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We Need Government That Values Families
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20563 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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11 / 1992 |
1,536 Words |
| Author
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Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton is governor of Arkansas and Democratic candidate
for president of the United States. |
No debate is more important to the future of our nation than the question of how truly we in America value the health, the wealth, and the faith of our families.
No question is less important than which candidate for president loves his children more or praises with more passion his wife's cookie recipe.
In this election season we are right to be debating the condition of the American family--its problems, its discontents, its continuing wonders, and its great potential.
But the way the debate is being carried on today solves nothing.
The tone is too polarized for short-term political purposes and too narrow to address the profound concerns of the real people whose real lives will be affected by the real decisions Americans make in this election.
On one side of the debate are people who say that all we need to do is exhort the American people. If we tell everybody to behave--if we say "Believe this" and "Don't act like that"--if we tell America's families "Come on, strengthen your values"--there will be nothing left for government to do.
That's nonsense.
It's clear that our economy is struggling and the American family is in trouble. Ten years ago we had the highest wages in the world. Now we're 13th.
Economic Pressures
People are working longer hours for lower wages, paying higher taxes on lower pay. Middle-class people are paying more for health care, housing, and education, while more and more people are sliding into unemployment and the poverty rate is the highest in a generation.
So if the Joneses strengthen their family values, how will that end the recession and restore good jobs at good wages for the eight million Americans out of work?
If the Kims strengthen their family values, how will that help millions of Americans afford the health care they need?
If the
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