Reader offers solutions to nation's ills
President Obama deserves our everlasting gratitude for his excellent handling of the mess his predecessor left behind, but there is still much more to do. Implementing the following suggestions could turn our national debt into a surplus and make Social Security and Medicare solvent for generations.
Instead of criminalizing human nature and overcrowding our prisons and hospitals, let's legalize, regulate and tax drugs and prostitution. Let's also set up a national lottery and eliminate the most regressive tax swindle ever perpetrated on the poor and middle classes - the FICA free ride for the highest wage earners in our work force.
Obama has taken steps to end Bush's war against science by reinstating federal funding of embryonic stem cell and other research to eliminate cancer, heart disease, diabetes, HIV, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But even more can be done. It is interesting to note that in 2005, Iran's Ministry of Justice declared that methadone maintenance and syringe-exchange programs are compatible with Islamic law. I hope we will soon become as enlightened on how to fight HIV as Iran appears to be - at least in this instance.
To guard against any more stealing of elections and to get a better class of people representing us in government, we should make large campaign contributions by special interest groups illegal, return to paper ballots and limit all elected representatives to one term.
Gene McDougall
Arlington Heights