Post No. 49: Policy Conversations

Opinion writers on the left and the right have recently voiced that we should be able to have civil discussions among citizens.   Even some university leaders have realized they should not prohibit speakers whose ideas are different, even if this violates their past “safe spaces” approach.  I agree.  Thus the reason for this post.

I’m not suggesting citizens should have political discussions.  But I am proposing some of us would benefit from discussions about policy issues of importance to the country.  From my personal experience, I find that if people are overly committed to a political tribe, then even a policy discussion is not possible.  Perhaps I am too pessimistic.  But now that there is recognition of how civil discourse has been unduly limited, perhaps there is hope.

There are upsides to this approach.  On a personal level friends, neighbors and others of different views are able to have civil discussions.  This could actually be fun and foster closer bonds.  On a societal level there may be some creative ideas emerging from these discussions.  Perhaps people together, rather than alone, would have a better chance at influencing their elected representatives to make changes.  

With the above in mind I have compiled a preliminary list of topics for discussion.  My challenge to you is to use these and other topics to get together with others of various viewpoints.  Be civil and be creative.  As for me, I’m not sure I have the courage yet to create a group.  I hope you have more courage than me.  

Following are a subset of suggested topics.  The numbers shown are from my research on the Internet.  Below each topic I suggest some questions that might be helpful.  AI searches can provide quick data points but they are not always accurate, so it is helpful to go directly to the websites shown by the AI.  I strongly recommend avoiding discussion of political parties or political leaders. Leave the politics to the politicians.  Focus on policy issues.

The following list contains examples of suggested topics and questions to consider:

HEALTHCARE COSTS AND ACCESS: 

.   Healthcare costs are about 5 trillion dollars per year or about 25% of all federal spending.

.   Administrative costs are about 30% of total healthcare costs.  How can this be reduced?

.   Preventive care is given low priority.  Is there a way that this can reduce costs?

  .   The ideal situation is that everyone has access to healthcare, but the reality is that many low-income individuals have limited access due to costs.  Is there a way to remedy this without massive additional spending?

.   Can AI help to reduce costs?

SOCIAL SECURITY

.   Social Security reserves are expected to be depleted by 2035.  This means that in 2035 each year’s social security expenditures must come from current payroll taxes.  Unfortunately payroll taxes are about 20% less than social security outflows.  If nothing is done, social security benefits will automatically be reduced by about 20%.  

.   There are a number of ways to avoid this:  Should we increase the maximum wage at which social security taxes are taken out ($168,000)?  Should we reduce benefits for high income earners? (The original 1935 act framed it as an insurance program during the Great Depression, not welfare that might be taken away later by Congress. Should we relook at this?). Should we increase the full retirement age beyond the 1983 act?   Should we stop adding 8% per year up to age 70 for those who don’t collect at full retirement age (66)? (the Social Security trust fund is invested in government bonds, which are significantly less than 8%).  This last suggestion is politically feasible since it actually is an investment decision - getting a guaranteed 8% or getting more by investing in the market.  A final solution is a Republican suggestion: invest the Social Security trust fund in the market.  There are huge upsides, but significant downsides in the short term if the market goes down.  

AFFORDABLE HOUSING:  

.   Many cities restrict new builds on a significant percentage of residential land. Should cities and towns change zoning laws to allow more construction?

.   Change zoning laws to allow multifamily housing units including mid-high rise buildings?  Place these near transit hubs to give low-income individuals easier access to jobs as well as less expensive housing?

.   Cut red tape in zoning laws, licensing fees, building permits, etc.?

.   Should we curb corporate, including foreign, speculators? For example, put a maximum percentage of units owned in any one jurisdiction by a single company and its affiliates.  

.   Should the government offer incentives to builders to create lower cost housing?

.   Should the government offer housing vouchers to low income individuals and families?

EDUCATION

.   Despite the public perception, public school test scores have not declined significantly for the last few decades, but they have not improved either, despite per-pupil spending more than doubling since 1970, taking into account inflation.  Also, in standardized international testing for 15 year olds, the U.S. ranked behind almost every European country and well behind China.  These U.S. scores and our ranking have gone down since 2018.  What can we do to improve education and work force readiness?

SAFE CITIES AND TOWNS

.   How can we reduce crime in our top crime ridden cities?  If one visits L.A., NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle, Portland, Memphis, Nashville, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbus, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans or Atlanta, one might not think there is any crime at all.  It does depend on what parts of these cities one visits, and perhaps at what time of day.  It is generally in the sections of the city that are the poorest where people are most afraid.  It is understandable that it is in the low-income areas that one is least safe.  What are the solutions?

