There was a time that some of you might remember when our political debates were largely debates over policy. Both sides would propose the policies they wanted to enact, whereupon voters cast their ballot for the candidate with the policies they most agreed with.
Today’s politicians, though, aren’t saying that much about actual policies. Their main tactic is to create fear and loathing for their opponents. I’m seeing this not only in presidential politics, but in state and local elections all the way down.
But our nation is facing big issues and needs policies to deal with them. Many of these policies are being worked out on the state level. And many of the policy options don’t break down neatly along the conventional political and ideological binaries of Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. But the nation needs to address them all the same.
Politico listed some of the policy issues that we’ve got to sort out. Here is a sampling:
—Artificial Intelligence. Do we let this new technology just develop on its own, or do we need to regulate it to prevent it from being harmful? And if the latter, what should those regulations be?
—Kids’ Safety. Both blue states and red states are proposing laws to protect children from the dangers of social media and other technology.
—Privacy. Both Democrats and Republicans are proposing policies to protect people’s privacy online as the big tech companies collect a vast amount of data about their users that is sold to advertisers.
—Drugs. States are trying to do something about the overdose problem, with so many people dying from fentanyl and other drugs. Ironically, some states are also considering legalizing more drugs, going beyond marijuana to psychedelics such as “magic mushrooms” and LSD.
—Foreign-Owned Farmland. The Chinese are buying up vast amounts of American farmland. Should that be allowed? Some states want to place restrictions on foreign ownership.
Other policies on Politico‘s list that we need to develop are more partisan and ideological, such as those having to do with immigration, crime, the economy, education, and the environment. I would add life-issues, such as restricting or permitting abortion and euthanasia. Also international affairs, involvement in foreign wars, and the problems with our military. Also the national debt. Politicians are at least bringing up these problems, though not always proposing specific policies to deal with them. Such issues are very urgent, but our political paralysis is getting in the way of taking action.
Let me bring up one additional issue that, again, cannot be easily addressed along the lines of our political ideologies: According to the administrating agency’s recent annual report, Social Security will run out of money for retirement benefits in 2033, just nine years from now. When the fund runs a deficit, by statute, all benefits must be cut by 23%.
Social Security has been called the “third rail” of American politics, meaning that any politician who touches the issue will be politically electrocuted, like touching the rail that conducts electricity to a subway. When Republicans propose any kind of entitlement reforms, Democrats jump all over them with ads proclaiming that they will “cut your social security.” But now Republicans are doing the same thing to each other! In the current primaries, when Nikki Haley brought up the issue, both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis immediately accused her of planning to cut your social security.
But you know who is going to cut your social security? Any politician who refuses to touch this “third rail” will be responsible for what will inevitably happen in nine short years unless the shortfall is addressed; namely, a cut of 23%.
Illustration: Social Security Card by j4p4n, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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