The Problem: Some people want to see a female president, implying that we just ought to put one there, without, say, a vote on the subject. As if it’s time for quotas in government. Can’t we get over that hump already?
My Proposal: You want a woman in office, get the support of a political party, major or minor, foot the bill, run the race, and get the votes. Though I don’t necessarily agree with the current political system in our country, I at least recognize that it’s better than the alternative – namely being stuck with whatever trend du jour happens to strike everyone’s fancy.
The Problem: Our current president wants to implement private social security accounts. Many people (including myself) think this might not be an entirely bad idea. Other people think it might be a bad idea. It appears, based on the results from existing Texas counties who opted out of the federal Social Security plan years ago, that this may (or may not) be the best solution for all parties.
My Proposal: Let people choose for themselves. Frankly, I think that everyone ought to be able to entirely opt out of Social Security if they like, at which point they not only become completely responsible for their own financial future, but get to invest it how they choose, and are similarly able to redirect the employer’s contributions. Naturally, this means if they screw up, they screw up. There is no safety net. Deal with it. They make the choice, they suffer the consequences. If this were a possibility, I’m sure that at least one enterprising person would start a retirement insurance of sorts, priced based on your financial status, so that if you end up bankrupt, they’ll bail you out – for the proper premiums, of course.
The Problem: The City of Charlotte is run by a bunch of boneheads. This is no secret. But now they’ve really upped the ante. A school on a busy road asks for additional help. The city refuses, and not to let anyone think they can expect a reasonable decision from the city, they actually remove the existing infrastructure, stranding young kids and volunteers on the opposite side of the busy road.
My Proposal: Pull your head out, Charlotte. Either start building schools in less-busy locations, or provide a decent means for pedestrians to access them. It doesn’t have to be a crossing guard or a light. How about a pedestrian bridge? There are all sorts of answers. Want a world-class city? How about making it so you can reasonably expect to get around Charlotte without driving everywhere. And one other hint: A multi-billion dollar transit system that will focus traffic in only a few particular areas of the city isn’t going to cut it. What if you live in-between those areas, or, God forbid, want to get from one to the other?
The Problem: A female MP wants to mud wrestle during a party, and in the process, show her breasts to everyone nearby. And in the process, let some pictures be taken. The answer from the US government? Drop her rank and kick her out. This is someone who has gone through ROTC, who wants to serve halfway around the world, and they kick her out? How many people want out that can’t get out, and here’s someone that wants in and they won’t let her stay!
My Proposal: She wants to wrestle in the mud and show off her body to everyone, let her. If they don’t like it, they can leave. At least one article mentions that others did just this when faced with the prospect of exposing themselves. Is it the proper thing to do? Probably not. What did it hurt? The image of the US? Heh. Like that could get much worse.
Comments
2 responses to “Why Is It So Hard?”
Oh, I agree completely. I’m not arguing that it would be difficult – merely that saying “we need a woman president, just because we haven’t had one” is a bit ridiculous. You may have guessed that I don’t really believe in quotas in other jobs either. 🙂
As a number bunny, I would argue the odds of a woman president are low. Here is my basis for that statement.
Count all of the people that COULD run for president. That would likely include all senators, congressional representatives, and governors. That would be 100 senators, 435 congressional representatives and 50 governors for 585 people. Let’s throw in some ex’s and take the number to 800.
Now, what percent of those are women and then do a thought experiment. In your mind take a bag and put into it a red marble for every woman in the 800 people above. Then put a white marble into the bag for every man in the 800 above.
Shake the bag well. Close your eyes reach into the bag and select a marble. I’m going to give you a large sum of money if you can guess the color of the marble you have drawn.
What color are you going to guess?