Voices Question

I would like to ask Republicans if austerity is the best way for this country to get back on track. If so, what does it mean for the wealthy in this country? Does this mean they don't get their Bush Tax cuts anymore, or do they mean austerity for the people who are struggling to make ends meet? We can't have it both ways folks. If we are going to be strict about how we spend our tax dollars, shouldn't austerity be done across the board? I consider myself an independent in most elections, but I question Republican motives and am looking at voting for Democrats this election year. I think they connect better with my needs.

What actual programs and services are you going to provide children, families, and schools besides lip service to so called family values?

When are people going to stop blaming teachers for all the problems in the public school system, and start giving some accountability to the parents? We are not in it for the money! Our school budget was cut again this year. I have spent over $300 just to give "rewards" to my two classes. That does not cover the other hundreds of dollars for buying my own boxes of paper, etc. It's time to get lawmakers and politicians into the classrooms for a week - see how they survive.

When did you last spend any length of time in an economically depressed school observing and talking with teachers, administrators, or students? This does not include just a political stop over for public relations purposes.

Why do you consider money spent on the public sector in the form of services provided to the public as well as the salaries and benefits of public employees a "drain on the economy" while money paid to private corporations in the form of no-bid contracts, unregulated prices and tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals merely the "cost of doing business." Should not tax breaks to so-called "job creators" actually go to those who are actually creating the jobs here?

How do you think you can build a stronger America, with a top rated educational system, first-rate security at home, a modern infrastructure, and adequate health care available to all by cutting expenses and refusing to raise taxes?

How would you induce the best minds to become teachers? And how would you provide the resources to meet individual needs? Both are essential if America is to remain preeminent!

I would ask this question: When was the last time you spent two plus hours in a public school? The reason: I get so tired of the Republican candidates bashing what goes on in public schools. I'd like them to visit a few before they speak -- the same with Dem candidates. This rhetoric about you can't pray in school, what happened to the pledge, etc. It's all bogus, and the general public believes it!

After all of the research shows how important the first three years of life are....why have we not placed early childhood education under the umbrella of public education. Teachers in this field should have degrees and should have access to the status, benefits and salaries the same as teachers in the higher grades. Children would benefit from this kind of reform in our education system. We understand the research but we don't value our children enough to make a change. What would you do to change this?

How can you ensure that students in low income communities will get the same fair and equitable education as those in more affluent communities?

I am extremely concerned about the equitable distribution of wealth and a fair health care system. The middle class and the poor continue to fade away from their possiblity to acheive the American Dream. What will you do if elected President, to improve the distribution of wealth and improve the delivery of health care ?

If you were successful in repealing the Health Care reform Act, how would you address the need for healthcare for citizens who do not have employer-provided healthcare?

If the Office of President of the United States had a salary of $30,000, no health benefits, no expense accounts (travel, gas, food), no maid or secret service, no paid housing, no savings-stocks-401k etc, no help from rich friends/family, no money for childcare or to further your education because you "earn too much" but were required to get your Master's Degree to keep the job and all of your friends/business friends were in the same boat or worse, would you still want the job and why? "A Teacher's Life.

When religion dictates government policy, this is no longer the United States of America. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Why do you disagree with the global warming crisis that has been proven by scientific evidence?

How will you guarantee student success in higer education when over 650,000 adjunct professors do not have the facilities or support to even meet with their students and many can not serve as role models since they do not earn enough money to properly support their own families?

What will you do to embrace the diversity represented in this great country? How will you encourage the acceptance and incorporation of all American citizens, especially those who are different from you and or have different cultures, traditions and/or beliefs than you do?

How do you reconcile your Christian faith, in which Jesus speaks repeatedly about helping the poor and disenfranchised, with your stance on anti-welfare and anti-immigration? It seems somewhat hypocritical to other Christians.

Are you aware that it is 2012? Many of your comments and positions appear to relate more to bygone eras, such as the 1950s or the 17th century. Women are equal under the law, we are in the workforce in large numbers, and we vote. Further, much research has shown that the two single greatest factors related to the well-being of citizens of a country, and to a nation's solid economy, are educational attainment, and bonafide democratic processes. You seem to be against the bedrock of our society.

How can you say that you are for the working man, when you advocate getting rid of unions and any kind of strong voice for the worker? Are we supposed to TRUST that big business and management will treat us fairly? If your answer is the trickle down theory, that isn't working so well.

How can you continue to support tax cuts for the wealthy as a means of addressing the unemployment crisis when decades of this policy have not proven this to be true?

What role do you think the federal government should have in public school education?

It would not be a question, it would be a request that these people take a week out of their "high paying positions with a nice warm home and plenty of food as well as medicine and care for a needy family member" and live in the life of an average working person. Take away the perks and money that they are accustomed and try to live on a salary that you have to make a choice as to supply shelter and food to your family or supply needed medical supplies and care to a sick family member or pay a car payment so you can continue to get to work verses paying for food and shelter and medical care. Then report the truth of average american family.

You profess to be Christians, yet your campaigns are directly opposed to the message of Christ. You show great disdain for the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. If you were President, how would you address the needs of the sick, the poor, the needy and especially children? How would you stop serving wealth and serve God instead? Be specific please.

Why do you feel you must impose your own religious beliefs upon all others, including reducing a woman's freedom of bodily autonomy-- though keeping men's freedom of bodily autonomy-- especially when your religious beliefs are proven not those of the majority of American citizens?