The impending collapse of Social Security and Medicare will be the largest bankruptcy in human history. It is an avalanche aimed squarely at the American economy. Once again, tonight major party candidates were silent on the issue.
I was listening for the big problems facing our nation, but more importantly, answers in the form of big solutions. Terrorism and Iraq dominated the debate, as it did on Sunday, because everyone is searching for a workable answer. However, there are other issues that stare us in the face. Inaction is inexcusable.
Not once, was retirement security addressed. It did not rear its head in the form of a question nor as an answer. We heard a great deal about the American family, but no candidate talked about education, or more importantly, the decay within our nation’s schools. This month millions of kids are out of school for summer break. If only we could break the stranglehold of union control over the classroom.
Last weekend, the summer driving season started and the hand wringing commenced about gas prices. It is not by accident that America has a similar amount of refining capacity as we did in the 1970s and no new nuclear generation in more than a generation.
Cars don’t run on sound bites, homes are not heated by good intentions, and demagoguery continues to dominate the energy debate. We need more than sound bite based policy, like 20 percent of alternative fuels by 2020. (And the Democrats are even more misguided.)
On the bright side, Republicans are heading in the right direction in health care. Giuliani advocated individual control of health care spending. Hunter says you should be able to buy health care from across state lines.
McCain led the unanimous chorus on out of control spending, and Huckabee referenced a tax system that “literally steps on our heads.” “Figuratively” would have been a better word, but he made the point.
I’m of the same opinion now that I was before the debate. The eventual winner of the Republican nomination is probably not in the field right now, and sadly, neither are many of the issues.