Interview Talk Points
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The title of your book is Stealing From Each Other. Can you briefly explain what you mean?
You suggest that the federal government reduce spending on welfare programs. Are you against helping the poor?
What are the most costly government programs in existence today?
What programs could we do without?
Is inequality in America greater than in other countries? Do we do less to help the poor than other countries?
Why do you say we are taxed less today than we were a decade ago?
Should we increase taxes to reduce the federal budget deficit?
Both Obama and McCain promise changes in the federal income tax. Will their proposals produce a fairer and more efficient tax
You say that Social Security and Medicare are financed in the same way as an illegal Ponzi scheme. What do you mean by this?
Are Social Security and Medicare really bankrupt? If so, what can we do to salvage these programs?
You claim that Americans are not aware of how costly Social Security and Medicare are. How can this be since they can see the taxes they pay to support these programs?
You show that in total upper income Americans are transferring more than a trillion dollars a year to low income Americans. Yet the poverty rate today is the same as it was in 1970. Isn’t a trillion dollars enough to eliminate poverty?
You state that the U.S. Bureau of the Census routinely produces figures that greatly overstate the extent of inequality. Are you accusing the government of lying to its citizens?
You state that there are many fewer poor persons in the U.S. than the government claims in its official count of the poor. Is the government intentionally misrepresenting the number in poverty, and how can it get away with this?
Can American's live without welfare benefits?
How much of the federal budget is devoted to programs that take income from some Americans and give it to other Americans?
How much do federal redistributive policies cost Americans?
You show that in total upper income Americans are transferring more than a trillion dollars a year to low income Americans. Yet the poverty rate today is the same as it was in 1970. Isn’t a trillion dollars enough to eliminate poverty?
Why do you say unemployment insurance contributes to unemployment?
You discuss immigration in your book. Isn’t this out of place in a book about poverty, inequality, and redistributive policies?
Hasn’t medical care become so expensive that the only way ordinary Americans can afford it is with assistance from the government?
The minimum wage is scheduled to increase in July. Is this a good way to help the poor?
Everyone agrees that the economy is the big issue that may decide the election. What can government do to improve the state of the economy?
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