Bob Giaquinta for Congress

Issues

I must preface this section by listing the four most important issues that must be confronted immediately, then list other issues alphabetically. This list will probably be expanded over time as I speak to you and find out what is important to you.

The Iraq War

As most of you know, we were duped into this war. It has cost us a trillion dollars, over 4,000 American soldiers dead, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead and millions displaced, and 30,000 injured Americans. It is both moral and economic stupidity. It is no longer a war but an occupation. You can't win an occupation, you stay and suffer the consequences, or leave. We must leave as soon as is feasibly possible. For an in depth discussion go to Our Mismanaged War in Iraq essay.

The Environment

Hopefully it is not too late to get started, but global warming can alter the future of our planet, as we know it. Mother nature is the most powerful force that we know, and our aiding of global warming must be addressed now. For an in depth discussion go to The Environment essay.

Civil Rights

The Constitution and Bill of Rights have been assaulted in the past seven years. Both the personal rights and governmental balance of power are being eroded. Executive power is becoming so strong that it is endangering our constitution. For an in depth discussion go to Democracy? essay.

Social Security and Medicare

These two entitlements expenditures are about one third of federal spending. No one wants to talk about this subject, especially politicians, but it must be addressed now, or these systems may totally collapse. For an in depth discussion go to Social Security and Medicare essay.

Abortion

This is a very perplexing issue. However, I don't believe a Congressman is going to have a say in the outcome. The Supreme Court will decide this issue. If they overturn Roe vs. Wade the decisions will probably be turned over to the individual states. Personally, if a member of my family, or a friend had a choice to be made, I would try to dissuade them from performing an abortion, however I probably lean to individual's rights. One of the problems is that if a woman really wants an abortion, she will usually succeed in her attempt. If she has to go underground, if abortion is declared illegal, her life may be in greater jeopardy due to improper treatment. The whole situation can be avoided with proper education and the use of contraceptive devices that will eliminate unwanted pregnancies. Then the questions arise; what about rape victims, or deformed babies with no chance of survival, or when a mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy? A tough question.

Gay Rights

It matters how a person or society makes war, and kills, not how a person loves and makes love. Homosexuality has been around since history has been recorded, and was accepted in many societies in the past. It is a biological fate not a choice. Everyone is entitled to the same rights, no matter sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, and so forth.

Economics

Military spending has been the greatest expense of our government, except for Social Security (in the last few years), for the past sixty years. Why do we need; 700 bases in foreign countries, subsidy for the military-industrial complex, 30,000 nuclear warheads. All of this must be reduced while we protect ourselves. Why is the taxpayer's money spent on bailing out major corporations? Why are there farm and energy subsidies? Why are wealthy Americans taxed at a lower rate? That's right, so that politicians can support their next campaign. We must make the government more efficient for our commonwealth and get a faire tax system. For an in depth discussion go to Welfare State vs. Warfare State essay.

Energy

We are addicted to the oil-coal-natural gas triad of polluting energy sources. We must go to alternate sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, etc. Some of these sources can be added to our individual dwellings, getting us off the grid. If any governmental subsidies are given, they should be directed towards these sources, not to the Oil-Coal-Gas triad. Ethanol use is a farce, read the section in The Environment essay.

Health Care

The US spends about 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. The Federal Government's budget pays 12.4% on Medicare, and 6.8% on Medicaid, that's almost one fifth of the federal budget! Add to this that the individual states match the Medicaid amount. Almost 50 million people have no health insurance at all, and that the costs are increasing more than any other, except maybe gasoline prices.

Other developed countries serve the needs of their citizens health care with 6-8% of GDP, with far better results, the US is ranked 37th in the world as to the quality and fairness of the health care system. I would love to have this situation rectified, but we must concentrate on the other four major problems first. This issue is probably next in my list of priorities, and probably will be a part of the Medicare problem. I am in the midst of writing an essay addressing this problem, it will be up soon at Health Care.

Immigration

This emotional and economic problem should be able to be worked out in the near future. Go to Immigration essay.

Voting

We can't take it for granted that when we do vote, that it is totally above board. Some of the problems are; In 2000, in Florida, the hanging chads probably determined the presidential winner. In 2004, in Ohio, the long lines in certain areas, breakdown of machines, not enough machines, etc. probably determined the presidential winner. The use of computer voting machines with no paper trails, and only the companies that make the machines have access to the machines, are a potential problem. Add to this the possibilities of hacking and preset choices and it causes doubts. Now the Supreme Court says that picture ID's can be legally enforced by states, eliminating a great number of the elderly, and poor from voting. The amount of citizens eliminated by this ruling is exponentially larger than the possibilities of voter fraud. What is wrong with paper ballots, stuffed in a box, with transparent counting? Why must we immediately know the outcome? I would rather pay individuals to count the votes, than pay millions to buy computer voting machines. We waited weeks for the outcome of the 2000 election, and made some bad decisions, but the transference of the administration was not a problem.

The Economy

Read essay on The Economy.

Oil and Offshore Drilling

The current offshore drilling debate often misses the point. He is my take on the issue. Offshore Drilling Essay.

Ask the Major Parties

This section contains a list of questions that you might want to ask your Republican and Democratic Leaders. Ask the Major Parties.

Other topics that will be added soon:

Military Spending
Spending
Taxes