Viable Centrist Third Option in 2008

[ElectionAtlas]

Welcom Wyatt!
Here are some questions:

- how would you address the issue of earmarks?  Today, congress is able to pass funding for projects in home districts with apparent impunity... borrowing ever more money from abroad to funnel to spend on projects that may not have great value.

- with regard to budgetary issues, if we paredo (corporate term) the items, Social Security, Medicare, and Military are the top three - can you be more specific with regard to "re-evaluate" medicare?  How do you approach the coming fiscal tidal wave of benefits recipients for medicare and social security?  What is you position with regard to military spending? 

- do you have an opinion with regard to linking any new programs with revenue sources to pay for the programs?

- in 1992, one of the issues which I liked about the Perot platform was the 50 cent per gallon gasoline tax - his motivation was to use the tax as a method for paying down debt - and having a multiplier to also reduce interest payments.   However, this tax would have created a secondary benefit - reducing demand (consumption) of gasoline in the US, therfore reducing the trade deficit, reducing the dependence of the US on foreign oil, and the power of nations that have oil (and particularly those that are not friendly to the US).  I belive that there is also solid economic arguments that gasoline is still far too cheap relative to the external costs associated with consumption (i.e. those costs incurred by parties not involved in the transaction - such as the cost of defense of the Persion Gulf, cost of respiratory ailments due to smog created by exhaust, present-discounted value cost to future generations not able to access the resource, the potential cost - call it probabalistic cost - of world-wide climate change, etc.).  Ok, after that long-winded introduction, where do you stand on the issue/s?

- I tend to agree with Preston with regard to Nasa - economic multipliers can be enormous with funding of scientific research and development.  Although there are many examples, the Nasa Apollo program provided the funding for the integrated circuit development, and in conjunction with the Minuteman missle project, reduced the IC production cost by 97.5% between 1960 and 1963 - sparking the revolution of electronics we enjoy today.  Although there may be more cost-effective ways of funding such projects - a good example is the recent DARPA Grand Challenge race of autonomous vehicles.

- what do you consider the nations top three priorities?

Many thanks,
Dave