Personal Politics

[NickD]

As it's election year in several different countries this year, I recently swapped policies with an American woman I know from over the internet. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and is offended by the poor people who are stealing all her monies through taxes. Myself, I don't really fit any party, so I laid out my policies. She hated my philosophy of social responsibility over personal responsiblity. She said if people get sick and can't afford treatment they deserve to die. I said that's a sad way to look at the world. We had an argument and haven't spoken since.

I thought I'd repost them here so they wouldn't go to waste.

I can't believe anyone follows their party's policies 100%, so please feel free to add your own policies here!

HEALTH
I think health care should be heavily subsidised and no person should have to pay more than $40 for a GP visit. Unemployed people (including the elderly and students) should only have to pay half that. And that's without insurance. Children under 5 should get free healthcare. Hospitals should be free.

EDUCATION
Education should be free up to tertiary level, and should also be heavily subsidised at tertiary level.

TAXATION
This crap with different taxes for different states is just silly. There should just be federal level tax. A straight goods and services tax of maybe 20%. I know, that's high, but that would be offset by significantly lowering of the income tax so it becomes more of a user pays model. Income tax, business tax and a vice tax (more on that later), all federal.

VICES
I'm all for legalising all vices that do not cause immediate harm to others. Alcohol, smoking, prostitution, soft drugs, hard drugs, petrol (let me explain that one below before you claim that petrol is not a vice). You could even include junk food in there. On top of the goods and service tax, they would also incur a vice tax. Perhaps as much as another 20%. Also, each substance or service could only legally be purchased from a licensed vendor, and only consumed on licensed premises, in the privacy of your own home or set public areas. Licenses would need to be renewed yearly. Let me break down the vices for you here.

Alcohol: Self explanatory. It's pretty much how things are now. Also, I would lower the drinking age to 18.

Smoking: Also pretty much how things are now. Although it would effectly ban smoking from the sidewalk (in Japan, a very heavy smoking population, smoking in public is restricted to certain areas), smoking areas could be set up outside, or it may be allowed to smoke outside if certain conditions are met. If a city or state wished to ban smoking in public buildings, they would just need to refuse to hand out smoking licenses.

Prostitution: Restricting it to licensed properties (AKA brothels) would still leave street walking illegal. I'd make the brothel responsible for the health of the workers and the client. Forcing prostitutes to get registered will just drive them underground, but there should be a non-invasive way to get them to get regular check ups. I'd make that as a requirement for the license anyway.

Soft Drugs: Pretty much the same as smoking.

Hard Drugs: I'd even include heroin in this category, but realistically, I wouldn't recommend that any heroin licenses are issued.

Petrol: Not really a vice, sure. Any vice tax on petrol must be used to pay for the roads, making it a user pays issue. Hopefully this will also have the added benefits of encouraging public transport use and promoting alternative fuel sources.

GAY MARRIAGE
I wouldn't make them legal. Marriage is a religious institution and if the church does not want to marry gay couples it should not have to. Instead, I'd remove the legal aspects of marriage and move them all over to civil unions. Anyone would be able to have a civil union with anyone else. Multiple partners are acceptable. It is not for the government to tell anyone how to love. Of course, lines are still drawn with children.

ENVIRONMENT
I am not a fan of the Kyoto agreement. Instead I would like to see an environmental agreement based on the carbon footprint of the country compared to the carbon offset of the country (trees, size of the country, etc), rather than some arbitary "1991" setting. Companies must also be held fully accountable for their polluting.

In favour of Hydro, Solar and Wind Turbine power sources over Coal. Make fly ash Coal burning illegal. I'm a New Zealander, so anti-Nuclear power stations.

Improved public transport. Higher density and electrification. Not necessarily expected to make a profit, as the social benefits can outweigh the fiscal damage.

MILITARY
Cut down the military by a whole lot. Focus more on peace keeping than aggression. Use diplomacy rather than force to avert conflict.

WELFARE
Welfare should be available for everyone. By letting people keep falling and falling, they are not being given a chance to get back on their feet. I would much rather contribute to a welfare society than allow so many people to be living on the streets who have a much reduced chance of getting back up on their feet and contributing to society. I would consider it a failing of society for anyone to be living on the streets due to circumstances not of their choosing (i.e., the only homeless people should be those that refuse to work or got there through drugs and alcohol).

LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY
At the age of 18 a child officially becomes an adult, although they can choose to become an adult at 16 or 17 with the consent of their parents. Once a child becomes an adult, they are no longer eligible for free education. They are allowed to participate in vices, give consent for sex, join the military and form a civil union with another adult.

