What will U.S. look like in 50 years?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The face of this country is changing dramatically. Consider these pretty staggering statistics: 47 percent of children in the U.S. under five-years-old are minorities; as are 43 percent of youngsters under 20 - that's according to new census data.
Today, 47 percent of American children under five years of age are minorities.
And there's more... as USA today reports, the United States is developing a significant generation gap between aging, white Baby Boomers and this younger, growing minority population.
Minorities now account for just over one-third of the total population; and although immigration is slowing, higher birth rates among Hispanics make them the fastest growing group. The Hispanic population is also younger - on average about 28 years old - than non-Hispanic whites, whose average age is about 41.
Among other things, these numbers mean that many Baby Boomers will be relying on this younger generation to take care of them in a lot of ways. In another generation, this will be the workforce supporting Social Security.
Already, about 10 percent of the nation's counties have a minority population above 50 percent. One of the counties that just became a "majority-minority" last year is Orange County, Florida - home to Disney World. The mayor says it's not a surprise to him, and that the county has always been "a snapshot of what America looks like."
Here’s my question to you: What will the U.S. look like 50 years from now?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Release alleged detainee abuse photos?
The president has seen the photos and said they're not particularly sensational compared to images from Abu Ghraib. (Photo by Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama says he doesn't want to release alleged prison abuse photos because it could affect the safety of U.S. troops overseas and "inflame anti-American opinion."
And it wouldn't exactly be the best timing for the president himself, who is scheduled to soon go to Egypt and address the Muslim world.
Nonetheless, the decision is a reversal for the White House - which last month said it had no problem with the Pentagon releasing hundreds of pictures of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But after hearing concerns from military commanders, the president says releasing these images could have a "chilling effect" on further investigations of detainee abuses - without adding to the understanding of past abuses.
Mr. Obama, who has seen the photos, says they're not "particularly sensational" when compared to the images from Abu Ghraib. And he repeated that any future abuse is unacceptable and won't be tolerated.
Needless to say, the decision isn't sitting too well with many of his liberal supporters. Some groups are accusing President Obama of violating his promises of openness and transparency; and of sounding just like the Bush administration when it comes to claims of secrecy.
Democrats were split - some backing the president's decision, while others think he should release the photos. Meanwhile top Republicans applauded President Obama.
It's unclear what will happen, but the matter could wind up in the Supreme Court, since two lower federal courts have ordered the pictures be released.
Here’s my question to you: Should the alleged detainee abuse photos be released?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Tax cigarettes, alcohol, junk food to pay for health care reform?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Health care reform won't come cheap, and that's why lawmakers are considering higher taxes on everything from alcohol and cigarettes to junk food and soda as a way to pay for it. The Senate Finance Committee is looking into how to pay for this massive overhaul, which could cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
So-called sin taxes may raise $600 billion over the next decade.
Several experts are suggesting taxes on bad behavior, including a $2 dollar tax on a pack of cigarettes and a higher excise tax on alcohol.
Politico reports that the ranking Republican on the committee, Senator Chuck Grassley is nixing the idea of taxing soda and sugary drinks. But it's easy to see why so-called sin taxes are appealing - taxing cigarettes, junk foods and alcohol could raise $600 billion over 10 years.
A recent poll found support among Americans for imposing such taxes to help pay for health care reform. The Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows 61 percent of those polled say they would be in favor of raising taxes on items that are thought to be unhealthy - like cigarettes, alcohol, junk food and soda. 37 percent are opposed.
When asked about specific items, there's more support for taxing cigarettes and alcohol than snack foods and soda.
But before you start hoarding your beer and chips, Congress is also looking at other ways to pay for reform - like eliminating the tax-free status of company health benefits along with non-health related options like capping the deduction on charitable donations.
Here’s my question to you: Is taxing cigarettes, alcohol and junk food a good way to pay for health care reform?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Does it matter if next Supreme Court justice is a woman or minority?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is currently the only female Supreme Court Justice. (PHOTO CREDIT: MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
When it comes to nominating the next Supreme Court justice, President Obama is likely under pressure from interest groups, lawmakers, you name it...
