Colin's Last Stand, Episode 45: The Hypothetical Presidency of Colin Moriarty (Part II: Action)

Thank you! I'm glad you dug the video. I think it's important to have boots on the ground to understand why some states work so well (like, say, Colorado or New York), and other states function so poorly (like, say, Connecticut or California).

Colin Moriarty

I fully support the implied separation (as it's not literal). I would tax churches, I wouldn't remove the God references from the pledge or government buildings, and I think it's fine to swear on a bible. It's symbolic, after all. So I suppose it's somewhere in the middle.

Colin Moriarty

Colin, I agree with a lot of your points here. I especially liked the thought of the people put in place to observe the inner workings of the state governments. It would let the state governments and people in those states know that the U.S government has not forgotten about them. I am curious about how you would handle the situation if you were elected and had to deal with an adversarial congress. Thanks!

Dustin Henry

Colin, I'm curious to know what your views are regarding seperation of church and state. Would you require taxes from churches? Would you remove the reference from "under God" from the pledge? Would you put your hand on the Bible when taking the oath of office? Thanks!

Joey Rawlings

Thank you very much for your kind words! I really appreciate it.

Colin Moriarty

I think we're going to come to a boiling point with education soon, and people on my side (the states' rights side) are going to need to make a more compelling argument as to why states should remain in charge.

Colin Moriarty

We have a few similar concerns as well, I'd say!

Colin Moriarty

I would have been happy to explore a third episode, but it's not in the cards now... this particular episode is going down as the lowest-viewed episode in CLS' history, so there's obviously not a demand for more. To answer your questions: 1.) There would be no more deductions for rich people to take advantage of, as the video explains. 2.) No one has the balls to communicate to the American public the size and scope of the military, the intention behind keeping it at a smaller size, and our ability to scale. It's all about communication. 3.) I don't think there are many people in the US, young or old, in any region, of any political affiliation, who thinks non-violent drug offenders should be rotting in prison.

Colin Moriarty

I don't fundamentally believe there should be a minimum wage, but it's not an issue I feel strongly enough about to combat. There are about 500 other things I'd rather tackle. So, I'd leave it up to Congress what they'd like to do with minimum wage, and am happy to sign any reasonable bill that comes across my desk.

Colin Moriarty

My only response would be that it's not the government's job to employ anyone. This would have to be communicated to the public. Like any Band-Aid, it's best to rip it right off.

Colin Moriarty

Thanks, man!

Colin Moriarty

The will of the people will bend their will, hopefully. Like I said, it's all an idealistic exercise.

Colin Moriarty

I don't even remember anything about the ME3 debacle anymore, if it makes you feel any better. =)

Colin Moriarty

Wow man. That is ridiculous.

Kevin Sullivan

Colin I completely agree with you. As a former Active Duty military member I can tell you that we have WAY too many bases outside of the US. I was station on Kadena AB on Okinawa, Japan. Okinawa is 60 miles long and only 2-5 miles wide. 80% of its land are US military bases. 80%! It's ridiculous. Also, I don't know where that 700 billion dollars goes to because we're lucky if we can get functioning Motorola radio on a daily basis. The vehicles we drive are older than I am and a lot of times you have to buy your own equipment. Flashlights, Tactical Gloves, etc. But they give you $100 a year to buy 4 new uniforms which cost $150 plus $50 alterations. Plus the combat boots which are about $70-120. Which you must have two of. Also your dress uniform well. Ridiculous

Alex Ball

One of your best pieces of content ever. Felt like the culmination of years of research and experience. You doing something in politics, even at the advisory level, is something that can really happen - hell, look at everything you've accomplished in the last 10 years. Many more years ahead

Steven Camilo

I like most of your ideas. I have to disagree on "states' rights" when it comes to things like education and especially any personal liberties (Alabama, Texas, Arkansas have showed how easily poor judgement can get through homogenous legislatures). There is already a massive gulf between the public education from state to state, to a point where I'd argue it's time for the federal government to take stronger hold, rather than relinquish it (though I don't see that happening under the current administration). I really like your progressive-flat tax hybrid plan. It runs circles around the ideas Steve Forbes floated in his '96 & '00 presidential bids.

AndyofCT

Good video. As someone from the UK I am obviously a bit distanced from US concerns. That debt level remains shocking. I'm amazed that the country is not worried about it. Overall I was more interested in the how you'd get there from part 1 than the part 2, but some of that is cultural. The UK and US have very different concerns.

Peter Campbell

Colin, thanks for this series. I understand you've planned it as two parts, but it would be great to see a third part explaining how you would get some of your policies into place. I think lots of us agree with you on a lot of what you said, but there would be many who would not. You have spoken of compromise before, and you are not a fool enough to just think you can just wave a magic wand and make your ideals so. I just think a video would be great to address how you would get past your opponents. What about the rich who will pay their accountant six figures to reduce their tax obligation by seven figures? The diehard, conservative military enthusiast who would recoil upon hearing "military" and "budget cuts" in the same sentence? The old guard, war on drugs crowd shouting about marijuana just being a gateway drug to more dangerous drugs and a destructive lifestyle? Those who profit from the prison system, or who earn their living as being a part of the bloated, invasive government? These people have money, they have connections, they have influence, and they won't go down, for lack of a better term, without a fight. Please consider a follow up video discussing your strategies for getting your hypothetical policies into place.

Kevin Sullivan

For someone who doesn't plan to run for office you sound more prepared then most of the people who currently work in Washington. I would like to hear where you stand on minimum wage. You mentioned planning to cut down on medicare and social security along with other areas of entitlement spending, I'm assuming this would also effect welfare programs. Would that come with an increase to salaries. The current minimum wage is some where around 7.25 and many families that work for that salary are also on food stamps, public housing programs and more. I would love to know your stance on this. I feel an increase in minimum wage could help pull people of of those programs and help further lower taxes since less money would have to come out the american peoples pocket to foot the bill. Sure, this would effect annual earning at a corporate level. But I think some billion dollar companies can take a small cut to improve their workers lives.

I'd love to hear more on the economic impact of your approach. While it seems on the surface to be the right thing, it would be 10s of millions of people out of work (mostly low skill). Half the military, all the IRS, most defense contractors etc lose their livelihood. I think your in the right spot, just curious how the math shakes out. If it is expected to result in a needed economic collapse, why not just default on the debt and start over with a clean slate?

Chris Holtzer

You have a lot of fantastic ideas, if anyone can make a difference, it's our boy Colin M! And #PresidentMoriarty has a nice ring to it! 🇺🇸

Austin Tex Perez

Colin, love your ideas but how does any of this get through congress?

I like that Mass Effect 2 reference! I still disagree with you about 3's ending, but that's neither here nor there.

Evan Bederman