I have questions
Lead Summary
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By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
As we get ready to vote in a couple of weeks, I have some questions. Maybe you do, too.
Elections have consequences beyond how much money they put in or take out of your pocket. Maybe it is a year to be magnanimous or altruistic and look out for the country, not just us. I urge you to vote for people that can help you answer these questions in a way that is satisfactory to you.
Some of them will take some deep thinking to determine their link to the candidates, but I assure you they all do have that link.
• Why did Dr. Fauci first deny that COVID-19 could have come from a Chinese lab and is now saying perhaps it did?
• Why does the FBI seem to be concentrating on conservative politicians these days? Have they caught all the regular criminals?
• Speaking of criminals, what is the cause of the rise in crime, violent and non-violent?
• How did gender identity become such a big issue? Who is behind pushing this as a major national issue?
• What caused the national debt to balloon in the last 20 years?
• Why choose college students for a bailout? Why not car buyers or house buyers? What is the difference?
• At one time not so long ago, universities were the bastion of free speech. What happened?
• Evolutionists say we have been here for millions of years. Why did the invention of the thermometer cause us to become alarmed about the temperature of the earth?
• Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?
• How do we resolve the conflicting viewpoints of city dwellers vs. rural dwellers?
• Is city life superior to farm life?
• Do people have too much idle time?
• Should politicians be paid lots of money so they won’t accept graft, or should they work for nothing and be true servants of the people?
• Should Congress persons have term limits?
• Should donors to a particular congressional race be confined to people who live in that district?
• Should all political campaigns be paid for from some government political pot so that all candidates receive the same support for their race?
• Should governments have anything to do with energy policy (incentives, disincentives, regulation)?
• What should be the role of government in welfare support for the impoverished?
• Likewise, what should be the role of government in retirement programs, including Social Security?
• Should felons be allowed to vote?
• Should those who pay no income tax be allowed to vote?
• At one time, government employees, including school teachers, were not allowed to belong to unions, for it was seen as a conflict of interest. What changed?
• Bill Gates now owns more farmland than anyone else in the country – over 1% of the total. Should farm owners be required to be active managers in the farmland they own?
• At least one of the major agricultural equipment companies does not sell the software that controls the equipment they sell. You can buy the physical equipment, but you can’t buy the “key” (the software) that makes it run, you can only license it. Should this be allowed?
• Why are people so shrill when you disagree with them?
We won’t solve any of these questions in time for the upcoming election. However, if we think deeply about them (see last week’s column), we may start to make some wiser choices in the voting booth and move the needle a bit toward a saner future.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.
HCP columnist
As we get ready to vote in a couple of weeks, I have some questions. Maybe you do, too.
Elections have consequences beyond how much money they put in or take out of your pocket. Maybe it is a year to be magnanimous or altruistic and look out for the country, not just us. I urge you to vote for people that can help you answer these questions in a way that is satisfactory to you.
Some of them will take some deep thinking to determine their link to the candidates, but I assure you they all do have that link.
• Why did Dr. Fauci first deny that COVID-19 could have come from a Chinese lab and is now saying perhaps it did?
• Why does the FBI seem to be concentrating on conservative politicians these days? Have they caught all the regular criminals?
• Speaking of criminals, what is the cause of the rise in crime, violent and non-violent?
• How did gender identity become such a big issue? Who is behind pushing this as a major national issue?
• What caused the national debt to balloon in the last 20 years?
• Why choose college students for a bailout? Why not car buyers or house buyers? What is the difference?
• At one time not so long ago, universities were the bastion of free speech. What happened?
• Evolutionists say we have been here for millions of years. Why did the invention of the thermometer cause us to become alarmed about the temperature of the earth?
• Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?
• How do we resolve the conflicting viewpoints of city dwellers vs. rural dwellers?
• Is city life superior to farm life?
• Do people have too much idle time?
• Should politicians be paid lots of money so they won’t accept graft, or should they work for nothing and be true servants of the people?
• Should Congress persons have term limits?
• Should donors to a particular congressional race be confined to people who live in that district?
• Should all political campaigns be paid for from some government political pot so that all candidates receive the same support for their race?
• Should governments have anything to do with energy policy (incentives, disincentives, regulation)?
• What should be the role of government in welfare support for the impoverished?
• Likewise, what should be the role of government in retirement programs, including Social Security?
• Should felons be allowed to vote?
• Should those who pay no income tax be allowed to vote?
• At one time, government employees, including school teachers, were not allowed to belong to unions, for it was seen as a conflict of interest. What changed?
• Bill Gates now owns more farmland than anyone else in the country – over 1% of the total. Should farm owners be required to be active managers in the farmland they own?
• At least one of the major agricultural equipment companies does not sell the software that controls the equipment they sell. You can buy the physical equipment, but you can’t buy the “key” (the software) that makes it run, you can only license it. Should this be allowed?
• Why are people so shrill when you disagree with them?
We won’t solve any of these questions in time for the upcoming election. However, if we think deeply about them (see last week’s column), we may start to make some wiser choices in the voting booth and move the needle a bit toward a saner future.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.