Friday, February 17, 2017

Cleaning up washington politics

The truth is I'm not all that smart about politics, but unfortunately I have occasion to drag myself into interest. I don't understand much about world affairs, the electoral college, or political science in general. However I do care about people, and the workings of society have a lot to do with how people are treated and live. So I read about things now and then, and these are some things I think could help. Maybe. At least in my brain.
  1. Healthcare Overhaul - I am tempted to be in favor of a single-payer national health insurance program, though I've lately been leaning more toward some type of all-payer rate setting of some kind. From what little I've read, the biggest culprit in the outrageous price-gouging going on with healthcare is not necessarily the insurance industry (which a single-payer program would minimize). It has been suggested that government oversight of healthcare services and products would better serve to bring health costs down. Setting a hard price on medicines, procedures, and other products would hinder the pharmaceutical rapage of society more than trying to regulate insurance companies. It seems to go more toward the source of the problem than dealing with the symptoms.
  2. Term Limits for Congress - Not only that, but how about if they were held to the same laws and treatment (healthcare/retirement) as every other citizen. Why is this even an issue anymore? I don't think I need to say more.
  3. Campaign Spending Limit - How about if we set a cap on how much politicians could spend on campaigning. It would cut down on the amount of time we have to hear negative adds, plus it might hinder the influence corporations and lobby groups have in politics. How about a limit of $5 million for federal positions, $500,000 for state, and $50,000 for local elections??
  4. No Corporate Campaign Donations - As if #3 were not enough, let's just eliminate the ability for corporations and groups to donate altogether. You raise money from individuals - whether it's a lot of small donations or a few large ones wouldn't matter as much if #3 were in place.
So, that's my four-point plan for cleaning up Washington politics. Well, probably not really, but these are some things I have been thinking about and it's my blog so... there ya have it.