Government

Donald Trump Set Up An Exploratory Committee For A Potential 2016 Presidential Run. What Are Your Thoughts On A Trump Presidency?

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Myrtle Beach, SC, Orlando, FL, March 26, 2015

Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent-Donald Trump has toyed with and dabbled in presidential
politics over the years and more recently with the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but he failed to follow through with the run and bowed out in the spring of 2011.  He did at one point have a lead in polling ahead of Mitt Romney before the Republican primaries but after he left the race altogether, his influence was limited.  Now, in 2015, he is talking again about making a bid for the nomination with fewer excuses than he previously made.  Continue reading →

2014 Symposium: Should the government be allowed to terminate trademark rights for material some may deem “offensive” (Washington Redskins controversy)?

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Raleigh: Current times are times of political correctness. It is quite dangerous to say or write something which does not agree with popular opinion without subjecting oneself to onslaught of public scorn. As such, many high-profile cases come into public attention when they deem to be politically incorrect. One of these is the case of Washington Redskins football team name which many Native Americans feel is derogative and a racial slur against them. Should the government be involved into such cases and rule the change of trademark rights to go along with current political culture? Continue reading →

2014 Symposium: Should the government be involved in the politics of sports (LA Clippers, Ray Rice, and Washington Redskins)?

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Asheville, NC: Government is actively involved in the regulation of sports. Legal monopolies are granted to the MLB, the NBA, and the NFL. All three organizations are also granted tax-exempt status despite their enormous profitability. Professional sports organizations receive billions in bonds, tax deferral, and civic money for the construction of new stadiums and other facilities. The degree of co-mingling between government and sports organizations is already quite dramatic. Continue reading →

2013 Symposium: Welfare, Food Stamps, and WIC Are All Programs That Need Reformed, How Can We Do It? Is Welfare Drug Testing Working? Or Is It A Waste Of Tax Payer Money?

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Cartwright: Drug test all recipients of these programmes. Utah announced a couple months ago that it saved over $350,000 in the first year that it required drug testing for welfare recipients. Second, let’s have the IRS audit the welfare, food stamp, and WIC programmes. These programmes are rife with fraud and waste. I know of instances where foreign college students here in Orlando are getting food stamps. Really? Why are we giving benefits to foreigners and able bodied college students at that? This is ridiculous! The system is clearly broken and needs to be cleaned up. Continue reading →

2013 Symposium: Conflicting States In Laws Can Cause Problems, Should The Federal Government Become Involved And Pass Blanket Laws?

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Cartwright: No. Any powers not expressly granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution are deemed to be rights or powers of the states. If one state wants to ban smoking in public places but another one doesn’t, it’s not up to the federal government to make a blanket law or get involved. The only caveat being unless the state law violates the Constitution or federal laws. Laws vary from state to state. If the federal government is standardizing laws throughout the nation doesn’t that effectively emasculate the states? I don’t like the idea of the federal government harmonizing laws. Why should I be bound by the laws of California if I live in Florida? Laws in states are made by the elected legislators. The people of Florida didn’t elect the people in California, so why should they control our laws in a roundabout way? Continue reading →

2013 Symposium: Should We Raise The Minimum Wage?

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Cartwright: No. Personally, I feel businesses should pay their workers a good, decent, livable wage. I support an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Not all businesses feel that way. And for a lot of businesses it’s a matter of economics. They simply can’t afford more than minimum wage and still generate a profit. Businesses aren’t non-profits. As part of a capitalist system, they’re in it to make money for the owners or shareholders. If they’re offering minimum wage, you don’t have to work for them. And in the free markets, the market will set the level of wages to attract qualified talent for a business. If you can’t attract good workers at minimum wage to profitably run the business, you’ll have to pay a higher wage. That’s simple economics. Continue reading →

2013 Symposium: We Are Currently $18 Trillion In Debt; What Should We Do?

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Cartwright: We’ve discussed this extensively before. I believe we debated it at length at one of the champagne summits back in October. The Republicans had the Democrats and Mr. Obama over the barrel back in October with the government shutdown and they caved in. They got scared that the media was blaming them and that the public was turning against them, so they rolled over and gave in. They could have forced the Democrats and Obama to do whatever they wanted by just keeping the government shutdown. The voters would have forgotten about it all by the time the 2014 mid-term elections came up. But no, they gave in and got nothing for it. In fact, Mr. Obama and the Democrats came out smelling like a rose. Continue reading →

2013 Symposium: Do You Have Any Mid-Term Congressional Elections For 2014?

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Cartwright:  I hope the Republicans keep the House of Representatives and retake a majority in the Senate in 2014.  At least we’ll have a chance of emasculating the Obama administration and keep it from doing any further damage to our nation and our economy.  However, I would point out that I think the DNC is capable of anything.  I think they perpetuated massive fraud in the 2008 and 2012 elections, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they try the same thing in 2014.  After all, Mr. Obama’s aim it to make Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House again.  God help us if that happens, but I wouldn’t put anything passed Mr. Obama and the DNC.  Continue reading →

2013 Symposium: Should The Congress Repeal Obamacare?

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Cartwright:  Yes.  Obamacare should be repealed.  However, there are parts of the law that a lot of people like such as keeping kids on their parents insurance until they’re 26 and ensuring that insurers don’t turn you down because of a preexisting condition.  Let’s repeal Obamacare but keep parts of the law that people generally agree with when we craft something new.  What’s going to create downward pressure on healthcare costs if we do repeal Obamacare?  Competition and tort reform.   Continue reading →

Top Problems Plaguing America by Digger Cartwright

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America is in crisis.  We are a nation in decline as a result of society’s own hedonism, greed, and self destruction.  Our problems are rooted not only in our dysfunctional political system but in the dysfunctional state of society itself, both of which have become increasingly more dysfunctional over the last decade.  Americans’ perceptions of our problems are divided along political lines, which tends to cloud the judgment of individuals and take the discussion away from the cause of the political problems to a debate over political ideology.  Each and every American shares part of the blame for the problems plaguing our nation, and if we don’t address the problems individually, as a society, and as a nation, they will continue to grow and like a cancer consume our health and vitality, eventually killing the foundation upon which our nation was established and the foundations of our society. Continue reading →