Issues to consider in 2014

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you are recovering from last night's/this morning's celebrations.

Before you tune into the Rose Bowl, or whatever version of entertainment you seek today, please think about what issues you could take action on this year. A simple email or phone call to your politicians at all levels is enough, and much more than most do. Here are four of my favorite issues as well as some links to websites that I feel are helpful. I picked the top four because there are four quarters in a year. Maybe you can dedicate each quarter to a topic and be active in getting your politicians to address them in the way you want.

1. Campaign Finance Reform - Now, I typically fall into more libertarian schools of thought; however, it seems to be a no brainer, at least to me, that corporations are not people and that corporate influence on political legislation needs to be reigned in. Check out some of the following links from both sides of the aisle regarding this issue and make your own judgment call. Then take action.

https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/campaign-finance-reform

http://www.citizen.org/congress/campaign/index.cfm

http://www.policyalmanac.org/government/campaign_finance.shtml

http://media.aclj.org/pdf/040317_fed_campaign_finance.pdf'

2. Tax Reform - I personally believe there is only one solution for tax reform, "The FairTax," which I have posted a link for below. However, I will probably write an extensive analysis of this in the near future. For now, check out the following links and decide what you think. It's easy to say who should pay more or less taxes based on idealism, but it's not easy to understand the tax code and how it truly affects each individual person.

http://www.atr.org/

https://taxreform.gov/

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/taxreform/

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer

http://www.heritage.org/research/factsheets/2012/01/the-new-flat-tax-encourages-growth-and-job-creation

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/ProgressiveTaxes.html

***Note - The Flat Tax and the Fair Tax are two separate proposals which are commonly confused by talking heads and pundits who don't bother to actually read proposed tax reform legislation.

3. Foreign Policy (Wars, Intervention, Global Trade and Commerce, etc.) - Again, this isn't the blog entry where I try to sell you my own personal views. This is a call to action for you to read up on the issues and come up with some of your own ideas. One thing is for sure, Foreign policy absolutely affects you and I here at home. Check these links out and see where you stand.

http://www.cnas.org/

http://www.rand.org/topics/international-affairs.html

http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy

4. Entitlement Programs - No matter whether you think these things should be in existence or not, there is no denying that they need serious reform. Check out these position papers and analyses and determine your stance.

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/entitlementreform/default.aspx

http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/entitlements

http://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/cf/list/entitlement-reform

http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/entitlements/

There is much more out there on all these issues. And believe it or not, there are actually some good books on these issues that you could read in a few hours on a flight or train ride. Again, this entry was not to try to steer anybody in any certain direction, but just to open your eyes and minds to the issues.

Until next time, take care and keep on keepin' on!

Happy New Year,
Chris Bentley