But it turns out Most Americans aren't too concerned about the gender, race or ethnicity of the person who will fill Justice David Souter's seat on the bench.
A new Gallup poll shows 64 percent of those polled say it doesn't matter to them if the next Supreme Court justice is a woman. 68 percent don't care if that person is Hispanic; and 74 percent say it doesn't matter if the next justice is black.
It's widely expected that President Obama will nominate a woman. Currently the Court only includes one female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been battling cancer. Yet only six percent of Americans say it's essential that the president appoint a woman.
The poll shows women are more likely than men to feel that gender matters; but not by as large a margin as might be expected. And even a majority of women say it doesn't matter to them. There are also partisan differences - with more Democrats, than Republicans or Independents, saying it's essential or a good idea that the next justice be a woman. But again, a majority of all three groups say it just doesn't matter.
Here’s my question to you: How much does it matter to you if the next Supreme Court justice is a woman or minority?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Damaging for Republicans to keep criticizing each other publicly?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Add Mike Huckabee to the growing list of Republicans publicly taking one another down as they fight for the soul of the party. The former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate is blasting some GOP leaders.
Huckabee writes on Fox News' web site:
Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
"It's hard to keep from laughing out loud when people living in the bubble of the Beltway suddenly wake up one day and think they ought to have a listening tour; even funnier when their first earful expedition takes them all the way to the suburbs of Washington, D.C."
Huckabee is referring to the National Council for a New America, formed by folks like Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain. Their first meeting was held at a Northern Virginia restaurant.
Huckabee also suggests the party is at risk of becoming as "irrelevant as the Whigs" if it moderates its policies. That sounds a lot like what Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh have been saying. These right-wingers are not helping the Republican Party to portray itself as more moderate and inclusive.
Huckabee's a lot more likable than Limbaugh or Cheney, but the message is just as shrill; and at the end of the day... it seems like Republicans are self-destructing without any help from the Democrats.
Meanwhile speaking of the former vice president, his daughter is picking up right where he left off. Liz Cheney suggests President Obama appears to be siding with terrorists for agreeing to release photos showing alleged abuse at U.S. prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush administration.
President Obama has now ordered government lawyers to object to the release of these photos because he says it could endanger our troops.
Here’s my question to you: How damaging is it for the Republicans to continue to criticize each other publicly?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Confident Social Security will be around when you retire?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The recession is taking its toll on Social Security. The government says the trust fund will be paying out more money than it receives by 2016 - a year earlier than expected. And unless changes are made, it will be gone in 2037 - that's 4 years sooner than expected.
A man dressed as a Social Security card is pictured during a rally in D.C. to protect Social Security.
As a result, Social Security recipients probably won't get cost-of-living increases in 2010 or 2011 - something that's happened every year since 1975.
Here's the problem: Social Security is funded by payroll taxes. And with 5.7 million Americans out of work since the recession started, and another 4.3 million jobs being filled on a part-time basis, there's just not as much money going in. With nearly 80 million baby boomers getting ready to retire, the demand for benefits is rising.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the administration will tackle Social Security once health care is addressed. Whenever they get around to it, the options are limited. Either raise revenues, which means increase the taxes people pay into Social Security, or cut benefits. That could mean raising the retirement age - which is already scheduled to increase to 67.
Both choices could be political suicide - but something's gotta give. Washington has known about Social Security's problems for years and has chosen to do nothing about it.
Here’s my question to you: How confident are you Social Security will be there for you when you retire?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Rising gas prices & recession impact your summer plans?
Gas prices are up almost 10 percent in the last two weeks, and have hit a six month high. AAA says the national average is now $2.25 a gallon for unleaded regular, up $0.20 from two weeks ago. One of the main reasons gas prices are going up is because of rising crude oil prices, which closed at their highest level of the year on Friday.
Will the price of gas keep you from doing what you really want to do this summer?
The good news is analysts say it's unlikely that prices will climb as high as they did last summer, when most people were shelling out $4.00 a gallon. In fact, while prices are going up now, they're still nearly 50 percent lower than the record high set last July.
Also it's typical to see prices increase ahead of Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial start to summer, when more Americans start hitting the road. But AAA says they'd be surprised to see prices reach $3.50 a gallon this summer unless there's an unexpected supply disruption - something like a hurricane.
