The presidential campaign season has begun at a time when America faces extraordinary crises at home and abroad. Although it is a consistent cliché that the “next election is the most important in a lifetime,” the reality is that this time, it happens to be true.
Due to the gravity of the economic, diplomatic, national security, societal, constitutional and other challenges facing the United States, it is vital that candidates be judged on their comprehension of the problems affecting the nation, proposed solutions, ability to achieve their goals, and the honesty with which they outline all the above. Personal integrity should be examined. At this crucial juncture, voter decisions based on any other criteria, including party loyalty, special interests, personal appearance, personality, race, ethnicity, gender, or campaign slogans are clearly counterproductive.
There will, of course, be debates in both the primary and general elections. Sadly, these affairs have failed to provide genuine opportunities to rate those seeking the nation’s highest office. Inadequate formats, the lack of a sufficient number of direct questions on the issues, and the toleration of evasive answers has sharply limited their usefulness. Several instances of biased and ill-informed moderators have also resulted in disappointing outcomes.
These are the direct questions each candidate should be able to respond to with thoroughness and accuracy, both in debates and through campaign literature:
THE ECONOMY
The U.S. labor participation rate is the lowest in several decades. Long term unemployment remains extremely high. The few jobs that have been created in the past several years have largely been minimum wage positions without substantial benefits. Inner city unemployment rates for minority youth are at Great Depression levels. What will you do to address this?
For many years, the number of business failures has exceeded the number of start-ups. What will you do to reverse this?
American jobs and American companies continue to flee overseas. What will you do to stop this?
American companies remain at a competitive disadvantage due to international competitors that pay lower corporate tax rates and face a less substantial regulatory regime. What will you do to address this?
American manufacturing has plummeted since the start of the 21st century. What steps will you take to reinvigorate it?
THE FEDERAL BUDGET
The federal government has taken in record amounts of revenue recently, but continues to run high deficits. What will you do to balance the budget?
The national debt has nearly doubled during the current administration, with nothing substantial to show for all that spending. What will you do differently? What areas will you cut or protect?
What will you do to address the tremendous increase in public assistance programs over the past several years?
What will you do to insure that Social Security remains solvent?
There is widespread dissatisfaction with the Internal Revenue Code. Should the income tax system be changed? If so, in what manner? Are taxes too high?
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES & NATIONAL SECURITY
Since 2009, the Russian government has invaded a neighbor, committed vast resources to a dramatic conventional and nuclear arms buildup, re-established cold war bases, threatened Europe both militarily and economically, sold nuclear technology and conventional weaponry to Iran, militarized the Arctic, resumed nuclear patrols along American coastlines, and violated arms accords. What will your administration do in response?
China continues its own dramatic arms buildup at a rate greater than that of either the USSR or the USA at the height of the cold war. It has threatened and bullied its neighbors, stolen assets from several of them, and committed significant cyberattacks on American and other civilian, military and corporate targets. It has provided inappropriate assistance to Iran. It continues to engage in human rights violations, and its environmental record is troubling. It continues to engage in intellectual property theft on a massive scale. How will you amend Sino-U.S. relations?
Terrorist forces are more powerful and widespread than ever, controlling more territory and financial resources than at any other point in history. ISIS continues to commit atrocities on a massive scale. Al Qaeda is resurgent and expanding its worldwide influence. What can be done to counter this?
North Korea has developed a powerful nuclear weapons capability and Iran is heading in that direction as well. How will you deal with this?
America’s national security is at its weakest point since the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. International adversaries have extensively increased their armed forces, and for the first time in history, the U.S. is in an inferior position in nuclear deterrence. The Army is at its lowest strength since before World War 2, the Navy, since World War 1. The Air Force has reached an historic low point. These armed forces face adversaries who are technologically equal or, in some areas, superior to America, and with greater numbers. The U.S. defense industrial base is weakened, and many essential components are purchased overseas. What will you do to keep America safe?
How will you repair damaged relations with allies such as the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland?
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What will you do in response to the growing presence of Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and terrorist military interests in Latin America?
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
Describe your views on the appropriate use of executive authority.
Do you agree with the concept enunciated in the Declaration of Independence that there are “unalienable rights” that the government may not infringe upon? Define your version of those rights.
Regulations enacted not by the legislative process but by bureaucracies play an increasingly large role in the lives of Americans. Do you believe that is appropriate? If not, what will you do to change that?
The 9th & 10th Amendments to the Bill of Rights proclaim that rights and powers not expressly given to the federal government are reserved for the people or the states. Do you believe the federal government has ignored those provisions?
What are your views on the Second Amendment right to bear arms?
Do you believe that the U.S. Constitution can be infringed upon by United Nations treaties, agreements, or other actions?
There have been accusations that various portions of the Executive Branch have been used for partisan purposes. Significant examples include the IRS targeting of the Tea Party, and the refusal of the Justice Department to act on complaints of fraudulent or inaccurate voter registration, as while as balloting improprieties. Charges have been made that the State Department covered up evidence of what actually occurred in Benghazi. What are your views on these issues, and what guarantees of governmental transparency are you willing to make?
THE ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY POLICY, SCIENCE, & EDUCATION
What are your views on the theory of man-made global climate change? Are you willing to listen to both sides of the issue?
Do you believe that the use of coal, nuclear power, or hydrofracking should be curtailed? If so, what energy sources can fully and affordably replace them?
Should federal lands be made available for energy exploitation?
The U.S. has not been capable of putting a human in space since 2011, and NASA’s plans to do so will not remedy this for many years. What will you do to restore America’s manned space capability?
What steps must be taken to insure American preeminence in science?
What are your views on Common Core?
U.S. schools continue to underperform in relation to other industrialized nations, despite spending more per student. What can be done to address this? Is this a federal or state responsibility?
SOCIETAL ISSUES
How will you stem the tide of illegal immigration? How should those illegals, both those here for many years and those recently arrived, be treated?
What can be done to improve race relations within the nation?
Increased prices, lower Social Security cost of living increases, and increased difficulty keeping or finding employment have particularly affected older Americans. What will you do to address this?
What are your views on the Affordable Health Care Act? Should it be retained as is, amended, or repealed? What alternatives or changes would you seek to implement?