Will the first Republican debate become 'The Donald Trump Show'?

The first Republican presidential debate is almost upon us, and all eyes turn to the candidate with the highest ranking in GOP polls: Donald Trump. Considered the wild card of the debate, Trump is known for his controversial comments and actions. Yet, Trump has assured the public that, for this debate, “I’d prefer no conflict, no infighting.” But, he added, “if they hit me, I’ll hit them harder. It’s all going to depend on the moment.” Trump promises to keep the debate “on a high level because he has “a lot of respect” for the other Republican candidates.

Do you trust that Donald Trump will keep the debate civil and avoid personally attacking his fellow debaters?

Should CEOs have to make their salaries public?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) has made it mandatory for most public companies to reveal the ratio of their CEO’s salary to that of the average employee. Some of the salary gaps are staggering. Supporters like that this rule will contribute insight into the income inequality debate and force companies to compare their ratios with that of their competitors. Opponents point out that the rule is misleading in its intentions and will shame CEOs about how much they make.

So, do you approve of the S.E.C.’s ruling?

Are you surprised about the Republican debate roster?

The Republican candidates that will participate in the Fox News’ Republican debate on Thursday have been announced. The presidential candidates are Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and John Kasich. Fox used a national polling system to determine the 10 most favored candidates to be given the chance to be in the debate. This leaves Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Jim Gilmore to appear in a separate debate earlier in the evening.

Does the lineup surprise you?

How likely are candidates omitted from the Republican debate roster to still have a chance at Republican nomination?

Fox News released their roster for the first Republican debate earlier today. The roster only includes the 10 top polling GOP presidential candidates, meaning that candidates that didn’t make the cut (Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Jim Gilmore) are only given the chance to debate earlier in the day of the prime-time debate.

Do you think that being left out of the official Republican debate leaves the candidates with little chance of getting Republican presidential nomination?

Should we send ground forces to aid the US-trained Syrian rebels in their fight against ISIS?

The government has been training moderate Syrian rebels to fight against ISIS, but the number of rebels they have trained is significantly lower than expected - as in 60. Earlier this week, it was confirmed that a group connected to al-Quaeda has kidnapped five of the rebels. Obama has realized that the Syrian rebels are in need of aid, and has approved providing air support for the Free Syrian forces.

Do you think that we should be doing more to help the Syrian rebels fight against ISIS?

Would you follow in Dan Price’s footsteps and raise the minimum wage to $70,000 for your employees?

Dan Price and his credit card processing firm, Gravity Payments, became the center of the income inequality discussion three months ago when Price announced that he would be taking money from his million dollar salary package to provide a $70,000 minimum salary for his workers. Price’s efforts to raise the salary for his employees has received unexpected backlash, making us wonder - if you were the boss, would you raise the minimum salary to $70,000?

Should prisoners have access federal grants for college tuition?

President Obama has announced the next step in his plan for criminal justice reform: giving inmates access to federal Pell grants. Pell grants are federal money provided for low-income students to pay their college tuition and do not need to be repaid. Congress banned prisoners from having access to Pell grants in 1994 and the Obama administration cannot lift the ban without approval from Congress, so the Education Department is running a temporary program to test out the effectiveness of correctional education programs for prisoners. The administration believes such a program will provide prisoners with the skills needed to reenter the community and help them “avoid future contact with the justice system and become productive members of society.”