terrible student in high school. It wasn't until halfway through college that I became serious. Although I may have acted differently in high-school if I knew it would affect my ability to go to college free or not. I'll consider your suggestion. (Even though I'll never have the opportunity to directly act on any of this maybe some day a candidate will come that pushes hard on this kind of thing!)

[Slug]

This is why you'd be a good dictator; you'd still listen to your people.

[PaladinSolo]

Probably hire a bunch of people that know what the fuck their doing.

[SuperSpreader]

Two chicks at the same time.

[Remarkableriots]

Skynet AKA Legend is trying to take over the world!

[chakoo]

Mostly what legend said with the added action of killing all boomers first, then doing the rest.

 

A few exceptions will be made (can’t go off killing Picard)

[Chairslinger]

Fire whoever's dumb idea it was to put me in charge.

[thewhyteboar]

Combine Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Louisiana into one state. Give this new state 1 Senator and 1 Representative. 

[Guest]

I would require price transparency for all healthcare procedures, including a searchable online price list.

[Kal-El814]

My pie in the sky list?

 

• Abolish handgun and semi-automatic rifle sales forever outside of the military and law enforcement. Incentivize the destruction of those weapons for current, private owners. Create a federal registry for gun ownership. Non-compliance with the federal registry results upon the permanent confiscation of all firearms upon discovery along with the permanent loss of permission to own or operate a firearm
• Automatic and compulsory voter registration when someone turns 18. Declare national election days as federal holidays
• Some kind of UBI
• Abortions are legal and accessible
• Marijuana is legalized
• Elimination of all for-profit prisons
• I’d need economists and actuaries to crunch the numbers, but I’d have an incredibly high tax rate over $X million dollars of income
• Make the possession of small amounts of most drugs misdemeanors and not felonies
• Reimagine and enforce campaign finance laws

Some other stuff I can’t think of offhand.

[Nokra]

2 hours ago, Slug said:

This is why you'd be a good dictator; you'd still listen to your people.

 

 

 

[PaladinSolo]

Realistically siphon billions of dollars into my personal accounts, blame my political opponents for money coming up missing and execute them all. 

[Ghost_MH]

Why do I feel like this is just legend's weak attempt to crowd source his settings for Skynet?

[marioandsonic]

Give myself a billion dollars, hire a bunch of people that know what the fuck they're doing, and then resign.

[Dodger]

I definitely think taxes after a certain amount of income needs to be like a good flat 50%. I don't know the exact number either, but if you have a billion dollars, and the government takes half, you're still different color Ferrari for every day of the week rich. Same thing with estate taxes. After a certain point, take half. Like even make the base high, like $10 million or something. If your estate was worth $200 million and the government takes half, your heirs, and their heirs, are still set for life.

 

Definitely support universal healthcare. I shouldn't be avoiding going to the doctor because I'm afraid of what the cost will be. And I already pay out the ass for the privilege of being too scared to use my insurance, so whatever tax I have to pay seems worth it.

 

I could probably get behind UBI. A safety net should be just that, a safety net. When the guy walks the hire wire act with a safety net the net is there in case he fucks up, not as a crutch he uses to do the entire act. Help should be there for when people need it, but people need to be able to help themselves as well. Popping out kids you can't afford shouldn't sign you up for years on the dole. I believe in a strong safety net for people who truly need it, but it shouldn't be a career choice. 

 

Treat drug use as the health problem it is and not a crime problem

 

Strong and secure borders with strict immigration enforcement. Make the process for legal immigration of qualified and vetted people easier. Talented and skilled people should definitely be fast tracked. I know a lot of you will disagree because of your feels but while coming here just to be poor might make you better off than being poor where you were, it doesn't help the rest of us. 

