10 Questions for Mitt Romney
http://www.nationofchange.org/10-questions-mitt-romney-1325694807
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In a Friday op-ed in The State, you declared your intention to “Rebuild our military with more ships, a modern air force, more troops and better care for our veterans.” Why exactly do you think we need more naval ships? What attack has there been on US soil or the US military that would have been prevented by more naval ships? Given that more ships and more troops will cost more money, and we already wildly outspend every other country’s military, and you say you want to balance the budget, why do you want to spend even more on the Department of Defense? Why did you suggest privatizing the health insurance for veterans, who currently enjoy the best care of any population in the US, and then reverse yourself?
In the same op-ed, you wrote, “President Obama wants to change America from an opportunity society to an entitlement society, in which government takes from some to redistribute to others. His aim to create equality of outcomes rather than equality of opportunity.” What, exactly is your evidence for this claim? Has President Obama proposed to tax the wealthy so heavily that they will end up with the same after-tax income as the poor? Are you no longer able to live comfortably due to Obama’s economic policies?
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You say that the ACA is an unconstitutional affront to American liberty, but you defend your health care reform in Massachusetts, which served as a model for it. You square these two claims by saying that you think each state should decide it’s own health care policy and that what is good for Massachusetts is not necessarily good for every other state. Why do you think health insurance policy should be set at the state level? What exactly is different about the problem from one state to the next? What other approaches than the individual mandate would you endorse at the state level? Why do you think a state such as Wyoming, which has only 563,626 residents, should set up its own policy to hold down costs and cover the uninsured? Why do you think such small populations are better equipped to handle this problem than the nation as a whole? Do you not think that 50 million uninsured Americans and spiraling health care costs is a national problem?
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At a rally on Monday in Iowa, you said, “I’ll clamp down on China that’s been cheating. They’ve been stealing our intellectual property, our designs, our patents, our know-how, our brands; they’ve been hacking into our computers. That has got to stop. I will stop it if I’m President of the United States.” How? The only tactic you’ve proposed is branding China a currency manipulator. How do you respond to former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman’s concern that could trigger a trade war? What other mechanisms could you use? How would you respond to the well-founded concern that you are just engaging in empty campaign demagoguery?
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