Sydney: I thought English was the official language of the United States. I think it would make sense because it is the main language spoken here, even if so many other languages are spoken as well. I think it would encourage immigrants to learn English which would make it easier for them to integrate into the wider community. Continue reading
Government
Symposium 2011: Should the U.S. have policies pursuing democracy in the Middle East?
RMC: The spread of democracy is a noble ambition. Peoples have a right to live in freedom, without oppression, and with certain basic rights. There are a lot of places in the Middle East that have never known democracy in recorded history. To suddenly thrust democracy upon these peoples is a little presumptuous and dangerous. They don’t know how to suddenly handle their freedoms. The new democracy is fragile and susceptible to infiltration by hostile or subversive forces. 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?
RMC: 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 border with Mexico. If we need more manpower, let’s recruit more people into the military so that we can secure and protect our border. These Mexican drug cartels aren’t going to take on the whole U.S. military. There won’t be much competition there. 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?
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 on teaching kids. We need to be able to get rid of teachers who aren’t teaching. 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?
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. 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?
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. 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?
RMC: 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 the real estate bubble and we’re still trying to recover from that. Continue reading
Symposium 2011: Do you have a plan to reform Social Security, Medicare and Welfare? How do you feel about extended unemployment benefits?
RMC: 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. Continue reading
Symposium 2010: In the aftermath of sweeping Congressional losses in November, what is your outlook for the Democratic party?
They are in much the same situation that the Republicans were in when they lost the majority in the House in 2006. They need to reassess what is important to them and what caused them to get trounced. I think they squandered a lot of political capital in the healthcare fiasco, and I think the voters were turned off by their handling of it and the whole Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda. Continue reading
Symposium 2010: What is your outlook for the 2012 presidential election? Any frontrunners in the Republican party?
I’ve always been a big supporter of Newt Gingrich. He’s probably the most articulate Republican in the field. He’s a great scholar, and he’s the only candidate that can say I balanced the budget of the United States when I was Speaker of the House. He’s got some great ideas, and he tells it like it is. I also like Herman Cain. He’s a successful businessman with a great personal story. I do think we need a businessman in the White House. I’d love for Donald Trump to run; I think a debate between him and President Obama would be outstanding. Continue reading
Thinking Outside The Boxe 