Questions to Ask Presidential Candidates

When will Republican presidential and senatorial candidates address any of the many problems caused by China? Their silence is deafening, and the media are complicit in the silence by failing to ask serious questions about China in several presidential debates. Here are some questions we would like to hear Republican presidential candidates answer.

• Will you instruct the Defense Department to buy only computer chips and routers manufactured in America under strict security guidelines?
• Since everyone agrees on the need to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, isn’t it just as important to reduce our dependence on foreign computer parts for our military planes and weapons?
• Will you bar from Defense Department business any companies that give away their patents, manufacturing processes, and intellectual property as part of the deal to open a plant in China?
• Will you announce that the next time an American dies because of contamination of a prescription drug imported from China, prescription drugs will no longer be allowed to be imported from China?
• Do you realize that China is not our “trading partner” but is our no-holds-barred economic competitor, highly protectionist, anti-free-trade, and spending the money it gets from U.S. trade to build up its military to become the world’s number-one superpower?
• Do you believe it is important for the U.S. to have a strong manufacturing base and, if so, what is your plan to restore the well-paying manufacturing jobs that have been outsourced to China?
• Do you accept a future in which Americans must compete with Asians who work for 50 cents an hour?

We should ask all presidential candidates these questions.

Listen to the radio commentary here: