Questions that must be asked during the 2008 campaign.
General questions:
How will you revive the economy?
How will you improve education and make college affordable for any qualified student?
How will you make health care affordable for all?
How will you rebuild the United States aging infrastructure?
What is your plan to reduce poverty in the US and the world?
How will you reduce the threat of terrorism?
Specific questions:
Health Care:
How much do you pay for health insurance per month?
Can you go to any doctor, hospital, or medical facility of your choosing?
When you go to a doctor what is your co-pay?
What is your co-pay for prescription drugs?
Explain why every US citizen does not get the same health care as the US Congress?
Would you be willing to give up your government supplied health insurance and find health insurance on the open market? Why or why not?
France spends 11% of its GDP on health care and insures all its citizens. The US spends 16% of its GDP on health care, 45% more than France, and fails to insure over 40 million of its citizens. Why not just have a government financed Medicare single payer system for all?
Senator McCain, you stated in the first Presidential debate: “I want to make sure we’re not handing the health care system over to the federal government…” Do you want to get rid of Medicare?
Senator McCain:
1. Could you even get health insurance under your plan given your history of melanoma?
2. Your high risk insurance pools seem to be nothing more than a government subsidy for the insurance companies that allows them to profit by cherry picking healthy individuals. How do you justify these subsidies for insurance companies?
Taxes and spending:
Some people argue that debt does not matter, yet the interest on the United States’ $10 trillion debt is the fourth largest expenditure by the federal government. We pay $451 billion to service our debt. The top four Fiscal Year 2008 (estimated) expenditures are:
$709 billion: Health and Human Services
$656 billion: Social Security Administration
$607 billion: Department of Defense
$459 billion: Interest on debt
Given our huge debt, now over 10 trillion dollars, and our deficit, explain how we can afford to cut taxes?
How do we prevent interest on the debt from becoming an even larger burden?
Senator McCain, in the first Presidential debate you said, “The first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It’s completely out of control. It’s gone — we have now presided over the largest increase in the size of government since the Great Society.”
1. What programs will you eliminate?
2. What programs will you cut and by how much?
Senator Obama, I put the above questions to you, What programs will you eliminate? What programs will you cut and by how much?
Senator McCain, one large factor contributing to our huge deficits and debt is the Iraq War, which has cost over $560 billion. If you truly support a war, you should be willing to pay for it. Are you willing to raise taxes to pay for the Iraq War? If you are not willing to finance the Iraq War, explain why we do not leave as soon as possible?
In June 2007, Warren Buffet had this comment on taxes:
Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 percent on the $46 million he made last year (2006), without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 percent … Mr Buffett told his audience that US government policy had accentuated a disparity of wealth that hurt the economy by stifling opportunity and motivation.
Explain why someone who makes $46 million pays only 17.7% of their income in taxes while somebody who makes $60 thousand pays 30%?
How will the tax laws be changed to remedy this situation?
The upper limit on FICA taxes from 2001 to 2008 has increased from $80,400 to $102,000, a 27% increase. Why do the regressive FICA taxes keep increasing?
The tax burden has shifted to individuals and away from corporations. In 1945, individual taxes provided 41% of receipts to the Federal Government, and corporate taxes provided 35%. In 2008, the estimates are that individual taxes will increase to 47% of the Federal Government’s receipts and corporate taxes will decrease to 12% of the Federal Government’s receipts. Given that corporate taxes are so low, does it make sense to cut corporate taxes further?
Iraq War:
Reports indicate that the Iraq War has been a recruiting tool for Al-Qaeda.
1. Given that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks, did the Iraq War make the US safer or reduce the threat of terrorism worldwide?
2. Other than achieving Iran’s foreign policy goals, increasing the debt of the United States, and killing over 4,000 US soldiers, what has the Iraq War accomplished?
Infrastructure:
The American Society of Civil Engineers average grade for infrastructure is D. How will you fund infrastructure improvements?
There has been more emphasis put on using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Our electrical grid cannot distribute this energy. What is your plan to upgrade the electrical grid so energy can be delivered where it is needed?