If I (or you) were King of the Forest

I would fund more and better organizations for the care and counseling of abused and neglected children.

If I were king of the forest , I would have Adirondack Cabins built every 3 miles instead of every 15 on the major trails. AND , I wouldn't allow hunting for trophies, that's just a brain dead "Sport"

I'd get rid of the Central Banks as a starter. Go back to some kind of a currency based on something. Revamp the healthcare system to a single payer govt controlled system modeled after the better parts of the VA. Get manufacturing started in America again. destroy 90% of the unnecessary regulations strangling American business. Roll out the FAIR Tax system. Put the Pauls in charge of the economy.

Then, after the revolution, I would hide.

you mean the Krugmans?

Nope, the Paul's as in Ron and Rand...

Hmmm, you are easily impressed. I am not.

Maybe the old man. The kid is brain dead.

when you are a surgeon, you see all the worlds problems as a swollen appendix

So, if you guys were king of the jungle, all you'd do is criticize the other kings. Pretty lame fella's.

Listening, good thread, good intro to it.

There is trouble in the forest...

If I were king I would make the oaks share the sunlight with the maples.

you are geddy lee?

I certainly wouldn't take my time about putting my plans into action.

(Yep, it would be a rush job alright.)

But seriously...

If I were king for a day I would do the following:

(1) Reform the general "welfare" system so that all the benefits -- the handouts in many forms that people get such as food stamps and housing subsidies -- are better coordinated. Benefits should be available to everyone making less than enough to live on, not just to disabled people. The total benefit for someone who made no income would be just enough to cover all expenses. It would fall off at the rate of 50 cents on the dollar as soon as the recipient started making money of their own.

(People keep talking about "good jobs" as a solution to poverty. That would have a been great in the 1600's or even the 1900's. Today, that's just wrong. What have we been doing over the last few centuries except inventing increasingly sophisticated machines to do our work for us? There's only so much work to go around when you do that, of course, and the fact that there's only so much work to go around is not a bad thing. We view idleness as evil because our notions of the amount of work to be done derive from our pre-industrial past.)

(2) Abolish the minimum wage, because in a welfare state (with a gradual phase out of benefits when you go back to work) you don't need a minimum wage. Some people can only contribute $5/hour of value to their employer; it should be okay to pay them $5/hour. Even the disabled would be able to work, because they would no longer need to find someone willing to pay them $8/hour.

(3) Various measures, like those in Scandinavian countries, should be put in place to make it easier for women to advance in the workplace, until they reach parity in terms of pay. Right now men can "have it all", and women can't. The idea the sexes currently have equal opportunity to succeed in life is a lie.

(4) In the spirit of India's representational quota for women in parliament I would do two things to the constitution:

(i) Change the total number of senators from each state to 3. Require at least one of those 3 to be female.

(ii) Change the number of congressional districts from 435 to 145, with each state getting at least one district. Have 3 representatives per district in order to keep the total numbers of reps at 435. Reserve one seat in each district for a woman.

Thanks to everyone for the input and feedback. I've been reading along without comment hoping to get some insight into where everyone sees solutions rather than just complaints. I appreciate all of the comments. We have a lot of problems in this forest of ours. I feel it will ultimately fall to us to come up with some solutions.

Gosh, farmer. I remember those cabins and lean tos, also the AMC huts.
Thanks for reminding.

Lots of good memories for the king to restore