Issue 2013: The Political Super Bowl – A Game All Sides Win By Working Together

by Allie Pizzuto

The major political challenges facing our re-elected President, Barack Obama, are: reducing the out-of-control and rising national debt (and related fiscal cliff issues), tax reform, and gun control.  As an advisor to President Obama or to our Congressional leaders, I would strongly advocate and advise that the White House and Congress work together (well before impending deadlines ensue) and pass legislation that will benefit our whole country without regard to party affiliation or special interest groups (e.g., the wealthy, lobbyists representing corporate America, etc.).  America has been in a state of gradual decline for awhile now, and it is crucial that we get back on track as soon as possible.  All parties (Republican, Democrat, Independent) should join together in a collaborative manner (for a change) to put the American people first and reduce the national debt (not raise the debt ceiling) and cut every spending program across the board, where warranted.  Every American has a vested interest in seeing that the national debt is reduced, and each of us has a responsibility to shoulder the burden.   For example, our federal tax system should be reformed or at the very minimum federal tax legislation should be passed which taxes income in a progressive manner (a wealthier person should pay more taxes).  People who earn higher levels of income and corporations should pay more in taxes in the future to reduce the national debt.  In exchange, spending cut measures will be put in place to reduce benefits under entitlement programs.  This is a fair exchange, especially since the federal tax system will truly be progressive in nature (meaning that the higher the income, the higher the tax burden).  Regarding gun control, how many more times do we need to read about massacres occurring in our educational institutions?  Opening fire on small young children in Newtown, CT – what a disaster!  We should be ashamed of ourselves as a nation to allow this behavior to continue to persist.  Although we may have the freedom and the right to buy guns, that right and freedom is not unrestrained and should never be a protected freedom at all costs.  Although the problem is multi-faceted, the answer is not as simple as staffing our educational institutions with armed guards, as the National Rifle Association recently suggested.  On the contrary, our great nation needs reasonable gun control measures to be put in place.   President Obama recently suggested several measures to diminish the threat of continued gun violence, which includes banning certain assault weapons and subjecting everyone to background checks.  These are reasonable infringements on our right to buy guns.  

Issues: Tax Reform

by Ian Yusem

For weeks leading up to the New Year, we heard nothing but partisan posturing regarding the fiscal cliff.  While a deal was eventually reached, what seems clear is that Republicans and Democrats are no closer to realizing that the uncertainly caused by ceaseless argument creates anxiety for the average citizen and reduces confidence of our citizens in the two party political system. What is the process by which we can have any confidence that our elected officials have the capacity to address our economic problems for the good of the majority of Americans? What measure can cause the Congress to come together to achieve wide reaching economic change?

I think the answer is tax reform that avoids unfair burden on any one group yet raises revenue available to the budget by eliminating loopholes and tax advantages of special interest groups.

As it stands now, politicians are lobbied to support tax subsidies for particular groups or activities. This process creates complication, causes unfairness in the system and makes those who cannot take advantage of the loopholes believe the system is corrupt.  Making taxes simpler by removing loopholes will avoid partisan politicking and reduce the influence of lobbyists.  Simplifying tax laws will make it easier for people to comply with tax laws, and the average taxpayer will stop questioning the fairness of the tax system.

Essentially, there would be no exceptions – all income would be treated the same.  Only the rate paid by taxpayers would differ, with rates rising with income.

Congress needs to come together in a bold and new direction by creating economic stability that can be blended with public confidence in our government. It is no secret that the youngest generation of voting age Americans is politically apathetic. Non-stop political brinksmanship is to blame for the generational lack of confidence. Radical tax reform would be an extraordinary measure that would be disruptive, but in a positive way, by bringing predictability to the budget process and confidence in government to average Americans.

Issue 2013: Gun Control, Immigration Reform, Debt, & Gridlock

by Rina Dhawlikar

As we move into 2013 and the second term of President Barack Obama, the nation stands at a crossroads. The people need to choose between the constitutional rights to carry arms versus gun control. The recent tragedy in Newton, Connecticut has brought the gun control debate front and center again. It was truly heartbreaking when children under 10 were shot at random by a possibly mentally ill adult. In my personal opinion, while legally everyone has the right to carry arms to defend themselves, nobody needs assault weapons like the ones used in the killings in Connecticut, and Colorado.  A ban on assault weapons and background checks on people buying guns would go a long way in making America safer. Mental Illness also needs to be aggressively recognized and treated. Recently, New York State has taken the lead in enforcing these background checks and mental illness reporting by doctors. This should be followed by the other states in the union as well.

