Save fuel by working less?
A woman holds a sign during a protest against high fuel price with other truck drivers April 28, 2008 in Washington, DC. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
44% of Americans in a recent survey said paying for gasoline was a serious problem for them. Gasoline costs were the most frequently cited economic concern across all income levels. 25% of people who make more than $75,000 per year said it's a serious problem while a whopping 63% of folks who earn less than $30,000 feel that way.
The cost of gasoline far outranks the number two economic concern, getting a good paying job or a raise at 29% and paying for healthcare and health insurance at 28%. The survey was conducted on behalf of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
And all indications are it's going to get worse before it gets better. As gasoline shoots past $4 per gallon in some parts of the country, the president of OPEC is predicting crude oil prices could hit $200 per barrel. A year ago average gas prices were less than $3 per gallon according to AAA.
One idea being tossed around as a way of dealing with this is the four-day workweek. Several states are considering it. Staggered work schedules would be necessary in order to keep government offices open five days a week, and some have suggested that would end up costing the taxpayers more money. It's also an idea that may gain traction in the private sector. I, for one, think it's a terrific idea.
Here’s my question to you: Would shifting to a four-day workweek be a good way to save fuel?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Are you optimistic about the future of healthcare?
Nisha Rajan, cringes slightly while Kyle Holloway, a University of New Mexico pharmacy student, gives her a flu shot in Santa Fe, N.M. Click the Play Button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say. (PHOTO CREDIT: AP)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It's no secret that the health care system in this country is a mess. Right now, there are almost 50 million people who have no health insurance at all and the costs of health care keep rising. A new study out this week even showed that 7% of Americans were willing to get married just so they could get their spouse's health care benefits.
Now, on the campaign trail, each of the three presidential candidates is telling us that his or her plan offers the best solution to the problem.
Both Democratic candidates want to move toward universal health care coverage. Hillary Clinton, who tried to tackle health care in 1992 and failed, is proposing an individual mandate requiring all Americans to sign up for health insurance. Obama doesn't go quite that far, but his plan requires coverage for all children. Both Democrats' plans build on the current employer-based system and impose new regulations on insurers. The Republican, John McCain, says these ideas are "inefficient" and "irrational." He is opposed to mandates and direct regulation. Instead, he favors using tax credits to draw workers away from company health plans. He says that would allow people to find cheaper insurance on their own, more tailored to their individual needs. This proposal was similar to one proposed by President Bush last year which flopped in Congress, failing to get even a committee hearing.
One other item not being talked about by any of the candidates is this: The current government health care plan, Medicare, represents tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liability.
Here’s my question to you: How optimistic are you about the future of our health care system?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Has Rev. Wright swayed the superdelegates?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Ever since Super Tuesday, Barack Obama has been outscoring Hillary Clinton big time when it comes to picking up support from the superdelegates. The Wall Street Journal suggests he's close to taking the lead, and that if he doesn't stumble badly in Indiana or North Carolina next week enough of them will break his way after June third to give him the nomination.
Seems simple enough. He leads in pledged delegates and she can't catch him there. He's won more states, has more popular votes, is a much better fund-raiser - very important consideration - and has shown he can appeal to Independents and Republicans. Piece of cake. Just run out the clock and get ready for McCain.
Yesterday on this program former President Carter, who is a superdelegate, was asked if he would support the candidate he voted for in the Georgia primary. His answer was, "Yes, unless I change my mind."
And therein lies the problem for Barack Obama. Superdelegates are free to change their minds. And thanks to the angry tirades of a bitter old man who seems less like a pastor and more like a racist with each passing day, Obama could have a serious problem.
Here’s my question to you: Will Rev. Jeremiah Wright cause Democratic superdelegates to rethink their support of Barack Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How can Obama recapture his momentum?
Sen. Barack Obama greets supporters during a campaign event in Reading. Pennsylvania. (PHOTO CREDIT: AP)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Exactly one week from today and again the nomination will pretty much be sitting there for Barack Obama's taking. Win Indiana and win North Carolina by an even bigger margin and the remaining undecided superdelegates will likely start breaking his way in big enough numbers to mark an end to this marathon. But if he loses Indiana to Hillary Clinton, questions about Obama's electability will linger.
He's got to find a way to do better in Indiana than he did in Pennsylvania among blue collar voters. The superdelegates want to see that he is not out of touch with a big piece of the democratic base. Pennsylvania hurt Obama, Clinton painted him as an elitist. And his words about people being bitter stuck to him and pulled him down.
Some people inside Obama's campaign told the New York Times he is bored with these primaries and is anxious to move on to the general election campaign against John McCain. But Indiana looms large. He can't afford another Pennsylvania.
Here’s my question to you: With one week until Indiana and North Carolina, what does Barack Obama have to do to recapture his momentum?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Will the stimulus checks stimulate the economy?
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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The federal government began sending out checks to taxpayers this week as part of its economic stimulus plan.
130 million payments totaling more than $110 billion will eventually be made to citizens who filed a tax return for 2007. The minimum amount is $300 with $600 going to single taxpayers who earned less than $75,000 and $1,200 going to couples who earned less than $150,000. Uncle Sam will also pay $300 for each child under the age of 17.
The idea is to give our sagging economy a shot in the arm. Officials hope people will spend the check as opposed to using the money to pay down debt or simply saving it. But surveys indicate most folks will send it to the credit card companies, put it in their gas tanks, or stick it in the bank.
Retailers smell all this money and are already announcing promotions designed to get you to come to them so they can empty your pockets of all this additional dough.
But at the end of the day how much impact this will have on an economy that is likely already in recession is questionable.
