What needs to be done to make USA a better place? What needs fixed and what is g

1. 84

   justateacherposted 12 years ago

   What needs to be done to make USA a better place? What needs fixed and what is great?
   
   America has its problems, what can we do to make it better? What do you think makes America great?

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2. 60

   ideaxposted 12 years ago

   America needs jobs, improve economy and implementation of true justice.

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3. 60

   Pollyannalanaposted 12 years ago

   We need to clean house! All politicians in now need to be replaced. Lobbying needs to be outlawed and the nation should be lead for and by the people as was intended. Our government is corrupt, lining their pocket on money that is not there and I feel sure we have waited too long to turn it around. I mean both parties. What I use to think made America great does not exist. We are open to terrorists, we are bankrupt keeping up illegals and they are bringing in third world diseases to kill us working in restaurants and in produce besides getting produce and foods from foreign countries with no FDA laws controlling as on American farmers who have all been put out of business for the most part by FDA laws!....and who is protesting? Only the blind could see good. Who really is running our country?

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   icountthetimesposted 12 years ago

   I think corporations now have too much power. They can influence votes via lobbying and they can pump out propoganda via the news networks. It's difficult to do much about that now though. I think for the most part politicians are puppets and people are limited in terms of having a real say in how the country is run.

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   Brandon Spauldingposted 12 years ago

   Great question! The foundational structure of America does not need to be changed at all. The Constitution needs to be followed and government needs to get out of the way of the American citizen. The government is supposed to be under the control of the people, not the other way around. Getting back to the original roots is the best way to get America back on track again.

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6. 65

   anjperezposted 12 years ago

   1. america needs to be less dependent on material things. 2.) products should rethink the mechanism of "obsolescence". combining #1 and 2,  the more you accumulate, the more you need to power and sustain it. e.g. fashion and gadgets, just keeping up with it needs you to spend more every change of season.

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7. 61

   Cody Hodgeposted 12 years ago

   1. We need to start respecting those with views we do not agree with. Its too left/right in this country. There needs to be a middle ground, or else we cannot be a great nation anymore. I'm only in my late 20's, so I can't say I have a first-hand knowledge of Congress, but it seems there was at least respect for others back in the day. Today it seems like if you are a conservative you just want to say the opposite of the progressive even if there is a middle ground that both sides could win from.
   
   2. People need financial security. Yes, America is a nation where you have to make your own way, but how do you make your own way on 9 dollars an hour, even if you have a college degree? As much as Americans are viewed as lazy, or the Occupy Wall Street protesters are considered dumb college kids, a lot of them are just frustrated that there aren't any jobs to be had. At some point, you need a livable wage and that isn't all the workers fault. The corporations need to start paying living wages in this country again.
   
   3. We gotta have faith in our nation. The recession hurts, yes, but how do we get out of it? By having faith! Not necessarily in God, or some other deity, but just in yourself and the thought that hard work will get you somewhere. Americans have to work together to get where we want to go. Tea Partiers and Occupiers need to get together and find common ground, and yes, we need people in Washington who will listen to the people again. However, we need to have faith that if we keep doing things the right way, and not the quick and easy way, that we will return to glory once again.

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   Laura Matkinposted 12 years ago

   I would like it if the law didn't change every time some moron did something stupid.  Seriously whenever some person does something horrible part of our freedom is taken away and laws are set in place.  One example, a lady killed her 3 children in a neighboring county as a result in the state of Alabama any parent whos child missed school 3 times without a doctors excuse had to go to court and listen to an hour long speech.  The person giving the speech said they had to keep track of everyone since that lady killed her children and even the news implied that somehow it was the schools fault for not keeping tabs on children.
   
   The schools have let up in the last 7 years thank goodness.  Another example, metal detectors in the courthouse, Airport security.

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9. 60

   Andrea K Flemingposted 12 years ago

   What makes America great is that it is the land of opportunity and a place where a person can become anything they set their mind to despite the race, religion or socioeconomic status they were born into.  The problem that our nation currently has is equally to blame from our government and our fellow citizens. Our problems stem from our nation being generally apathetic when it comes to making political and economic decisions.   
   
   Yes, our politicians have been making decision that are hurting our country, but we as voters gave them the power to make those decisions.  Americans need to become more educated about the candidates that they are planning to elect and about our government in general.  You should also not rely just on news media to get your facts.  Media in any form is bias therefore you should rely on a candidate’s political record which is open to the public.  When America’s constitution and government was formed, voters were much more passionate about having the right to elect individuals for office and about having a government that had checks and balances. We as a society take our right to choose for granted.  Rather than protesting about what politicians are currently doing, we should focus on what candidates we will be replacing them with.
   
   Our economy is crippling our nation.  This is a fact. But as Americans we have the ability to change it.  We currently live in a globalized world in which for the past decades the US has played the role of one of the worlds largest importers.  Everything from food to clothing to luxury goods comes mainly from other countries meanwhile American companies are shutting down and putting more citizens out of work.  We as a nation need to stop importing all of our goods.  Why should your orange juice come from Brazil when we have perfectly good orange juice being produced in Florida? Buying American is not only beneficial for our economy but is easy to do as long as you put in a little time to research.