[Slug]

19 minutes ago, Nokra said:

 

 

 

Hey!  A dictator can still take input and be a dictator! :P

[GeneticBlueprint]

First I would install some sort of big brother apparatus that's functionally equivalent to the one in 1984. Then:

 

Criminalize several distasteful behaviors:

 

Three strikes you're out (first a warning, then a $100 fine, then permanent lifelong solitary confinement)

• Referring to Frankenstein's monster as Frakenstein
• Getting enjoyment out of anything "ironically"
• Referring to a Mazda Miata as a sports car
• Trying to pay your total at a retail store with a check

Two strikes you're out (first is a $100 fine, second is the firing squad)

• Chewing with your mouth open
• Taking up two "lanes" on the sidewalk by not walking in a straight fucking line like you've got some purpose in your miserable fucking life. FUCK.
• Not returning your shopping cart to the cart return
• Having your shitty music audible to the public around you in any form

One strike you're out (Judge Dredds get to put a bullet in your head on the spot)

• Changing lanes without signaling
• Tailgating a car that is going the speed limit or above
• Having a short haircut and asking to speak with the manager
• Saying "literally" when you mean "figuratively"? No problem. The Judge will literally kill you.

Decriminalize some inoffensive bullshit:

• Marijuana

 

I can't give an exhaustive serious answer so I just made a list of things that I saw, heard, or happened to me and irritated me in the last week.

[Massdriver]

It's not a bad list. I'm on board with several of the items. My list:

 

• Phase out existing Federal taxes and implement a Federal land value tax with a progressive consumption tax to fund the Federal government.
• Universal healthcare with cost controls. Something similar to Singapore, or just something that works.
• Scrap most carbon regulations and implement a moderate carbon tax that gradually increases over time and is proportionally redistributed back to the people.
• Implement a negative income tax or wage subsides while scrapping many other welfare programs. Study UBI
• Increase university grants and scholarships for certain students that prove themselves. 
• Universal Pre-K and tracks for high school. Reform school financing and mandate central state pools rather than local districts to equalize funding as needed. Merit pay for teachers. Year round school with more days. 
• Cut down or eliminate occupational licensing. 
• Eliminate zoning or implement Japan- style zoning on the Federal level
• Sign free trade deals such as the TPP, a Latin American deal, and a deal with Europe. Sign any decent free trade deal period.
• Increase all legal immigration, especially high skilled immigration. Implement merit based immigration on top of chain migration. Make cross border free movement deals with other developed countries (not citizenship, just for living and work).
• Support the UN, NATO, and the EU (while encouraging EU reform)
• Increase infrastructure spending, in part by raising fuel taxes
• Triple basic scientific research spending
• 2-3x NASA's budget
• Reduce penalties for nearly every type of crime based on recommendations from experts to maintain public safety. Increase funding for diversion programs, parole, etc. Abolish private prisons. 
• Legalize cannabis for adults. Decriminalize possession of other soft drugs. Remove research barriers for scheduled drugs, including mdma, mushrooms, lsd, ketamine, etc.
• Civil fines for hard drugs with treatment (Portugal). Prescription heroin, methadone, etc. where needed. Clean needles.
• Study a sovereign wealth fund that focuses on indexing with the only purpose of distributing sustainable gains to the middle and lower class
• Mandatory worker retirement savings that use index funds for the work force.
• More anti trust enforcement.
• Cut regulations on businesses with a less than a ~200 million dollar market cap. Reduce public stock regulations for small cap companies to encourage more companies to go public.
• Reduce regulations on small banks
• Local loop unbundling for Internet
• Free birth control

[Jason]

13 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

First I would install some sort of big brother apparatus that's functionally equivalent to the one in 1984. Then:

 

Criminalize several distasteful behaviors:

 

Three strikes you're out (first a warning, then a $100 fine, then permanent lifelong solitary confinement)

• Referring to Frankenstein's monster as Frakenstein
• Getting enjoyment out of anything "ironically"
• Referring to a Mazda Miata as a sports car
• Trying to pay your total at a retail store with a check

Two strikes you're out (first is a $100 fine, second is the firing squad)

• Chewing with your mouth open
• Taking up two "lanes" on the sidewalk by not walking in a straight fucking line like you've got some purpose in your miserable fucking life. FUCK.
• Not returning your shopping cart to the cart return
• Having your shitty music audible to the public around you in any form

One strike you're out (Judge Dredds get to put a bullet in your head on the spot)

• Changing lanes without signaling
• Tailgating a car that is going the speed limit or above
• Having a short haircut and asking to speak with the manager

Decriminalize some inoffensive bullshit:

• Marijuana

 

I can't give an exhaustive serious answer so I just made a list of things that I saw, heard, or happened to me and irritated me in the last week.

 

This list literally killed me.

