Orlando: 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. … Continue reading Symposium 2011: Should the U.S. have policies pursuing democracy in the Middle East?
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Symposium 2011: How do we prevent Iran from infiltrating the new Iraqi government now that U.S. troops have left the country and prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons?
Orlando: Without a continued military presence in Iraq there’s no way to ensure that Iran doesn’t meddle in Iraq’s affairs. The troop presence in Iraq was a powerful counterbalance to Iran and its desire to dominate the Middle East. While we effectively trained the Iraqi military and police, we don’t know their ability to fend … Continue reading Symposium 2011: How do we prevent Iran from infiltrating the new Iraqi government now that U.S. troops have left the country and prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons?
Symposium 2011: There have been dozens of attempted terror attacks since 9/11. Most of them originated from Middle Eastern countries. Should we be profiling passengers on commercial jetliners?
Michigan: Yes, of course. If you are not a citizen, a ticket should not be able to be obtained to enter the U.S. until you’re cleared. In the case of some countries, no incoming air travel should be allowed at all. Sydney: Yes, there have been dozens of attempted terror attacks since 9/11, but relatively … Continue reading Symposium 2011: There have been dozens of attempted terror attacks since 9/11. Most of them originated from Middle Eastern countries. Should we be profiling passengers on commercial jetliners?
Symposium 2011: What reforms, if any, should the United States institute to its legal immigration system?
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?
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?
