MOUNT VERNON — The national debt ceiling, fracking and fuel sources were the hot topics during Monday’s Up for Discussion.
The first question posed for the night was whether or not the federal government should increase the debt ceiling.
“If you raise the limit, they will spend it,” said a participant in the conversation.
Another man expressed his concern that President Barack Obama voted against increasing the national debt while he was a senator, but, as president, he is promoting an increase. He encouraged citizens to call their senators and congressmen to express their opinions.
It was mentioned that there are numerous government agencies that provide duplicate services and perhaps the elimination of some of these departments would save a considerable amount of money.
That conversation led into a discussion on whether or not the federal government or state governments should oversee education and then who are good candidates to serve on school boards. Some in attendance felt that those with an educational background were best suited for the job, while others said they would prefer a well-balanced board that included citizens with varied backgrounds.
A conversation regarding fracking explained some people believe Gov. John Kasich’s plan to tap into fuel sources beneath Ohio’s shale could have devastating effects on water consumption as well as the environment.
The conversation turned to the world’s consumption of oil and the many uses in addition to fuel and how the United States could become less dependent on Middle-Eastern oil.
Solutions ranged from drilling our own oil off the U.S. coastline, increasing our use of solar and wind energy.
“The biggest reason we have not replaced oil is because we can’t,” said a participant. “There is no fuel like it. We have not yet made solar or wind energy that can fuel the world like oil does.”
