In his piece headlined “Bridging a divide in split-screen America” (Monitor Forum, Aug. 15), Bill Shore puts forth what he believes America’s “rising generation” seeks. His list is meager and essentially mirrors ideas espoused by current Democratic presidential candidates: childhood hunger, national and community service, diversity and gun safety.

The thrust of the article seems to be that only young people have these concerns. I disagree. From what we read and hear in the news, there are a lot of people across the age spectrum who espouse these concerns, and many others as well. So, here is my short list of other matters that I believe are critically important across the board because they bear on all. I have not heard any candidate embrace any of these.

■Balance the federal budget. Annual interest on our national debt now exceeds debt.

■Eliminate the cap on Social Security (FICA) earnings. The base right now is capped at $132,900 of earnings. Why not eliminate the cap? There are many, many people earning far in excess of that. Think only of those dubbed the “one percenters,” corporate CEOs and professional athletes, though there is a multitude of others. The current withholding rate is 6.2% each for employer and employee, for a total of 12.4%. Each additional $1 million produces $124,000 more FICA revenue. Want medical insurance care for all? Eliminate the cap! That should produce ample funds to pay for universal medical care and/or prevent bankruptcy of Social Security – if that really is a possibility. Also, quite likely, the FICA withholding rate can be either reduced or at minimum held static for several years.

■Establish income tax brackets on Social Security retirement payments: the lower the payment, the lower the tax; higher payments, more tax. Put this money back into FICA’s till to go toward continued retirement payments and/or health insurance.

■Eliminate subsidies to corporate “farmers” such as Monsanto, the oil industry, ethanol producers, etc.

■Institute term limits.

■Work on judicial reform.

This list is not by any means exhaustive. We can add substantially more matters. Here are two areas in which I’ve not been able to find definitive information: Has the government paid all of the amount from federal trust funds due to Native Americans? Is the federal government fully funding at least the 1974 Americans With Disabilities Act as had been promised when that act was passed?

By the way, relative to the first question, since we have Women’s History Month and Black History Month, why do we not have Native American History Month, with attendant public television programs? It is an enormously rich history and recognition of Native peoples and their history is long overdue.

(Arnold C. Coda lives in Hopkinton.)