By Victor S. Farrah
Act now! The U.S. Government has failed to perform its duties.
1. Changes should be made to make our government perform better with cost savings.
2. We have to secure our borders. Do we need the Department of Homeland Security? It should be eliminated and its responsibilities shared between the FBI and the CIA.
3. All 50 states have a Department of Education. The federal Department of Education should be eliminated.
4. We need term limits. Congressmen and senators should serve only two terms of six years.
5. We should carefully analyze Congressí pension plans. Now, if a member of Congress dies, the spouse receives their salary for life. Pensions are too high for all government employees. Congress and all government employees should pay into the Social Security system like all Americans do and not have their own separate system.
6. We must limit the terms of all federal judges, including the Supreme Court, to one 12-year term, instead of serving for life. Their pensions should be lowered like all federal employees, and they should pay into the Social Security system.
7. We must eliminate all foreign aid. We cannot continue to borrow money and then give it away.
8. We must reorganize the State Department so that we institute a new foreign policy for all the nations of the world, showing no favoritism to any country.
9. We must remember our great President Andrew Jackson who eliminated the Federal Reserve and prohibited U.S. banks from loaning money to other countries.
10. We can no longer be the policemen of the world. We must reduce the size of our military by bringing troops home.
11. We must overhaul our archaic tax system.
12. We should encourage establishment of a third party. Remember, the government should be working for the people instead of the people working for the government.
13. We cannot be the ěLone Rangerî sending our troops into battle for Britain, France and Israel. Britain and France have never repaid their World War II debt, which was forgiven by FDR.
14. We must uphold the U.S. Constitution, the greatest document in the world. We must stop forcing democracy on other countries.
15. We must discontinue supporting Israel and no longer be tied to the Israeli government.
16. U.S. corporations should be taxed more fairly so that they can compete with other nations, especially China and Japan.
17. The American people should be more patriotic by looking for the ěMade in Americaî label when making purchases (instead of made in China).
18. George Washington in his farewell address gave this advice: We dispensed with the chains of the evil King of England, George III, and should treat all nations fairly and never align ourselves with any single nation. We declared our independence from England and the world so there is no sense to be attached to the government of Israel.
19. President Obama promised to bring our troops home. But all he did was move them to Afghanistan, where war has been going on for 10 years. The peace of the entire world depends on peace in two states, Palestine and Israel. The U.S. was never attacked by Iraq and Afghanistan. We are fighting a very costly war in men and in money ($2.5 billion per week). That is why it is vital that we have a lasting peace in the Middle East and bring all the troops home.
20. Our beloved President Eisenhower in 1956 warned against American involvement in the industrial and military cartel. We have been involved in wars since 1898. The last 140 years, U.S. forces fought Spain and Cuba, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Balkans, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Our national debt is $14 trillion. Our ěcenturiesî of war must stop.
21. Balance the budget. We cannot allow our government to spend more than it receives. Deficit spending is dangerous and does not set a good example to our citizens and other nations. Do this without raising taxes, since we pay enough already.
22. Congressional staffs should be analyzed on size, expense and pensions.
23. Social Security and highway trust funds should never be used in the general fund. Social Security should not be given to alcoholics and drug addicts.
24. Lobbies should be controlled. As it is now, they are free to sell their ideas to Congress, and this injustice must be corrected.
25. All ěentitlement programsî must be audited and evaluated to remove waste and corruption, while modernizing, reducing or eliminating.

Victor S. Farrah lives in Salisbury.
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