The ODU Smitty Platform
Enough of the pandering and non-committal crap coming out of our candidates for the next 4 years of Presidental power.
Someone has to put out a platform to define what their objectives are to rally the base and provide a vision for the future. Many of you will not like it, but at least I have the cojones to put it out there. Feel free to rip to shreds or offer your alternatives, but let's move this conversation towards policy instead of ideology.
1. Cut all federal budgets by 20% (including defense) . Hold management accountable to meeting targets using zero-based billing exercise and replace those that cannot.
2. End the Dept of Education. Cut funding to Dept of Agriculture by 50% - end electrification projects, subsidies to not produce, and loan programs. Cut funding to the DOL and HHS by 35% using criteria of item #1.
3. Overhaul federal retirement program to match realities of private sector. Don't interfere when state/municipalities do the same.
4. Overhaul Social Security. Raise current retirement age to meet funding requirements. Treat as you would a bankruptcy (since it is) and allow non-retirement aged citizens to opt-out, receiving a % of lifetime conributions (35-40%) rolled directly into a 401k account and exclusion waiver from receipt of SS benefits in the future.
5. Get completely out of the United Nations. End all funding and program support. If they want to stay in New York, do not provide any support for diplomatic movement around the city.
6. Repeal the Health-Care Bill. Encourage portability across state lines and pooling of small company employees to receive better premiums.
7. Get out of Afghanistan, completely.
8. Place annual and lifetime benefit cap on the recipient class benefits. Make sum total of Welfare, Section 8 housing, food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid reimbursements 20% below minimum wage for 2040 hours annually. Provide incentive at one-year and five-year anniversary of freedom from those programs.
9. Build the border fence....without walkways on bridges.
10. Allow 12-month period for all illegals to self-deport. For those who participate, expedite a new temporary worker visa for their return and collect all necessary taxes from these folks. Deport the rest with no opportunity to legally enter the US again.
11. Amend constitution to eliminate incentive to illegally cross border and gain status via"anchor-baby" approach.
12. Provide no entitlements to illegals or those on aforementioned temp worker visas.
13. End the federal CZAR nominations. If an agency needs a head, let them be approved through the Congressional process like othe appointees.
14. Place limts on what Congress can do during any lame-duck period.....namely items requiring funding and federal mandates.
15. Get out of the automotive, health-care, banking, and student aid businesses. Blow up Fannie Mae an Feddie Mac and sell off assets to where they belong - the private sector.
17. End gender and race-based quota systems for government employees.
18. Provide congressional oversight of agencies such as EPA to prevent unelected government officials from enacting mandates without a check and balance - i.e. naming CO2 as a priority polluatnt that needs taxing and government control. Roll back regulation mandate to 2000 level and let Congress legislate on the more recent EPA dictates.
19. Provide 4-year college tuition for anyone who honorably enlists and serves in the armed forces for 4 or more years. Use existing GI bill structure to build up funding for living expenses, etc during the post-military education years.
20. Expedite renewal of NRC permits and encourage growth of additional nuclear capability on existing sites (already started, but a VERY slow process). Set reasonable target to increase electrical generation from nukes by 50% over 15 year period.
21. Reduce all Foreign Aid by 50%.
22. Pass a balanced-budget amendment to mandate the federal government act similar to state governments in controlling spending within means of available revenues.
23. Recognize the right of homsexual couples to receive benefits previously reserved for heterosexual couples. Similarly recognize right of those individuals opposed to same-sex relationships to express their viewpoints, without threat of government "blockades" being placed around their business activities.
24. End federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Just because it is legal, does not mean it needs to federally-funded.
25. Disband public-sector unions, at federal, state, and local levels.
Cheers,
Smitty
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