If you are under the age of 50 you should be concerned about China from an economic and global power standpoint. Some believe China is seeking peace with the rest of the world. Based on their long history, I am not convinced. For China long term is hundreds of years and for the United States it is the next election cycle. China's focus is always on the long term. Much of this post is drawn from a book, On China , written by Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State under President Nixon and a research paper of the National Intelligence Council titled Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds . Whether the future will prove China's desire for peaceful co-existence depends on whether its middle class will sufficiently benefit from economic growth and not allow their leadership to throw it away by creating enemies with trading partners. This requires the country becoming more democratic and less inclined to be a threat to the remainder of the world. The jury is still looking
Increasing the retirement age to 67 or 70
ReplyDeleteCreating higher deductibles for Medicare and Medicaid
Perhaps creating a Value Added Tax. Tax consumption; not savings
Eliminate the interest paid on home mortgages as a tax deduction
Enforce anti-trust laws to create competition and thus lower the cost of goods and services by forcing the board of directors and executives to hold down cost including the egregious salaries being paid to executives in big business corporate America. This includes the health care and banking industries.
Disallow those who are not citizens of this country, and who cannot vote for our politicians, to be able to buy votes by making political contributions.
Recognize that we should not and cannot be the military defenders of the entire world
Individually saving more and spending less.
Consolidating the administration of school districts; not the teaching function.
Reducing the burden on our court system by legalizing and regulating marijuana usage similar to alcohol