A QUESTION...

... for Governor Romney.  A Buddhist question, really.  What are your plans for addressing the needs of the poor, the sick, and the aged?  

It's a serious question.  I’m pretty much clear about the answer I’d get from Obama and the Democrats: it’s a civilized society’s responsibility to provide help for those unable to help themselves. They support long-standing programs like Social Security and Medicare, along with all those government programs that provide needed help for the disabled and the poor.  They believe that it’s the government’s responsibility to assure educational opportunity for all. 

With Romney and the Republicans, I remain bewildered.  I know that they oppose “big government” in virtually all its functions except the military.  I understand that they wish to make huge cuts in the programs that the poor, the sick, and the aged have come to rely on for their security and well-being.  But I have yet to hear from any of them any clear statement on how, having made their cuts, they plan to address those needs. 

The needs, we can be sure, will not simply go away.  People will continue to get sick and grow old.  People will continue to struggle with poverty.  So my question for Governor Romney is a genuine one: what are your plans for addressing the needs of the poor, the sick, and the aged?  And I want to hear specific answers, not generalities.  The poor, the sick and the aged cannot survive on generalities. 

I would love nothing better than to enter into serious dialogue with those who do not share my point of view—those who would call me “liberal” and consider themselves “conservative.”  And serious dialogue, as I understand it, means coming up with alternative proposals for the real problems that we face.  I am familiar with all the negative arguments.  I’d like to talk about positive solutions.