Most important Issue for the US Government to tackle?

[youcomebeforeyo]

Vote away. Suggest anything I may have missed out.

I think this will be interesting to see peoples thoughts.

Breif rundown of the issues:

Iraqi War: Lack of stable government in Iraq. When can the US pull out etc?
Rising Defecit: US Debt is increasing into record levels.
Child Poverty: More children are growing up in the US in second/third world conditions.
Pornography: The FBI now has a 'War on Pornography'. Moral decline of the US?
Drugs: There is a relationship between drugs and crime. Is it a pressing issue?
Reform: Popular vote doesn't always mean the president gets in. Tax system is a mess. Does the US need to sort its priorities?
Abortion: Possibility of the overturn of Roe VS Wade. Another moral issue.
The War on Terror: Is America safe? Is it a media myth?
Declining Living Standards: The minimum wage is lower than it was in the 1980's now. The poor are getting poorer. Big problem?
Climate Change: Myth or biggest human crisis to be faced?

[Justin_stacy]

There's nothing more vital then the immigrantion/border control issue........the few issues above that are important pale in comparison to this topic.

[youcomebeforeyo]

So aparentely you cannot edit a poll once the thread is created.

Delete and add your option + an other option?

[Justin_stacy]

So aparentely you cannot edit a poll once the thread is created.

Delete and add your option + an other option?]

ya i noticed earlier that you were having some problems with the polling.......i'd say fuck it if i were you, and leave it be. :thumbsup:

[youcomebeforeyo]

A'ight then.

Anyway my personal choice believe or not was reform. The internal situation in the US sometimes seems unworkable. My dads work is based in San Fransisco. He has told me about in some cities there are literally city blocks with an extra percent tax rate of them dating back from hundreds of years ago. The patent system is a mess, Microsoft is in a position to patent Ipods because the whole organisation is understaffed. Cities compete against each other for businesses in tax incentives etc. President can be elected even though more people voted for another candidate.

I don't think any issues in the US can be tackled firmly unless the country sorts itself out internaly. The next president should run on reform in my opinion. Get rid of the electoral college, propose flat tax rates, de regulate and re regulate business conditions etc.

This of course is coming from a perspective of someone outside the US.

[GhostsDaddy]

Conservatives.

L. O. L.

On a more serious note, I'd say that quite simply, the govenment needs to take care of itself and its people. Disagreeing with Mr. Stacy, no surprise, I'd say that I don't really care about border control. People can come in all they want. We need to regulate our businesses so that they don't get hired without proper, legal identification, cannot get housing, cannot get government benefits. They won't want to come if there's no reason for them to do so.

Set our country straight, enforce rules we have laid out, let the rest of the world figure themselves out.

I'm sure I've used this analogy before, but if every country in the world represented a person, The United States would be the bratty teenager, hell bent on being different from the other countries in the world, trying everything possible to get people to like them, including threatening and bribery, and then blaming someone else when something goes wrong. It's not a good thing. I hope we grow out of it soon.

[Justin_stacy]

I'd say that I don't really care about border control. .

Boy there's a shocker..... :shake:

[GhostsDaddy]

Boy there's a shocker..... :shake:
And I gave my reasons why. There's no need to worry about border control if we enforce our rules.

[Justin_stacy]

And I gave my reasons why. There's no need to worry about border control if we enforce our rules.
Well again honcho.......I said immigration and border control. But in relation to what you said the reason why those things won't happen is because people with your mind set, particularly the ACLU and activities judges, stop them. They won't let you cut off state and local funding to criminals, they won't let you prohibit them from public schools or housing, and they want to give them legal identification. This is encouraging their migration. Now of course "conservatives" aren't helping to control the business realm, but it’s easier for government to control their own actions, rather then the publics.

But the sure fire way to end all this is to close the border; there's no reason to have it open. No open border means no illegal workers. No country has an open border like we do, even in Europe, the nation states, have their weak military's guarding their borders. And here we are actually getting invaded and we have to rely on mere citizens to guard us, its just bullshit, no?

[siberianxkiss]

Well again honcho.......I said immigration and border control. But in relation to what you said the reason why those things won't happen is because people with your mind set, particularly the ACLU and activities judges, stop them. They won't let you cut off state and local funding to criminals, they won't let you prohibit them from public schools or housing, and they want to give them legal identification. This is encouraging their migration. Now of course "conservatives" aren't helping to control the business realm, but it’s easy for government to control their own actions, rather then the publics.

But the sure fire way to end all this is close the border; there's no reason to have it open. No country has an open border like we do, even in Europe, the nation states, have their weak military's guarding their borders. And here we are actually getting invaded and we have to rely on mere citizens to guard us, its just bullshit, no?

i agree. enough is enough. but neither this administration or democrats are going to do anything about it.

[dangets]

the closest thing i could find to my opinion on the poll was "child poverty"...

but i think it's education. we need to get some really smart people to take a look at the school system, find out what works and what doesn't, and develop some new, sound education theories of which to build some effective policies, because coming up with new testing standards ever 3 years doesn't do shit.

and as long as the generally accepted function of government is to collect shitloads of taxes and spend it on shitloads of programs, we need to spend more money on programs like Head Start, because a large segment of our intellectual talent pool is being lost to the traps of poverty before they reach school age and the traditional school system can help them.

the key to any society is education. fix the education system, and slowly bu steadily you will be fixing society from the inside out. they will be the ones who reject the current oligarchy in government and develop a new, society-wide interest in the functioning of our government (notice i didn't say politics... completely different things)

[splitsecond]

Techincally Iraq War and War on Terror should go together. Of course, the liberals love to deny that a stable and free middle east will reduce terrorism in the long run....

