When I'm President:

Or, "Why I'd never get elected in the first place."

These would be my goals as POTUS, in no particular order (I'll work on them as I'm able, once I can get Congress to play ball...)

- Rescission of NFA34 in toto.  It's a pointless law, it's stifled development of small arms for military uses, and the "funding" derived from the programme doesn't even pay for the programme itself.

- Heavy modification of 18USC44 et seq - let it be known that I am categorically against laws that prohibit anyone from owning firearms.  People who should not own firearms will get themselves filtered out of the gene pool in short order, but it should be a personal choice.  And, self-defence is a basic human right.  Besides, what part of "... shall not be infringed." is giving Washington all of the trouble?

- Wholesale rescission of 26CFR (The Internal Revenue Code,) replacement of the income tax in toto with EITHER a "flat tax" of 7-10% or a "National Retail Sales Tax" of 5-7% (the NRST will tap the money in the "underground economy," while the "flat tax" will only draw from payroll.)  No, neither of these proposals is "revenue neutral."  They're not intended to be.  Government doesn't need more money, they need to learn to more efficiently spend the money they're getting.

- Co-operation between executive departments.  There's too much duplication of mission between departments, forcing co-operation will allow us to eliminate a few (and there are a few that aren't required at all, and some that could be done away with once a few other things are handled.)  A good example is the Department of Homeland Security - they're duplicating functions of NSA, CIA, and DoJ - if those three departments can learn to play together, we can strike DHS entirely.  (The IRS?  Once we have a flat tax or an NRST in place, we don't need the IRS to administer, audit, or generate Byzantine forms or regulations anymore.)

- The wholesale armament of Federal Departments needs to be reversed.  The only personnel allowed to be armed at any time (officially) will be:
-- Department of Justice
-- Department of Defense
-- United States Secret Service (div. of Department of Treasury)
-- United States Coast Guard (div. of Department of Transportation)

  Anyone else that requires an "armed response" can petition DoJ for it, and hope they get it (USSS and USCG have enough to do, DoD can't do it due to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.)  HUD with guns?  Bad idea.  IRS with guns?  Worse idea.  There's no reason for it (yet nearly all Federal personnel are allowed to be armed, you just have to dig to find the regs that allow them to be.)

- Any bill that reaches my desk that takes me more than ten minutes to read and/or requires that I take notes to keep straight, gets kicked back for a rewrite.

- No "riders" - if it doesn't have anything to do with the basic subject matter, it doesn't get included.  If it's not important enough to pass on its own, it doesn't need to be added to anything else.

- Nota Bene: I don't plan on wearing a suit every day.  I'll be wearing plain fatigues in blue, black, or grey.  Why?  I'm there to work, not to look good.  Similarly, I don't do much in the way of speeches, and I'm not going to campaign for re-election.  If you think I'm doing a good job, you can re-elect me.  If you don't, you won't.  But, that's up to you, I'm here to solve problems.

- Obamacare.  On the surface, their heart was in the right place - but their brains were not (below the surface?  Let's leave that alone for the moment.)  The primary issue is that they're dealing with a problem that's grown by accretion over the last 50 years or so - and tried a wholesale Band-Aid fix (and let's leave aside all of the stuff in that >2,000-page atrocimacy that didn't have anything to do with healthcare, healthcare payment, healthcare funding, ...)  I see two ways that the problem should have been handled - neither of which was tried:
1) Write a new system from scratch, all at once.  Plan it carefully.  Implement it in such a manner that a "changeover period" of 3-6 months is allowed for companies to get used to the new system, and come up with policies for implementation.  On the effective date, the old system is scrapped and the new one is implemented.
2) Triage the situation.  Identify the major and minor problems, and prioritize them.  Correct the worst issues first (first rule of triage - "Worst is First") and wait six months.  Re-evaluate and triage again.  Chances are a lot of the little problems will solve themselves once the big stuff is handled (this would take rather longer - which is probably why it wouldn't be done.  Figure this for a ten-year process, easily.)  Ask any ER doc - if you've got a patient with a broken leg that's crashing, you deal with the crash first, the broken leg later.

- Pay for elected officials shall be reduced by 50% until further notice.  Once we get sorted, plan on getting paid on the DoD scale, not GS or GW.  Elected service is service, not a career, and damned sure not a "get-rich-quick" scheme (someone explain to me how someone who next to squat for money can serve two years in the House and consistently end up a millionaire?  I don't get it!  These people should be investigated, not revered.)  Besides, I'd be perfectly willing to bet (and I'd probably win...) that the typical E1 private soldier does more for the country in his first six months on duty (including Basic and AIT...) than the average Senator does in his first six years.  And he confronts a good deal more personal danger, and for a Hell of a lot less pay.  That strikes me as backwards...

CONSTITUTIONAL MEASURES I'D WORK TOWARD:
- Congress, et al, may not exempt themselves from any measure passed on the American public.
- No politician may serve any two elected terms consecutively, among any office.  If you're in office, you're out of office for a like term afterwards.  Elected to the Senate?  For the next six years you're out of office, you're not eligible for election.  Anywhere.  After six years, you can run and try again.  But, this should bring a lot of "fresh blood" into office.  No one should be able to stay in office for 20-odd straight years - or more.  (Ted Kennedy was in the Senate for forty-two years!  And just what did he do in all that time, anyhow?)
- No "special" retirement is possible from public office.  No pension is to be drawn.  You want retirement?  We've got Social Security, you can sign up for that with everyone else.
- Except in times of emergency, Congresscritters can travel on public means with the public.  Should help keep them in touch with us that way.  (And no flyin' First Class, ya pansies!)  [Maybe this wouldn't be a Constitutional measure, but it should be codified somedamnwhere.)
- Need medical coverage?  Medicare.  If it's good enough for us, it's good enough for you.  Don't think it's good enough?  Fix it!
- No more "running mates."  Originally, the guy who got the most votes was POTUS, the guy who got the next most was VPOTUS.  Why?  Because that would (theoretically) help get the parties to work together and reduce partisan politics.  Why'd we stop doing this?
- Budget: until further notice, the Federal Budget shall be planned to spend 80% of what they bring in.  15% of what comes in is to be used to service the Public Debt, until it is eliminated.  At which point, Congress shall be allowed to spend up to 95% of what comes in - the rest will be banked in a "rainy day fund" so we don't have any more of this "fiscal cliff" bullshit.  I don't want to run government like a business, I want to run it like a household.

Oh - and I've had enough of the UN.  Kick 'em out, all of their traffic and parking cites are due and payable, they can find a new headquarters, and we'll use the UN Building as a shelter for the homeless of New York City (which will probably be the first real useful purpose to which that building has been put.)

Eh, more later.  Discuss.

ADD'L - People say we're a "democracy," when we're not.  But, let me quote Mencken on democracy - "Democracy is based on the idea that the people know what government they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

A republic isn't a bad idea, but they've been losing touch with the people.  I have a problem with this.