I think we would agree on a lot of things if we had the time to talk more. I agree with you on our credit card, student loan, and mortgage debt addiction. We xould also be more isolationist in some regards, we need to bite the bullet on social security and finally replace it with something that works. There's plenty we can agree on but I also understand that some fundamental differences can keep us from agreeing on what action to take. I have one friend who I always talk politics to and we can never agree in the end. We want the same things but we can never agree on how to get there.
Like you said maybe it sounds jaded, but with how different every individual thinks its not possible to have a perfect system. I just hope we improve little by little.
It is refreshing to have a conversation with someone on the Internet that doesn't devolve into a mud slinging process. I would love to talk about these issues. If we all did that, we'd find a solution - I'm sure of it.