My Ideal Country

To cover the basics, health care and an education would be free—unless a citizen dropped out of college, then they would be obliged to pay for the time they did attend. Both of these “social safety nets” would be expensive, granted, so how do we pay for them? In part, massive defense cuts including closure of all overseas bases. My ideal country wouldn’t be defenseless, it would have a highly trained, modern military, but its focus would solely be on our airspace, shoreline, and interior. This is a challenge we face in the United States: There is so much money to be made in weapons, their lobbyists in Washington have bottomless pockets. Eisenhower coined the phrase “the military industrial complex.” In my ideal country, they would have never come to power. There would be limits to the military’s size in the constitution as would a ban on civilians owning assault rifles. Hunting rifles and shotguns, yes. Handguns, yes, but no assault rifles. Having a military of any sort opens to door to the creation of “military industrial complex,” but our ideal country is in the real world with it’s dangers both internal and external.

The Progressives may cheer the “no assault rifles” plan because they believe that if you take the guns away, mass killings stop. No: Mass killings are also a mental health issue. I believe we let too many people “fall through the cracks,” as I see it we are not taking care of those with severe mental issues. The United States has a stigma against weakness, against people who need help. In my ideal country, it would be a culture where individuals could go to their employers and request a special leave to deal with mental health issues. There would be government owned spas or retreats for those who need to decompress. In my ideal country, the concept of “success” would be different, would not be based on money or other material wealth so hopefully few people would need this service, but if they did it would be available to everyone. How do we pay for it? Read on.

Prisons: In California, it costs roughly $100,000 a year to take care of a prisoner, that is not even going into the cost to build these prisons. We could cut a lot of this by releasing all non violent offenders (aside from pedophiles, though I guess that is violent in a different way). The death penalty would be abolished aside from one crime: The sale or distribultion of either meth or crack cocaine. These criminals would be put to death by hanging, an inexpensive and humane means of execution if done properly. All other drugs would be legal and taxed. From an early age, children would be educated on the dangers of drug use including addiction which would be treated as an illness and not a criminal act.

Progressives would like us to tax the wealthy and corporations more, this is a tricky area: If you tax businesses too much, they take their factories (and jobs) somewhere else. I would tax wealthy individuals more, I would put a higher tax on gasoline and vehicles that do not meet a specific fuel economy standard. Is this where you point out, somewhat smugly, that you own an electric car? Electric cars are a red herring; yes, they do not burn gasoline, but where does the power come from that charges them? What about all the rare earth materials used in their creation? And what about the roads they require? Roads made of oil and servived by heavy machinery fueled by oil. Doing a “mass transport moon shot” would provide jobs and help the environment and lower our dependance on oil. I would also raise the sales tax on all new cars to pay for our country’s plans and discourage driving. The exception would be to rental car companies so they can provide affordable temporary transportation on those occasions one can’t do without a private car.

Education is critical if our ideal country is to compete with the world. This is why I would make the norm for a teacher to make the same as a representative or a senator or even the president. Am I suggesting they make $250,000 a year? No, I am suggesting all of them make $100,000 a year (right now a high school teacher in California makes roughly $70,000). We would also have much stricter rules (and punishments) regarding “accepting gifts” for politicians. My take is going into politics is seen as a path to wealth (or greater wealth). You eliminate that possibility from the equation, perhaps you attract a different sort of person, someone who actually wants to serve their constituants. There would be rules providing “equal time” for all political parties. The government would provide each candiate air time, they could not pay for advertisments themselves or accept funds for their campaigns.

Everyone gets drafted after high school. Not into the military, but it would an institution that teaches discipline, respect, and working with others. There would be no exceptions for the wealthy, for those whose parents have expensive attorneys. These youth would wear uniforms and live in barracks, but they would be visiting the elderly in rest homes, cleaning up trash, and other tasks to benefit society. They would learn how to sew, work on machinery, how to deal with money and credit, all the things far too many adults don’t have a clue about. In my ideal country, goods with a “built in obsolescence” would be looked at with scorn and suspicion. It would be fashionable to buy older, sturdier appliances that can be worked on. The draftees would perform a year of service and self-improvement and, from there, it would be possible for them to work with new draftees or act as mentors for adults. The concept or philosophy of mentoring would a key element of our society: It gives one individual a resource and another individual a purpose. How many times in your life have you needed someone with more life experience to give you advice? And, if you are elderly, wouldn’t it give your life deeper purpose if your life experiences were valued?

Abortion is a terrible thing but as long as there are human beings they will occur. Consequently, it is only logical for them to remain a legal medical procedure protected by a constitutional amendment. Sex education will begin a young age and will be comprehensive. As with drug addiction, the possible pitfalls of sex will be explained in detail and contreceptives easy to acquire. On a semi-related note, all religious entities would be taxed.

My ideal country will not have a flag or a national anthem. It would be able to defend itself, but as a willing partner to other nations as we live in a global world and a global economy. Having a healthy, educated populace that values education and learning will create a “brain trust,” something far more valuable than a missile bank or an aircraft carrier. We will be able to defend our coast and our borders, but we will not waste hundreds of millions on ships that have a limited lifespan. If, God forbid, we ever have to defend ourselves, our veterans will be cared for and our military will have a mentorship program of its own. If adults wish to see the terrible results of battles, they will be encouraged to view footage and pictures. Why? Because it think is important to understand the cost of violence, that is not a video game or an action film, it is sons and daughters meeting a tragic, horrific end.

If you’ve enjoyed this article and are curious about how other issues would be addresses, please let me know in the comments section.