If you were president, or prime minister, or warlord, or whatever Options

[DoomedOne]

I figure everybody gets ideas on what they would try to implement if they got to be the big main dude. Balances of Power aside, what main laws and projects would you implement or at least try to implement.

If I were President, I'd be elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday, buried on Sunday. Couldn't resist. Anyway, firstly I hate my country's budget. I would make our military budget 1/10th what it is currently and focus most of that money on improving technology and training making instead of recruitment, keeping our aircraft carriers running on securing oil fields. I would put more money into education and being resubsidizing college to help expand the middle class in this country. I would spend a ton of money on technology development to help reduce green gas emission. I would cut the FBI budget in half, and cut the CIA and NSA out of the picture. Furthermore, because global warming will be in full swing populaces around the globe will need to be relocated constantly. A lot of money will have to go into that. It's okay though, if the military budget was cut we'd have the money. Also, public transportation would get a lot of money, too.

I would completely reformat our foreign policy so we have to respect sovereignty. Everything about Foreign Policy will change, especially how we trade with people. I would put a trade embargo on all nations that did not have living-wage laws. I would up our own minimum wage ot a living one. I would invest in study abroad programs because the best way to end racial/regional ignorance (which feeds support of wars in foreign countries) is to justg force people to deal with all types of people all the time.

90% of all undeveloped land would be declared untouchable national forests. Polution laws would go into effect far sgtricter than any we've seen before, pesticides would become illegal as well as synthetic nitrogen and other environmentally damaging addatives. Subsidies would be given to companies that implemented environmentally friendly technology and sold environmentally friendly products. Magnet trains and electric buses would slowly replace cars, etc...

NAFTA would be completely disbanded and rewritten in corrodination with the workers and environmental activists this time around. And if I really could, I'd disband company farms and help family farms replace them.

[Pisces]

I'd remove taxes from the first $10'000 of income, put on carbon taxes, make it compulsory to pay for rubbish desposal rather than having it state funded, I don't see why small families pay so big buisness can put rubbish in their backyard, decreasing their property value and health. Make people have to pay for any other types of pollution equal to the damage they are doing (soil, water, air, chemical/health). Note this will increase cost of animal products.
Decriminalise using weed, meaning you can still get prosecuted for using weed so its still illegal, but you can't get a criminal record from prosecutions unless your doing something like dealing or supplying, seeing how that goes I would legalise its use for over 18s in cafes and allow it to be sold in small quantities per person for over 20s at liqour stores, still illegal to sell otherwise but obviously legal to grow to sell to cafes and liqour stores. Cafes would require a certain % of their profit to be from food/drink and couldn't sell weed past 9pm. Most of this is aimed at changing the drinking culture rather than to restrict weed.
Ban bottom trawling and put further restrictions on bycatch.
Ban the mining of coal and phase out coal sales, the coal industry is a SOE anyway so its not like I'm crushing any companies, and I'd put subsidies on renewable energy, especially solar water heating.
I'd move the oil to becoming a SOE so I can stop pollution be keep oil if we need it for something like a space project, I'd have no idea how NZ would get money for a space project but I'm thinking ahead.
Invest in developing green transportation technology, biofuel planes etc. This is important for NZ as although currently it takes less carbon to produce food in NZ and shipping it to US or UK than it does to produce food in the US or UK and supply locally, it won't stop the UK and US (err, UK, US isn't that progressive) putting food mile taxes on to reduce their carbon, punishing the good NZ for the actions of their own bad industry. It may shock all you to know that it is possible to power ships without carbon, yes I know, modern magic has allowed ships to be powered by...you won't believe this...WIND!!! Of course instead of sails a series of wind turbines across the ship as well as solar panels on the top to power electic engines.
I'd put a series of moves to ban slave made goods, alternatively I could legalise slavery, but its kinda silly having it in the middle like it is right now. I'd put in measures to increase fairly traded goods.
I'd increase animal rights, especially caged hens; and probably look at way at making meat industry more accountable, no kosher slaughterhouses killing meat in non kosher ways.
I'd put taxes on rainforest wood, and probably make a SOE looking into making a native forest industry (not in areas which already are native forest obviously).
If I were to disregard the public completely I would ban meat completely and use all the extra land as forest.

Oh, and of course I would ban anyone opposing me, declare war on outerspace and put a land claim on all other countries.

This post has been edited by Pisces: Apr 17 2007, 03:59 AM