The other challenge that our nation needs to confront is the issue of immigration. While the US has a lot of illegal immigrants who tend to use up the resources and possibly be a burden on our health care system, there are also a lot of talented students coming to the US legally but are turned away to go back to their homeland. These students should be given a path to citizenship so as to retain the talent in the US. Recent studies have shown that our education system is falling behind other developing nations such as Korea, India, and China. While our universities train several such PhD’s, they should be incorporated into the American society legally so as to be an asset to the nation. The illegal immigrants should also have a path to citizenship so that they can pay taxes and contribute to the economy.

 A third extremely important challenge facing the nation is the rapidly escalating debt and deficit. The deficit has climbed to more than sixteen trillion dollars. This is a significant and ever increasing burden on the young generation such as mine. Our generation will eventually be left with paying for the debt of the older generations if this is not fixed quickly and permanently. There has to be a balanced approach to solving this problem. While some taxes need to be raised to get more money, it is extremely important to restrain spending so that the debt doesn’t grow.

 A lot of the current problems are attributable to the partisan gridlock in Washington, DC. Both Democrats and Republicans need to compromise in the nation’s interest and not take extreme positions. The president needs to take a lead in this process, as have previous successful presidents. I hope these problems are sincerely approached and solved in a bipartisan way so that America can once again be the shining city on the hill as Ronald Regan referred to. 

Issue 2013: Unlock the Partisan Grid Lock

by Eric Wang

In the past four years, Obama’s support rate has dropped significantly. People seem to have lost the passion and the resolution they had the day Obama won the presidency. The most important reason of the all is that people didn’t see the revolutionary change that could solve all the problems and open a new era as they expected. However, is it not that Obama is incapable of promoting change, it is because that Obama couldn’t. The campaign between two parties in expressing their own interests and seeking reelection has always occurred in U.S. history, but it has become exceedingly furious in the past few years. Every attempt Obama made has faced great opposition from the Republicans. As the Democrat Representative Mike Thompson said, it’s like the Republican agenda became making sure President Obama did not win re-election.

However, Republicans are not the only side who is involved in this partisan feud. Mike Thompson himself has voted his party’s line 92.2% of the time, and this is not an extreme example. The average Democrat votes with the party 93% of the time, while that number for Republicans isn’t much different. Now the two-party system has already turned away from the intention of the Founders. The members of Congress usually view the interests of their parties as primary, instead of representing the interests of citizens. As Joseph Lieberman, who has represented Connecticut in the Senate for 23 years, said in his speech, “too often people… who come to government in Washington with the best of intentions end up putting their parties’ interests ahead of the country’s interests?”

This partisan gridlock does great harm to the current situation, especially in light of the still-terrible economy status. For U.S economy to get back in order, long term economic policies are required, which may take much longer than a presidential term. Both parties must cooperate to get things done.

Before the 2012 election, the politicians had hoped that the election would resolve the struggle and end the gridlock. As Representative Paul Ryan said, one side would gain the moral authority to impose permanent and fundamental reform. But it didn’t happen this way. After the election, things seem to remain the same. Democrats have the presidency and Senate, while Republicans still control the House. However, there is positive side of the election. Obama will no longer have to seek re-election. The most extreme Republican candidates, Richard Mourdock and Todd Aiken have lost their previous positions. Obama said in his acceptance speech, “In the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with the leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together.”

He said that before, but this time it’d better be true. The leaders for both parties have to understand the reality that they can’t get everything they want and no one can get everything he/she wants. To fix this broken democratic system, it will be impossible to pass a new Amendment that changes the form of politics. Therefore compromise is the only way and the most essential way to solve the problems such as fiscal cliff, before they are no longer problems, but disasters. 

Issue 2013: Still Waiting for Washington

by Keerti Hariharan

Congress has had the same set of issues on its table for far too long. Proposals to these prolonged issues need to convert to solutions and quickly because the plethora of issues is only piling up especially given recent events. Foreign policy, health care reform, education reform, and immigration are among the issues at hand that have been prevalent yet negligibly dealt with, it seems, for too long. And it seems that now more than ever the country is pressing Washington to become proactive and solve these matters, especially given that more issues. including gun control, are reappearing after being put off for so long.