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    advocateforchildposted 12 years ago

    Politics are far too connected to special interests. As Pollyanna stated, and I am sure many other people think, lobbyists have no place in politics. Money corrupts. The salaries and benefits politicians receive are obscene and there is no logic to continuing these benefits, especially after they are out of office. Serving your country as a politician should be more focused on the public service aspect. It should be emphasized and remembered that public service is, and should remain, a privilege and not an entitlement and a means of accruing wealth.
    
    With that said, the US is very fortunate that we as the people do indeed have power to change things. We can vote. We can speak our minds freely. We can affect a great deal of things at the grassroots level. We can refuse to spend our money and boycott large corporations. We can stop being so focused on material "one-up-manship". We can buy and spend locally. If we do not give large corporations our money, they lose their power over us.

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    maddotposted 12 years ago

    I don't live in the USA so I look at your country from the outside.
    
    
    i am always facinated by the way many Americans express the opinion that the USA is the "the greatest country" which seems to dismiss the fact that so many countries have many excellent attributes and are just as "great as the USA" in different ways.
    
    The USA is certainly an amazing place and has produced great people with great ideas......but so has every country.
    The USA is not alone in facing challenges as we feel the consequences of a changing world.
    Some one here asks: why is the USA importing oranges when they grow oranges in Florida? Well we ask the same question in Australia" why are we getting oranges from California when we grow them here?
    If you stop importing and we stop importing..some one somewhere is going to suffer..the farmers in Brazil and the farmers in California and on and on it will go.!
    We are alo dependant on each other across the globe but I agree that we are too reliant on material goods for our measure of happiness.
    Perhaps the USA needs to accept that it is no greater or any less than any other country. Stop trying to be "great" - you already are. Time to be brilliant by changing what you can, knowing what is important and  accepting that it's not going to happen overnight.
    Your actions affect so many people all over the globe - being "great" is noble and requires a wisdom that embraces all - not just those in your own backyard.

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    brieliseposted 12 years ago

    Right now I think fixing the economy is the most important thing. We also need to start bringing jobs home. My hometown lost a lot of jobs because all the factory jobs went oversees. There needs to be some kind of incentive to keep businesses here. I admit I don't know too much about politics or government, even though I try to keep up: there's a lot going on, especially right now! But this is what I think needs to be fixed in America.

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    Beata Stasakposted 12 years ago

    I am an outsider as well and I have my daily 'dose of news' about the state of  USA and what should be done to improve the situation.
    Whatever is happening over there, I strongly feel USA  is not finished, the reason is that is si simply a powerhouse of ideas. USA is the first great immigrant culture, it absorbs ideas and culture and throuws it all back out to be reabsorbed by the rest of the world, so its culture is infinitely malleable. So despite the financial situation or maybe because of it, I believe that eventually USA will lift itself out of the present situations. The diversity, richness and natural entrepreneurship of its people are its greatest asset.

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    Steve LePoidevinposted 12 years ago

    Well, as an expat Canadian living in China, here’s how I see it…
    
    1)    Make education a priority in the country. I have always felt that a nation that supports and encourages a great education system will reap the benefits of the investment in uncountable ways.  One of the most interesting books I have read lately is The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt. It is definitely food for thought.
    2)    Become more accepting of other cultures and other governments..  Until very recently, only 15% of the American population had passports. That has increased to 21% today because it is now necessary to have one to visit Canada and Mexico. It is an intelligent population but one that is culturally ignorant about the rest of the world.  Americans need to get out of their comfort zone and explore the globe.  It is not the same world as being portrayed by the media and the government
    3)    Stop meddling in other countries’ affairs and trying to fix their problems.  It always scares me when one war ends because I know the American war machine must keep going.  Which country will be next on their list? Now they have pulled out of their latest carnage, I can almost guarantee that there will be some sort of propaganda campaign starting soon that will slowly result in another invasion of another part of the world.  This cycle has been going on for as long as I can remember.
    4)    Separate the church and the state.  These two were never meant to be connected.  When national and local government policy in the 21st century is affected by beliefs in mythology, there are going to be problems. 
    5)    Stop blaming other countries for their economic problems.  The US has always been a goldmine of ideas and patents. Economies cannot run on digital transactions. It doesn’t take a genius to see that economies flourish when real things are produced, things you can touch and feel.  Make something of quality in your own country and sell it.  And then do it over and over again.  That’s how it used to work! If you can’t make it or sell it for the same price other places do, then maybe everything does need to crash and burn, once and for all, so that prices decrease to a reasonable level again.

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    Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

    Shrink the army and virtually end "defense" spending through a military re-structuring. Put billions of dollars into education. Minimize the central government and Washington's significance and give more power to the states. Deal with corruption reform, healthcare reform, financial regulation, etc on a case-by-case basis--in other words, I would not institute any great sweeping reform or re-structuring of our system.

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