What If?: President Gerald Sturgill

The issues most important to me and how I’d improve society

I know this will never happen. Me being a US President. First of all, I most likely should’ve already been born into money. I had to have already have attended the best universities and have at least a Master’s Degree, if not a Doctorate. I’m also not famous for television or music. As a kid, this was a pipe dream. I felt that if I stayed out of trouble and worked hard, I could get there. Sadly, I was mistaken. A kid, even as a grown 39-year-old man, can still dream though.

Things I would improve

Priorities

• Healthcare
• Climate Change
• Secondary and Post-Secondary Education
• Eliminate Private Student Loans
• Affordable Housing
• Efficient Food Assistance/Welfare System
• Child Care

Healthcare is a human right and shouldn’t be run as a for-profit business. My idea would be to get rid of the private interests in healthcare, mainly the insurance companies and the insurance billers, and make the system more streamlined. I know that there are millions of jobs currently within that industry. Those jobs can be shifted to a similar field or they can move over to a Green New Deal-style shift to combat climate change.

Climate change is real and is very dangerous, no matter who told you otherwise. Whether you view that as human-caused or not, something clearly needs to be done. Of course, I do see it as caused by production and is certainly man-made, the point is that something must be done about it before it’s too late for it to be reversed. The Green New Deal would create millions of new jobs and would be an investment in a future that is more than necessary to move forward and save the viability of life on this very planet.

Students aren’t getting the education they should be. The high school curriculum is constantly being tweaked and adjusted to fit whatever political leanings the certain district wants to push that year. I would call for a uniform curriculum across the board and push for more online learning platforms and regulation of non-peer-reviewed and or “independent” learning platforms being studied. For colleges, I’m for lowering the administration cost and overall cost of colleges back down to a rate that is closer to the 1960s in terms of relative cost and putting a cap on how much a state college can charge per unit. I would also eliminate the private loan system and make a system where a student gets an amount in financial aid that can be covered under the current federal student loan system. I would also eliminate federal student loan servicers and allow for students to include student loans in bankruptcy up to a certain amount, if needed, after a set time of 15 years if they are not able to find meaningful work in that field within that time. I would also lower interest rates to the federal lending level and manage the payments on an income-based repayment model.

Private student loans, however, as a business, the for-profit model would go away and any current debt incurred would be erased. These companies can apply to reclassify their businesses if not already part of another type of company and would no longer be able to operate in a for-profit business in college student loans.

I would also ensure that no one would have to work long, menial hours just to be able to afford to live in a house or apartment. I would set a cap for large city rents. Any landlord that would charge more than that would have to pay 60% tax on anything received higher than the cap annually on their taxes. In smaller cities, I would find a cap proportional to the wage of the area and the type of living quarters that are being rented out. If one wants to buy a house, there would also be a fixed mortgage rate for all homeowners that wouldn’t decrease just because someone has more income. Also, there would be a cap on the number of properties a single individual or company could own. This would also eliminate slumlords and bank-owned properties.

Anyone who’s been on welfare or food assistance knows that even with all of the pandemic-induced increases that it’s still not enough to survive. Setting the bar at a more reasonable level for individuals and families would be a priority for me. Allowing for people who are working to be eligible for more cash assistance as needed will also be something I’d do. For those who are looking for work and or are unable to work, there would be a set livable wage that they would receive to adequately pay for all living expenses.

Single parents and/or double-income families shouldn’t have to worry about how their children will be cared for. I will propose a tax cut for childcare providers who offer low-cost child care for families to be able to afford childcare. I will also allow those who need to utilize childcare a tax credit at the end of the year so that the burden of childcare is relieved and supplemented.

Other issues

• Abortion and Other Social Issues
• Campaign Reform
• Taxing the Wealthy

Abortion and other personal social issues will no longer be allowed to be politicized. Autonomy over these choices stays with the individual and they decide what to do. This will be across the board for any other issue relating to something that is only under an individual’s control and should only be their own business. Things like gay marriage, which I obviously support, will not be allowed to even be discussed in a political debate at any level of government. These infractions will be seen as civil rights violations if discussed by politicians. We, as citizens discussing these things, will not be affected. You know, First Amendment and all.

Campaign reform is a big issue and is leading to the increasing stronghold of rich people and companies being involved in politics. This should’ve never been allowed to happen. There should be caps on campaign donations by individuals to candidates and parties. There should be no allowed campaign donations by companies or corporations. The cap on an individual donation should only be $2000 per election cycle. This would certainly take big money out of politics. I quite like the idea of also getting rid of paid political ads and replaced with town hall-style forums aired for a nominal price and with equal time on network TV so that candidates running for state, local, or national office get equal time and attention.

The issue of money in elections transitions perfectly into taxing the wealthy. The number of loopholes and exceptions in the tax code is enough to make the average person’s head spin in a frenzy. I would reduce the number of write-offs and increase the corporate tax back to levels close to the 1940s when it was nearly impossible for companies to profit unfettered. I would make it illegal for companies to offshore a percentage of their labor and their profits so that any company that has a large market share in America is taxable to the acceptable rate.

I tend to lean more liberal/leftist and am for advocacy, social programs, and caring for the more disadvantaged in society. This is not to say that I think anyone any further to the right of me is a bad person or doesn’t care about caring for people. I just know that we have different approaches to these issues. If you do happen to have a different view than I do on anything listed here or anything you read, feel free to leave me a comment or a message and I’m open to a dialogue. Anyway, I digress.

This is all a pipe dream anyway. I’m never going to be President. For those who like what I’m saying, I’m happy to see people agree with me. If you don’t like it so much, don’t worry, I’ll never be President, and again, I’ve said here, let’s have a rational, level-headed discussion at what you would do differently. I’d like to hear from some readers. Thanks for reading.