If I were in charge ...

[dmm]

OK, we've got some real-world politicos here. So what would you do if YOU were in charge? By "in charge" I mean legally so, not like an SEIV despot. For instance, if you were the President and your party controlled the Senate and the House. (You can comment about other countries also; just be clear which one you're talking about.) So you can't give wacko answers like "I'd make all women my love-slaves."

OK, I'll start:

US Energy Policy:
1. No way would I have bailed out the airlines. There is too much unnecessary air travel as it is. We need to do much more business, including meetings, remotely.
2. I would tax the life out of those gas-guzzling SUVs, muscle cars, and pickups. Same with powerboats and ATVs.
3. I would put a moratorium on building new roads or widening existing ones. However, I would keep the ones we've got in tip-top shape.

US Foreign Policy:
1. I would undermine and isolate the central dictatorship in China at every turn. It is the one country that could easily rise up and contend with us for world power, yet it has no freedom of religion, no freedom of the press, no freedom of speech -- in short, no freedom at all, and no history of freedom. As a counterbalance, I would strengthen the countries in Asia that are democratic or at least trying to get there.
2. I would immediately stop putting up with crappy little terrorist dictatorships like Libya. The military would be sent in to take anything of value as reparations and to destroy anything built since 1900, then would be pulled out. Larger terrorist dictatorships like Iraq would be given notice that they are on our "to do" list, and would be wise to get themselves off of it ASAP.

OK, that's enough of a rant for now. What about you? What if YOU were in charge?

[dumbluck]

I disagree with you on practically everything you have said. First of all, making every woman my love slave is the only worthwhile goal you stated!

Airlines: Well, ok, I agree with you to an extent on this one.

Did you know that every time we (the US) has instituted legistation forcing the auto industry to reduce fuel consumption per vehicle, the total fuel consumption has continued to increase unabbated? All such legistation does is help with emmissions. I don't mind this kind of legistation, per say, but I'm not fond of the side affect: Some lines are dropped due to fuel consumption, but they aren't consumer vehicle. The ones that get dropped are your heavy-duty pickups and the like, which are marketed more towards small construction firms and farm operations.

New roads: ummmm, why would you want to do that????

Foreign policy 1: Ummm, ok. That's awfully heavy handed of you. I'd prefer to let citizens decide their own form of government, not have some outside country decide what government they should have. Now you can argue that without freedoms, they don't decide their own government. Wrong. Through inaction, they allow the current government to continue. If all the citizens of a country rise up, hell if even a majority of the citizens rise up and demand reforms and changes, there is no power (short of weapons of mass destruction, who's use carries it's own unique sets of serious consequences) that the current government can wield to stop those changes.

The only reason government has any authority over people is when those people allow it to. People have absolute authority over their lives. However, it would be total anarchy if everyone did exactly as they pleased. The only way to counteract this is for people to give some of their personal authority to a government.

There are many, quite varied forms of government. The people of China chose this form of government when they instituted it. If they chose incorrectly, it is up to their children, or their children's children, to correct the mistake, for it is their authority which the current government wields. Therefore, it is their responsibility. Not ours. We have no right to tell them which form of government is best for them. It is their lives, their authority at stake here, not ours.

Foreign policy 2. This is really just foreign policy 1 taken to military extremes. The above arguement still applies. However, Crimes against humanity should not be tolerated (but they usually are anyway, a whole other discussion we won't get into here). Military force, however, should always be a Last resort. Although my definition of "Last resort" is a little more leniant than the one used by those currently in power. I follow the "fool me once, fool me twice" philosophy. Fool me once, shame on you. You said you would stop doing what I asked you to do, and you didn't. Shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I asked you again to stop doing that, and you again agreed to stop; and you again failed to stop. Shame on me for believing you. You are now completely untrustworthy to me; if I want your actions to stop, I will have to stop them myself.

[chewy027]

In regards to China DMM, you offer a very realist perspective on your policies. I'm not saying i agree or disagree, but just to play the devil's advocate, why not take a more liberal approach and try to democratize them every chance you get. It is a commonly held liberal beleif(in IR theory) that democracies don't go to war with eachother. If we can further their interdependence on other nations (especially economically) through trade and such and involove them more in world organizations like the WTO then that would reduce the probability of conflict with them on their road to becoming a democracy where there should be a state of confident peace. Again I'm not saying I advocate this approach, I just want to stir the pot a little.

[PvK]

SUV policy - classify as trucks, so they have to obey the truck speed limits, and don't let them park in "economy" sized parking spots. Add a license surcharge to large tall vehicles that block vision, and don't let them park near corners.

Anti-stupid-law policy - create an office for the eradication of stupid and bad laws. Demand public referrendums to abolish automatic traffic fee camera systems, laws that require seatbelt use, and pointlessly low speed limits that don't take into account vehicle type or conditions. Hold public referendums on the right to refuse drug tests without descrimination.

Foreign policy - apply strong pressure to nations that abuse/destroy world ecosystems.

[Mephisto]

quote:

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Originally posted by PvK:
laws that require seatbelt use, and pointlessly low speed limits that don't take into account vehicle type or conditions.

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You might reconsider that. I have seen to many accidents were the "belted" person exited the vehicle nearly unharmed whereas the "unbelted" person bleed to death despite your best efforts. DOA in hospital and a mess in the ambulance even the "best" splatter films do not imagine.

[Cyrien]

I would carefully apply force where necessary to undermine the public support of the populace of other nations formenting revolution. I wouldn't support any single group however I would support multiple Groups so that once the existing system is out no one can agree on a new system. I would then move forward as the only nation still stable in the world and give everyone a hand up. Those that refused would be destroyed. I would make sure to cause enough public outcry within my own nation and give it enough publicity that everyone knows that many people in my own nation are again my harsh policies but I would continue with them slowly organizing and grouping together world nations in such a way that each view myself and my group as their eventual enemy and coming together with common beliefs to squelch me. I would fund a massive space program and harness resources from the world over in harsh method. Eventually I would attempt to leave on a deep space colonization mission on a ship capable of supporting a population of 10k to 20k people indefinetly and journey to other stars. Hopefully once I was gone with the carefully laid vision that I had been routed from power by the united world people they would all see that they had more in common then not and proceed to demonize myself and those under me and eventually unite in a more peaceful and united and democratic form.

Then maybe someday the Earth people could meet my own removed colonizers and start a great stellar war with each other.

Something like that in an attempt to unite the world. History shows that people unite best when they have a scape goat. Thus I would attempt to make myself the scape goat since I don't have the stomache for the massive genocide that would be required to make someone else a scapegoat. By removing myself I would hope to do so in such a way that sets my despotic rule up as the scapegoat thus ensuring democratic form of government on a more world wide scale.

Not necessarily western democracy. But the form that would work best for each geographic region with something like the UN cept with actual powers and no security council.