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1. How should Illinois handle its pension crisis?
2. Would Congressional action to curtail the NSA’s spying activities harm American national security?
3. How should the FEC handle Bitcoin donations to political candidates?
4. If it provided workers with a “living wage,” what would happen to Wal-Mart’s business prospects?
5. Do state governments have a revenue problem or a size problem?
6. Should the U.S. abandon Afghanistan after 2014?
7. Will the Supreme Court find that the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that companies must provide contraceptives is unconstitutional?
8. Is it incorrect to assume that Latinos are a natural Democratic constituency?
9. Can new rules on the political activities of 501(c)(4) non-profits make American politics more transparent?
10. How should the United States respond to the contested Honduran presidential election?
Last week Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sparked a firestorm over the controversial Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which are aimed at raising education standards nationwide to meet college and career ready targets. Addressing criticism of the standards, Duncan argued that white, suburban mothers were angry because their children and schools were not as good as they felt they were. Forces that oppose Common Core standards immediately called for his resignation and he apologized for his comments several days later. The firestorm over Common Core standards is one of the most interesting domestic issues because it is one issue where far-left and far-right forces find areas of agreement.
Last Tuesday, voters in Virginia and New Jersey participated in off-year gubernatorial elections and voters in New York City elected a new mayor. All three campaigns were watched closely by the national media to provide information on 2016 presidential aspirations, the fallout over Obamacare’s technical glitches and broken promises, and to gauge the enthusiasm of voters for conservatism or liberal ideas. Off-year elections are typically under covered by the media, but this year was different because of Virginia’s emergence as a swing state in the last two presidential elections, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie positioning himself for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stepping down after three terms. Due to this importance, extempers can expect to see some questions about these races in the coming weeks.
On October 1st, the federal government launched healthcare.gov, which allowed for Americans in 36 states to find healthcare policies that were congruent with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. By March 31st, all Americans are required to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. Although conservatives challenged this individual mandate in court shortly after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in March 2010, the Supreme Court found it constitutional last summer as a tax. President Obama hoped that the national exchange would lead to millions of Americans signing up for health insurance and that it would generate good press for his landmark achievement. However, the website has been riddled with problems, ranging from individuals being unable to create accounts to access the exchange to time outs to slow browsing speed. States that are running their own exchanges, like Washington, Kentucky, and California have also experienced some technical difficulties. Conservative critics have seized on the problems of healthcare.gov to bolster their political fortunes after the government shutdown and if these problems are not fixed it could imperil the Affordable Care Act.
Last Thursday, President Barack Obama signed an agreement to end the first government shutdown in nearly twenty years. The shutdown, which lasted sixteen days, coincided with another debt ceiling crisis since the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority needed to be raised by October 17th. The threat of not raising the debt ceiling is what compelled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to craft a compromise piece of legislation that passed the Senate and House last week. However, their compromise creates the possibility of another government shutdown in January and another debt ceiling crisis in February.