If I were electected president/chansellor/prime minister/emperor of everything

[darkcyd]

So, occasionally I sit around thinking, "man, we have really got to unass ourselves and do x, y, z. Man if I was in charge...(incoherent mumble)."

First we'd kill all the lawyers, no seriously.
First, We'd figure out fusion power. We'd put instead of .0002% of our gdp into it, we'd just hire a group of scientists that could handle it what they needed and get it done. This would create a ton of new jobs rebuilding cars to work on electricity and overhauling our infrastructure. As well as remove the whole problem with the middle east and muslims. They can herd goats and praise allah into the next millinium if they so wish it.

Second, we'd do a flat tax on corperations and businesses only. No more accountants. Any idiot can count up his profit and multiply by some percentage and tada, you get the tax. No more incentives or deductions. The idea that we have an entire college degree on something that should be as easily and mutiplying by a 2 digit number is beyond waistful. Accountants can now go build new cars.

Last, I would bring back NASA and hopefully with fusion power, we'd be more capable to push to settling some colonies on Mars. I know Mars has Ice for power. I really think humans need to start thinking beyond this rock we are on and planning a little ahead if we hope you escape our own destructive tendencies.

Anyway, those are my 3. Post what you would do. I am curious.

[The Magic Pudding]

No more accountants. Any idiot can count up his profit and multiply by some percentage and tada, you get the tax. No more incentives or deductions. The idea that we have an entire college degree on something that should be as easily and mutiplying by a 2 digit number is beyond waistful. Accountants can now go build new cars.

Identifying profit is a tricky business, an art even, do you want to be seen as one stomping on the arts?
There's always more than one way to read things.
"No more accountants" could be seen as a positive by existing accountants, who well understand supply and demand.
Do you really want Accountants working on cars, what if I see an advantage in deferring installing a break pedal until year end?

[Tank]

1) Universal Secular Education is compulsory till 16. And you have to be able to be functionally literate and basically numerate to graduate. All people to be taught English alongside their native tongue.
2) Secular morality and tolerance based on the golden rule to be taught in all schools.
3) All religious texts to be moved to the fiction section of book stores.

[xSilverPhinx]

Spell check would be mandatory

[Asmodean]

If I was Führer, I'd probably spend my days ensuring my own well-being. Preferably, in such a way that The Masses would be unlikely to find out that they are the bill-payers... Not unlike what most politicians do today.

Therefor, I am NOT a politician.

[darkcyd]

No more accountants. Any idiot can count up his profit and multiply by some percentage and tada, you get the tax. No more incentives or deductions. The idea that we have an entire college degree on something that should be as easily and mutiplying by a 2 digit number is beyond waistful. Accountants can now go build new cars.

Identifying profit is a tricky business, an art even, do you want to be seen as one stomping on the arts?
There's always more than one way to read things.
"No more accountants" could be seen as a positive by existing accountants, who well understand supply and demand.
Do you really want Accountants working on cars, what if I see an advantage in deferring installing a break pedal until year end?

Oh yer grasping. Accountancy being an art would have to from a very japaneese point of view. Taken to such extremes, putting my shoes on could be an art. Should I subsidize all slipper activity by a heavily bloated sector of government? Oh for the ARTS!
You are right, we would still need accountants, but small companies and individuals would never have a need for them as a 8th grade education would suffice.
I can't imagine accountants putting on breaks doing anyworse than whoever they currently have at Toyota.

[Will]

A fat business tax favors the rich. Progressive taxation works, whether it's taxation of citizens or businesses.

If I were king of the world, I'd institute a world-Constitution. The Constitution would do two things: 1) it would provide bare-bones rights to all human beings, and 2) it would provide a framework for international relations and conflict resolution. The idea would be to reduce total human suffering and to prevent violent conflict. The bare-bones rights would include free speech, religion (freedom for and from religion, and separation of church and state), right to assembly, and press, protections from unreasonable searches, right to due process, right to trial by jury, speedy and public trial, and right to council, protection from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment, and equal protection for all people under the law, basically a planetary Bill of Rights. Regarding the framework, wars are unnecessary and archaic, and need to be replaced by a judicial system for conflict resolution. Essentially, an international arbitration resolution system would be created to specifically deal with conflicts between independent nations. An example would be the conflict between the United States and Iraq over the question of weapons of mass destruction: an arbitration would be called, and based on the accusations of the United States, an independent and public investigation would be held by the arbitrator into the accusation, going over the evidence presented by the United States, to verify the authenticity. If enough evidence is presented, the investigation moves into Iraq to locate the weapons. Assuming having these weapons violates international law or existing treaties, the weapons will be confiscated and destroyed. No war, no civilian deaths, no nothing.

Another thing I'd do is international trade regulations, particularly what I call fair trade. Trading partners would have to have roughly equal worker rights and protections in place to trade. The United States cannot trade with countries that don't have a similar minimum wage and worker rights, for example.

Finally, I'd outlaw capital punishment worldwide.

[phillip1882]

I'd work to dissolve all the world's governments including my own asap. 
no but seriously, i agree with most of what the above poster said.
a bill of rights for everyone. no question there. however, if we are going to accuse other nations of having WMD, and put them on trial for it, then we need to eliminate our own as well. (an idea i fully support.) not sure i agree about trading with nations of equal worker rights however. whatever you produce in one nation may be less valuable to another nation, or more valuable. for example, if japan pays workers 20 yen an hour, but that's only 3 dollars an hour here (minimum wage is currently 7 dollars an hour), should we necessarily be prevented from trading with japan? that doesn't really make sense to me. as long as both parties are well aware of the rights of the individual, and both parties are voluntarily working for the wages they earn, there should be no barrier to trade. i would however like to trade barrier with any nation that employs slave labor.

[OldGit]

1.  I'd impose a £10,000 tax on all caravans, caravans to be crushed on the spot if it's not paid.

2.  Politicians.  Every candidate who stands for election to have some parts surgically amputated if they lose.  Say, a finger or two for a minor local election, right up to a leg for parliamentary election.  Basically this would ensure that all our politicians would be power-crazed lunatics, not just most of them.

3.  Marmite and Vegemite to be class A narcotics.

[Tank]

1.  I'd impose a £10,000 tax on all caravans, caravans to be crushed on the spot if it's not paid.

{snip}

Ah! The Jeremy Clarkson vote is guaranteed!

[The Magic Pudding]

3.  Marmite and Vegemite to be class A narcotics.

Someone has let Vegemite into your country?
I'm sorry to hear that, you guys have been having enough trouble.
If you force feed it to children it makes them accept nearly anything else with gratitude and relief, but it can lead to trust issues.

[Xjeepguy]

If I were king of the world? Just listen to John Lennon's "imagine".......
I just don't think it gets any better than that.

[DeterminedJuliet]

I would legislate daily siestas to the work week worldwide.

[Sweetdeath]

I am with Tank on moving all religious stuff to fiction section in bookstores/libraries.

I would also like there to be low income housing build where cemoteries are.  They are such a waste of space.  Please cremate or dump in forest people.

[fyv0h]

Rick Roll the Entire...Effing...World

and kill anyone who didn't enjoy it.