Thursday, November 08, 2007
I read Rafe Colburn's weblog every day, and I have for years-- I think it is second only to Jessamyn West's site in terms of my personal long-standing weblog habit. A lot of sites have fallen off my list since that time, but although I read Rafe pretty much every morning, I seldom link to him. This post is an exception: Rafe Colburn's list of the issues that are important to him in the upcoming Presidential race.
"* Someone who can marshal the political will to address global warming in a meaningful way. Most people seem to understand that humans are causing global warming and that if we do nothing about it, problems are ahead. Is there a candidate who can inspire America (and the world) to take positive steps to address global warming?
* Someone who is committed to getting the United States out of the torture business and out of the secret detention business as soon as they take office. Knowing that our government captures people, hides them away, and tortures them (sometimes to death) makes me ashamed of our country.
* Someone who can end the US occupation of Iraq without leaving an intensifying sectarian conflict in our wake. I don’t even know if this can be done at all, but I think it’s a worthy goal.
* Someone who is willing to engage with Iran and is willing to seek a solution that serves both our national interest and theirs. I don’t believe we live in a world where everything good for Iran is bad for America and vice versa.
* Someone who’s willing to make an effort to address the problem of health insurance in this country. We have something like forty million people with no insurance, and health insurance costs are going up rapidly for everyone else. Medicare and Medicaid costs are a long term threat to the fiscal stability of the government. The range of possible solutions to this problem is not as wide as Presidential candidates (and many progressives) like to believe. We’re not going to get the French system with universal, taxpayer-funded health care and doctors who earn $55,000 a year, but a better system is possible.
* Someone who’s willing to be realistic about immigration. Income per capita in Mexico is $7,310 per year, in the United States it’s around $42,000 per year. If you were broke in Mexico and knew you could find work in America, would you not immigrate to the United States, legally or otherwise? As long as that income disparity exists, the northward migration will continue. We need a President who can get beyond treating immigrants like a menace."
I take exception with the notion that our health care problem is an insurance problem, except to the extent that insurance is the problem. We need universal single payer now, and I don't think it is impossible once the dimensions of the issue are better explicated. On everything else, I'm with Rafe.
"* Someone who can marshal the political will to address global warming in a meaningful way. Most people seem to understand that humans are causing global warming and that if we do nothing about it, problems are ahead. Is there a candidate who can inspire America (and the world) to take positive steps to address global warming?
* Someone who is committed to getting the United States out of the torture business and out of the secret detention business as soon as they take office. Knowing that our government captures people, hides them away, and tortures them (sometimes to death) makes me ashamed of our country.
* Someone who can end the US occupation of Iraq without leaving an intensifying sectarian conflict in our wake. I don’t even know if this can be done at all, but I think it’s a worthy goal.
* Someone who is willing to engage with Iran and is willing to seek a solution that serves both our national interest and theirs. I don’t believe we live in a world where everything good for Iran is bad for America and vice versa.
* Someone who’s willing to make an effort to address the problem of health insurance in this country. We have something like forty million people with no insurance, and health insurance costs are going up rapidly for everyone else. Medicare and Medicaid costs are a long term threat to the fiscal stability of the government. The range of possible solutions to this problem is not as wide as Presidential candidates (and many progressives) like to believe. We’re not going to get the French system with universal, taxpayer-funded health care and doctors who earn $55,000 a year, but a better system is possible.
* Someone who’s willing to be realistic about immigration. Income per capita in Mexico is $7,310 per year, in the United States it’s around $42,000 per year. If you were broke in Mexico and knew you could find work in America, would you not immigrate to the United States, legally or otherwise? As long as that income disparity exists, the northward migration will continue. We need a President who can get beyond treating immigrants like a menace."
I take exception with the notion that our health care problem is an insurance problem, except to the extent that insurance is the problem. We need universal single payer now, and I don't think it is impossible once the dimensions of the issue are better explicated. On everything else, I'm with Rafe.
// posted by Bill @ 6:07 PM 
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