Politics
A cranky question for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man who is fed up with politics.
Opposing opinions are welcome.
Comments that include name calling or are mean spirited will be deleted.
What do we
want from our politicians? Never mind
your party affiliation, never mind how you want important issues in our country
to be handled. Never mind raise taxes,
lower taxes, nationalize healthcare or have the marketplace determine
healthcare. Never mind methodology or
costs, what are the issues in this country that we want addressed, improved and
or resolved, and in what order of importance do you put those issues.
This is not
Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative. Just what do we want from our government,
things EVERYONE wants, and in what order of importance do we want them?
This is not
an easy exercise. I have tried to list
issues I find important and the order of importance I place them in. This exercise took me about ten minutes, so I
have probably left out important issues, and some “less” important issues may
be easier to address and might be moved up in the pecking order, so forgive me
my list and my order of importance.
What are the issues I missed?
What issues would you move up and
what issues would you drop in the order of importance?
Yes, I know, many of these issues are interrelated. In all cases the level of importance is a reflection of my perception of the extent of the problem.
It goes without saying
that the Constitution be protected while addressing any of these issues.
Issues in order of their importance:
1. Secure Defense
2. Healthy Economy
1. Secure Defense
2. Healthy Economy
Full employment, Living wage jobs,
Reduce poverty
3. World Peace, International stability. Defeat Terrorism
3. World Peace, International stability. Defeat Terrorism
4. Improve Healthcare availability
5. Secure our Infrastructure (roads, bridges…)
6. World hunger, disease
6. World hunger, disease
7. Reduce Crime.
Make the “streets” safe, especially from violent crime.
8. Reduce Drug/ alcohol addiction
9. Economic safety net/ welfare, food stamps, housing
9. Economic safety net/ welfare, food stamps, housing
10. Secure the borders, assure fair immigration
policies that enhance the country…humane treatment of current illegal aliens (undocumented and law abiding)
11. Education - especially to support economic
needs
12. Pollution, clean air/water – A cleaner
environment to support global warming (concern is important regardless of the
validity of climate theory.)
13. Fracking
- regulate and monitor, assure process is safe.
14. Trade policies must be fair to all, promote a
healthy economy
15. Food/ drug safety
16. College debt – Costs must be reduced, School should be affordable to all qualified students...education
should take advantage of current technologies.
17. Civil rights
End/ reduce Discrimination in jobs,
housing and schools against race, religion, or gender
18. Abortion issues…who, when, under what
conditions
19. Drunk driving
20. Bathroom rules
21. Car safety
22. Gun legislation : assure gun owners are responsible
23. Polar bears /
24. Proper inflation of NFL footballs
25. Marijuana
26. Porn
27. Prostitution
28. Gambling
29. Oral hygiene
30. Santa Clause in school
All of these issues are important. How do we allocate limited resources to address them?
All of these issues are important. How do we allocate limited resources to address them?
What are
your issues? Which are the most
important? Remember, the question is the issue, not the means of resolution. For instance, how important is abortion, regardless of a pro or con position, in relation to say, protecting the environment.
Not easy, is
it?
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man, and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
Bacon 🥓
ReplyDeleteHealthy economy tops my list
Secure defense is right behind it
You're right, this is hard. To me, 1, 3, and 10 are interrelated. Next come 2, 5, 11, 14, and 16....seems to me they are intertwined. Then 12 and 13. Next 7 and 8. If I were a minority I would probably have 17 on top, and if I were poor I'm sure 9 would be near the top. If I tried to rank the rest my mind just might explode. Good exercise!
ReplyDeleteI would actually like them to get something done and just not talk about it. But in order of what I would want them to do, I would definitely want our country protected and people protected. The unborn protected, the vet who served willingly protected, the homeless' needs met. Polar bears are great, as are the rest of the animals and the environment, but people are created in God's image; the polar bears and other animals and environment are not. I would concentrate on the people and less on the polar bears and other animals and the environment.
ReplyDeletebetty
That's just too much for me to chew on right now. Later? I kind of doubt I'll think any better. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteThey all are of prime importance; I would like to see Washington solve at least one of them!!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what to say to this. I would imagine everyone the world over wants a secure and healthy economy.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the most important issue is programs that can be in place for those in need. I'm an old softy I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWell, we certainly do expect a great deal from our elected officials, don't we?
ReplyDeleteMy priority would be get the big money out (Money is not speech) and make democracy legal again.
I would just add to the list, a leader who doesn't make you cringe every time he opens his trap.
ReplyDeleteThis is border line mean-spirited, name calling, and not in the spirit of this post, but I'm going to let it slide and not delete.
DeleteMy humble apologies. At least you don't have a 'pretty boy' leader billed as the sexiest politician in the world.
DeleteYou failed to list fishing and flossing.
