What would your 5 changes be when you become President of the World for the day?

[Englishlady]

When you are President of the World for the day you are allowed to change 5 things that you think will benefit humanity/be for the greater good..............what would YOU change?

1.Ban Space travel, have we not messed up THIS planet enough? think about how all that money could be used down on earth to help out the hungry and sick.

2.Climbing mountains, crossing deserts "for a challenge" or "Charity" etc. to me this seems to be a desire for "bragging rights" .......... if you NEED a challenge why not work with the sick/homeless/mentally ill, much better to be socially aware and helping than potentially making your kids orphans or putting the emergency services guys at risk when they have to come and rescue you.
If you want to help a particular charity donate your OWN time and or money.
Donations to charity should not be conditional on someone doing something daft/potentially dangerous etc.

3.Race car driving :expensive, polluting, serves no purpose other than financial gain and self agrandizement.

4.Do not move the Olympics every 4 years!
Given the current state of the world with global warming and credit crunch, would it not make more sense to keep it in one place ( maybe the home of the modern Olympics ~ Greece)
Each country could throw some money into the International Kitty and if there was any left over it could go towards a Global disaster charity set up.

5.No photo's to be airbrushed, any publication that contains celebrities, must only contain genuine un-retouched pictures.
We can't stop the(celebrity) surgery but we can show that most of the time they all look like regular people when the are not airbrushed/well lit etc.
Hopefully this might lead to the young and vulnerable not getting so hung up on unrealistic body images.........( well we can live in hope).

ok fellow Presidents what would you change?

[Contrary Housewife]

This thread is going to get locked so fast....

I'd make people responsible for their own actions. You screw it up, you pay for it. No bail outs. No blame games.

[daughter of pearl]

Heheh! Oh, yeah, I seem this getting locked too!

1) I'd make all world leader's ask their moms' for advice more often and have them "hug it out" when it get really heated!
2) I'd enforce a rule that every child is enrolled is some kind of arts program throughout school, and that teachers have to find something positive to say about every child in their class on a weekly basis.
3) I'd shut down Walmart in favour of locally owned "mom and pop" shops.
4) I'd make chocolate free and tax the hell out of alcohol!!

[Laurie in Bradenton]

On my One Day:

1. No defense spending, all moneys due that day go to schools and charities.

2. No fighting of any kind anywhere.

3. No one goes hungey today everyone eats.

4. World clean up day. Everyone cleans up their corner of the planet. Give the armys something better to do since they can't fight.

5.Must listen day. Everyone must stop and listen to the othersides point of view. We can do this while we're cleaning up together.

Laurie in Bradenton

[RetiredVeryEarly]

1. Mandatory birth control. No family can have more than 2 children. Way less pollution and destruction of the evironment if the population stopped increasing so rapidly, and better for those who are here on the planet already. If you can't handle that, then mandatory birth control and you need to fill out a form and have both parents agree to be responsible for supporting the child and to already be self-supporting to have the birth control removed/turned off. If you can't support yourself and the family you have, then no more for you.

2. People need to have higher MPG vehicles. Let's not pretend people need SUVs just to drive themselves alone to and from work 5 times a week.

3. No factory farming of animals - they need to be raised in "normal" conditions, not tortured in tight quarters and producing tons of manure which becomes pollution is such large quantities.

4. Everyone has to take a class on appropriate use of apostrophes. :-) Okay, that is frivolous. I will make use of makeup socially unacceptable, so women can stop spending so much time and money disguising their perfectly normal selves. Ditto for shaving legs, what a stupid thing to do.

5. The top management of companies cannot earn more than 20 times more than any other employee in the company. That includes bonuses and stock options.

[Sara Noel]

Just a friendly reminder that this thread has the potential to go downhill quickly. The purpose is to share YOUR 5 things and not debate other members and their 5 changes. Even if you're thinking, well....glad they're not President of the world for the day. LOL

[pollypurebred39]

1) Bring our manufactoring companies back to our country.

2) Make all jobs union with respectable wages, benefits and retirement packages.

3) Have farming pratices changed to organic farming only, and abolish all chemical additives in food products. Humane farming practices of all livestock & no hormones. If it's not natural and organic it would not be in our food supply.

4) Increase wages of those who put their lives on the line for us in this country. Police, fire rescue and military. Provide proper care for them, ie veterns hospitals etc..

5) Put a cap on all medical services and drugs. A great big giant cap!

[Englishlady]

Oops did I slip up here? I only wanted to stimulate a bit of chat at what seems to be a quiet time ( over Easter) not sure what "locked" means as I am a technodunce, but I am guessing it isn't good?

I'll get my coat..................................................

[forHISglory]

I like the thinking on this thread! I may not agree with all of it, but I like that we are definitely thinking and sharing!

My One Day Legacy would include:
1. Total freedom of religion
2. Every person would have enough to eat and drink
3. Every person who wanted a job would have a job.
4. Everyone would get involved in cleaning up a little section of the globe
5. We would respect others and listen. Again, we may not agree, but we can honor others as fellow humans.
6. I know, I know..... only 5.... But I want to see education available to those who desire to learn.

[McD]

Oops did I slip up here? I only wanted to stimulate a bit of chat at what seems to be a quiet time ( over Easter) not sure what "locked" means as I am a technodunce, but I am guessing it isn't good?

I'll get my coat..................................................

Englishlady, you did nothing wrong. We, as a village, tend to not play well with others, when politics become involved. As a result, those threads usually become locked and/or redirected to the sister site- iquarrel. There we can debate to our hearts' content.

Locked means closed.

Here are mine:

1. Reform veterans hospitals. No veteran should call to schedule an appt for injuries/ptsd and be scheduled an appointment for 3 months away. Nor should they be instructed to buy a roll of gauze and have a relative bandage their wounds after having skin grafts due to the burning of their flesh from an IED.

2 People would be required to take a class explaining what common sense is and how to apply it to real life. I.E. If your toilet is continously swirling water in the bowl, it is not a self-cleaning toilet. Your toilet is leaking and you will be charged for the 90,000 gallons of water you used.

3. People would be required to take a basic economics class. Real life practical economics--how to balance a checkbook, how a credit card works, how to avoid bank fees, how to budget, etc.

4. Also required would be a 'how to cook healthy class'. I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and am appalled. Also overwhelmed by the changes I need to make.

5. People would be required to spend a day with someone in a different set of circumstances than them. For example, perhaps if the suburban yuppie who called my office complaining about spray paint on his driveway spent a day with the two young girls who mom died this morning, perhaps he would realize, in the scheme of things, how petty his complaints are. I think if we did this not only would we have a better understanding of other people not only would our amount of complaining as a nation decrease, we would also start treating our fellow citizens better.

[stinkbug]

That was easy! I agree completely with MrsMcDowell :-)

[KathleenCG]

Some are repeats:

1. No defense spending; money to be used for health care, schools, homeless;

2. No fighting;

3. Close Walmart, have local stores;

4. Feed, provide clean water for, shelter, clothe, educate all human beings;

5. Living wage for all workers.

[Mom2-3]

Marriage equality.

I can't think of all 5, but this is the biggest for me.