NO MORE LIP SERVICE
According to Mariam-Webster’s dictionary “lip service” is defined: as an avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds. Unfortunately, politicians often pay lip service to addressing the challenges facing America’s children. When politicians make speeches, they routinely mention children, but when it’s time to enact child-friendly policies those same politicians often come up short.
The National Children’s Campaign (NCC) is dedicated to ensuring the actions of politicians match their words when it comes to children. In other words, we are an anti-lip service organization. The solutions to improve the lives of the youngest among us are all known, but because other issues often higher up on the list of priorities, the solutions are either ignored or become watered down.
This s a Presidential election year. The Republican nominee will be President Donald Trump. The Democrats are battling to pick their nominee and debates are important part of the process. Many topics have been covered in the debates, but questions about the specific challenges facing children have been fleeting.
The Democrats next debate is in Phoenix on March 15th. Below are the type of questions NCC would ask former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. In a perfect world we would ask President Trump and members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to also answer these types of complicated questions.
QUESTIONS THAT POLITICIANS NEED TO ANSWER:
1. When it comes to education, there is a lot of talk about increasing teacher pay, providing universal pre-K and making college more affordable, but rarely do politicians talk about how they are going to help children in underperforming elementary, junior high and high schools. What is your plan?
2. What would you do to address the cradle to prison pipeline where children of color, especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, are not given the same opportunities to maximize their potential as their white peers, especially those who are economically well-off?
3. What role should the federal government play in ensuring that children who don’t go to four-year universities and colleges are able to get the type of post-secondary education that will enhance their careers?
4. What type of policies do you think could help identify and treat children who display the potential to use guns to hurt themselves or others?
5. Are there policies that you think the federal government should implement to prevent school-age bullying, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ children, who face the most abuse from their peers?
6. What aspect of your health care plan would have the greatest benefit for children’s health going forward?
7. The Green New Deal is a very comprehensive framework for transforming our society as we fight against the existential threat of climate change. What specific policies does it offer that would have the greatest impact on children?
8. How do you think we could improve our foster care system and how do you think we could make the adoption process easier for people to navigate?
9. How would you ensure that families crossing our southern border, whether it be through the asylum process or by coming over in an undocumented fashion, are kept together?
10. How would you address the affordable housing crisis, which has increased the number of unhoused families and children in this country?
11. Some people who are against raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour might argue that it will limit the ability of teenagers to find employment opportunities, especially for small retail businesses that don’t make much profit to begin with. Others say it would rejuvenate our economy and provide for economic security to millions of working Americans. How would raising the minimum wage impact young people?