ReplyDeleteR
Fishing should be somewhere in the top 10. Number 29, Oral Hygiene includes flossing.
DeleteI would like people to understand that politics works, when it works, only with a spirit of compromise and respect. So many of us have become blinkered and intransigent. The Constitution was written in such a way that without this spirit of compromise and respect there can be no government.
ReplyDeleteBest answer yet! Kudos.
DeletePretty good. Civil rights should be much higher. We're all people who want the goals you've listed.
ReplyDeleteRight now i'm on vacation, so my brain is not quite working well, but i would say if we don't have a clean environment in which to live, the rest of these won't matter.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. Government has kind of put it's nose in places the founding fathers hadn't meant them to. I wold like to hear less from them and see more progress.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
It seems to me what people are saying is that they are all important, although the order may change somewhat from person to person. So if we want our leaders to give us everything, shouldn't we raise taxes enough to cover the cost of everything? Just getting stuff without paying for it is unsustainable. Some day we're going to have to face the music. We should pay as we go, or agree that some very desirable things we want are simply out of our reach.
ReplyDeleteI'd put compromise at the top and hope the others would then be addressed. I'm old enough to remember when the 2 parties worked together for the benefit of this country, but it's been a long time.
ReplyDeleteI think we could start with a little refresher course on the Constitution of the United States.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the government has any place in the bedrooms of American citizens. Conservatives say they are Pro-life, when in actuality they are merely pro-birth. Republican policies do nothing to help poor children to thrive once they're here.
ReplyDeleteI'd move #12 much higher; if our environment ends up polluted we all suffer. The environment should be much higher on your list.
You are also bordering on name calling and mean-spiritedness, but I know you can't help yourself so I'm going to let you slide as well.
DeleteMine are mean-spirited and leaning towards name calling.
ReplyDeleteI do also suggest fishing be included, though.
I appreciate your restraint, and yes fishing should be included, I say throw it in there with clean water.
DeleteInteresting. I have a big list (many are the same as yours, though we probably have wildly diff takes on them). But I also want them to play by the rules - I wanted hillary to use her govt email address, and for the GOP to give garland a hearing. I want them to respect the institutions of gov't, or else they'll fall apart.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely put #12 on top for with out a clean, healthy environment, none of the others really matter.
ReplyDeleteI can say I care about all those issues (well, maybe not #24, if I'm honest), but I'm too lazy to arrange them in the order I like them, and because the order might change from day to day.
ReplyDeleteAnd really, if we were to insist that politicians should feel beholden to the people they work for (and not the lobbyists and special interest groups and people with tons of money), a lot of those points would fall into place and in the proper order.
Politics baffle me. I don't understand how the U.S. knows what's best for everyone worldwide, and butts in to stabilize other nations, and enacts strict environmental standards here...yet China can't even provide breathable air for 10 days during the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteSo many issues, so little time. I would like healthcare issues...insurance, drug companies up the list ladder. Probably because I'm a healthcare worker getting near retirement who doesn't want to live under a bridge eating cat food. (Don't eat dog food, it has bone parts that can kill you..I saw it on Law and Order). We can't get certain drugs because they're back ordered. Why? Because Viagra gets priority because it makes more money than a drug to keep you safely asleep during surgery. That's all I have to say about that.
ReplyDeleteAlthough all three are not related, I agree on 19, 22 & 30 on top priority.
ReplyDeleteI could even come close to which is #1 or #100 issue. If they rebuild the middle class it would be step forward...But most of our out of wack and will say we live in middle class...$38,000 to $165,000 is middle class.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
I want more news and less politics in the media. Keep the government out of the headlines and they can get back to work rather than putting out fires that are meant to decrease their approval ratings. Media is out of control.
ReplyDeleteAll the items you list are important, but if I were to choose priority, it would be secure our nation, promote economic growth, and institute tax reform. Part of securing our nation is getting control over illegal immigration. Part of economic growth is increasing jobs and labor demand by deporting illegal immigrant felons. Part of tax reform is cut government regulation, completely wipe out the IRS, and implement a flat tax across the board.
Okay so I am not supposed to say what I am -
ReplyDeleteMost of those issues, should be delegated to the state level;ie Education, Crime, Drug and alcohol addiction, welfare, food stamps, housing, abortion issues, legalization of Marijuana, Prostitution, Gambling. Each state is wonderfully diverse from each other and only each state can legislate knowing their own unique cultures they have in that state.
The Federal Government needs to provide the safety and climate so that the states can do all that they need for their people. The federal government, takes care of securing our national defence and borders (with some help with bordering states) creating a healthy economy, world peace is a joke, Healthcare,
Civil rights, The right to bear arms, Food drug safety.
I might have forgotten something, but I believe the less involvement of the federal government into our lives, the better. Let the states, take care of us and the feds, protect us.