King of America

[wolf]

Drill in ANWAR.

[Troubleshooter]

I figure the sooner we use up our finite resources, the sooner some corporation will develop some proprietary (or patented) power source that they can gouge us with.

[smoothmoniker]

How many people are on the fence right now about getting hybrid vehicles? Now imagine that gas is $4.50 a gallon. Now how many people are going to jump at getting that new 45 mpg Ford Explorer vs. the 18 mpg version?

How quickly would the infastructure catch up to the technology for fuel cells? In the 20th Century we sold our automobiles to the world and built an economic sphere of influence unrivaled in history. What if in the 21st Century we did the same thing with clean energy technologies?

How much better would we make decisions about foreign policy if there were no oil incentive to protect despotic stability over uncertain democracies in certain areas (Africa, Saudi Arabia)?

There are only two create change - with a carrot or a stick. Why not use both? Make an oil economy painful to sustain, and use the proceeds to fund the carrot.

-sm

[Troubleshooter]

Originally posted by smoothmoniker
How many people are on the fence right now about getting hybrid vehicles? Now imagine that gas is $4.50 a gallon. Now how many people are going to jump at getting that new 45 mpg Ford Explorer vs. the 18 mpg version?

How quickly would the infastructure catch up to the technology for fuel cells? In the 20th Century we sold our automobiles to the world and built an economic sphere of influence unrivaled in history. What if in the 21st Century we did the same thing with clean energy technologies?

How much better would we make decisions about foreign policy if there were no oil incentive to protect despotic stability over uncertain democracies in certain areas (Africa, Saudi Arabia)?

There are only two create change - with a carrot or a stick. Why not use both? Make an oil economy painful to sustain, and use the proceeds to fund the carrot.

-sm

I agree in essence, but do you really think that Americans are going to take it in the ass like that to get the ball rolling?

[Beestie]

Originally posted by smoothmoniker
There are only two create change - with a carrot or a stick. Why not use both? Make an oil economy painful to sustain, and use the proceeds to fund the carrot.

Why not just leave things alone? What is it about the current system that isn't working? As the price of gas increases, alternates become more feasible and more people start choosing them.

When the price of oil climbs to the point that the developers of alternate enegy sources feel enough people will pay for it then they will invest the money to develop it.

Of course, the day we run out of oil may not come as soon as we thought.

[edit - everything below is new - nothing above changed]

Besides, artificially hiking the price of gas will not ease the transition. Here's why: If the government added a $2.00/gal tax to gas making it $4.50/gal then an alternate energy costing $3.95/gal is all the sudden feasible right? Well, to develop (not produce but figure out how to make it then set up shop to make some) costs $20Billion dollars. What company is going to ivest $20B to develop a product that takes 3 years to develop when the only assurance they have that the product will even sell is an artificial gas tax (remember - if the tax is repealed then gas is back to $2.50/gal and the product won't sell)?

This sort of meddling with the economy is not good. The price of oil will determine what we do and when we do it.

[smoothmoniker]

this plan would never work in a democracy. fortunately, I'm the king of america. One of the advantages of being a benevolent dictator is that you get to make unpopular choices that favor future benefit over present comfort.

-sm

[phillybilly]

Get their own day of the week......so that we don't have to hear liberals and Conservatives cry at each other all day...

Except for sports.....I would open more radio & TV air space for them....

I would have the all curling channel....

Just like HBO I would have football channels to cover each decade...


I would have a channel to cover each NHL star, past & present...

Oh plus porn would be deregulated and Fox would now be a legal hardcore Porn channel.....as Marge Simpson said "Fox became a hardcore porn channel so gradually, nobody noticed"


basically I would make the media fit, they way I want it to fit....I would replace Stern as King of all Media!!!


Later!!!!

[lookout123]

Originally posted by Radar
All laws restricting or prohibiting any consensual activity are hereby abolished. This includes but is not limited to prostitution, gay marriage, any kind of consensual sex, suicide, gambling, any kind of gun ownership, any kind of drug manufacture..sales...and use, traveling anonymously, etc. And all non-violent criminals being held in jails for these charges are to be released immediately.

going on a new push in favor of legal pedophilia, are we??? "i swear your honor little bobby really did say he wanted it - just wake him up from his nap, and he'll tell you"

[lookout123]

Originally posted by jdbutler
Two years mandatory (and paid) military service starting at 18 years of age.
Those not physically capable may opt for some type of social service work.

no thanks, we don't want anyone who didn't get off their ass to go in and volunteer of their own free will.

[OnyxCougar]

Originally posted by jdbutler
Two years mandatory (and paid) military service starting at 18 years of age.
Those not physically capable may opt for some type of social service work.