In terms of foreign policy, Obama has had much to deal with, including an occupation in Iraq, working to withdraw the troops in Afghanistan, addressing certain debts and other tensions with China, coaxing some peace within the Middle East where the Arab Spring has been prevalent. These are only a few issues that must be taken care of, and it seems that the only real sign of progress has been the death of Osama bin Laden. Although I understand perfectly that foreign policy will always be a concern for Congress, certain aspects such as withdrawing troops from Afghanistan need to be expedited. I definitely think that Afghanistan and China should be the main concerns of Washington as this presently tense relationship with China is damaging to our nation. Certain issues such as the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, I believe can be put off, while more present matters are dealt with, such as China and Afghanistan.

In addition to foreign policy, I think that Washington needs to start making some real decisions towards ameliorating guns, especially given the Newtown Shootings. This is an issue I believe should have been discussed before, but at least Congress is beginning to take another look now. Although I hugely believe that in an ideal world, guns would be completely banned because the act of possessing a gun in the first place makes you a target, it is impractical for me to expect such progressive solutions. I do know that the line of defense posed by many gun advocates: guns don't kill people, people kill people, is a highly flawed statement.  Without guns, it would be much more difficult to kill. If it were my job, I would advise the government to place national restrictions and limits on guns. Also, I believe that background checks need to become much more thorough to ensure that whomever is being given a gun license is cautious and mentally stable as are those with whom he would live with. Ultimately, it is too easy to obtain guns and the government needs to comprehend the seriousness of the matter and become proactive about it.

Economic issues seem to be the leading issue in Washington given unemployment rates, taxes, and the federal government's staggering $14 trillion debt. Here is where the partisan gridlock seems to be the most popular, thus hindering the nation's economic recovery and a visible decrease in unemployment rates. Washington needs to expedite the job-creating process because although we have seen progress, recovery is still too slow in the job market. The president needs to boost jobs in the public sector. When the president took office in 2008, one way he began to create jobs was negotiating with the Indian government to outsource and hire Americans. Indian IT firms helped to broaden hiring in the U.S., and I think that continuing similar trends would hugely benefit our struggling citizens.

With so many issues, the government needs to learn to compromise. America has always been about compromise and Washington needs to exhibit this characteristic too. The partisan gridlock is causing too much strain and slowing far too many processes that could have been dealt with long ago. I just hope that Washington grows up a little and sees how deep the nation really is in.

Issue 2013: New Year, New Issues? Nope. New Year, Same Issues.

by Elan Axelbank

The celebratory New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square did not wipe away all of 2012’s political happenings, and it did not bring about a new set of political issues.  Unfortunately, the ball did not fall on the elusive “Reset American Politics” button, and the issues that dominated the political agenda of 2012 are still present.  Politically, all that the drop signified was Congress’ shameful failure to come up with an agreement to keep America from falling off the so-called “fiscal cliff.”  Yet another example of our “broken” Congress, the partisan gridlock that has become so detrimental to passing legislation prevented the Democrats and Republicans from reaching a compromise.  In the clearest way possible, this symbolizes the notion that the same issues were carried over into the new year and with regards to American politics, 2013 is but a continuation of 2012.

As we enter 2013 after having narrowly escaped the end of the world just two weeks ago, we still have troops in Afghanistan and talk of gun control legislation is still imperative.  For everybody, higher education is still way too expensive and for the underprivileged, education isn’t close to where it needs to be.  The harmful affects of climate change are still, for the most part, unaddressed and many elected officials do not even believe that global warming exists (which is an issue in and of itself).

The bet way to overcome the above issues would be to decrease the amount of partisanship in Congress and the politics of this country in general.  That statement has been said in virtually every political article over the past few years and I think that most, if not all, people would agree with it.  Why then, do Republicans in Congress continue to be intransigent when it comes to virtually every issue that passes through the legislative branch?  The House of Representatives, under the leadership of Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, couldn’t even come together to vote on legislation to give 60 billion dollars in aid to the states and victims affected by Hurricane Sandy.  Even Chris Christie, previously the “golden child” of the Republican Party, called out his own party’s leaders on this failure.

If for some crazy reason I was in the position to advise President Obama, I would beg him to stop being so complacent and giving in to the GOP on hugely important issues.  I wish he would stop calling the passing of the fiscal compromise a “victory,” when at least personally, I don’t see a tax increase for those with incomes above $450,000 as much of a victory.  Is it a start?  Yes.  But it’s not close to sufficient and convincing the American people that it is will only make his job these next four years harder.