For the second Presidential Debate, which will be in a Town Hall format, half the Questions will come from the public. You can still get yours in by submitting them to this site. I’ve included mine below. Some are from my previous blog since they were not asked in the first debate.
Environment
Background: Renewable energies have become more cost effective than fossil fuels in price per mega-watt hour, with wind & solar thin film at $55 & $43/MWH, vs. gas & coal at $65 & $108/MWH, respectively.
Question: How much will you invest in renewables, and how many new jobs would that create?
Background: Many politicians, Democrat and Republican alike, publicly support taxing carbon as a way to incentivize fossil fuel industries to cut carbon emissions.
Question: Do you favor a tax on carbon, and if not, how would you fight climate change?
Immigration
Background: Immigrants are twice as likely as US-born to become entrepreneurs, and half as likely to become incarcerated. They pay more into Medicare, Social Security and taxes than they receive in benefits.
Question: Do you support a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants and what is it?
Healthcare
Question: What is needed to stem the costs of healthcare, while still covering everyone?
Economy / Jobs / Inequality
Background: Historically, healthy GDP growth was at least 3%. In the last several years, it has been stalled at less than 2%. The projections for this year are 1.6% (IMF) and 1.8% (Federal Reserve).
Question: How would you increase GDP growth, and what data or studies support your ideas?
Background: Small businesses comprise 39% of GNP, 52% of all U.S. sales, and employ 54 million people (57.3% of private workforce).
Question: How would you foster small business growth, and what data supports your ideas?
Background: The Earned Income Credit supplements low income worker’s wages, but the Guaranteed Minimum Income covers the unemployed well as low income employed, and is actually backed by many Republicans.
Question: Do you favor the Earned Income Credit, or a Minimum Income to help the poor?
Education
Background: The quality of education is critical to a nation’s economic health and standing in the world.
Question: If investing in the future is important, what would you do to improve education?
Terrorism
Background: Terrorists have been known to use US aggression against them as a recruitment tool for other terrorists.
Question: How will you effectively fight terrorism without fueling further recruitment?
Background: Wars have proven too costly to fight, but we have other options to draw on for our security: partnering with allies, intelligence gathering, foreign weapons sales and foreign military training.
Question: How would you fight terrorism, while minimizing spending and lives lost?
What are your Questions?