.   Should we go back to “defund the police”.  Does this mainly hurt low-income neighborhoods?  Should we increase police presence in high crime areas?  Should we have special training for police to better serve the public in low-income neighborhoods where there is distrust of the police?  Are there other options than police protection that can make these places safer?  These are all tough questions.  

OUR WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, ETC.

.   These wars were presented to the American people as protecting us from existential threats, such as WMD or stopping further 9/11’s that might be even more devastating.  Was this justified?  

.   Should the U.S. have a policy to intervene kinetically in other countries to foster democracy or eliminate the existing leader for one we favor more?  Libya is one example, but there are others.  

.   Should we intervene in other countries in other non-kinetic ways in an attempt to change the leadership?  Ukraine in 2014 is one example.  

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

.   Russia under Putin invaded Ukraine, a blatant disregard of their sovereignty as a Member State of the United Nations.  

.   Should we continue to arm Ukraine until they are victorious in kicking the Russians out of their country?

.   Should we let the Europeans handle this problem since Ukraine is part of Europe, and they are more afraid of Russia because it sits on their eastern front. 

.   Is Russia an existential threat to Europe as some European leaders have said?

.   Is there any reason Russia invaded Ukraine that makes sense from a Russian viewpoint?  Have the color revolutions in Ukraine, especially the Euromaiden revolution, influenced Russian thinking?  For example, the civil war in the Donbas started after the Euromaidan revolution in 2014. 

.   Should the U.S. try to broker peace between the two warring parties?  Should Ukraine be willing to give up some portion of its Eastern territory for peace, or fight on until the Russians are kicked out?

THE MIDDLE EAST

.   The Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the people is hard to watch.  What should be done?

.   Should the U.S. continue to send military aid to Israel, excepting the Iron Dome infrastructure that protects them from missiles sent into Israeli cities?

.   Should the Arab states surrounding Israel step up and offer assistance to end the war?

.   Should the U.S. continue to try to broker peace?  Should we focus on the Arab States?  

.   Is there a way that Israelis and Arabs can learn to live together.  Israel’s population is 20% Palestinian.  That is two million people out a total of ten million in the country.  Arabs have the same rights as Jews in Israel but they are discriminated against when it comes to housing and land acquisition.  Although Hebrew is the national language, the Arabic language has a special status and government documents are translated into Arabic.  

.   Perhaps there is a way out of the mess.    

.   There are just a handful or so of Jews who live and are citizens in the neighboring Arab states.  These are Jews who are now very old and were born there.  Before 1948 there were hundreds of thousands of Jews who were citizens in the neighboring Arab states, but they fled or were forced out after the 1948 war.  In the last 25 years there have been no Jews who have become citizens in any of these Arab states.  During that same time about 20,000 Arabs have become Israeli citizens.  Perhaps in the future Arabs and Jews will have more freedom in the Middle East to choose where they might live and be accepted as citizens.  Courageous leaders of the future might make it happen. Is this a possible solution or just a pipe dream?

NATIONAL DEBT

.   The cumulative U.S. national debt is today over 37 trillion dollars.  The reason this is a problem is the interest we are obliged to pay on this debt.  It’s as if you have a huge mortgage, it grows every year, and you have an adjustable rate that has only gone up in the last few years.  Last year for the first time we payed more on interest on this debt ($882 billion) than on the military ($841 billion).  Great nations cannot do this indefinitely.

.   How does the government stop spending more every year than it receives in taxes?

.   Increase taxes on high income earners? On capital gains?

.   Eliminate deductions and exemptions, such as mortgage interest, state and local taxes, etc.?  

.   Institute a value added tax on goods and services, with rebates for low income households?

.   Increase inheritance taxes and close loopholes?

.   Create innovative ways to increase economic output and thus collect more revenue?

.  Force Congress to balance the budget by a specified year?  Find innovative ways to reduce expenses?  Are there innovative ways to reduce health care and Social Security spending, which together approach half of all federal spending?

CULTURE AND SOCIETY

.   Should we respect, appreciate and support people’s differences, especially outliers from what might be considered the majority culture?

.    Should we foster, promote and seek to increase these outliers?

.   Are heterosexual couples who marry and have children considered an aspect of majority culture?  If not, what consequence would this have on society over time?

.   How should schools handle children who bully others that they perceive as different?

.   How should we treat people with addictions?

.   Should some restraints be put on social media companies from using algorithms designed to reinforce screen time on their platforms?

.   Should schools limit the use of smartphones during the school day?