In my opinion, three sweeping in changes in three crucial areas need to occur in America in order to produce a society in which individuals have the opportunity to thrive or fail on their own merits.
The Criminal Code
America needs to do away with crimes of "delinquency", to include, but not limited to, drug crime. We spend too much time and resources fighting issues that are either unsightly, "morally reprehensible", and/or "indicators of future criminal activity". Actual crimes should be punished and punished severely, all else should be left alone until such an actual crime is committed. The only crimes that should be prosecuted, IMO, are direct crimes against property and persons: theft, assault, manslaughter, rape, murder.
As it is, the current punishments even against these crimes, in America, are ineffective. The penal system needs to be replaced by corporal punishment and punitive fines (enough to be corrective and deterrent), except in cases involving rape and murder (life sentences, no parole).
The penal system in America is simply an elaborate criminal academy. First time criminals enter as novices and are released a few years later as hardened professionals; the recidivism rates empirically demonstrate this point. Families of criminals are left without a parent and without that parent's income while said parent is locked away. This also plays a major role in creating a culture of criminals. Prison sentences remove family members and family members' income from a family for years; corporal punishment might mean a loss of income for a few days while said criminal is recovering before heading back to the workforce.
Parental Accountability
If, by our legal code, persons under a certain age are considered minors and are technically the wards of their parents, then why is it that parents are not held legally responsible for the criminal activity of their offspring?
If a minor commits a crime, the minor should be charged for said crime; however, the parent should also have to demonstrate that they did everything that was prudent and in their power to keep their child from taking the path of criminal behavior and should receive a certain percentage of their child's sentence.
The two issues I see with this stance are that it could possibly lead to more abortions, which the right would absolutely abhor, and that it would be tough to enforce (how does one go about proving the parental negligence).
I will address the latter objection first and then move back to the former. It is highly unenforceable. I see that; yet, the mere threat of enforcement would be enough to coerce some parents into taking a stronger role in their child's life, to include exhausting all possibilities of helping a "problem child". Also, many laws are currently unenforceable, if the prosecution were forced to try everything in court; instead, they offer pleas which are normally accepted and, hence, there ends up being a certain degree, while a lesser degree, of enforcement. I foretell a lot of plea bargains with parents in these cases.
As for the objection regarding an increase in abortions: I would also think that an increase in adoptions would occur and struggling parents would not continue to play games in the judicial system regarding adoptions that ultimately disturb the psyche of young children.
Education
The American Public School System needs to open teacher competition to any and all individuals with four-year degrees; needs to allow school vouchers and school choice; and needs to extend the school year year-round.
I do not know whether individuals with degrees in Education are the best teachers; currently, there is no way to find out. By opening the workforce to competition, education majors will have the opportunity to prove they are better suited. Whether they do or they don't, it is a win-win situation for the American Education System: either they do and we have the better teachers or they do not and we have the better teachers.
Just as teacher competition would make schools better, so would school competition. Vouchers should be made available for those parents who wish to send their children to private schools. There are many who claim that this could ultimately kill public schools in areas where they are urgently needed. This is true, it could do this. It could also create a better public school in that area as teachers and administrators have to work to find out how to do more with less, as private schools have done for centuries. The secret of private schools has been discipline, not funding. Discipline and obedience are at worst cost-neutral and most likely cost-effective.
Finally, schools should be year-round. American children no longer need the summers off to work the farm. The stagnant summer months are tough for working families and require extensive reviews and reteaching of material that should have already been learned. Until the age in which individuals are legally allowed to work (15 or 16, depending upon the state, IIRC), students should remain in school for the summer. This should include all grammar school students; high school students should have the summers off to work and to further develop individual drive and motivation, as that will be all they have once they graduate high school.
The Criminal Code
America needs to do away with crimes of "delinquency", to include, but not limited to, drug crime. We spend too much time and resources fighting issues that are either unsightly, "morally reprehensible", and/or "indicators of future criminal activity". Actual crimes should be punished and punished severely, all else should be left alone until such an actual crime is committed. The only crimes that should be prosecuted, IMO, are direct crimes against property and persons: theft, assault, manslaughter, rape, murder.
As it is, the current punishments even against these crimes, in America, are ineffective. The penal system needs to be replaced by corporal punishment and punitive fines (enough to be corrective and deterrent), except in cases involving rape and murder (life sentences, no parole).
The penal system in America is simply an elaborate criminal academy. First time criminals enter as novices and are released a few years later as hardened professionals; the recidivism rates empirically demonstrate this point. Families of criminals are left without a parent and without that parent's income while said parent is locked away. This also plays a major role in creating a culture of criminals. Prison sentences remove family members and family members' income from a family for years; corporal punishment might mean a loss of income for a few days while said criminal is recovering before heading back to the workforce.
Parental Accountability
If, by our legal code, persons under a certain age are considered minors and are technically the wards of their parents, then why is it that parents are not held legally responsible for the criminal activity of their offspring?
If a minor commits a crime, the minor should be charged for said crime; however, the parent should also have to demonstrate that they did everything that was prudent and in their power to keep their child from taking the path of criminal behavior and should receive a certain percentage of their child's sentence.
The two issues I see with this stance are that it could possibly lead to more abortions, which the right would absolutely abhor, and that it would be tough to enforce (how does one go about proving the parental negligence).
I will address the latter objection first and then move back to the former. It is highly unenforceable. I see that; yet, the mere threat of enforcement would be enough to coerce some parents into taking a stronger role in their child's life, to include exhausting all possibilities of helping a "problem child". Also, many laws are currently unenforceable, if the prosecution were forced to try everything in court; instead, they offer pleas which are normally accepted and, hence, there ends up being a certain degree, while a lesser degree, of enforcement. I foretell a lot of plea bargains with parents in these cases.
As for the objection regarding an increase in abortions: I would also think that an increase in adoptions would occur and struggling parents would not continue to play games in the judicial system regarding adoptions that ultimately disturb the psyche of young children.
Education
The American Public School System needs to open teacher competition to any and all individuals with four-year degrees; needs to allow school vouchers and school choice; and needs to extend the school year year-round.
I do not know whether individuals with degrees in Education are the best teachers; currently, there is no way to find out. By opening the workforce to competition, education majors will have the opportunity to prove they are better suited. Whether they do or they don't, it is a win-win situation for the American Education System: either they do and we have the better teachers or they do not and we have the better teachers.
Just as teacher competition would make schools better, so would school competition. Vouchers should be made available for those parents who wish to send their children to private schools. There are many who claim that this could ultimately kill public schools in areas where they are urgently needed. This is true, it could do this. It could also create a better public school in that area as teachers and administrators have to work to find out how to do more with less, as private schools have done for centuries. The secret of private schools has been discipline, not funding. Discipline and obedience are at worst cost-neutral and most likely cost-effective.
Finally, schools should be year-round. American children no longer need the summers off to work the farm. The stagnant summer months are tough for working families and require extensive reviews and reteaching of material that should have already been learned. Until the age in which individuals are legally allowed to work (15 or 16, depending upon the state, IIRC), students should remain in school for the summer. This should include all grammar school students; high school students should have the summers off to work and to further develop individual drive and motivation, as that will be all they have once they graduate high school.
