The November 2006 vote is fast approaching, and while I agree that the Iraq War is the number one issue in these elections, lets pretend for a minute that there are other things to consider. Here is a random list of issues which the politicians are not mentioning, or should I say neglecting. It would be nice to know what the political canidates think about:
Healthcare
No other issue effects more Americans than healthcare. The country faces a crossroads when it comes to healthcare. Regardless of your position on universal healthcare, one thing is evident is that we need to make healthcare records electronic and have them become the exclusive property of the patient. This alone would save millions of dollars and help modernize medicine in the immediate future. In the long term the federal government will have to eventually institute national healthcare. It is the only reasonable solution.
Education
For the sake of our economy and our future, we must as a nation commit ourselves to improving education. It seems that we argue constantly about religion in public schools instead of actually making education itself our focus. No Child Left Behind did not fix the problem, and it seems that Americans don’t really want to invest in their children anymore.
National Infrastructure
The concensus is that the housing market is crashing hard, and with it so will the economy go. Yet there are countless roads, bridges, and other infrastructure that needs repair. Government should invest in fixing this. Remember the powergrid needs work too. Why not make our own national infrastructure a priority and put our own people to work in their own communities. We could rebuild the nation and be more secure for it.
Corporate Greed
The corporations that have been on bad behavior of late are too many to count. It seems when any corporation gets in trouble, they go to Congress to bail them out. When is the private sector going to help government out? I’d like to see corporations invest in something more than just themselves. How about investing a national program of ideas? Let’s see the private sector come up with bold initiatives and execute them on their own. In return the patents could be shared and everyone could profit from the investment.