If I were the President

Sep 4 05:48 UTC 1993

   What would you do if you were elected President? What would your first
acts be? 

response 2 of 22:

Sep 10 12:33 UTC 1993

Um, I think you mean the Grace report.

response 4 of 22:

Sep 11 15:19 UTC 1993

Actually, original thinkers have a hard time being President.  Coming up
with new ideas is not what the job is about.

In fact, the presidents with the greatest intellects (Carter, Hoover,
Wilson) have not been notable for their success.  Of course, the dumbest
ones (Harding comes immediately to mind) have not done so well either.

response 6 of 22:

Sep 13 02:26 UTC 1993

   Quite right.  There is a Grey report, but thats something else.

response 8 of 22:

Nov 4 04:20 UTC 1993

  Since I am the one who entered this item, I think that it might be a good
idea if I deposited my 2 cents worth.

 1. I would outlaw poverty and starvation by criminalizing the wasting of food

    We burn crops and toss away perfectly good food that could feed the poor
and homeless. I would encourage farmers and food producers to produce all that
they could so that no person in this country would know hunger.

2. Establish a National Health Care program.

   I'll make it simple. If you breathe, you're covered.

3. Restructure the Penal system.

   Lifers who have "nothing to lose" would indeed lose if they were convicted
of murder while in jail. Things like televisions, radios and other so called
creature comforts would be withdrawn so that rehabilitation could begin. All
prisoners would be required to complete high school. Prison would be a vile
p 
place, as something to be avoided.

4. The Education system would recieve full funding.

   I would establish a tax on alincome above 1 million dolls, so that
sports would finance the education system. Teachers, would recieve a flat
salary of 100,000 dollars. I would nationalize the sports franchises, so
that the governmentcontrols players saleries. Athletes would recieve $100
per hour for playing thier partuicular sport, and would be encouraged to
find real jobs.


   I know that some of these solutions are not feasable, but they are what 
I feel could be done to make a better world for the children of tommorow.
The reason why teachers would be the highest paid, is because that is
the most important thing in the world. If teachers were paid better, maybe
they would take better care of the kids.

response 10 of 22:

Nov 4 21:38 UTC 1993

  Obscene saleries benifit no one, and I feel that the money that is generated
by sports can be funneled into education where it can do some good.
Tell me, can Michael Jordan actually spend his millions? I don't think he has
the time. What good comes from having 1 billion or more in a back account?
Then ask, what good could be done if that 1 billion was applied to education?

 There would be less illiteracy.
 The violence problem woulprobably go away, but I cannot be sure of that.
But it is logical to assume that with more education, comes less need to
be violent. 
 The drug problem would probably be reduced, although there is nothing to
suggest that using drugs is tied to education, but again, if more people
were encouraged to enhance thier educations,there would be less need for
drug use.

 I would also see to it, that everyone who desires a college degree would
be able to persue one, regardless of ablitly to pay.

 We have the means at hand to solve our problems. The only thing that is
holding us back is those who keep telling us that it is the survival of
the fittest that will survive.

response 12 of 22:

Nov 5 00:03 UTC 1993

So if someone holds their breath, they lose health coverage? :-)

Prisons are already vile places, creature comforts or no.  And a large
percentage of prison inmates don't have the intellectual capacity to
"complete high school" unless it were made so easy as to be meaningless.

response 14 of 22:

Nov 6 04:30 UTC 1993

 It is INSANE to think that teachers deserve $100,000 for what comes out to 
about 200 days work.

        If you really want to improve things, get rid of tenure & unions, 
give teachers about 25 - 40% of that $100,000, depending on merit &
qualifications, & split the rest between the schools (better resources) &
parents (to try to improve the home life) of the 'students,' providing the
students show up, & the parents make an effort to care about what is going on.

        Then, after 2nd grade, impose mandatory, end of school-year tests,
uniform throughout the state, before a student is allowed to pass into the 
next grade level.  Theses tests should be administered by impartial parties
from a national commission.

        We'll probably have a lot of 14-year olds still in 4th grade, but...

response 16 of 22:

Nov 6 07:04 UTC 1993

 Jim, you are truly amazing!

response 18 of 22:

Nov 6 22:07 UTC 1993

re #12:  Been to a high school lately?  :*

re #16:  Isn't he, though....  And to think in another item he was worried
         about people being willing to give away their constitutional rights...

response 20 of 22:

Nov 8 22:33 UTC 1993

 Asner is a liberal.  Heston is a conservative. and I am not sure about
Grandy.

  If you read The Book of Lists III then you would know why I said what
I did. I was quite impressed than an actor like Asner (who at the time he
wrote that was President of the Screen Actors Guild) would make a statement
such as he did for the book of lists.

response 22 of 22:

Aug 30 08:04 UTC 1994

(too true, too true.)

(I'd begin by appointing staff to help, but that's really just me.)