Ideals of a Perfect (or more perfect Government)

For some time I have been thinking of what I would do, if I had all the power in the universe, and could fix what is wrong with our Government.
I think the following list tries to sum it up...

1. Public Servant's pay and benefits
One of the most egregious things we do wrong is the compensation for our public servants. Many of our Congress Critters(TM) are already very wealthy, yet the current salary for a Congress Critter(TM) is between $153k and $203k per year.
The average salary for someone living in the US is approx. $37 to $44 K.(depending on who's numbers you use)
While they pay taxes, they pay fewer taxes than average, because of the tax laws that shelter political activities, etc.
They have a great retirement, and free healthcare. Yes, they pay into and use Social Security, but they get a 401K type investment also, and it pays about 3% better than "the average joe" and is backed by the Federal Reserve so it is insured and guaranteed.
They can vote themselves a raise at any time, without public approval.

How do we fix it?

Congress Critters(TM) should be paid no more than the average salary of Average Joe Citizen.
This means, on the Federal level, it would be about $40 K per year. On the State level, it would vary from State to State, from $46K to $26K. This would only be paid to them while they are working, and they would be held accountable to show their hours worked, like any other employee.
We would provide them with living quarters, equal to their need - and only when needed. It wouldn't be the Hilton, but it would be adequate for their jobs.
We would provide them with transportation, security, medical, food, and other basic necessities, for as long at as they are in service.
They would also have access to a retirement plan, or social security (this will be discussed in another section), but nothing that isn't available to the Average Person.
When they finish their service, they could retire on their plan, or get another "civilian" job. But all extra benefits would be terminated at the end of their "employment" as a Public Servant. They are, after all, only a citizen like you or me. And that is how things work in "the real world".
We would put any pay raises up to a vote of the people. If the people are happy with their performance, they would get a small raise, otherwise, they will have to make due.
We would also put into place, term limits. There is no reason someone should serve for longer than 2 terms.

This would free up a lot of money and put the Military, Police, Fire, and EMS into this category and on equal footing with other public servants, but would receive other incentives, like hazard pay, better medical benefits, and other, better, insurance policies for their high risk jobs.

The savings, as you can see, would add up really quickly, and that from only ONE area of change.

2. Next, I would suspend all federal taxes. The Constitution is very clear as to where our money is supposed to come from. The states will have to figure their tax structures out, but as for Federal Taxes, we would have to build a list of what the Federal Government SHOULD be involved in doing, and what we should let the States deal with.
These things might include the Freeway System, and some other large projects, including the Military, but largely, the other programs (including all social programs) would be GONE from under Federal control.
Once we have the new tax structure in place, we would also disband the Federal Reserve, go back to the Gold Standard, pay the National Debt, and start our road to recovery.

There are a few reasons to do this:
First, taxing income is like taxing work. If I work 8 hours a day to grow veggies, raise meat, and build my own house, I do not earn an INCOME and there is nothing for the government to tax.
If I work for a corporation, and I make $10 an hour and I go buy my groceries, steaks, and pay my rent or house payment, HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT?
In fact, the IRSC (IRS Law) states that "INCOME" is defined as anything made from a FOREIGN source. "Foreign" meaning things like Investments, etc. Something that you don't WORK for but benefit from.
SO the Taxes would have to be analogous to what they are for: Gas Tax for maintaining and building roads, etc.

Second, all social services can be provided batter and more efficiently at the Community and State levels (in that order). For instance, if I could invest all that Social Security money into my 401K, I could retire at age 55 with a major bank roll. But, as it is today, I will have to work till I am 65 (or older) and I will have to have more than the SS Check each month, and then things will be TIGHT.

There is a reason to this madness, and it isn't because I hate to pay taxes...but it is because the Federal Government is the most inefficient, wasteful, and fraudulent organization when it comes to money.

(Of course, this also means that the physical size of the government would have to shrink. Many services would be relegated back to the States, and maybe even sold off to private industry. As you may know, the Federal Government is the largest employer in the country...but it wouldn't be after these changes.)

3. I would give the various countries, where our military is serving, 18 months notice to get their own programs into place. At the end of the 18 months, our troops would be coming home.
I like having a military, but in order to comply with the Constitution, we would have to shunt everything into the Navy (which already has ground troops "marines", and aviators "air force")
However, the funding to "do whatever they want" would not be there.

The preceding items are a good place to start. SO I will leave it there (for now)...