The slumping economy is also expected to keep prices lower. That's because income is the biggest factor determining how much people drive; and with unemployment at 8.9 percent, it seems more likely that people will stay close to home to save on the gas bill.
Here's my question to you: How will rising gas prices and the recession impact your summer vacation plans?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Democrats hold hearings into Bush torture memos?
Amnesty International activists protest near the U.S. Capitol. They are calling for an independent investigation into alleged human rights abuses by the Bush administration. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Democrats are plowing ahead with hearings into the so-called Bush torture memos - even if the White House isn't on board.
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will hold a public hearing tomorrow to be followed by House hearings. The committee chair says it will focus on legal issues such as the conduct of Justice Department lawyers who wrote or approved memos justifying harsh techniques like waterboarding. This is separate from the investigation being done by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The White House isn't commenting on tomorrow's hearing, but has previously indicated that the president prefers the investigation already underway in the Senate Intelligence Committee. That inquiry is going on behind closed doors and with classified information; so it's unclear how much of it will ever be made public.
Meanwhile House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to change her story about what she knew and when she knew it. Politico reports a Pelosi aide was briefed along with Congresswoman Jane Harman in February 2003 on the specific techniques that had been used on al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah - including waterboarding.
At that time, Harman wrote to the CIA expressing her "profound" concerns with the tactic. Pelosi apparently told her aide to tell Harman she agreed with the letter, but she didn't sign it.
Last week, Pelosi said she was briefed only once in 2002; and was only told the Bush administration was considering using certain techniques in the future.
Here’s my question to you: Should Democrats hold hearings into the Bush interrogation memos even if the White House disagrees?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Do you trust health care groups to voluntarily save $2 trillion?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The health insurance, drug and hospital industries are promising they can save $2 trillion over the next 10 years to reduce the cost of health care for millions of Americans. Some steps they will take include: Cutting excess administrative costs, making sure patients take the proper medicine, and greater collaboration among providers.
President Obama calls this agreement to work toward affordable and high-quality health care a watershed event; and some experts say it's unprecedented that the president has been able to keep these interest groups at the table. Especially when you consider some of these groups are the very ones that derailed previous attempts at reform.
One health economist who worked on Clinton's failed attempt tells the Los Angeles Times that things are different this time. He says in the 1990s, the mood was negative and skeptical; whereas now there's a real sense of momentum and people don't want to give up.
But some people are not convinced about the commitment of these industries. They say the groups aren't offering enough details on how they will contain rising health care expenses.
Others aren't sure how long the cooperation will last once the president and Congress start asking specific groups to make specific cuts. So far this is all voluntary and there is nothing binding on any of these groups to force any sort of compliance.
In fact, the skeptics think that some industry leaders are only staying at the table... because they're afraid if they leave, lawmakers will punish them.
Here’s my question to you: How much do you trust health care groups to voluntarily save $2 trillion over the next decade?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Four-day school week good idea?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
As the recession forces states to slash education funding, more school districts are considering cutting the school week down to four days as a way to save money.
The Los Angeles Times reports that only about 100 of the nation's 15,000 school districts now use a four day schedule - most of them small, rural school districts.
But that might change... some districts are now tossing around the idea to serve more suburban or urban areas, including suburbs of Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon, and even the country's fifth largest school system in Florida's Broward County.
Usually schools that go to four day weeks extend their hours 60 to 90 minutes per day. Experts say there's no proof as to whether the shorter week helps or hurts students.
But some worry that especially younger students will lose focus with a longer day. And many parents don't like the idea because it means they would have to find another child care option for that extra day. This is why schools are also considering other options - like ending sports, mandatory furloughs for employees and renegotiating union contracts.
Also, when you consider the below-average results that many U.S. schools are already turning out each year, it seems like less time in school is hardly the answer.
But education spending makes up the biggest share of states' budgets. Nationwide, the 50 states face a combined 350 billion dollar shortfall over the next 3 years. They are also planning to eliminate close to 600,000 jobs.
Here’s my question to you: In light of reduced education budgets, is a four-day school week a good idea?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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