10 Questions That Should Be Asked at the Next Republican Presidential Debate

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The second Republican Presidential debate is Wednesday night 8 PM ET on CNN. The last debate afforded each candidate only a few minutes to answer questions.  With the large group of candidates we have, we probably won't be able to see each of these questions answered by each candidate, but I have outlined 10 questions that I wish I could hear each candidate answer.

Under each question I have outlined several other points that need to be addressed, and possible follow up questions for the candidates. Often our debates stop focusing on the issues and start to be shows of entertainment and popularity. We should try to focus on what matters most in our country. I have tried to base my questions on that ideal-that the debates should be about substance not delivery.

1.What is your plan to address immigration reform?
-Some candidates should be asked about their plans such as Trump, whose plan has been deemed by many as unrealistic at best.
-Others support plans to allow illegals to stay, how do they defend that to people who are unemployed or taxpayers who pay at least part of the bill?
-If you are opposed to deportation how do you justify all of the money spent on illegals (education, healthcare and benefits to children etc.)?
-How do you justify it when so many are still out of work?
-How do you plan to secure the border?

2. How do you plan to decrease the deficit and balance the budget?
-What are the  specifics of their plans, some candidates are supporting tax cuts without specifying what they will cut to offset those tax cuts.
-Do you support increasing taxes in any way?
-What do you think about a national sales tax?

3. Do you support or oppose the Iran nuclear deal?
-As commander and chief if you oppose it will you commit to use of military force in Iran?
-If you support it, what would you do if Iran is found cheating on the plan?
-With evidence showing Iranian support of Isis how do you justify supporting the deal?

4. Do you support defunding planned parenthood?
-How would you address those who are concerned about the loss of women's health clinics?
-If you don't support defunding, how will you address the federal government giving half a billion dollars a year to the biggest provider of abortions in our country?

5. The U.S. infrastructure has received a D rating. How would you address our failing infrastructure?
-Some estimates estimate we need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars right now just to bring our infrastructure up to date, including 60,000 bridges which are in need of immediate repair or replacement how will you fund this?
-In what ways will you bring our infrastructure into the 21st century?

6. What are your plans to reform education?
-If you are opposed or support common core how do you think national education should be handled?
-Do you support a national curriculum?
-What are your plans to push our nation forward in education?

7. Do you support legalizing less harmful drugs like marijuana?
-The war on drugs has been costly, how would you address those who say that the war on drugs has failed?
-How do you justify continuing to imprison people for having very small amounts of marijuana on them.
-Do you support drug courts where a person gets treatment instead of going to jail?
-If they support legalization, how do you justify legalizing drugs which can have negative impacts on the brain?
-Do you support more research for DUI testing methods like breathalyzers for marijuana?


8. What is your plan to strengthen our economy?
-Many believe regulations are crippling our economy, as president what regulations would you change?
-Many are concerned about the affects income inequality is having on our country, with wealth increasingly going to the richest 1%. How do you address these concerns as president?
-Consumer debt has almost equaled our national debt, how would you address the growing concerns over the massive amount of debt which is becoming a drag on our economy, especially student loan debt?


9. How will you bring people together to move America forward? Great leaders are measured by what they have done working through compromise to accomplish. We have had too much extremism and not enough listening and compromise.
-What would you do to work across the aisle?
-How have you worked across the aisle to get things done?
-How would you work to mend the wounds within our nation?


10. The next president will inherit 3 massive trade deals the TPP, TTIP and TISA. Would trade negotiations change under your presidency?
-How would you address our growing trade deficit?
-How would you use trade to move our nation forward in the years to come?

What would you like to see asked in the debate? Comment with your question below.

Confederate Flag Discussion Distracts From Major Issues Facing Our Nation

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In case you have been hiding under a rock the last few weeks a mentally unstable young man entered a black church in South Carolina and killed 9 African-Americans. It was later discovered that Dylann Roof was a white supremacist with pictures found of him in front of the Confederate flag. Since then there has been a national debate about whether or not the confederate flag should come down from the South Carolina statehouse, which finally happened today.

Whether you see the Confederate flag as a symbol of hatred and racism, or of heritage and history, what we must realize is that this issue doesn't really affect most of us. Every day this story  has been the top of every news hour, and each day more important issues continue to be ignored. Why? Because they don't bring as much emotion to our hearts and excitement to our minds. Those in the news industry care more about the money they can make by talking about sensationalist stories rather than more pressing issues.

While the U.S. has been surrounded by news about the Confederate flag, major issues loom over the horizon. Our national debt has recently passed the $18.3 trillion mark. It is inexcusable for us to continue in a path that puts our spending on the backs of our children and grandchildren. If we were really paying attention to the news we would see the real effects of this debt on a nation as we observe Greece fall to pieces. Not to mention the increasing threat of a new financial crisis and our inability to handle it.

Not only should we be concerned about our national debt, but we should have concern for the labor market, which still faces record low labor participation rates, meaning that the fewest percentage of working age adults are currently working or seeking for work in decades. The 5.3% U3 number we hear on the news only includes part of the total number of unemployed persons, more than likely our real unemployment is at least 10%. We also fail to  realize that over 300,000 jobs that were created in the last year were in the food service industry and that wages have stagnated for years.

We are also in the midst of preparing for the campaign to elect the next president of our country. Many are getting distracted by flashy populist statements without considering fully where each individual stands on the issues. I recommend you visit the site ISideWith.com , and take their quiz to see who you side with on the issues.

During the flag debate we also saw Congress give President Obama massive amounts of leeway on trade issues by granting him Trade Promotion Authority, or Fast Track as it is also known. This version of Fast Track doesn't do nearly enough to put in place Congressional oversight over trade pacts that are in the works like the TPP and TTIP. Many have concerns over how these deals will take place, but the media has paid hardly any attention to these deals.

Even with this debate, the real issue we should be discussing is the need to reform the treatment of mental health in our nation, to help prevent tragedies like this from happening again because I can guarantee the real cause wasn't the Confederate flag.

We need to wake up as a nation and not be sucked as deeply into debates that have little real impact on the daily lives of most Americans. We cannot continue to be sucked into sensationalist stories and debates when there are more impactful issues that surround us on every side.