popquiz1

hi all!

I need to check in, to see if I’m alone, or if i’m in a huge crowd – of invisible people.

Here’s a little quiz. Simple Yes/No’s. Have fun.

1. In the 21st century, America should be able to provide its citizens an efficient, non-profit, universal health care system. Medical professions would be educated, staffed, and paid appropriately; administration should be simplified with a single payer system, and no US citizen would be denied care for any reason. Y or N

2. American politicians in office should not receive ANY contributions from external sources. No money, no gifts, no trips. Y or N

3. Campaigns should be financed by citizen contributions only. No govt. money, no corporate money. Individual campaign contributions should have a cap. Y or N

4. Corporations will not have rights equal to US citizens (in the most general sense). Y or N

5. Public education should be equally and appropriately staffed, financed, and supplied on a national level. Y or N

6. The FED should be abolished. Y or N

7. Iraq War crimes should be prosecuted, including anyone who knowingly authorized torture. Y or N

8. Guantanamo and other secret prisons should be closed. Y or N

9. The CIA should be abolished. Y or N

10. All TARP money should be recalled with interest due Y or N

11. All political offices should have term limits unless a significant majority of the constituents vote to override. Y or N

12. Industries which generate toxic pollutants should be shut down. Y or N

13. The federal govt should implement programs to produce solar power plants in every viable location; produce consumer grade wind and solar energy products, and conversion of all lighting to LED technology. Y or N

14. The federal govt. should implement a program to produce desalination plants in all viable locations. Y or N

This is all I can think of right now. Stay tuned for a 2nd quiz soon.

Hopefully you all answered Y to every question. If you said no, think about why you said no. If it is for a specific detail, as in “yes, if…” then consider that a Y, as these are obviously generalized. But if you are completely opposed to the point, please explain why. I’d like to know what you think. I’d like to know if your dissenting opinion is based in some personal belief, other than what is best for our nation as a who

The USA is not a frontier. It is a community. As such, certain basic systems are most efficient when dealt with on a national level. We have a national defense system that is of the best in the world specifically because of this.

The federal govt. should offer protections and benefits that we deserve equally as US citizens. No more, no less.

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born to a blue collar family, the only one to put himself through college in an attempt to elevate from his family's caste. (i made it one level up and i'm still in debt for it) i despise elitists, zealots, hypocrites, and liars. i have experienced that people like to make things grey, distorted. but the truth is, 90% of things are black and white, right or wrong. we know it, we just don't want to admit it, because most of the time, wrong is fun. but when your fun comes at the expense of the rights of others, it is too far. ask me and i will tell you straight every time.

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escribacat
Member

1. Y
2. Y
3. N — only rich people with rich friends will become candidates
4. Y
5. Y
6. N — I don’t buy into any of the evil fed conspiracy theories. We need a mechanism to control the supply of money and credit available and stabilize the swings in the market.
7. Y
8. Y
9. N — Very naive suggestion. We’d be the only nation in the world that wasn’t spying on everybody else.
10. N– TARP was a necessary evil. In future, these institutions should be made to donate to their own bailout fund. Taxpayer money should not be used again.
11. Y
12. N (should be regulated–too many industries)
13. Y (don’t know enough about LED)
14. ? (too ignorant on the subject to respond)

Obama20082012
Member

Gee E ‘great’ minds must thing a like we got the same answers!

nicole473
Member

1. Y
2. y
3. Y
4. Y
5. y
6. N – Any modern industrialized country requires a publicly held central bank for a variety of excellent reasons, chief among them being the lack of a centrally controlled national monetary policy. And although they have been pitifully bad at this, that doesn’t mean that we should not have a publicly held central bank; it means it must be reformed so that it meets our needs.
7. Y with a caveat. Only those responsible for formulating and issuing illegal orders.
8. Y
9. No. We have a need for a CIA-like organization. They should be far more strictly accountable, however.
10. Yes, if those who received it have recovered from the crisis as indicated by their ability to function, and will be able to return it at this point without melting down.
11. Y-no overrides.
12. Y-but first allowed to make corrections/go green over a period of 10 years.
13. Y
14. Y

EDIT- I waited to read everyone’s responses until after I posted mine. But, after reading them, I am on the fence about term limits. There are certainly pros and cons on both sides, but the system as we know it now does seem to allow for crooks to dig in and reap the benefits. There has to be a better way.

nellie
Member

What an interesting idea for a post. Here are my answers:

1. Y
2. Y w a caveat — they should be paid more. Congress members are woefully underpaid, salary wise.
3. Y, as part of the commons, financed by taxes
4. Y
5. Y w private schools still available. It’s good competition.
6. I don’t know about this one. I have a very intelligent friend who makes arguments for the Fed. My gut reaction is Y, but I need to think about it more
7. Y
8. Y
9. N Intelligence work is really valuable. We just need citizen oversight to be more effective.
10. N. It’s being repaid now. And apparently doing some good in the industry.
11. N I’m a strong opponent of term limits. Campaign finance reform is a better solution. I like career politicians who know their business, know the issues, and have experience writing legislation and pushing bills through committee. BUT I think we should have a mandatory retirement age of 65.
12. N Too much of an impact on the economy. Green technology and fines would be my preference.
13. Y Although I think there’s probably a better alternative to LED out there
14. I don’t know about this, either, how it would affect the ecosystem, so I have to think about it. We need to clean the water that already comes to land, and conserve.

kesmarn
Admin

I’m pretty much completely in line with KQuark’s and AdLib’s take on the quiz, except I’m not really a believer in term limits in Congress. There is something to be said for decades of experience in Washington and becoming wise to the ways thing work there. Our Rep is one of the most conscientious people I know and I would hate to see her hard-earned ethics and expertise tossed out in favor of ‘new blood’ every few years. I think that a Congress that perpetually had a good share of newbies in it would be more at the mercy of experienced lobbyists than the (highly imperfect) one we have now.

KQµårk 死神
Member

I’m on the fence about term limits too that why I hate these binary tests.

AdLib
Admin

The way you know if you’re in a huge crowd of invisible people is by dropping a dollar on the ground and seeing if it disappears.

As to your quiz,

Yes up to 8.

As for 9, I don’t think the CIA should be abolished but it should be put under much more intrusive oversight and control and be forbidden to ever behave in certain ways.

10. I think all TARP money should be returned with itnerest but tied into declaration of quarterly profits. They are addicted to that, tie our returns to their necessities. As KQ said, pulling it all back now would be a shock that plunges us backwards economically.

11. I don’t think you can have a loophole on this and not see it abused at some point. Term limits that aren’t too brief but solid.

12. Basically I agree but I think all polluters should first be given ultimatums then if they keep polluting, shut them down.

13 & 14 – Yes.

KQµårk 死神
Member

1. Y
2. Y
3. Y
4. Y
5. N because it would be too difficult to administer a nation wide property tax that provide most of the school funding and more importantly when Republicans do take control of government again I don’t want them pushing bullshit like (non)Intelligent Design in public schools in blue state schools.
6. N the Fed should be transparent and audited but the root of our problems are not the Fed it’s capitalism and any monetary system will have the same problems. Going back to an asset backed system model is just not practical.
7. Y
8. Y
9. N but their charter should be redone and it should be fully reformed.
10. N not all of it now because all it will do is halt any recovery but as much money as possible should be recouped.
11. Y
12. Y but not until we replace industry with sustainable technologies otherwise we will go back to the stone age and millions will die.
13. Y
14. Y

Frankly you know I don’t like binary logic or political litmus tests. You can ask Too many of the changes required to realize all the “Y” answers are just not practical in the real world. Do I fail the test of being a progressive now?