My thoughts for the day.

Jack Pickard Politics

12/9/2011

The Contract from America was the idea of Houston-based lawyer Ryan Hecker. He stated that he developed the concept of creating a grassroots call for reform prior to the April 15, 2009, Tax Day Tea Party rallies. To get his idea off the ground, he launched a website, ContractFromAmerica.com, which encouraged people to offer possible planks for the contract.

1. Identify constitutionality of every new law
2. Reject emissions trading
3. Demand a balanced federal budget
4. Simplify the tax system
5. Audit federal government agencies for waste and constitutionality
6. Limit annual growth in federal spending
7. Repeal the healthcare legislation passed on March 23, 2010
8. Pass an 'All-of-the-Above' Energy Policy
9. Reduce Earmarks
10. Reduce Taxes

My Contract from America would use his ideas and add a few more ideas:

1.      Identify constitutionality of every new law, and all other laws enacted since 1900.

2.     Reject emissions trading

3.     Demand a balanced federal budget and pay off 5% of total debt principle each year until the countries debt is eliminated.

4.     Simplify the tax system for the Fed/State/County-Parish/cities, to a single unified consumption tax of 15-20% until debt is paid off, then to a 12% tax. All other taxes at the Fed/State/County-Parish/cities including but not limited to: Income/payroll/Medicare/Medicaid/Healthcare/property/excise/energy/estate/any tax that takes money out of the US Citizens/US Companies/Corporations pockets and puts it in any government pocket. No exceptions, No exemption, and No Non-Profits.

5.     Eliminate the IRS and require the FBI to investigate non compliance with tax reporting procedures for collecting consumption tax and forwarding to the government. Should be simple if you sell something collect 15-20% or 12% tax in effect at the time and forward to fed once a month, the fed should distribute at the end of the next month to State, County and Cities their cut after pulling out the Fed cut.

6.     No annual growth in federal spending until the debt owed is paid in full. Then limit growth to only that necessary to cover inflation if there is any. Decrease federal spending if deflation is experienced.

7.     Repeal all healthcare legislation throughout the land, all government agencies must pay back all funds paid in to the Fed and the state throughout the lifetime of the US citizen on each US Citizens behalf, these funds must be invested within 60 days into a Health Insurance Policy of their choice on behalf of all recipients and their dependents equal shares. All Health care becomes the responsibility of the US Citizen for themselves and dependents under his/her legal care, no governments shall involve themselves in Health care for citizens except those legally designated as dependents of a specific government agency though government service/criminals serving time/criminally insane and at no time shall the costs normally associated by average of medical care for these individuals exceed costs of the average medical care of all US citizens. Senators/US Reps/Presidents/Government employees will utilize the same Medical Insurance available to all US Citizens and are not entitled to any other type of Medical Insurance unless it is available to everybody.

8.     America first Energy Policy. Means that all lands within this country and its legal waterways will be available for exploration, drilling and development of Oil and Gas reserves. Just compensation shall be paid to all Land Owners Private Business or Government land owners. No environmental considerations shall usurp the rights of US Citizens to exploit all necessary measures needed to provide for the energy of the Citizens of this country. If a lizard or bird, fish or mammal, plant or tree needs to be relocated, then relocate it. Only hard proof that an environmental hazard to ground/well/lake water has been ruled on by a Federal Court/State Court based on who has jurisdiction shall stop any exploration action! Energy has become as endangered as any endangered species by our own foolish non-scientific knee jerk reaction to US Oil Companies. However if these companies are found guilty of causing an environmental disaster then all of the officers and the board of directors of these companies shall be guilty of felony acts of terrorism against the citizens of this country and punished accordingly, all assets of that company shall be ceased by the Government agency with jurisdiction after a verdict of guilt against the company, and those assets auctioned to a different company with no connection to the guilty company, the money obtained shall be paid equally to all victims of the act based on their losses. All New energy resources will be exploited the old fashioned way through American individualism and business the American way via Free Enterprise.  

9.     Eliminate Earmarks, also enact the line item veto, which can still be overridden in the traditional way the Senate or House normally can veto.

10.  Since I already reduced taxes above I will use item 10 to eliminate all these federal agencies and return their responsibility back to the states. EPA, Dept of Housing, Dept of Education, Commerce Dept shall become Foreign Commerce Dept, all other authority for this Department returned to the state. Interstate Highway support, Maintenance, enforcement will become responsibility of Transportation Dept., US Coast Guard will be funded by Transportation/Homeland Security/Dept of Defense/Foreign Commerce Dept based on its current territorial responsibilities to each of these departments and agencies. Agriculture Department back to States. Finally, I like Homeland Security I do not like DEA or ATF, give those responsibilities back to the FBI or to Homeland Security and eliminate both agencies, oh and do not degrade FBI if the agents are not qualified education wise to join FBI then move them somewhere else or Rif them.

11.  Immigration reform, we already gave amnesty once and look where that has us today. Amnesty doesn’t work! They are breaking the law by being here without following the proper procedures that all of us must follow to go visit another country. Deportation procedures must all be put into effect and enforced not just by the Fed but by all Law Enforcement Agencies and they are all supposed to enforce the law of the land and that is what they swore in for. I say advertise for 30 days, please voluntarily go home, if you need a ride to the border fine call us up and we will get buses to your address to take you home and feed you in route to the border. After 30 days, we will arrest you when we find you and every Law Enforcement Officer will be looking for you. If you can prove legal citizenship status your driver’s license/state ID/Birth Certificate will be run, your SSN will be checked, against a Federal Database, your finger prints/photo id will be run on all US, and International databases if you have no form of ID you will be deported as a Foreign Terrorist to GITMO, until you can prove what your real status is. By publishing this ahead of time I am sure this will become a non issue quickly. After that build the fences/man the drones/supplement the Border Patrol as long as necessary to show we are serious. Do not suspend Posse Comitatus, to accomplish this make a crossover conversion through training of Armed Forces Personnel to Civilian Law Enforcement Border Patrol Officers with recognition of all time in service for pay. Nine weeks training should be more than enough time to qualify these already motivated personnel.

Look, I am no genius I am not so clearly delusional, that I don’t realize some of these things won’t work. But, it begins a dialog to consider. I believe there are many more things that can be done that puts us closer to where our founding fathers vision was, plus shouldn’t disturb our current fathers and mothers sensibilities, and returns us to a US Constitution status that is more acceptable than where we are right now.

Gosh, it didn’t take me 3,000 pages to say what I needed to say, you think maybe we have too many lawyers writing our law today? Lets elect one term non lawyers to the House in 2012 and see if we can continue to turn things around.

Humbly submitted:  Jack C. Pickard