I'll agree to that **IF** the US brings all it's troops back onto American Soil, and do productive things, like patrol our borders. If an act of war is perped on American soil, once the perpetrators are tracked down, we Hiroshima the fuck out of the country that they came from. Period.


February: All illegals will be rounded up at gunpoint and deported. Anyone caught crossing the border other than at manned checkpoints with immigration papers in hand are shot, regardless of age/sex/disability/religion.


March: All golf courses are razed and new housing is put up, employing people who will live in them. Habitat for Humanity x apartment complexes.


April: All persons purchasing a computer must pass a minimum competancy test. All persons owning a computer must also pass this test within 6 months or give their computer to a school of their choice.


May: All persons on death row that have been verified as guilty by way of DNA evidence or admission of guilt are to be executed by May 7. All prisons will remove televisions, exercise equipment, inmate computer access and conjugal visits. All inmates incarcerated for marijuana offenses will be released. All heavier use offenders will be released on the understanding that if they are caught with even paraphenalia, they will be relegated to the new prison system, which means prison with no visitation, in solitary confinement cells of 15ft x 15ft, with one hour in a 10ft x 10ft walled yard per day. Meals will be delivered 3x per day and will consist of welfare recipient food. No interaction with other inmates will be given. Prison will be something you don't want to go to again.


June: Under no circumstances will any athlete be paid over $50,000 a year + medical benefits.


July: The Electoral College/Voting system will be changed. All persons with a drivers license will be required to vote, whether that is online from home or at an online voting kiosk. If they fail to vote, their drivers license will be revoked until the election they decide to participate in. Any persons driving on a revoked license will be put in prison for one month and will not be eligible for a drivers license. Ever. Subsequent offenses will result in 3 month extensions to the prison time, (ie 2nd offense 4 months, 3rd = 7 months, 4th = 10 months). In addition, I like the $1,000 idea, and candidate reforms will be put in place before this is put in place.


August: Electric/Solar/Methane/other alternative cars will be made available for sale at the same price as other cars in their body/class. Within 3 years, gasoline cars will no longer be available for sale, and oil will no longer be a priority for the nation.
In addition, other earth-friendly alternatives to energy production will be put into operation within 3 years.


September: All companies with employees overseas will pay $1,000 per employee overseas per month to the welfare fund.
Jobs will be created in the government sector (ie DMV, welfare offices, disability offices, immigration offices, etc to reduce wait times and unemployment.)


October: A fund will be set up for all people within 10 years of retirement, already retired and/or on disability, who will be paid $1000 a month from said fund upon retirement/disability. All funds not used upon death will be put into the common fund after simple burial/cremation has been paid for.

The remaining persons working will have elective deductions from their paychecks made and placed into a fund for their own use (not a common fund, more like a savings account). This will not be taxed, will not earn interest, and may be used at any time, but once it's gone, it's gone, and if you retire and you've used up your personal fund, too damn bad. Better have been good to your kids. No welfare will be given to persons not working or not in school, and maintaining a "c" average.


September: No more credit cards will be issued, no new charges will be accrued, and as credit cards are paid off the accounts will be closed. At no time will interest on remaining accounts be accrued in excess of 5%. Once a credit card company has no open accounts, it will be disbanded.


I'm sure I can come up with 3 more to get me assassinated.

[Clodfobble]

September: No more credit cards will be issued, no new charges will be accrued, and as credit cards are paid off the accounts will be closed. At no time will interest on remaining accounts be accrued in excess of 5%. Once a credit card company has no open accounts, it will be disbanded.

Christ, what do you want, everyone mailing checks for their internet shopping? That's not feasible. Can we at least keep Paypal as a viable internet bank for these transactions, Queen Onyx?

June: Under no circumstances will any athlete be paid over $50,000 a year + medical benefits.

The reason these athletes can demand so much money is because MORE than what they demand is being made off of their performance by the television networks. Same with high-dollar actors. If you're going to cap their salaries, then at least make the networks give the money they would have paid the athletes to a charity or something--letting the networks keep more profit doesn't solve the problem.

[OnyxCougar]

Pay pal is not credit. It's debit. All debit cards are fine. It's credit cards that will go.

And once athletes are paid less money, we'll start charging less for tickets, and advertisers will pay less for time, and networks wont have to charge suppliers so much. So yes, caps if necessary. By all means.

[lumberjim]

it's so cute when the girls talk about sports.

*ducks*

[lumberjim]

but seriously.....

[Beestie]

Originally posted by lookout123

going on a new push in favor of legal pedophilia, are we???

Minors are not legally capable of consent.