We know how it works when election season comes around.
Candidates poll the masses to determine what message will get them elected and they hammer that message on every stump. If they happen to be presidential candidates, then they poll to find the message that will get them nominated, then adjust accordingly to win the general election.
Rs run to the right for the nomination and run to the center for the general. Vice versa for the Ds. Trump is an outlier, of course.
But it always seems that the things that really need to be talked about do not really get talked about. Here are four things that we should be talking about that we just won’t, and not all of these are political.
Obesity
It is harder for some than others to maintain weight. We don’t all have the same metabolism and there are other factors that come into play for some.
But this is the exception rather than the rule. Obesity is the health issue of our time. It isn’t Covid or health equity and it certainly isn’t climate change as many like to claim today.
Obesity has been tied to numerous life threatening and life altering health conditions such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes, even certain types of cancer. It costs billions and billions to treat.
We refuse to acknowledge this is, to a great extent, a product of choice. And I write this with a decided paunch of a belly. I am, however, 28 pounds down from where I was 6 years ago and still working on it.
We would probably be shocked to find out what would happen to America’s GDP if everyone all of a sudden was just 10 percent healthier.
National Debt/Budget Deficit
Our national debt is currently $33.5 trillion, which amounts to a burden of $258,000 for each American taxpayer.
In a desperate attempt to get elected, people promise what they need to promise. In a desperate attempt to get re-elected, people spread money far and wide. The Ds spread it to their base and the Rs to theirs.
At one time, there was a fairly sizeable number of Washington Rs and Ds who were fiscally conservative. Now there are almost none.
Ds blindly support spending increases for social projects even though they know there is tremendous bloat in the system because they don’t believe their constituents are smart enough understand that cutting in many areas will actually help the people who really need help.
Rs blindly support defense spending increases even though they know some projects are pointless and will never actually improve the common defense. Decisions are made to boost economies where installations are located whether it helps us defend the nation or not. Why? Because people in those towns vote.
We have a $23 trillion social security liability and a $36 trillion Medicare liability. We help make our own debt payments by buying our own debt in the form of bonds. We are afraid to talk about this because it doesn’t win over any special interest groups that want money.
Mentally Ill/Mental Health
Our streets are filled with people who are functionally unable to sustain themselves.
They are a drain on law enforcement resources. So many of them wind up in prison and that can’t be helpful for anyone. The ones that do not wind up in prison are sent back to the streets, and the cycle continues.
Two landmark cases in the 1970s emptied institutions around the country. On the surface, it seemed like a triumph for the mentally ill. I’m sure it was for many who could find support through family or other means. Others were sent to the streets with no way to hold a job.
We have no idea how to deal with this issue, which may be one of the reasons no one wants to talk about.
Andrew Yang, a 2021 New York City mayoral candidate, tried to talk about this issue but was roundly criticized. His solutions may not have been the best, but at least he wasn’t afraid to talk about it.
He lost the nomination to eventual mayor Eric Adams. And guess what? Adams received backlash earlier this year when he proposed giving police more power to involuntarily commit people experiencing a mental health crisis and increase capacity for longer hospitalization of mentally ill people deemed unable to take care of themselves.
So many mass shooters are obviously mentally ill and we can’t even come to an agreement about how to deal with mentally ill people and gun ownership. It’s not an easy conversation to have but our nation has figured out hard things for 250 years. It needs to be a front and center discussion until we make some progress.
Immigration
I know what you’re thinking. If I hear one more thing about the border I’m going to explode.
Agreed. We talk about the border way too much. It’s a symptom. The problem is our antiquated immigration policy.
Who gets in and how? Why? How many? For how long? How can the process be adjusted to fit this century?
The Rs talk tough about border security but refuse to go after businesses who pay illegals under the table and thus encourage illegal immigration. The Ds may finally be seeing the real fruit of their soft immigration policy now that illegals are being transported to progressive cities around the country.
We have to make a better path to citizenship for immigrants and we have to enforce laws against illegal immigration. That means stopping people at the border and sending them back, and forcing those already here to go through the legal process if they want to live here.
What else are we afraid to talk about? Feel free to leave a comment.
Thank thank you for this! Your comments on obesity are spot on. Our culture is embracing the big is beautiful… although every human being has beauty, we are promoting that being massively overweight is ok. It is not. It is a killer. And much of what we see in the grocery stores, the very food which has been deemed safe by our government, is not! Being healthy is my responsibility. Fresh is best! Politicians would be crucified if they talked about this.
Judicial reform in two parts: the right to a speedy trial and the bail system.
There should be no reason it takes multiple years for a trial to happen. We have too many procedural steps in place that allow for extended delays. That in and of itself is a miscarriage of justice for victims and the incarcerated.
On a semi-related note, the bail system needs some type of adjustment. If you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty but are under a hefty bond you can’t pay, it seems like you’re being punished already. Coupled with a long trial process, one can rack up tons of “jail credit” and be found innocent of charges.
I’m not saying we completely abolish the bail system — some accountability is needed — but we totally need to adjust something like the amounts.