It's important to remember this is an election year, and this was one of the very few items both parties could agree on in Washington all year long. The politicians figure tossing bread crumbs to the masses creates the impression they care what happens to any of us. I seriously doubt it.
Here’s my question to you: How much of a difference will the stimulus checks make to our economy?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How much has Rev.Wright hurt Obama's campaign?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It seems like Reverend Jeremiah Wright is going out of his way to make sure the United States does not elect its first African American president. Which is strange in light of all the complaints Rev. Wright has about the way white people have done things in this country.
Just as the controversy over Wright was dying down, he showed up at the National Press Club in Washington yesterday with a can of gasoline and got the fire going again.
Among other things he praised Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam who also reportedly provided Wright's security. He accused the United States of terrorism, said the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, and defended the view that Zionism is racism.
And this is from someone who is supposed to be Obama's friend. Hillary Clinton should send him flowers. He may have done more damage to Obama's chances in an hour yesterday morning than she has been able to do in 15 months of campaigning.
And it leaves Barack Obama in a very awkward position. What's he supposed to do now? The first time around he rejected Wright's comments without throwing the man under the bus. He can't afford to be that generous this time.
Here’s my question to you: How much damage has Reverend Wright done to Barack Obama's chances of becoming President of the United States?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Major Clinton fund-raiser defects to Obama
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
They're called "Hillraisers"...the people who raise the big bucks for Hillary Clinton's campaign. And based on recurring reports of money problems–unpaid bills, personal loans from the candidate, etc.–she can ill afford to lose any of them.
But NBC news was the first to report that Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon who has raised an estimated $500,000 for Senator Clinton is leaving to join Barack Obama's campaign as a member of his national finance committee. A formal announcement is expected this week. Guerra-Mondragon has reportedly become concerned about the increasingly negative tone of Clinton's campaign.
He is a former ambassador to Chile who was appointed by President Clinton in 1994 and joins a growing list of Clinton people who don't like what they see in Hillary's campaign. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former labor secretary Robert Reich both are supporting Obama.
It's interesting to note that no one is leaving Obama's campaign to join Clinton.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean if one of Hillary Clinton's major fund-raisers is leaving to join Barack Obama's campaign?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Would you vote for McCain if he promised to serve only one term?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
When it comes to John McCain, his age is an issue with some people. The senator from Arizona is 71 years old. If he is elected President of the United States he would be 72 on inauguration day…making him the oldest person ever sworn in for a first term. If McCain served his full two terms, he would be 80 when he left office.
McCain spent MORE THAN five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and has suffered several bouts of melanoma…a potentially fatal form of skin cancer. His doctors assure us McCain is healthy and cancer-free…but so far his campaign has refused to release all of his medical records. We are told they will be made public some time next month.
In the meantime, reporters who are half McCain's age say they can barely keep up with the septuagenarian as he campaigns for the nation's highest office. Fourteen-hour days climbing on and off airplanes and buses and giving one speech after another are not uncommon.
And yet doubts persist. Being president ages a person in ways no other job does. The responsibilities are so big…the problems so important, that trying to handle them can take years off your life. Look at pictures of any president on inauguration day and compare them with pictures of the same man when he leaves office, and the effects are immediately apparent.
Here’s my question to you: John McCain have a better chance of being elected if he promised to only serve one term in office?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Obama have accepted another debate?
(PHOTO CREDIT: AP)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Lincoln-Douglas made it famous...a debate with no moderator...but it doesn't look like it's going to happen between Obama and Clinton.
With just over a week to go before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, and the two candidates running virtually neck and neck in Indiana, Clinton wants to debate Obama in both states, as a means of picking up votes in a race that he currently leads overall.
She says that she will debate him any place at any time, adding that it could even be done on the back of a flat-bed truck. He would probably prefer to run over her with a flat-bed truck at this point. She called over the weekend for this less-restrictive style of debate which got its name from a series of debates that took place during the 1858 U.S. Senate race between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas.
She says that voters in Indiana would "love" to see that kind of debate and that it would be quote "good for the Democratic Party, it would be good for our democracy, and it would be great for Indiana." unquote.
Barack Obama has declined–saying that there will not be any more debates between now and the May 6th primaries. There have been 21 debates and Obama says he would spend time quote "talking to as many folks possible on the ground, taking questions from voters." unquote. But that's probably not the real reason. He's ahead...and the front runner traditionally would rather sit on the lead than take the chance of doing something stupid in another debate.
Obama's campaign has said repeatedly that most debates have offered little new information.
And he criticized the line of questioning in the last debate in Philadelphia earlier this month saying that it was more about "gotcha games" and "stirring up controversy" than the issues.
Here’s my question to you: Should Barack Obama have accepted Hillary Clinton's invitation to a Lincoln/Douglas-style debate with no moderator?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Who would you skip work or school to meet?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
When Colin Saltry and Joey Daniel heard Barack Obama was at Glider's Diner in Scranton, Pennsylvania, eating waffles earlier this week, they couldn't resist. Saltry is class president and Daniel vice president at Scranton High School. They left school and headed for the diner-managing to talk their way in through the media entrance. Soon they were in conversation with the famous senator from Illinois.
When one of them mentioned they would probably be suspended for leaving school without permission, Obama wrote them each a note. "Excuse Joey. Excuse Colin."
It didn't work...both boys were suspended for one day and wound up spending it campaigning for their guy. Both admitted it wasn't the right thing to do to skip school...and both said they would do it again in a heartbeat. Of all the days they will spend at Scranton High School, 20 years from now they will remember every detail of this one.
Here’s my question to you: Which politician - living or dead - would you skip work or school to meet and why?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
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