If you had a chance to speak with Barack Obama what two issues would you discuss with him and why?

Public Comments

1. The ecosystem because Global warming is a big deal And The problem with the middle east, because they seem crazy and might blow us up
2. only can think of one !! if he puts a bag over michael head Or does he turn out the lights. my bad that was two.
3. the economy and the wars- because those are the 2 most important issues facing America today.
4. Great question, Kellie. 1. The economy, because I think the government still sees it in terms of needing to get it growing again. We do need some growth, but we don't need unending growth. To have that, we'd need to keep buying and buying and buying - and throwing out the old stuff so we can buy more new stuff. That's bad for the environment and it doesn't really help individuals. We need to think of our economy in terms of right-sizing and sustainability. It should stay at a size that supports the American people and keeps our needs in balance with what the land and natural resources can handle without being depleted. And the government needs to make changes that will make it easier for small businesses to survive and not favor huge corporations unfairly. 2. Healthcare. One point I'd like to make is that the way things are now, doctors fit their work and billing into rules set by insurance companies. Not only is that bad for the patient, it ends up costing the system more. For example, you can't have a long appointment with a doctor. If you need to deal with, say, three conditions and you can't do all of them in 15 minutes, then you have to come back, because health insurance won't pay for a longer visit. So what happens is, the doctor gets three visit fees anyway, just on different days - and the patient has to pay three copays, like $75 instead of $25. And then must wait an extra week or two weeks to have the other conditions taken care of. Another example is if the doctor orders a test to see if a patient has a condition, he can't just say "I'm ruling out this disease" because health insurance won't pay. So he puts the disease down as the diagnosis - and then that's on the patient's record, even when the patient doesn't have the disease. And it can affect the person's health insurance rates in the future. So I'd want him to be aware that rules have to change to allow doctors to do their jobs in the way that's best for the patient again.