If I had a magic wand, here's what I would do.
1) Much smaller military footprint overseas. Beef up foreign intelligence, specifically HUMINT. Our spies need to get in bed with all kinds of stinking third world bad guys and pay those dirty rats and a moles to ferret out terrorist plots. That's how the recent plot was foiled. And they need to do it without fear of some America-hating congressman blowing the whistle on them because they talked to a drug dealer. If you wanna know what the bad guys are up to you've gotta rub elbows with 'em.
2) Stop domestic spying on innocent citizens, including the nude porn scanners and genital groping at our nation's airports. No X-Ray vans, no drones (except on the border). Profiling works: do it. That includes deciding who to let in to our great nation and what activities they can engage in while visiting.
3) Freedom of Religion. Convince the religious right (with whom I generally agree) that they don't need the force of the federal government to push their agenda. It's not even constitutional in many cases. The federal government's only duty to Christians (or Muslims or atheists) is to protect their equal rights in the public square. If God is so great (and I firmly believe He is) He can survive in the marketplace of free ideas without official sanction from Uncle Sam.
4) Bring back the 10th Amendment. Dial back federal government involvement to the pre-Wilson days. Let the states and local communities take care of education, the poor and society in general. We are not a one-size-fits-all nation, but that is what the federal politburo continues to peddle.
Janet Daley, conservative columnist at Britain's Daily Telegraph adds some key points...
If ordinary citizens are to be expected to take back more control and moral responsibility, then some pretty basic things will have to be on the table.
First, they must be allowed to keep significantly more of what they earn. The lowering of taxes cannot be a vague intention or a pious hope. It is a sine qua non of a more self-reliant, independent, morally resourceful private life.
Second, indigenous populations must not be forced to compete with unlimited low-wage imported labour. If working people are to fend for themselves and support their own families without help, they cannot be under-bid for employment by migrants who, as often as not, have no dependants and no permanent obligations in the host country. The uncontrolled movement of peoples around the globe is problematic for welfare states... (Telegraph - Janet Daley)
I would add to that...
A strong, stable dollar that isn't manipulated by politicians for political gain. This would provide citizens a reliable store of value, reducing our dependency upon the state
A government that favors no industry over another and that makes simple laws that apply to all, and a government that punishes those who break the laws.
Remove the taxpayer-funded Wall Street safety net. The dangerous gambling will stop immediately.
What would you do?
