Presidential Debate By T.S. Khanna, September 27, 2016

-->

Foundation For Better Government,

Presidential Debate

By T.S. Khanna, September 27, 2016.

A great majority of Americans look forward to presidential debates but do not feel satisfied after watching them.  Their expectations are higher than the present format of debates is designed to offer.  The presidential debate last night (September 26,2016) was no exception.

While the hardened partisan voters see the debate in win/lose terms, non-partisan voters look for more substantive information re the national issues and alternative methods and the candidate’s smarts for dealing with them.

To draw more out of the presidential debates, some suggestions are offered:

·      The journalist moderator(s) may be replaced by two past presidents, Republican/Democrat, as presiding officers to ask the candidates questions;

·      The candidates may be provided comfortable seats, not made to stand in discomfort;

·      Each debate may cover a set of selected subjects (economy, security, foreign policy, et el) and may be designed to last about an hour;

·      Each candidate may make opening remarks re his/her perception and position on the subjects for discussion;

·      The two presiding officers may then alternate in asking questions and each candidate may respond by turn;

·      Candidates may also be given a chance to ask each other questions;

·      At the end, each candidate may make closing remarks.

Commendable Job by the FBI & the Local Police By T.S. Khanna

-->

Foundation For Better Government,

Commendable Job by the FBI and the Local Police

By T.S. Khanna, September 19, 2016.

After the Chechen Boston Bombers, this is yet another occasion to salute the FBI and the local police departments for finding and arresting the Afghani terrorist within 48 hours in the New York-New Jersey area.  Entire nation is grateful to them.

Thanks to the Founders, Americans have a unique inheritance of the culture offreedom, equality, and innovation in this vast land of opportunity.  In the past, each wave of immigrants came with an ambitious and constructive energy to seek a better quality of life and build a better future for them.  In that effort, they kept building a better America.  Immigrants were welcomed with open arms.

Now the circumstances have changed but the government policies and programs are lagging.  In the recent past, some potential terrorists have immigrated due to insufficient preventive measures.  There is an urgent need to critically review and amend the immigration policies and programs.  Until the job is complete, all immigration may be stopped.

Constitutional right to peaceful protest may be protected but violent protests causing injury, death, or property damage should be classified as acts of terrorism, not protected by civil rights.  Exemplary punishment for terrorism may be awarded by summary trial.

Quite often, democratic ideals are used as arguments for the status quo in the government policies.  We can no longer continue to consult our ideals and ignore our experience with them.  If we stumble or falter, we run the risk of losing the great inheritance of the civilization of freedom and democracy.

USA: Wrong Direction? By T.S. Khanna

Foundation for Better Government

USA: Wrong Direction?

By T.S. Khanna, September 16, 2016

We keep hearing that 47% of households pay no income tax and food stamp recipients are all time high, 45 million people.  National debt is piling up.  People sense and say that the country is going in the wrong direction.

Let’s take a look: two points seem to stand out:

In 1776, American revolutionists boldly proclaimed the heresy against the then government in power: “Taxation without representation is a tyranny, no taxation without representation.”  Ever since, all taxpayers have had their representation in the US government.

It may not be politically correct to say that the proclamation is also equally true in reverse order and in ascending/descending order.  Those who do not pay any tax must not have any representation; those who pay more tax may have greater representation than those who pay less.

It is also a tyranny when those who do not pay any tax may the power to decide for higher taxes on those who pay.  This is the wrong direction.

Second, for a government to flourish, it must financially depend on its people.  When people start depending on government, it is the wrong direction.  Government must act as facilitator, not as provider.  While charity and help for the helpless is an important humanitarian function, it belongs to the religious institutions, not to the government.  Government may encourage religious institutions to perform this function without taking over.