September 18, 2008
NJ Jewish News is asking Jewish community leaders what issues they would like to hear the candidates address and what questions they want to have answered in a presidential debate. For previous installments in the “What’s at Stake” series, see www.njjewishnews.com/whatsatstake.
“What’s at Stake” will be a regular feature between now and Election Day.
Stephen Flatow, past chair, Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ:
I want to ask the candidates: What qualities will you look for in members of your cabinet and White House staff, and why? This question is important to me because I have long believed that while it is the president who shapes policy, he or she must be backed up by the “best and the brightest” to challenge his assumptions, further refine policy, and then to conduct that policy. These advisers may come from the elected ranks, they could be academics or businesspeople, or they might even be from the president’s family. For the past eight years, we have witnessed a president who seems to be performing his duties without adequate advice, and the country is paying the price. The next president must not repeat that mistake.
Jon Shure, president, New Jersey Policy Perspective:
I would ask each candidate to address growing income inequality in the U.S. today. Income inequality continues to grow to where the gap between the rich and the rest (not only the rich and the poor) is wider than it’s been since the Great Depression. Indeed, income gains over the past quarter-century have become increasingly concentrated at the top of the income scale. No reasonable person would suggest that everyone’s income should be the same. But income today is more concentrated among a smaller percentage of American households than in all but two years since the mid-1930s: The top 1 percent of households now receive a larger share of the national pre-tax income than at any time since 1937, except for the years 1999 and 2000.
In dealing with this, the candidates should give their views on the role that federal tax policies have played in the situation. Income disparities widened during the 1980s, when taxes were cut sharply for high-income households. The gap began to close a bit during the 1990s, when tax rates for high-income households were raised and the Earned Income Tax Credit for low- and moderate-income working families was substantially expanded. But the tax cuts that started in 2001 have sent the income gap back to widening.
With trickle-down economics thoroughly discredited in recent years, I would ask each candidate to explain whether he thinks continued tax cuts for the wealthiest households are justified and, if so, why?
Daniel Webster once observed, “Liberty cannot long endure in a country where the tendency is to concentrate wealth into the hands of a few.” He was no socialist or even a bleeding-heart liberal, but a Federalist-turned-Whig. The sentiment reflects not so much ideology as pragmatism. Too often today the easy answer to any question regarding taxes is “cut them.” But the serious problem of income distribution is one reason why fuller discussion and debate are needed.
Asking about how income is divided among the people of this country is not an idle question. It’s a necessary inquiry into the current state of the American Dream. The answers should provide us with important insight into which candidate is best prepared to make that dream more real and more possible than it has become in recent years for too many hardworking Americans.
Jared Silverman, attorney, Republican Party activist, member of the Community Relations Committee of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ:
International Affairs — There has been increased discussion of a single secular state occupying what is currently Israel and the Palestinian territories. Would you support a single state in the old British Palestine Mandate over a two-state solution?
Would you exert pressure on Israel to achieve a Palestinian state? What would you require of the Palestinians?
If confronted with a nuclear Iran, what would you do?
What would be your policies toward an increasingly confrontational Russia?
Would you encourage globalization of trade?
What should be the role of the United States in the world?
What should be the role of the United States within the United Nations? Do you think the UN advances the goals of the United States, especially in increasing democracy throughout the world? Do you think the UN is an effective organization? If not, can its effectiveness be improved? If so, how?
Is there any reason for the United States to act unilaterally on the global stage?
Energy Policy — In order to move toward energy efficiency, would you encourage a) increased domestic exploration and drilling, including off-shore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? b) the exploitation of domestic oil shale and coal reserves? c) the use of nuclear energy?
Would you revisit the mandate for the use of ethanol in motor fuels in light of the impact of the mandate on the food supply?
Social Issues — What is your policy regarding legal immigration? toward illegal immigrants? Would you support amnesty for illegals currently in the United States? Which should come first, immigration law enforcement or amnesty?
How would you reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States? With illegal immigrants having an impact on such governmental services as health care and education, how would you lessen the impact, financially and service-wise, on tax-paying citizens?
Should the government be the sole provider of health services?
Should affirmative action policies be continued or discontinued?
Government Expenditures and Taxation — With governmental programs and entitlements increasing, would you limit or expand them? How would you pay for and would you reduce or eliminate any government programs?
Would you increase taxes to pay for your programs? Who would be affected by such increases and how? Are you concerned that by increasing taxes, you might reduce incentives for increased productivity and innovation?
Should there be any limit on transfers of income?
National Security and Defense — The Department of Homeland Security has been much criticized. What would be its missions under your administration and how would they be accomplished?
What do you think of the combat readiness of the military? How can it be improved?
Would you reinstitute the draft? If so, how would the draft make the military more effective? Would you curtail the military budget in order to expand funding of social programs?
Citizen and State — What should be the relationship between the citizen and the state? What duties do you believe the citizen owes the state? What duties and services does the state owe the citizen?
How would the above be implemented in your administration?
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