The Glading Doctrine - Part 2

Let’s pick up where we left off on Wednesday, with foreign aid…

Follow my logic. If the federal government is incentivizing charitable giving through major tax breaks, then the next time there is an earthquake in Bolivia or a tsunami in Indonesia, the American Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, and other U.S.-based international relief organizations will have the resources to meet those needs. That frees up Uncle Sam to fulfill his constitutional duties here at home… no more and no less.

Stop policing the world and start policing America because, in case you haven’t noticed, things are getting a bit out of control in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t learn something from other countries. For instance, in Japan – where capitalism is king – CEOs earn roughly one-tenth of what American CEOs do. In fact, in the United States, corporate executives earn an average of $265 for every $1 earned by a line employee.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool free market Capitalist, but I think that is obscene.

In Germany, the executive to employee earnings ratio is 136:1 and in Switzerland, it is 152:1. Because corporate boards won’t rein in their CEOs, maybe it’s time for Congress to step in and place a 150:1 cap on executive compensation.

Call me whatever name in the book you want, but I guess William Jennings Bryan is starting to rub off on me a little. Known as “The Great Commoner”, Bryan pushed for child labor laws, a 40-hour work week, and a minimum wage at a time when industrial giants like John D. Rockefeller and J.P Morgan were living in luxury at the expense of their employees.

Palatial palaces and pate de foie gras for the monopoly owners… and sweatshops and tenement housing for their oppressed workers.

Speaking of Congress, I realize this is 2025 and not 1825, but do we really need our lawmakers in Washington on a year-round basis? As recently as 1938, the 75th Congress convened on January 3rd and adjourned on June 16th, returning home until the following January… and this was at a time when America was still in the throes of the Great Depression and a World War was breaking out in Europe!

The way I figure it, the less time our elected officials spend inside the Beltway, the less trouble they can get into… and the less taxpayers’ money they can waste. Heading back to their districts might actually force them to interact with the people they are supposed to be representing, too.

Hmmm… let’s see what other feathers I can ruffle.

Term limits for all federal officeholders? Absolutely, positively. Maximum age limits, too.

A ban on former members of congress serving as lobbyists? You betcha! And while you’re at it, throw those members guilty of insider trading in prison for life.

An end to federal pensions for elected officials and government bureaucrats? It can’t happen soon enough. Just imagine the savings!

Switch over to a FAIR or national sales tax in lieu of the federal income tax… or implement a flat tax that can be filed on the back on a postcard, thereby reducing staffing at the IRS by 90% or more? Count me in!

Bring back the death penalty for all criminals convicted of first-degree premediated murder and limit them to one appeal so that their sentence is carried out swiftly. Kill a cop and you don’t get a trial or an appeal… just an execution.

O.K., let’s figure a way to “land this plane” called the Glading Doctrine.

Basically, I want the federal government to do the things we can’t do for ourselves – like build and maintain roads, bridges, ports, and other infrastructure… ensure that our food and water supply is clean and pure… secure our borders and protect us from foreign invasion – and then pretty much get out of our way.

I am sure that I’m overlooking a few glaring omissions, but I think you get the general idea.

John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry David Thoreau are alternately credited with saying, “That government is best which governs least” and both Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan did their best to put that philosophy into practice.

If elected, so will President Glading.