Without regard to Huntsman, who like all presidents has to deal with congress to enact his 'promises', lets

look at his plan. Tax reform, yes. Urgently needed, and wiping out the special advantages for wea lthy individuals and multinational corporations would help. Lowering the corpor ate tax rate as a part of this is good, so long as the special deals are elimina ted at the same time. But free trade without some kind of parity agreement is foolish. We've had that . We freely buy, but can't freely sell, because we're selling to nations (China , and now India) who have huge populations who can't afford our products, but mu st work at whatever poor wages are offered there under whatever conditions emplo yers impose. No 'regulations' to deal with, such as those that keep workers saf e and provide for their well-being. Think sweatshops. Corporations are happy w ith this, because it increases their profit margin, lowers taxes, allows huge pa ychecks for the managerial elite. The real effect is to force a machinist in Yp silanti or Cleveland to compete with one in China or India for his job, and if t hey can work for less and survive, then that American worker will have to do the same or watch his job outsourced. We've seen this happening now for years. Free trade...but only between nations that are approximately equal in per-capita income. The only good reason for importing manufactured goods is if the qualit y is higher than what's produced at home. Trying to produce goods cheaper is a game a developed nation can't win. I propose a gross receipts tax for all goods sold in the American market. Ameri can firms could offset this by the amount paid as corporate taxes in America. B ut if you don't pay those corporate taxes, then the gross receipts tax kicks in, and it should be adjusted to provide price parity between imports and domestic production. I also propose a tax increase on all fuels except those used for agriculture. A ll other fuels, no exceptions. Begin with a $.25 increase (a quarter), increase that annually by another quarter every year, until prices for gasoline are at l east an additional dollar per gallon. The money raised goes to the government t o build infrastructure and possibly reduce the national debt. Meantime, you can cancel the phony 'fleet MPG average' and let the market work. If you're paying $100 to fill up your gas guzzler, fine; but a lot of people won't want to do th at. Hello electric vehicles. Automotive stimulus, parts stimulus, all sorts of benefits. Reform immigration; go to a single-payer medical system, something the bastardiz ed Obama plan wanted but couldn't get. Take that burden off the jobs creators. Reform banking, and put in a special tax rate for the highest income people. D on't reward excessive greed. Make it easier to earn money by creating things th at contribute to the national wealth than by manipulating money, which creates n othing but excessive pay for the very few at the top. Reform the interlocked bo ards of directors who control the economy for the benefit not of the workers or the nation, but for the benefit of the managerial elite class. Reform education. Make schools a place for education rather than a place for so cial reform experiments. Clear out the deadwood, teachers, administrators, and students. If they can't teach, fire them. Make principals and school boards re sponsible for the results achieved by their education system. Teachers have ver y little power to cause change; put the responsibility on those who have the aut hority. If a student has reached the maximum benefit from public education, as shown by inability to pass standardized exams, then dismiss him. The idea that a student must stay in school a prescribed number of years is foolish and outdat ed. At the same time, provide alternatives such as remedial classes (for a limi ted time) and non-college training or apprenticeships so that a student leaving the public education system can immediately qualify for a job. Allow those who can qualify, by grades and demonstrated ability to continue to benefit from edu cation, to continue with the public paying most of the costs. Possibly not for all career fields; if you want to be a lawyer or psychologist, then pay for it y ourself. But engineers and scientists and business managers and entrepreneurs s hould have our assistance, because the investment pays off in later years. If I can think of these things, why can't our elected 'leaders' in government?

The answer is that they are more concerned with getting reelected, seeing their party in power, and personal advantage or power. We need term limits to reduce the accumulation of power, and development of a multi-party system that reduces the power of the majority parties. That is something we must do, as a voting el ectorate. We can't blame this on congress. And they won't take action unless w e force them to do it. I have a vision; it's there above. Where is Mr. Boehner's vision? Where is Ms. Pelosi's vision. Where's Mr Obama's vision? I can be specific because I'm not afraid I might lose a vote or two; they're all fearful, as is everyone in the g overnment. The above? That's a real change you can believe in. Not that it'll happen. Se e the concerns they have in the paragraph above. Feel free to share this with a nyone you want. Copyright hereby renounced.