Ten questions everyone should ask their Congressional candidates
A little over two months ago, I sent the following list of questions to many of those who seek the Congressional seat here in the First Congressional District. The others should have received a copy in their e-mail a month or so ago. But even after I called them all out, I've still received only silence.
With that in mind, I'm going to release them now in the hopes that more people call on these candidates (and those from any other district, they're not written to be specific to mine) to answer what I consider tough questions that provoke thought and seek specific solutions to issues we all face. All I ask is that if you use them on your site, give me credit (Michael Swartz at www.monoblogue.us) A link would be nice, too.
So here goes, questions the candidates are afraid to answer:
- Right after the 9/11 attacks President Bush noted that the retaliatory fighting soon to ensue would be a long-term effort. Since then the focus has been on military targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. How do you best feel we can achieve victory in this effort?
- Last year Congress passed a measure intended to begin construction of a security fence along the Mexican border. More recently the immigration bill that some decried as amnesty failed to attain cloture in the Senate. If you’re elected do you feel we should pursue border security first or deal with those illegal immigrants already here?
- While an energy bill (HR 6) passed through Congress this year it did little to impact gasoline prices. Renewable energy is a sound long-term goal, but reality is that we’re decades away from those sources being the mainstay of our energy use. For the short- to medium-term, what steps do you feel we should undertake to cut our dependence on foreign oil sources?
- While the current Congressional majority had as part of their 2006 campaign the promise to eliminate the "culture of corruption", the reality has been that members of both parties have been caught in illegal or at least dubious actions since the 110th Congress got underway back in January. What reforms would you like to see enacted in the 111th Congress to make it more accountable to the voters?
- In 2006 then-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed a bill into law mandating the state’s residents carry health insurance of some sort, whether through their employer, privately, or via the state. Would you support a similar program as a federal initiative, leave it up to the states, or come up with another system - and why?
- As you know the 2001/2003 tax cuts enacted by President Bush face expiration in 2010. While the debate has gone on whether these cuts have helped the economy or simply fattened the wallets of "the rich," another alternative has been suggested, one of a national sales tax popularly known as the "FairTax." Another idea is to simplify the tax system by going to a flat tax with few deductions allowed. Where do you stand on how the government collects its revenue?
- Every month the U.S. adds a little bit to its trade deficit, particularly with China. Further, a common complaint I have (and I’m sure many others echo) is that you can’t find things that are made in the U.S.A. anymore. How do you think the trade imbalance should be straightened out and what role do you see Congress having in restoring a manufacturing base to our shores?
- Much wailing and gnashing of teeth among those in local and state government occurs when they have to deal with the dreaded "unfunded federal mandate." Where do you see the line being between the rights of individual states and the federal government - would you seek to fairly fund the mandate or reduce the burden on the state by eliminating it?
- The recent Minnesota bridge collapse has placed our nation’s infrastructure front and center as a political issue. Some say higher gasoline taxes are the answer, but critics of that argument charge that reallocating the federal share toward highways and away from mass transit and bikeways would eliminate the need for an increase. What would be your order of priority for transportation and infrastructure spending?
- Easiest question with the shortest answer. If you were to choose three Presidential candidates you’d prefer to work with in the 111th Congress who would they be?
It'll be interesting to see just how far this goes, won't it? I'm not holding my breath on getting answers, but maybe if enough people with enough pull ask the questions we may get somewhere. How about basing your political contributions on getting answers? That's a thought - we all know money talks and you-know-what walks!
Crossposted on monoblogue.
2 comments:
The FairTax Act of 2007 (HR 25/ S 1025) represents a power shift of massive proportions in America. It lays out a practical ideal of voluntary payment of taxes, based on a substantial level of taxpayer choice that the plan affords. Since FairTax untaxes basic necessities (up to socially-accepted poverty-level spending), what is taxed is marginal, and/or desired or preferred, on a broader base of retail products and services. This is to say that the taxpayer may, under the FairTax, choose to purchase used products and avoid paying the tax. And, to the extent desired, the taxpayer may choose to self-perform certain services rather than pay for them. This will stimulate do-it-yourself education, improve citizens' self-reliance; indeed the FairTax represents the possibility of ushering in a new can-do, citizen psychology that would accrue to greater demands for government accountability - truly, a cultural sea change.
Government is the "necessary glue" that enables the social fabric to cohere. It does this by effecting "rules" that ostensibly provide members with equitable access to wealth and resources. It also must provide ostensibly equitable enforcement of those rules in order to mitigate threats to the social fabric. It is unrealistic to believe that the structures of a national government can be supported on donations, thus the need for taxes. Naysayers love to characterize anything purporting to be a "fair tax" as an oxymoron - but it is not true. The idea of fairness has to do with equitable sharing in the cost by all members who depend upon the social fabric for food, shelter, clothing and post-necessity economic enterprise. And, because of the shift of power from politicians and special interests under an enacted FairTax, the elected will find it more difficult to both enlarge government, and implement any dual system of taxation. FairTax strategist, Dennis Calabrese, discusses how the FairTax repeals the income tax, how it does away with the IRS, and how it addresses other aspects of frequent concern to skeptics.
