The Déjà vu Debate
The 2020 Democratic candidates are starting to get a little repetitive.
Same old song
Candidates found themselves having the same debate, answering the same questions, and reiterating identical talking points about health care, gun violence, and higher education. While they get the overall problems in these areas correct — health care is unaffordable and higher education is out of reach for many — the solutions offered up are often grand, sweeping, and lacking in detail. Instead of talking about ideas that — whatever their merit — will likely never become legislation, candidates could better spend their time on stage discussing concrete, achievable policy solutions that are likely to pass through Congress and have an immediate impact on Americans.
Affording Healthcare
In nearly every debate, the discussion about how to bring down those overall health care costs has been dominated by just one idea: Medicare for All (or Medicare for All Who Want It). But there are other, more immediately attainable policy solutions to the affordability problem, and some of them are already working their way through Congress.
Gun Regulations
More than two-thirds of gun-related deaths in the U.S. are due to suicide. For nearly two decades, Congress has refused to properly fund research into gun violence policies.
Better Higher Education Outcomes
Higher education tended to get lumped into larger discussions of jobs and income inequality, but when it was mentioned, the focus was on free public college and the elimination of student debt. For most students, investing in higher education leads to better job opportunities and higher lifetime earnings. We need candidates to look beyond debt relief to the issues that are holding students back from reaching their full potential and, in some cases, leaving them with debt but no degree.
Trump
Since the last debate, House Democrats officially launched an impeachment inquiry against President Trump, which all the candidates on this stage support and it showed just as much as previous debates.
Brut.
Same old song
Candidates found themselves having the same debate, answering the same questions, and reiterating identical talking points about health care, gun violence, and higher education. While they get the overall problems in these areas correct — health care is unaffordable and higher education is out of reach for many — the solutions offered up are often grand, sweeping, and lacking in detail. Instead of talking about ideas that — whatever their merit — will likely never become legislation, candidates could better spend their time on stage discussing concrete, achievable policy solutions that are likely to pass through Congress and have an immediate impact on Americans.
Affording Healthcare
In nearly every debate, the discussion about how to bring down those overall health care costs has been dominated by just one idea: Medicare for All (or Medicare for All Who Want It). But there are other, more immediately attainable policy solutions to the affordability problem, and some of them are already working their way through Congress.
Gun Regulations
More than two-thirds of gun-related deaths in the U.S. are due to suicide. For nearly two decades, Congress has refused to properly fund research into gun violence policies.
Better Higher Education Outcomes
Higher education tended to get lumped into larger discussions of jobs and income inequality, but when it was mentioned, the focus was on free public college and the elimination of student debt. For most students, investing in higher education leads to better job opportunities and higher lifetime earnings. We need candidates to look beyond debt relief to the issues that are holding students back from reaching their full potential and, in some cases, leaving them with debt but no degree.
Trump
Since the last debate, House Democrats officially launched an impeachment inquiry against President Trump, which all the candidates on this stage support and it showed just as much as previous debates.
Brut.