I do not expect you to join an electronic political party. You are not ready for
large steps. Here's a few things a people's party might promote. None
will come from traditional politics.
1) Abolish civil service Return to the spoils system. Why shouldn't
presidents push their views on the bureaucracy and why shouldn't the bureaucracy be
downsizable like any work force? A president may oppose logging roads
through national forests, but cannot stop them because some bureaucrat approves.
Programs persist long after justification vanishes because you cannot change
a tenured bureaucracy.
2) Label genetically engineered foods The Food and Drug
Administration decided
genetically engineered foods are "natural" and outside their jurisdiction. When a
potato was engineered to grow its own pesticide, the FDA claimed pesticides are
regulated by the Department of
Environmental Protection. The EPA decided potatoes are "food" regulated by the FDA.
How would you end this nonsense?
3)Get the United States out of the weapons business We are the
largest merchant of death on the planet. Much of what we call "foreign aid" is
weaponry. Let's export electricity and computers instead. A
computer may not seem appropriate for a starving populace, but hooking
into the internet provides a great deal of problem solving information.
Give a man a fish. He has dinner. Teach him how to fish. He takes care of
himself. Plug him into the web and he teaches himself.
4)Government program to develop clean nuclear energy
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission created a nuclear waste disposal site hundreds
of feet below the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. After years of litigation, they
are loading barrels of nuclear waste into salt caverns, the idea being that
even if the barrels leak, the salt will contain the waste and nothing will be damaged.
We deal with waste whose half life is thousands of years so it is not unreasonable
to believe the assumption will prove incorrect. Many people, myself included,
believe it best to retain the waste where we can get at it in the event technology comes
to our rescue. It may be possible to perform a kind of genetic engineering on the stuff
to neutralize its radioactivity. It would be better to use money earmarked for
disposal sites for research, 1) to neutralize waste and 2) to generate clean
nuclear energy.
Unfortunately my web site is hosted by a server that does not permit mailing lists and
other forms of interactivity. The above list represents my concerns. Except for e-mail
you have no way of posting your concerns or comments. If I sell enough books, I promise
to remedy the situation. The Internet Users Group, if it ever gets going, is intended to
further on-line discussion and decision making. Check it out.