[legend]

41 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

Why do I feel like this is just legend's weak attempt to crowd source his settings for Skynet?

 

2 hours ago, Remarkableriots said:

Skynet AKA Legend is trying to take over the world!

 

 

[gamer.tv]

Increase taxes, make all the problems go away with the money, have a special clause where £1 per month, from each person goes to me.  Never work.  Maybe blow up something with an RPG.

[SuperSpreader]

1) Break up all religious institutions. Take away their wealth.

2) ???

3) BioShock. Or Mexico.

[HGLatinBoy]

1) start the propaganda to get rid of religion and push for science as the almighty

 

2) make education the only thing that matters in the lives of all the children. Kids are taken to schools where they will be indoctrinated into worshiping science and they can return to their families on the weekends.

 

3) every adult will be required to attend 1 two hour class every week to educate them on how to be better people and how to raise children regardless if they’ve have kids or not. The idea is to have the adults reinforce what is taught to the kids 

 

4) adults will also be required to put in 2 years of military service at the age of 18 to help learn some sort of discipline whilst taking college courses basic training and basic college classes. This will allow them to branch out the age 21 to either have a career in the military or go full university.

 

5) all jobs must be either labor, enriching, or engineering. If you’re dumb as fuck then you’re digging ditches. Any task that can be done by machines or robots must be done machines or robots. The goal is to have people maintain infrastructure or better the society.

 

6) food is provided daily and your toilets at home will automatically rate your piss and give you a small health update 

[SuperSpreader]

The best society is heavily regulated.

[GeneticBlueprint]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

 

This list literally killed me.

See my edit.

[Chris-]

• Implement a negative income tax; reduce other welfare spending as a result
• Increase the federal minimum wage to $12 and tie it to inflation
• Merge Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA spending into one entity and allow public enrollment (private insurance can stick around for those who want it)
• Tax capital gains and dividends as income
• Institute an estate tax for estates over $2 million dollars
• Implement universal baby bonds, which fully vest at age 18 and can be used for any purpose; the amount per individual is based on their family AGI at time of birth
• A marginal tax rate of 45% for incomes over $1 million
• Institute a carbon tax
• Lower the corporate tax rate to 20%
• Legalize and regulate marijuana
• Legalize and regulate prostiution
• Declare sexual orientation as a fully protected class
• Ban all semi-automatic weapons and high capacity magazines
• Destroy Carthage

[Littleronin]

Part of being a dictator is dealing with dissenters. With the ideas touted in this thread I move that we strap dissenters to Patriot missiles and fire them out to sea. Of course these "missile tests" will be broadcast for fullest effect.  

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

4 hours ago, Chris- said:

• Implement a negative income tax; reduce other welfare spending as a result
• Increase the federal minimum wage to $12 and tie it to inflation
• Merge Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA spending into one entity and allow public enrollment (private insurance can stick around for those who want it)
• Tax capital gains and dividends as income
• Institute an estate tax for estates over $2 million dollars
• Implement universal baby bonds, which fully vest at age 18 and can be used for any purpose; the amount per individual is based on their family AGI at time of birth
• A marginal tax rate of 45% for incomes over $1 million
• Institute a carbon tax
• Lower the corporate tax rate to 20%
• Legalize and regulate marijuana
• Legalize and regulate prostiution
• Declare sexual orientation as a fully protected class
• Ban all semi-automatic weapons and high capacity magazines
• Destroy Carthage

Lol dropping the corporate rate 1 percentage point makes the list?

[Chris-]

Just now, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

Lol dropping the corporate rate 1 percentage point makes the list?

 

I like round numbers. 

 

[RedSoxFan9]

Seize the means of production and kill all of the capitalists

[Jwheel86]

Cripple Agenda:

Removal all State and Federal asset and income requirements from disability service programs. Ban wait lists.

 

Restore Democracy Agenda:

Congressional Districts are drawn by the Judiciary Branch at the Federal level. Districts must attempt to conform to existing political boundaries (city or county lines).

Money is not speech, all campaigns are publicly funded. 

All elections are regulated by an empowered FEC ran by the Judiciary Branch. 

All primary elections must be open. 

Same day voter registration. 

Ban elected Judges and Sheriffs. 

President can call snap elections in the House. If snap election results in a 33% change over, Senate is dissolved.