LAW AND ORDER
Society is based on people working together for the betterment of all. If people are shown to be unwilling (not including the incapable, such as the elderly or disabled (physically or mentally)) to contribute to society after being given many chances, those people should be removed from society. I'm not talking about people down on their luck and on welfare, I'm talking about people who live on state welfare and refuse to work even when the opportunity is given to them. I'm talking about violent repeat criminals. And I don't mean put them in prison where they would still be leaching off society. Put them on an island somewhere and let them do whatever they like.

Any parents of children that commit crimes must go through appropriate parenthood training.

QUARANTINE
I have been saying this for many years. People with an incurrable and infectious disease need to be quarantineed. And this includes people with HIV/AIDS. To make a long subject short, test everyone, put those that test positive in set communities where they are not allowed to leave, but otherwise have full freedoms and access to treatment. Test everyone who tested negative again six month later. Problem solved. We don't need to lose another 40 million+ people to the virus. I take a lot of flak for my beliefs on this one. Mostly people accuse me of encouraging concentration camps. I see it more as treating the cause rather than the symptoms.

[Veilan]

Maybe once the election is over, I might just reply .

[Mulu]

QUARANTINE
I have been saying this for many years. People with an incurrable and infectious disease need to be quarantineed.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just brand them on the forehead?

[NickD]

No, because some people are still stupid enough to have sex with people they know have HIV/AIDS. Those people would now have to go into a controlled environment to do so and would be able to be tested when leaving the environment.

[Mulu]

But you could brand them too. Isn't that just natural selection then?

[NickD]

But you could brand them too. Isn't that just natural selection then?

Branding may be cheaper in the short term, but in the long term segregation works better. It will reduce and then eventually eliminate the requirement for education and developing and testing of new medications. And then, in 20 years time, you'll have the infrastructure in place for the next incurable disease. Or really cheap housing.

It would have to be world-wide policy for it to actually be totally effective though, obviously. But what if this had happened when there were only thousands or even hundreds of thousands of infected? 40 million people less dead or only alive through the grace of expensive drugs.

[paazin]

In favour of Hydro, Solar and Wind Turbine power sources over Coal. Make fly ash Coal burning illegal. I'm a New Zealander, so anti-Nuclear power stations.

To those of us who aren't New Zealanders why would the one imply the other?


Also, wow - where the heck did you meet this woman that would prefer poor people die out on the street? Sheesh, here's hoping she's found in that situation herself.

[NickD]

To those of us who aren't New Zealanders why would the one imply the other?

New Zealand became a "nuclear free" country in the mid 80s. It strained our relationship with America due to our saying that their warships can only dock in our ports if they confirm they are not nuclear powered or armed with any nuclear weapons. As that information is classified, we have also been an "American Navy free" country since the mid 80s. Although the relationship appears to be warming up somewhat under Bush as he started handing out candy so people would like him.

[paazin]

To those of us who aren't New Zealanders why would the one imply the other?

New Zealand became a "nuclear free" country in the mid 80s. It strained our relationship with America due to our saying that their warships can only dock in our ports if they confirm they are not nuclear powered or armed with any nuclear weapons. As that information is classified, we have also been an "American Navy free" country since the mid 80s. Although the relationship appears to be warming up somewhat under Bush as he started handing out candy so people would like him.

Cool, you keep doing that while we enjoy the cheap power

[Mulu]

It would have to be world-wide policy for it to actually be totally effective though, obviously.

Hmm, so you're thinking of just converting say Australia to a giant leper colony effectively for the whole world and for all incurable diseases? Or would you look for cheaper real estate?

[zicada]

Interesting mix and match of various political ideologies.

You go from very liberal sociopolitically on the one hand, to radically, almost extremist faschism style on the other. All the while keeping a fairly large state, but with relatively low taxes.

Every time we have somebody in society we don't want to deal with, we can just "ship them off to some island"

I was actually with you down to gay marriage, wich i disagree with you on, minus the taxcut ideas, that just cant work in the system you propose, and then, your last two statements are just.. well,- this european country you may have heard of had similar ideas in the late 30's and 40's..

[zicada]

Also, wow - where the heck did you meet this woman that would prefer poor people die out on the street? Sheesh, here's hoping she's found in that situation herself.

lol

+1

[NickD]

Hmm, so you're thinking of just converting say Australia to a giant leper colony effectively for the whole world and for all incurable diseases? Or would you look for cheaper real estate?

I was thinking Hawaii. One big island for the diseased, one for the drains on society!

Or you know, lots of different communities, not just one big one.

[danielmn]

I'm not too keen on the sick quarentine. The habitual felon quarentine is right up my alley though...put them all on an island, no sail zone with a navy boat or two assigned patrol duty...let them figure it out.

[NickD]

I was actually with you down to gay marriage, wich i disagree with you on

You don't support equal rights for homosexual unions, logical environmental protection, peaceful international relations or social welfare?