I think that moderates (on both sides of the aisle) can protect/rescue us from insanity. I'm a moderate myself. I believe in capitalism for sure. Socialism pulls everything to the mean while capitalism allows for excellence and rewards it.
There's a middle ground to be walked here. We are the richest country in the world.
We can have capitalism AND we can figure out a way to provide healthcare to people who can't afford private insurance. For someone who doesn't have a good job with benefits, getting really sick or being in a bad accident puts you in a financial hole that you can NEVER climb out of. We can do better than that.
There's a middle road for taxes as well. Tax enough... I don't know what that is, but there HAS to be a place in there where people pay for Government services at a rate that still allows for growth. I have no problem with someone being stinking rich. But stinking rich people use a ton more resources than I do and they should pay a ton more taxes. There's a sweet spot there somewhere.
As for energy, ditto. I'm not a green new dealer, but I also think that relying on fossil fuels is just plain stupid as a long term strategy. It's dirty, hurts the planet, and above all, is finite. We're going to run out at some point. Is pumping/mining stuff out of the ground and setting it on fire REALLY the best we can do here? It's a fact that the earth is hit with enough sunlight every few minutes to power the planet for a year. It's figuratively raining soup... We just need a bowl and spoon.
I consider myself a moderate as well and agree on several of these issues. Energy is a frustrating one because there's a pretty obvious middle ground that we should all pursue.
On healthcare, we already have Medicaid, the ACA and subsidies. If you are poor, you get free healthcare via Medicaid and CHIP. If you are lower income, you get subsidies that pay for all or part of your ACA health insurance. So we are already providing health insurance.
I don't disagree that we need to reform some elements of healthcare. But asking people like me to pay even more for it or racking up more debt isn't the answer. We need to address the root causes - unnecessary cost, population health, etc. Premiums are lower and more affordable as costs go down. Same as population health improves. Start there.
We also don't do anything to incentivize good health. A lazy person that eats big macs all day should not pay the same premium as a fit person who tries to eat healthy and exercise. There needs to be some accountability in our cost structure. I'm all for covering unpreventable preexisting conditions, but fatness and laziness and resulting complications don't qualify. Take responsibility for yourself.
On taxes, what do you consider filthy rich? I'm not filthy rich, but the last two democrat presidents have targeted people in my demo. I don't use "a ton more resources" than anyone else, but I face the full brunt of the federal marginal tax rates and lose most deductions. I use no government entitlement programs, no public transportation, no subsidies, no stimulus, will get a reduced SS, etc. I'm a cheap date for the feds, but pay through the nose.
My absolute biggest problem with democrats and taxes is they talk about the "filthy rich," the wall street billionaires, Warren Buffet paying a lower rate than his secretary and similar language to paint a picture of evil, rich tycoons unfairly hoarding piles of money.
...Then they raise taxes on hard-working families like mine.
If the filthy rich are the issue, why are all of the tax tiers set below $1M? I would be open to a structure that expanded the tiers, relieved some pressure on the upper working class and shifted some cost to the actual "filthy rich."
If the republicans were smart, they would have addressed this in their tax reform bill. By lowering the the top rate, it gave Dems ammo to talk about how they were looking out for the rich. They should have thrown in a 40% rate on income above $10M or something.
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