I attended AARP's forum on Social Security and Medicare. It was an eye-opening recap of the extent of trouble these programs are in.
AARP also sponsored a debate between the two main Democratic candidates for the upcoming election for the U.S. Senate.
Linda Lingle, the Republican candidate, would be the first Republican elected to represent Hawaii in the Senate in 35 years. She is obviously facing an uphill battle, so I thought it would be prudent to see what her competition had to say.
Both current Rep. Mazie Hirono and former Rep. Ed Case were impressive speakers. Both felt strongly in their beliefs and in doing what is best for the people of Hawaii.
I believe Case would be the stronger of the two to represent our state in the Senate. Hirono tended to regurgitate the divide-and-conquer rhetoric of the current Democratic leadership. Personally, I'm tired of hearing about fair share and the different nuisances that go along with it as it relates to raising taxes on the rich, gender inequality, etc.
Case realizes that raising taxes in a weak economy would make it weaker, and we cannot spend and regulate our way out of the current mess our country is in. We need bipartisan thinkers who understand the financially dire straits we are in. Only through bipartisan cooperation and independent thinking can we start the painful process of getting our country back on track.
Kevin Lynch
Kahului
