Radical Ideas... Democratic Values?

[Meldread]

I've been thinking of ways to improve the economic situation here in America, of limiting outsourcing, creating job incentives, and decreasing the gap between rich and poor. Here are some radical thoughts, let me know if they are rational:

* Increase the Minimum Wage to $8.00 an hour.

* Provide more government money for small start-up businesses, including a government healthcare plan. (Have the benefits be based on the profit taken in by the business, and some type of plan for the business to pay the government back over time.)

* Put a soft cap on how large a pay check the most well paid person in a company can take home, basing it off what the least well paid person is taking home. For example, a CEO of a companies paycheck is directly tied to the Janitor's Paycheck, so if the Janitor is only paid $8.00 an hour, then the CEO can only take home 20 times that - meaning he can only make $160 an hour (that's $1,280 dollars for an 8 hour work day, $6,400 for a 40 hour work week, which means that for a years work a CEO could bring in roughly half a million a year.) This, of course, wouldn't include other benefits - only the pay check. A CEO would still be entitled to other things such as stock options and what not. The extra money that the CEO is not earning can either go back into the business to create more jobs, or to other employees increasing what they are earning (and in turn increasing what the CEO is earning).

* Foreign Tax. A tax placed on goods manufactured or created by foreign companies. This tax would be designed to give American companies a competitive edge in our market. It will force cheaply manufactured foreign goods to be equally priced with American manufactured goods, therefore making outsourcing a less viable alternative for companies. The money from the tax would be placed into Education, both basic education as well as higher education, in an effort to make Americans the most well trained, educated and talented people in the world.

* Partially socialize key industries needed for American Prosperity in particular Agriculture, Energy and Healthcare. The goal will be to have various semi-independent companies competing with each other to keep their profit margins high, to innovate regularly, and to continue to be viable, but at the same time be agents of the government. (If you look at most socialized industries you soon realize how they eventually become only propped up by the government, by having competition it should eliminate that problem or at least temper it greatly.)

* Pass a law that would require congress to always balance the budget, however include that programs such as healthcare, education, welfare and social security cannot be cut for the purposes of balancing the budget. This would force a cut back of pork spending by Congress, while protecting key institutions that ensure the future of America, while at the same time ensuring the country does not become indebted to foreign nations. (The goal behind running huge deficits as Bush has done and Reagan before him, is to use that as an excuse to slash government social programs.)

Thoughts? Stuff that can be added?