1. Health Care System - make it so that individual and employer provided insurance are treated equally under tax laws. Repeal the federal law that allows each state to regulate their health insurance markets so we can have intersate competition. Do away with mandates that force insurers to cover certain health conditions. Put caps on rewards damages and put in special health courts to get malpractice premiums down. Pass laws that encourage the creation of health savings accounts and high deductable policies.
2. Economy - Create two simple tax brackets - 10% and 25% and cut taxes. Cut the capital gains tax atleast by 5% (this should be a no brainer) or better yet do away with it. Cut the dividends tax more. Get rid of the estate tax. Cut the corporate tax rate down to atleast 25% (this should also be a no brainer). Provide tax subsidy incentives for people to buy existing houses. Provide tax subsidy incentives for people to buy new automobiles (not just freaky deaky fuel efficeint vehicles). Spend money on programs to repair roads, etc. Spend money to replace damaged weapons systems. A lot of aging beaurocrats will be retiring soon. Use the opportunity to get rid of those positions.
3. Afghanistan- McCain was also going to raise troop levels. Republicans arent criticising Afghanistan.
Republicans have never done a good job of articulating thier positions since Reagan. Part of the problem is that conservative principles are hard to articulate. They are boring: they dont work overnight. They just work. They certainly dont elicit the same exciting response as promises to offer healhtcare for free or for a discount. Also, conservative solutions go against the grain of the natural tendencies of man.
As I have said before, there are various reasons healthcare costs are going up. Some of them are natural. Some of them are unnatural. You have to get rid of the unnatural reasons and cope with the natural reasons and let them sort themselves out. Democrats want to preserve the unnatural reasons and try to fight the natural reasons. That is a recipe for disaster.
I think these are great ideas, but perhaps I wasn't clear in what I was saying. I just don't see the Republicans actually putting forth a serious effort to enact any of them. A major healthcare reform bill didn't come to light after 12 years of the Bushes for example.
Having great ideas is just step one. Actually making a concerted effort to enact and implement them is another. And until the Republicans actually look like they're trying, I just don't see them unseating Obama.
