Cartwright: I think we should make it more difficult to get here, but the downside to that as some would argue is that it then encourages illegal immigration. Here’s where I have a problem with both legal and illegal immigration. We’ve got immigrants coming here to go to school and take jobs that American citizens … Continue reading Symposium 2011: What reforms, if any, should the United States institute to its legal immigration system?
Annual Symposium
Symposium 2011: Most everyone, Democrat and Republican alike, agrees that we must control the border. How do we achieve a secure border? Was the intent of the 14th amendment to grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants? Should illegals receive welfare benefits or tax credits?
Orlando: Thinking Outside the Boxe has long thought that a real border fence is impractical. We’ve supported both a virtual fence using cameras and drone technology as well as an increased presence of military personnel on the border. Now that we’ve got a lot of troops coming home from Iraq, let’s reposition them on the … Continue reading Symposium 2011: Most everyone, Democrat and Republican alike, agrees that we must control the border. How do we achieve a secure border? Was the intent of the 14th amendment to grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants? Should illegals receive welfare benefits or tax credits?
Symposium 2011: What role, if any, should the federal government play in education? Should we demand a repeal of No Child Left Behind?
Cartwright: None. Who’s better at deciding how to teach the kids—a bureaucrat in Washington or your local educators? There are quite a few problems with our education system today. We’ve got teachers in some places who because of tenure can’t be fired and who are just riding their chairs until they retire; they’ve given up … Continue reading Symposium 2011: What role, if any, should the federal government play in education? Should we demand a repeal of No Child Left Behind?
Symposium 2011: Over the past few decades the Postal Service and Amtrak have racked up billions of dollars in losses. Should we privatize them?
Cartwright: With regards to Amtrak, I’ll put that in the infrastructure discussion from above. We need to modernize our railways and add high speed rails. Once that’s done, we can talk about privatization. For the Postal Service, here’s an idea. Let’s break it up and turn it over to Wal-Mart and Target and UPS and … Continue reading Symposium 2011: Over the past few decades the Postal Service and Amtrak have racked up billions of dollars in losses. Should we privatize them?
Symposium 2011: President Obama has suggested a new infrastructure stimulus as part of his jobs plan to help get the economy going. Should transportation continue to be a primary responsibility of the federal government, or should we devolve transportation spending to the states?
Sydney: I'm not entirely sure that the infrastructure stimulus was all that effective the first time. So there doesn't seem to be a lot of sense in trying again. It seems to be a good idea to transfer transportation funding to the States as this would help the Federal Government save money. Maybe a better … Continue reading Symposium 2011: President Obama has suggested a new infrastructure stimulus as part of his jobs plan to help get the economy going. Should transportation continue to be a primary responsibility of the federal government, or should we devolve transportation spending to the states?
Symposium 2011: The Republican candidates for president often state that the size of government is too big. There are hundreds of departments, agencies, boards, offices, and programs. Which ones, if any, should we eliminate?
Michigan: We can debate this forever. What elected official is going to vote to eliminate any agency or department? Everyone talks about it but until we let our elected officials know who they are working for, nothing will happen. Sydney: I think the main problem in eliminating, or reducing the size of Government is the … Continue reading Symposium 2011: The Republican candidates for president often state that the size of government is too big. There are hundreds of departments, agencies, boards, offices, and programs. Which ones, if any, should we eliminate?
Symposium 2011: Even before Obamacare, the cost of healthcare had been skyrocketing. What do you feel is the cause of the high healthcare costs? If Obamacare were to be repealed, what solutions do you feel would create downward pressure on healthcare costs?
Cartwright: As I recall, we talked about this four or five years ago when I participated in the last symposium, well before the American people had Obamacare shoved down their throats. This just goes to show how stupid some people in Washington really are. Medicare has trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities. It has the … Continue reading Symposium 2011: Even before Obamacare, the cost of healthcare had been skyrocketing. What do you feel is the cause of the high healthcare costs? If Obamacare were to be repealed, what solutions do you feel would create downward pressure on healthcare costs?
Symposium 2011: What rates would you propose for the personal income tax, the corporate tax, capital gains & dividends? Should we abolish the death tax? Which tax credits and deductions, if any, would you keep? Do you support Obama’s proposal to extend the 2% payroll tax holiday for another year?
Orlando: This is a real simple one for me. Zero percent for personal income tax, 0% corporate tax, 0% capital gains and dividend taxes. Yes, we should get rid of the estate tax or the death tax. Mortgage interest deductions. And, finally, no we should not extend the 2% payroll tax holiday. Let’s start with … Continue reading Symposium 2011: What rates would you propose for the personal income tax, the corporate tax, capital gains & dividends? Should we abolish the death tax? Which tax credits and deductions, if any, would you keep? Do you support Obama’s proposal to extend the 2% payroll tax holiday for another year?
Symposium 2011: What reforms, if any, would you suggest be made to the Federal Reserve? Should the Fed’s dual mandate to achieve maximum employment and price stability be repealed or should there be specific targets for each?
Orlando: Well, I think the Federal Reserve has a useful purpose but it has been responsible for the biggest economic disasters in the past fifteen years. Low interest rates fueled the internet bubble back in the late 1990s. That didn’t turn out too well for the economy or stock market. And accommodative policy helped fuel … Continue reading Symposium 2011: What reforms, if any, would you suggest be made to the Federal Reserve? Should the Fed’s dual mandate to achieve maximum employment and price stability be repealed or should there be specific targets for each?
Symposium 2011: Do you have a plan to reform Social Security, Medicare and Welfare? How do you feel about extended unemployment benefits?
Orlando: I see we’re starting off with a pretty big and complex question. I sure hope this doesn’t eat up all our time here today. But, let’s get to it. As you may recall, Thinking Outside the Boxe crafted a comprehensive Social Security reform plan back in 2005 which we submitted to various members of … Continue reading Symposium 2011: Do you have a plan to reform Social Security, Medicare and Welfare? How do you feel about extended unemployment benefits?
