Politics
and the Family
The Top Ten Family Issues
In the earlier two columns in this series, the case was made for the family as
the basic unit of society and some "hard questions" were suggested
that ought to be asked of politicians regarding how they would serve and prioritize
the family. This third column will attempt to expand our understanding
of which issues affect families most and suggest some positive and family-prioritizing
directions (some of which are fairly radical) that public policy should take. To
give it a little "late night TV feeling" lets call it the "Top
Ten List":
- Issues of
Morality and Values. Despite the old cliché that you can't
legislate morality, there are common values that are shared by
all sectors of our society and our demographics, and if government
works to enhance and promote these positive character traits
and family-centered priorities, we will end up saving some of
the public money that goes to welfare, disabilities, safety,
and crime. For starters we should have a required class on ethics
for seventh graders and on family skills and responsibilities
for high school juniors. And we should even consider reinstating
Sunday closing laws which encouraged family time and communication
on that day.
- Jobs and
Economic Development. It's the quality of jobs that matters
to families, not the quantity. Economic growth, if it comes in
the form of more low-paying jobs, will hurt our lifestyles, our
environment, and our families. What we need are jobs that pay
enough that one of them can support a family. And we need enlightened
employers who know that parents (especially single parents and
situations where both parents work) need options like flex time
and home offices and job-sharing and generous maternity or paternity
leave.
- Health Care.
The current chaos is killing families. Health insurance, as it
exists is not really insurance at all but a system for paying exorbitant
amounts in advance for health care. We need to make health care
a market system with caps on damages, written cost estimates, alternative
posted lower "price lists for patients who will sign hold
harmless agreements," and high deductible insurance plans
that allow people to pay their own bills except in catastrophic
situations.
- Taxation
Shifts. A system oriented to more taxes on consumption and
less taxes on income or on property encourages saving, investment,
and delayed gratification, the very things that stabilize families.
We should decrease state income taxes (especially for families
through a much higher child exemption) and property taxes and
make up the revenue by raising sales taxes on everything except
food.
- Educational
Choice. Studies show that the single most influential factor
in the quality of a child's education is the interest and involvement
of the parent. We should put parents in charge by making them
the consumers in a "free market" school system. We
need school choice, tuition tax credits, many more Charter schools,
alternative certification for specialized potential teachers,
and education vouchers for all parents. In some places,
it may even be possible to use neighborhood church buildings
as charter or private schools to remove the pressure to build
expensive new schools as child populations grow.
- Service and
Humanitarian Outreach. While it's not usually thought of
as a political issue, connecting the Third World with the First
World may be the key to saving both worlds. We live in what is
fast becoming a global economy and a global society, yet the
rich continue to get richer as the poor get poorer. Third World
families worry about hunger, thirst, disease, and no opportunity
for their children. First World parents worry about materialism,
substance abuse, eating disorders, instant gratification and
lack of perspective in their children. Both sides' problems are
solved by bringing them together. We need more Sister Cities
Projects with places in the developing world, with school-to-school
exchanges and stewardships and with state supported humanitarian
expeditions. (Out of this orientation would come a more charitable
and volunteer-oriented attitude to the poverty problems within
our own communities). Government could even promote and sponsor
a televised "Time Telethon" where service and volunteer
hours and commitments were raised to help deal with social problems
that are too expensive for public budgets. A "National Service
Corps" could be established with the same objective.
- Political
and Campaign Reform. If we want our children to avoid becoming
disillusioned and alienated by politics as usual, we must begin
to enact reforms that get us away from money and special-interest
politics. Stronger disclosure laws, contribution limits, and
campaign spending limits are the first step. And we should persuade
local TV channels to give every finalist candidate in primary
and general elections for major offices a full half hour of air
time following the late news in the ten days before the vote.
- Environment
and Transportation. The environment, including everything
from our scenery to our air and water is a great family asset
as well as a great tourism and economic asset. And the ability
of families to get from place to place and to have access to
this nation's abundant natural beauties is an important issue.
We need to balance environmentalism and economic progress, to
have a "market approach" to air pollution in which
polluters pay for their sins, to get high-emission cars off the
road, and to get parents home to their kids a little earlier
by instigating one-way systems, more H.O.V. lanes, and timed
lights in center cities.
- Family Focused
Use of Bully Pulpit. Perhaps the least specific but ultimately
most effective issue is the need for more public dialogue and
political rhetoric to center on the priority and strengthening
of families. After all, family breakup and disintegration is
a major reason for increasing government spending and for economic
cycles of recession. To spearhead more public dialogue about
the status and plight of American families, a cabinet level "coordinator
of family emphasis" should be appointed.
- "Clout" and
Political Influence. Families have no attention-demanding
political clout because children can't vote and parents, despite
the huge responsibility they bear in raising society's new generation,
have only one vote like anyone else. Why not make families the
most pandered-to special interest of all by giving parents an
additional vote for each under-voting age child.
Lets hope, in this
upcoming political season, that we can get politicians talking more
about family- oriented and parent supportive solutions to these and
other issues. You can do your part by emailing this column
(or parts of it) to candidates for office and by suggesting to other
parents that they do the same. Why shouldn't parents become
the strongest special interest of all? They could save this
country by doing so!
Tune in next column for an in depth look at a devious and dastardly plan to
destroy families and some suggestions about what we can do to thwart it