Four tough questions for the Democratic presidential candidates

Here’s four tough questions head debate moderator Anderson Cooper should ask the candidates:

Gun Control

“In the wake of the tragedy at Umpqua Community College, many of you have called for more gun control. Oregon’s restrictions on gun sales already include mental health and criminal background checks, yet this tragedy occurred anyway. With that in mind, what is your plan for passing legislation that would effectively reduce mass shootings in the United States?”

If Democrats want to call for gun control laws, they should have to explain how the laws would actually work to reduce gun violence. Laws should be analyzed by their effects, not their intentions. It’s not good enough to say gun control laws will reduce violence if the proof isn’t there. The tragedy in Oregon shows that gun control laws aren’t a cure-all.

Furthermore, if a candidate says they want to repeal the Second Amendment and destroy all privately-owned guns in the country, they should have to explain how the government would go about confiscating more than 350 million privately owned guns.

School Choice

“The path to the Democratic nomination has traditionally relied on two important groups: African Americans and teachers unions. Increasingly, the interests of the two groups are in conflict, with urban minorities tired of bad schools and teachers unions unwilling to embrace either fundamental reforms or non-traditional arrangements, such as public charter schools. If push comes to shove, which of these two groups will you back: black families looking for a better education or teachers unions looking to maintain the status quo?”

Charter schools are increasingly popular with black families. For example, in Washington, D.C.’s public charter schools, black students are 83 percent of the population, compared to 67 percent in traditional public schools. Nationwide, one in four charter schools have a majority black student population, while less than one in 10 traditional public schools can say the same.

Many charter schools rely on a non-unionized workforce, drawing ire from teachers unions, an important source of money and support for Democrats.

Inequality

“Reducing inequality is a high priority in many of your campaigns. A recent paper published by the centrist Brookings Institution shows raising taxes on the rich and giving the money directly to low-income households would have a negligible effect on inequality. And so aside from tax policy, what is your plan to reduce inequality?”

Again, it’s necessary to evaluate laws on their impact, not their intentions. Democrats simply can’t say they will fight inequality by raising taxes on the rich and giving money to the poor. Not only does the aforementioned study come from Brookings, but Peter Orszag, former budget chief for President Obama, was a co-author.

Democrats will have to focus on other methods of reducing inequality. Perhaps boosting low-income families with higher-paying jobs or a better education would work.

The Environment

“The poor spend a greater portion of their income on energy needs than the rich or the middle-class. Restricting fossil fuel usage would make their energy costs rise. What’s your plan to solve climate change without hurting low-income families who struggle to pay their utility bills?”

On average, families in the bottom fifth of the income scale spend almost 23 cents of every dollar they earn after taxes on gasoline, natural gas and electricity. Families in the top fifth spend just 5 cents of every dollar earned after taxes on the same needs. Cracking down on oil companies, imposing cap and trade, or anything else that restricts fossil fuel usage will make energy more expensive, hitting low-income families hardest. The question for Democratic candidates is, are the dubious environmental benefits worth the harm to low-income families?

Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.