Neither a Democrat or a Republican president can do anything about universal healthcare or how to provide it without the assistance of Congress.

However there are many small steps that could be taken with simply a few nudges and comprimises and these steps could provide real healthcare cost relief as early as next April 14th. 2008.

No can can give an exact date as to when all of our forces move out of Iraq becasue there are too many variables involved. Only a complete fool would set a definite date. Sure questions need to be asked about iraq but it seems that the wrong questions are being asked. Where is the question: What conditions need to exist before we can begin a serious redeployment of our armed forces from Iraq? Not when, but what do we need to see happen?

No questions about our 10 trillion debt or how we might get out from under it. Very disappointing.

I wonder, could we have a debate that accepts the fact that sometimes we need to do a lot of the small things first before we try for the moon. And some times its best to load the bases before we swing for a home run.

We need to hear talk about some of the little things, things that will give us a better window into how these folks will operate once in. Its easy to say we want our troops out, it is easy to say we are going to fix health care. No one is seriously suggesting anything about the first steps they want to take or what could be done in the interim to provide relief for working Americans with no healthcare.

There is no money for universal health care in American but there is enough money for universal health care in Iraq.

There is no money for infrastructure upgrades in the US but there is plenty of money for infrastructure upgrades in Iraq.

There is no room to balance budgets in the US because tax cuts for the wealthy and well connected are more important.

The US cannot go after the those who attacked the US on 9/11 because it is more important to use our military to nation building in Iraq.

Fill in blanks.

wdp

wdp,

Yes these are problems we face. What i want to hear from our candidates are legitimate answers as to what type of steps they will take. Not a boilerplate answer about a finished product but how will they get there. No one from either party is giving these indications.

There are solid small steps that could be taken to help most problems and many of these could be taken immediately. Making healthcare costs immediatly fully tax deductable would help the working class Americans without insurance rightaway and it will cost nothing. I am not talking about insurance premiums becasue that would just be another insurance subsidy for the most powerful lobby in the country.

Small steps like these that should be easy to pass regardless who controls which branch of government will help this country. Bloviating over macro policy while ignoring all of the small stuff makes no sense. Despite the saying, sometimes one needs to sweat the small stuff.

. . . for reconstruction is stolen or wasted, I can't help but wonder what Iraq would look like if we did that properly. Would we need as many troops over there? Would the casualty and equipment loss rates be as high? How much money WOULD we be spending on Iraq now?

Remember, also, many of the companies that wasted that reconstruction money are American. Better keep them out of any public health care plan.

I agree that a tax deduction for insurance expense would be a step helps, same goes for letting small private business owners deduct the cost of insurance.

I think that the questions at start of this thread are very well thought out and constitutes what I would like to hear our news agency doing.

I think all that wasted money lost, stolen or just misused in Iraq really is the result of NO government oversight either because of incompetence or intentional lack of attention to the details. In my experience a whole lot of government spending is nothing other than corporate wealfare. Money spent to keep the businesses going, line the pockets of friends and to insure votes are cast to keep people in office. An alwful lot of it is spent with very little concern about the quality of what is returned for the money spent.

Thanks for your reply. While a tax deduction for insurance would help it would provide nothing for taxpayers who have no insurance costs to deduct.

It seems simple and logical to allow Americans to keep their doctor and pharmacutical bills and other verifiable expenses related to healthcare and simply let them deduct that amount on the line before tax is figured. No percentages of costs, just let them deduct their medical expenses, regardless which forms they use.