The FairTax has a much greater opportunity for success to operate as a "self-regulating" mechanism because of increased visibility. One finds that the current system, ostensibly regulated by the Internal Revenue Code, is in fact poorly regulated because of continually increasing complexity (the effect of tax favors from politicians, through lobbyists, to favored corporations and other special interests) stemming from the desire by those holding government position to steer public behavior using tax code "carrots." We have seen how 100 years of this type of behavior has eroded the Nation's currency and the purchasing power of working family incomes. "Visionist," Tom Frey believes the current tax system will simply collapse; and economist Laurence Kotlikoff heralds - short of enactment of FairTax (or an otherwise unlikely change in spending habits) - the U.S. will shortly face an irrevocable economic breakdown. (Kotlikoff believes that passage of the FairTax can stave off the economic ruin we're facing, but would be surprised to see it happen.)
Frey and Kotlikoff may be right on both counts, and we may not be able to successfully evoke change; but shall we not try?
(Permission granted to republish, in whole or part. -Ian)
My name is Ray McKee. I am running for Congress in North Alabama against a 9 term incumbent, who has not accomplished anything meaningful in his 9 terms, except establish a child advocacy center. But he could not even obtain adequate funding for this center this year. Here are the answers to your questions. Would love to hear other candidates’ answers.
1. Unfortunately, the current administration has under performed in Afghanistan and Iraq. One early mistake was to allow Afghanistan to adopt a constitution based upon the Muslim religion. You might have heard a year or so ago, a man had converted to Christianity in Afghanistan which was against the law and he was going to have his head removed. Only after Rice and Bush intervened was he released, but he had to flee his country. The same mistake was made in Iraq. We need to use our infrared satellites in the winter and track down everyone in the Afghanistan/Pakistan mountains and get Bin Laden. We also need to destroy all the poppy farms. In Iraq, we need to declare martial law and outlaw every single motor vehicle and weapon. The people will be given 30 days to replace their vehicles with bicycles and get the vehicles off the streets. The same 30 days applies to turning in all weapons and explosives. After 30 days, we need to make a sweep across the country searching every building. Any building containing weapons will be destroyed and all the inhabitants arrested. Anyone carrying a weapon will be shot. This could probably be accomplished in less than a year, and our job would be done. The Iraqi government could then determine the best way to again allow motor vehicles. The only acceptable outcome if America is at war is swift and decisive victory.
2. My platform is to solve problems. Why do I want to hide a beautiful view of the Rio Grande River with the great wall of Texas? Why do I want to cut off maybe a million animals from possibly their only source of water? Why do I want to be on the defensive? This wall is just a Band-Aid. Congress is good at placing Band-Aids on problems. Let’s solve the problem. The only solution is that we must make it more painful for the illegal alien to be in this country, than the country he left. I have ideas about how to implement this solution, but the lack of backbone in Congress will make it difficult to pass this law. If it is too painful, not only will they stop coming here, but they will also start leaving.
3. Eventually we have to find a new energy source for a lot of our needs, because I haven’t seen a lot of dinosaurs dying off lately. Until we find that source, we only have two alternatives. One is foreign oil. The other is to drill more holes in the U. S., most likely Alaska. Neither alternative is very enticing. We need to divert a lot of unnecessary spending in this country into scientific research. I do favor building a lot more nuclear plants for electricity.
4. I doubt there is any reform that we can get through Congress. The best chance is to go directly to the states and get a term-limit constitutional amendment passed. I, in fact, plan on trying to do this at the governors’ meetings.
5. There is absolutely no way to tell what is required in health insurance until after the Fair Tax bill has been in place for at least a year.
6. The Fair Tax is the only solution to the atrocious tax code we have now.
7. I believe the Fair Tax will completely turn the trade deficit problem around. Furthermore, we need to re-examine our foreign policy, particularly as it pertains with trading with countries with human rights violations.
8. It is 6 of one and half dozen of another. Federal government gets its funding from people living in the states. But, assuming the federal government is not going to give relief to the states, the federal government must fund all federally mandated programs.
9. I’m not sure there is a priority here. They are both important and sometimes related. For instance, I would like to see the construction of high speed (possibly magnetic levitation) trains between major cities. A high speed train between Boston and New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, etc., would not only be more convenient for the commuter but would also save considerable energy over commuter flights between these cities.
10. These are not necessarily my personal preferences, but the candidates I believe would be the easiest to work with are Huckabee, Thompson and Paul.
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