So it’s finally just days before we stop debating and vote. Good thing I’ve finally settled on three issues that will help me make my choice. Clean energy is one. An ever greater demand for electricity will require ever increasing electricity production. In view of its environmental impact, and relative cost, fossil fuel generation will continue to lose out as the dominant electricity generator, and nuclear power-plants are an increasingly risky bet.
As a result, there’s been incredible growth in the global generation of green electricity. According to the Financial Times, in countries such as China and India, some five hundred thousand solar panels were installed every day last year and two wind turbines went up every hour. Electricity drives the economy, and my vote will go to the person with the vision to lead America into a green electricity generating future.
Another concern I have is the human cost of globalization. I believe the U.S. economy is far better off when it's an integral part of global trading systems. But I also believe that our leaders failed to anticipate or admit that an integrated global economy would lead to a temporary mismatch between the skills needed to produce the goods and services for tomorrow's economy and the existing Labor force. So my vote will go to the candidate willing to take care of two generations of Americans who, through no fault of their own, have been sidelined by the economy of the 21st Century.
And I’m deeply, deeply concerned about America’s unending wars. Since 2003, approximately seven thousand Americans have been killed, with fifty two thousand wounded - and rates of suicide among active service-members remain unacceptably high. Two hundred and sixty five service members took their lives in twenty fifteen; A recently minted 2nd Lieutenant I know has lost 6 military comrades to suicide in just the last 4 years.
The U.S. has been at war continuously for 15 years, at a huge cost of American lives and more than 2 trillion taxpayer dollars, without any conclusive success.
So my vote will go to the candidate with a credible plan to stop this endless cycle of war.
And since I’ve been getting multiple phone calls every evening for weeks to solicit my support, the candidate whose campaign has disturbed me the least - is the one most likely to get my vote!
