Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
Watching the debate, it just underscores for me that Democrats are extremely out of touch regarding the solution to our problems.
Some examples:
PROBLEM: Healthcare is way more expensive per capita in the US than any other country in the word.
DEMOCRATS' SOLUTION: Raise taxes on a ton of people and corporations, and have the government foot the entire bill. Don't bother addressing costs. Assume that the removal of insurance companies will save a lot of money (even though it won't).
ACTUAL SOLUTION: Thoroughly investigate the reasons for the high costs, eliminate those factors, introduce free market competition, disincentivize waste. At the same time, make sure low and semi-low income Americans have continued access to healthcare.
PROBLEM: Black men are disproportionately in prison in the US.
DEMOCRATS' SOLUTION: Obviously this is due to systemic racism, and black people aren't committing crimes at a higher rate than other races. Put more restrictions on police and lighten sentencing, and basically assume that most cops are racist.
ACTUAL SOLUTION: Realize that, yes, black men are committing a lot more crime per capita than men of other races. Investigate the societal reasons for this, and attempt to tackle these problems. Get the bad apples out of low-income neighborhoods via longer sentences, while attempting to increase opportunities for everyone else there.
PROBLEM: The country needs immigration reform.
DEMOCRATS' SOLUTION: Immigration is great! After all, almost all of our families were immigrants at one time, lol! Therefore, let pretty much anyone in who claims "asylum", and don't deport people who are already here illegally.
ACTUAL SOLUTION: Reform legal immigration. Strengthen border to prevent illegal immigration, as this is unfair to everyone trying to come here legally and doing it the right way. Understand that, while Trump exaggerates the danger of illegal immigration, it is indeed a burden on our country and our society.
PROBLEM: College is too expensive, and students end up with a lot of debt which they struggle to pay during young adulthood.
DEMOCRATS' SOLUTION: Forgive all student debt. Screw everyone who was responsible and actually paid off their debt, even if they just paid it off very recently. Make all college free. Government foots bill. Raise taxes on "the wealthy" and corporations to cover the cost.
ACTUAL SOLUTION: Address the skyrocketing cost of attending college, which has increased at breakneck speed despite there being no good reason for it. College tuition is now about 9x what it was 30 years ago, despite inflation only being about 2x during that period. Force an audit on all public colleges which will address why inflation-adjusted college costs have gone up by almost 5x in 30 years.
Notice that most of these Democratic solutions are based upon the idea that some group of people are being victimized, and we need to base our laws upon addressing this supposed victimization. Then we're just supposed to open our pocketbooks to pay for these super-expensive solutions, and just keep raising them taxes on the rich if we need more money, right?
It's all nonsense. Healthcare needs cost reform. People who commit crimes should serve an appropriate prison sentence, regardless of the color of their skin or the racial makeup of the prison population. Illegal immigration is a problem and needs to be addressed with a fair and logical solution, not an emotional one. College tuition has escalated to ridiculous levels due to schools gouging students (and the state) because people keep paying for it, and nobody's stopping them.
Democrats tend to feel too much and think too little. Policy borne from emotion is rarely good policy. It's easy to say things like, "Everyone needs healthcare! The cops are racist! Everyone should be able to attend college without student debt!", until you stop and think about realistic solutions for these issues, and blindly throwing tax dollars at the problem is rarely the answer.