5 things that need to change

It cannot continue to be acceptable to kill dogs and cats because they are unwanted. There has to be another way.

Pet overpopulation is simply a human creation. Being that it is, humans created the problem and must solve the problem. We have domesticated animals for our own pleasure, so now we must take responsibility for that and take care of them. All of them.  Shelter means shelter. Temporary and it does not mean euthanasia. There is no humane justification for ending the life of a healthy dog or cat because they are unwanted or old. We would never allow that for children, but we seem to think it is acceptable for pets. It isn't. If need be, we should restrict the right to breed until the harmony comes back in balance and then restrict who can breed animals and what can be bred. Profit is not an acceptable motive here.

If and when the deficit is eliminated, it has to be law that all budgets are balanced.

In our personal lives, we are not allowed to continue to operate over the acceptable credit limit we can someday pay back.  Why should we allow our government officials to operate on our behalf in exactly this manner? We shouldn't. Credit is okay, as long as it can be reasonably paid back over time in a reasonable manner. But,  to continue to operate in a deficit, year after year, for something like 20 or more years, is not acceptable. Unless there is a very strong short term justification for operating in a deficit and a clear cut plan for how it will be paid back, a budget must be balanced. To do otherwise goes against everything we were taught as children. Simply put, if you can't afford it, you can't have it. We all learned that, but we elect those who don't practice it. 

Prisoners have to earn their keep or they don't get to eat. Why should they get a free meal and shelter?

Yes, most of the reason they are in prison is because they did something that is against the law and they are paying that debt. Of course, they are also being punished for doing that,  because we view punishment in our society as the right thing to do when someone does something wrong. As well, we hope to rehabilitate them so when they come out, after they have "served their time" they will be productive and law abiding citizens. However, while they are in prison, why should they get a free ride? They should not. Just like all of us, if they want to eat and have a roof over their head, they have to work for that, and to pay for that. If they don't work,  if they don't contribute, they should not get any of the basics, just as we don't. In fact, they have less reason to expect that, in that they have already harmed society in some way.


 The concept that you get passed through the education system just because there are others coming behind you needs to change. You learn, You test. You pass. You move up. Otherwise, You repeat.

Why do we educate our young? Is it simply because we want them to be worthy of contributing to the work world when they age? Maybe. But, the goal of education should be to educate. Simply put, if you do not learn what you are required to learn, you should not move forward. If that means that 90% need to be held back,  then hold them back and figure out why the teaching and learning did not work. There is nothing to be gained by treating the education system as an industry, where a certain amount must pass and move along each year. In so doing, setting a very low standard so that can be achieved works against the main purpose. The goal, if there is to be one, is that every child, when the eduction is complete, has learned as much as they need to and are capable of. Anything less and that is the ultimate fail.


 Western society has to be weaned off fossil fuels..immediately..or we are all doomed.

We all know that if we really wanted to, there is an endless supply of fossil fuels. That assumes that we can afford to pay for them (which we cannot anymore),can accept the pollution caused by them (which we cannot), and really need them (which we do not). So, why do we continue on a path that has created certain doom for almost every aspect of Western, and in the current day, Global, disaster?
The answer is simple. They are there and we are used to using them. Change is hard. Who wants to convert to electric or other forms of clean energy? Most say they do, but when push comes to shove they don't back that up.
In addition, our leaders are funded in many ways by very powerful energy and transportation companies that don't want this change or conversion to happen. But, if we don't, there is certain economic failure to come in the short term. The price of energy has gotten to the point that it is destroying every part of our economy and that will only get worse.