Jeff's Take on the Issues of the Day...
Health Care
If you were asked to design a health care system that represents 20% of the US economy, would you put it in the hands of HR departments of big business?
What was a good idea during World War II when the country rallied, wages were frozen and health care was offered as a benefit instead of salary, is NOT a way to provide for the care of the sick and elderly. We can do so much better.
Those who rail against socialized medicine don't realize it's already here - a few powerful insurance companies control the market, and our care, while reaping billions in profits.
There is no free market in health care.
It's time to put DOCTORS at the center of the system, NOT INSURANCE companies. Require insurance companies to use "rating bands," and in exchange create a national regulatory framework so that they can offer one plan across all state lines, creating more competition and a more free market. Finally, doctor's offices are paralyzed by paperwork from insurance companies doing all they can to avoid providing coverage. Let's trust doctors again, and if they say something's needed, it's done, no hours lost in red tape.
Education
The system is broken. We can do better.
First, let's recognize the important role teacher's play in shaping our children's minds and lives. They need to be paid double what they are, with 50% of the increase coming from the federal level to help ease the burden on local governments.
In exchange, we need to alter the tenure structure to make it easier to get rid of bad teachers, and incentivize good ones.
We must stop teaching to tests and teach the whole of each child. When children are young, we teach the head, heart and hand, but as they grow, we focus mainly on memory-related learning. Let's teach kids how to think, how to solve problems creatively, earn resilience, be curious and love learning. Not only will they gain, but we'll unleash a new era of innovation.
Jobs & the Economy
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Taxes
The tax code is too complex, favors the wealthy, the lobbyists and special interests. The Trump Tax cuts were loaded with special goodies and left the wealthy paying an effective 8% rate - more than their secretaries. That's wrong.
Let's simplify the tax code, develop 5 rates, with just a few deductions and full transparency - no more special kick-backs.
our connection to the world - ukraine, russia, china, israel, palestine, etc..
We in America tend to be short-sighted, thinking in terms of the next election or the next 3-5 years. We need to start thinking more about Era's of time - post-industrialization, Internet, AI...
We also need to learn from history: we lose when we push for regieme change, and we win when we fight to preserve our values.
I am not an isolationist, but I'm also not an interventionist. I believe strongly in the power of our intelligence community and clandestine operations, but I am not a big believer in the Defense Industrial Complex. We need to be nimble, working on several fronts, and able to respond rapidly and disruptively.
I don't hold the people of any country as an enemy, but I do see governments as a source of competition. To the extent acts of war keep us asymmetrically off balance and losing focus on driving innovation, we lose our leverage.
Trump is right about the balance of power being off in some of our relationships with countries like China, but with tarrifs he tried to solve a problem that didn't exist.
When we drive innovation, we hold leverage over other countries, so we should work cooperatively when we can, competitively when we must, and leverage intelligence to mitigate risk and gain a competitive advantage.
Some governments aren't open to competition, and are more interested in the preservation of money and power. People suffer, inequity eclipses rationality and corruption becomes rampant. In extremes, innocent people are killed.
In Israel, just as in Gaza, too many innocent people are being killed. I am a passionate believer in the two state solution, but I also believe that Hamas can never be a part of that solution.
Russia's continued attempt to annex territory to offset the weakness of its economy and internal political dynamics must be thwarted. Sometimes the only way to deal with a bully is to punch them in the nose. There is no half pregnancy - if we're going to support Ukraine, let's really support them and try to end this quickly.
And Canada? WTF Trump - seriously? To quote the ironically named band War, "Why Can't We Be Friends?"
maga & trump
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immigration
We are all immigrants, save for the handful of Native Americans who can rightly claim ownership to a land lost in time. My grandmother's family immigrated from Poland to New York City, settling in New Britain, Connecticut. My grandmother, Nana, who had my out of wedlock at 17, ran a diner in Bridgeport. My Great Uncle Stash, a World War 2 Veteran and his wife Dorothy lived in Newington, while my Great Aunt Sally, a nurse in the psychiatric ward of the Veterans' Hospital and my Uncle Ted, who ran a beloved restaurant in Bridgeport, lived in Milford. My cousin Vicki was a longtime educator, as was the case for my cousin Sonya who did pioneering work on behalf of those needing special educational services. Her father's family survived the holocaust, and her husband Marc, laid off after his factory closed, earned a nursing degree later in life and now works caring for the sick - a real inspiration.
My father's family traces its roots back to our earliest settlers, founding the town of Wenham, MA and later moving to Maine. Sumner Kimball, also a native of Maine, was the driving force behind the creation of the US Lifesaving Service (Coast Guard).
They're just some members of the big, beautiful family I treasure who all trace our immigrant roots to other countries.
We need immigrants, to help grow our population, to do jobs that drive our economy and to help make our lives more rich and full. They aren't the enemy that Trump created in order to more easily blame our problems on someone.
That said, immigration should be managed through a transparent and prescribed process - one that affords due process, but also protects the rights of the citizens who live here legally.
It should be easier to get into the country legally (after proper vetting) and harder to get here illegally. Of course criminals should be removed immediately, but those who are here legally shouldn't feel threatened or like they're not welcome - that's what many of our relatives faced and it's time for that stigma to end.
Environment
I'm a proud environmentalist and believer in conservation. Native Americans believe nature is sacred, that we should take what we need, give back in return and actively take care of the land. We are stewards for future generations.
As with all things, I believe in balance, and in the case of development, we have gone overboard in some cases making life difficult for homeowners to do simple things. What is rooted in good intentions has gone too far at times. So let's impose tough regulations when and where it makes sense, but look at how those regulations become illogical.
This issue is personal to me, and why I joined the founding board of the League of Conservation Voters in Connecticut. My wife grew up in Woburn, MA, where she drank water that was contaminated by chemical companies. That water created a cancer cluster, and Amy was part of it. Can I prove it? No, but what is proven is that a lack of regulations led directly to many people getting cancer.
Debt and Government spending
This is often where I defy traditional labels. I am a proud Progressive, but I also believe that the worst thing we can do is offer someone the promise of help and not deliver.
I have lived most of my adult life since my wife died crushed by debt. It has limited my ability to buy a home (I rent), buy cars (I fix my old cars), go on vacations, etc.
Democrats have traditionally been the party of fiscal responsibility - we held the Presidency the last time the budget deficit was eliminated. We need to acknowledge that the debt is a national security issue.
But Republicans are lying when they say we need to cut discretionary government spending to deal with the debt - things like food stamps, health care coverage and school funding.
I'm going to tell you what you need to hear, not what's going to make me popular: To cut the debt and deficit, it's about cutting defense spending and raising taxes on big corporations and the super rich.
assault weapons and gun rights
When the Founding Father's drafted the 2nd Amendment, they intended to ensure that we could raise arms to protect ourselves from a tyranical King. They never intended to arm mentally ill people and allow them to walk freely into schools and murder children.
The Gun Industry, otherwise known as the Death Industrial Complex, would have you believe that the answer to guns is...more guns.
I want severe restrictions on gun ownership. You need a license to buy a car, and you're required to take courses before you get behind a wheel. The same should be true with firearms.
Licensing requirements should be strict: if you have a criminal record, are certified to be ineligible by a mental health professional, or have been incarcerated, you can't get a license. If you are subsequently caught with a gun, you get 10 years in prison. No gun show loopholes.
Finally, assault weapons will be banned. Every hunter I know - and there are many in my family - will tell you that assault weapons are of no use to a good hunter.
This will bring some sanity back to the system.
Justice and civil rights
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