[siberianxkiss]

Techincally Iraq War and War on Terror should go together. Of course, the liberals love to deny that a stable and free middle east will reduce terrorism in the long run....

:lolbang: oxymoron much?

but of course this administration would like you to believe America is a safer place with the war in Iraq.

[Lueda Alia]

Techincally Iraq War and War on Terror should go together. Of course, the liberals love to deny that a stable and free middle east will reduce terrorism in the long run....
It won't though. There will always be "terrorists" no matter what, everywhere in the World.

[youcomebeforeyo]

Techincally Iraq War and War on Terror should go together. Of course, the liberals love to deny that a stable and free middle east will reduce terrorism in the long run....Except the perception in the Middle East of the Iraq war gives the absolute opposite impression. I mean Israel is a stable democracy but that's fueled hate in the region.

Things like the latest US photo prisoner scandoul and the fact the US invaded without Iraq attacking it first fuels the Anti-American sentiment in the region.

Democratic change and stability must come from its own people. Whether it be the French Revolution, American Revolution or the Ukrainian Orange Uprising. For democracy and stability to work people must really want it. There are begining signs showing (Free elections in Egpyt for president, 97% of Algerians have voted in favor of a peace plan) but Iraq at the moment is making things worse for the region. Perhaps if the US manages to stabilise the nation and build it's economy the goal of a more stable Middle East will happen, but in it's current state it's not.

[lackofcolour 13]

reform is a very broad choice. Of course we want reform, both sides want it one way or another. Its a given.

[Anton Djamoos]

Nothing about Social Security? Let's face it...in about twenty years, we're all screwed.

[theESCO]

I like that non ones voted for climate change.

[A picasso blue]

What the hell's wrong with you people? Can't you see that if we don't act soon that the homosexuals will infiltrate American society and its very way of life? they've already got their "Q ueer Eye" on television

[factnotfiction]

no one has mentioned foreign aid for developing countries? sure the US gov. might seem to give a lot and they might be hesitant to keep giving money because of all they've spent on the war in iraq. but aside from my personal feelings about that war, bush and his government are horrible in handling international aid and relief efforts.

for example, the government won't support NGOs helping the AIDS problem in Africa/Asia if they agree with abortion and contraception. but these are things that are incredibly important to those people if they want to survive. plus, policies have been put in place that make it impossible for developing countries in those areas to obtain the much needed antiretrovirals. even if they were to get some, the people need to take them continuously otherwise they don't work.

and this is only one example, there are tons more.

[siberianxkiss]

no one has mentioned foreign aid for developing countries? sure the US gov. might seem to give a lot and they might be hesitant to keep giving money because of all they've spent on the war in iraq. but aside from my personal feelings about that war, bush and his government are horrible in handling international aid and relief efforts.

for example, the government won't support NGOs helping the AIDS problem in Africa/Asia if they agree with abortion and contraception. but these are things that are incredibly important to those people if they want to survive. plus, policies have been put in place that make it impossible for developing countries in those areas to obtain the much needed antiretrovirals. even if they were to get some, the people need to take them continuously otherwise they don't work.

and this is only one example, there are tons more.

why should the United States help? we have our own problems here that need to be taken care of first. Some aid is okay but the billion and billions that are squandered each year is getting a little out of hand.

[GhostsDaddy]

why should the United States help? we have our own problems here that need to be taken care of first. Some aid is okay but the billion and billions that are squandered each year is getting a little out of hand.
I agree with you, but you have to remember this is the same United States that butted into other countries for the sole purpose of promoting our view of the perfect government.

[factnotfiction]

why should the United States help? we have our own problems here that need to be taken care of first. Some aid is okay but the billion and billions that are squandered each year is getting a little out of hand.


i agree that foreign aid does not come without its flaws. and i can also see why someone or even a government would want to work on their own country before another. but let's face it: the US is the most powerful country in the world. it has the ability to do great things. 1/10 of 1% of the money used by the US gov. on the war in Iraq could have significantly reversed the effects of aids in sub-saharan africa. do i think they made the wrong decision? yes. it's been over twenty years now that AIDS has been spreading across two + continents and nothing has really been done. i don't know about anyone else, but the thought of millions of people dying, millions of children being orphaned over the next couple of years while the most powerful country does nothing major to really tackle the problem saddens me.

but i get it. maybe i shouldn't be pointing my finger at only the US government. the United Nations should be doing something more appropriate and more countries should take a stand. however, Bush's administration made promises to help that they didn't keep and even proposed some projects that they seem to be ignoring now.

with some careful planning and consideration as well as some help from many countries around the world, we can accomplish great things. or so i'd like to believe. yes, governments must take care of its citizens. but why must it only take care of its own? it's ability to stimulate good and healthy change shouldn't be limited by its borders.

oh and by the way, you only took into account part of that sentence that you bolded. the second part of it was equally as important as the first.

[open mind]

i'm going with decent trade agreements