Top Ten Ways to Make the United States a Utopia

The middle class has been shrinking since the 1970s, which is unacceptable. We need to find ways to promote the growth and stability of the middle class, which would lift millions out of poverty and help the economy.

Some ways to do this include cutting taxes for millions of low-income and middle-class families, increasing spending on infrastructure, and providing families with paid sick and parental leave. We should also invest in early childhood education and provide more aid to students, drastically raise the EITC, and protect the right to unionize in the workplace.

Obviously, there are many more solutions as well.

Gun violence has been a major problem in the U.S. for far too long. Proponents of gun control point out that countries with stricter laws have fewer shootings. While this may be true, they overlook that if we don't address the root cause, gun control alone won't solve the problem.

We need to invest more funds into mental health institutions to prevent such crimes from happening in the future.

This is the truest statement I've read.

What people need to realize is that spending more on public schools doesn't necessarily make them better. Massachusetts spends way more on schools than New Hampshire, but NH has much higher average test scores.

What I think should be done is privatizing public schools. Still make them free and paid for by the state, but have private groups run them. These groups would be more incentivized to improve the schools' quality because their paycheck depends on it. If they do a poor job, the state can simply hire a different group to run the school.

Too often, large corporations or wealthy donors bribe political candidates to vote in their favor. By diminishing the influence that money has on politics, the system will be more equitable and less corrupt.

It never made sense to me why we arrest people who are vulnerable and struggling with addiction. Instead of arresting them, we should be helping them.

Many countries with drug epidemics have decriminalized drug usage, and the results were fewer drug-related deaths and less crime. We should join these countries and show compassion and understanding toward these individuals.

I've never thought about this before, but this is a very good idea. If someone uses drugs due to depression or emotional problems, they should be helped, not jailed.

The U.S. has become so overweight and wasteful. We buy so many things we don't need (a new phone every year, 100 pairs of shoes, a TV in every room), and we constantly overeat, with some people having 4-6 meals a day. Meanwhile, the poor in our own neighborhoods are struggling to eat.

If America adopted a mindset similar to that of the World War eras (conserving food and resources), we could really rebuild our country. We might even lower our military spending by defeating groups like ISIS.

The U.S. is the most obese country in the world. This not only harms the people who are obese, but it also hurts everyone else because it raises healthcare prices for all. We need to reward people who maintain healthy lifestyles.

Our public transportation system is lacking in many areas. By improving it, we could create jobs, protect the environment, and reduce traffic.

While most people on welfare actually need it, many abuse the program or rely on it completely instead of getting a job. There are many proposals to fix this, but one of the most popular is the negative income tax. Similar to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) - which, in a way, is a negative income tax - instead of receiving food stamps, you would essentially get a check from the government. Rather than paying taxes, you get cash back.

The benefits are twofold: First, the more you work, the more you benefit, so it rewards work. Second, only citizens can collect the check, which may help discourage illegal immigration. One main proponent of this system was economist Milton Friedman. This system could lead to fewer people in poverty and a stronger economy.

Whether or not you believe in climate change, everyone can agree that we are damaging the environment every day. We need to end our dependency on oil and other fossil fuels and focus on pursuing alternative energy.

This shift would reduce our dependence on the Middle East for oil, improve the economy by creating jobs through environmental cleanup, and, of course, lead to a cleaner environment.

If things keep going the way they are, the environment will be gone by the next century.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

However, statistically speaking, every citizen with a gun is far from a well-regulated militia. The number of gun deaths today reflects anything but a secure and free state. This amendment needs to be revised.

Here's what I think: we should still have gun restrictions while allowing people the right to bear arms.

Don't ban religion. Just take it out of schools so kids can choose their beliefs for themselves.

This will only be accomplished if ranked-choice voting becomes much more common in the U.S. than it is now. As things stand, you can't afford to vote for a third party.

This is obviously a pipe dream, but I would vote for a Libertarian.

That would work well, but it really wouldn't make much of a difference.

Okay, but we have to keep using Fahrenheit when measuring temperature. It's way easier.

This has already happened to an extent. All the US customary units (foot, pound, gallon, etc.) are defined in terms of SI units.

Candidates should be more willing to be individuals and not talking robots for the 1 percent.

Corporations control the government because they control the people in the government. You don't solve this problem by giving the rich big tax breaks so they can have even more money to buy politicians.

Seriously, corporations control the government.