Six Key Issues for 2012 Elections
Economy and Jobs
Education
Healthcare
Public Infrastructure
Energy
Leadership
Economy and Jobs
North Carolina still suffers more than most other states from the recession and it doesn’t matter who or what caused it. How does the candidate propose to put people to work, to help the small businesses that create most new jobs and to address the growing disparity between urban and rural areas of the state? A carefully designed economic development plan would impress voters.
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Education
Education is perhaps the solution to individual and societal success but a recent poll demonstrates widespread dissatisfaction with North Carolina’s public schools. Instead of getting mired in unproductive discussions about where we rank in funding, how many teachers and aides we employ, how much we pay them or other diversionary side issues, candidates should focus on education outcomes, what our children are learning to prepare for a successful life and tell us specifically how to reform the present system to improve those outcomes.
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Healthcare
Candidates don’t talk much about healthcare but it is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Our current system threatens to bankrupt us, our national politicians are mired in partisan stagnation and we are desperate for solutions, especially for the mentally ill. A candidate with even small-step solutions could win big vote totals.
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Public Infrastructure
A discussion on infrastructure is overdue. Recent economic woes have further postponed attention to crumbling and congested roads, old and unhealthy water systems, outdated and overcrowded schools and other public facilities. Estimates now fix North Carolina’s costs to repair and update public infrastructure at more than 30 billion dollars. How and where are we to begin?
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Energy
Four dollar a gallon gas dictates a discussion on energy, especially in a state projected to have 15 million people by 2030. Great research is being done in our state and there is mounting evidence that wind, natural gas and other resources might be available to provide some solutions. We want a candidate who can fix one eye clearly on preserving our environment while brokering acceptable solutions for new energy resources.
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Leadership
Which leads us to the single, most important factor in the 2012 elections: leadership. North Carolina is at a crossroads, longing to once again become the “Dixie Dynamo” we once believed ourselves to be. We are a state blessed with wonderful natural resources, clever and hardworking people and sufficient wealth needed for success. We are looking for the leader or leaders to share a vision for a better tomorrow, with practical plans that start today to get us there. We don’t demand perfection so much as ethical, honorable people who understand servant leadership.
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NC SPIN Elections 2012 Section
Six Key Issues for 2012 Elections
State Cabinet Races
U.S. Congressional Races
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