Firstly, widely available, unbreakable encryption is a new thing (especially when you consider ciphers considered strong even 5 years ago are now breakable).
Any new thing has the power to disrupt the status quo (resulting in possible net gains or losses for all of us).
Like every other major disruption in history, it has to be controlled to ensure the good outweighs the bad (eg cars, planes, computers, medicine, guns, whatever... all have some level of control to ensure they provide a net benefit to society)
So with this new thing you have to ask, do I prefer the option of uncontrolled technology and the possible risks, or do I prefer some level of control to try and ensure a net gain for me, my family, and maybe society too?
And ultimately you have to trust someone. And I trust the criminal gangs slightly less than the democratically elected government variety.

. Yes and the tech industry, just like any other (auto, tobacco, food, drug etc) don't always have your best interests at heart, as proven by history.

Encryption won't save granny from data thieves, we know this because the bad guys simply ring up and pretend to be Bill Gates and she hands over the keys.
But we also know that wide-spread uncrackable encryption will lead to less convictions as savvy crims learn how to hide their tracks better. Less convictions mean more crims on the streets, and more crime. This is not an acceptable outcome either.

They aren't the only options, and I'm surprised that this being a tech forum it's the only ones we keep getting hammered with.

I'm not offering solutions, I'm asking for them. We are techies, first we must accept that uncontrolled cryptography presents a real risk to our rule of law (ie convictions mostly hinge on information gathering, cryptography has the potential to disrupt this massively), then we try and come up with solutions. I think this is all our politicians are trying to say.
However since you asked I will offer some ideas (I'm no expert so feel free to offer constructive criticism).

One option I see is restricting types of encryption allowed to be used. An independent technology forum could establish what is considered 'adequate' levels of public cryptography. The public are free to use this, and it is strong enough to protect against casual attack, but still able to be brute forced by Govt level processing power. Sure the real bad guys still exist, but most laws aren't designed to get everyone. Stopping the casual threats is a large part of most law enforcement strategy.
Another possibility is an independent key store accessible only by the courts. Using HSM type technology you can lock down private keys to only be accessible by certain parties with certain approval. A bit like how nuke keys are handled. With enough procedure this could be secured as much as anyone could expect.
Another option is some sort of rolling key that expires, ie a key that lasts say 3 years, and if you don't renew it, the key becomes public or something. So any casual data can be protected, and if not under investigation kept secure, while crucial evidence can be exposed after key expiry.

I'm sure there are holes in these, but as I said I'm no expert. But I'm sure there are people out there who are who can think of a system more useful than just 'backdoor' or 'no encryption'. The point I'm making (and I think our administrators are asking for) is that we should at least try and come up with a some sort of viable solution to deal with the very real risk that is widely available unbreakable encryption.

So you want your vote to count more than others? I think they've tried that system before and it failed...

Have you ever stayed in a hotel? Most people will have their valuables on them, or if left in the room kept in a safe. I hardly think that renting a hotel room, which you have to present ID and credit card (sure you could fake that but...) only so you can hack the electrical control bus to try and work out when another guest is not in (maybe), so you can somehow break down their door, and pray they have something valuable lying around you can steal (that doesn't have GPS and tracking), and hope there's no cameras or security (which there usually is), is the best idea I've heard of.
If you want to steal stuff, learn how to climb or abseil and come in through the window. It's a whole lot simpler.

No, but the fact still remains, your average Donald/Hillary voter doesn't even know what encryption is, and even if they did, don't know how to use it correctly which mean it's not 'essential'.

Well it wasn't essential at some point not long ago (ie about 20 years ago when no-one used encryption (outside of specialist circles), so what has changed that now changes that fact?

More than likely I'm guessing, some new rules will create a restriction of technology. Just like how you can own an AR15, but not a ICBM. Or you can drive a Lamborghini on a public road but not an Indy car. Cryptography will be defined by some standards in which 'adequate' protection will be publicly available, and the high end will be restricted. It will become an offence to use higher end encryption without appropriate authority.
This concept is not new, and for something that has the potential impact on law enforcement as cryptography, it's hard to see how doing nothing is ever going to be an acceptable option.

Because risking jail for stealing tourist's clothes is worth it for your average IT savvy crook....

Same goes for whoever is approving those smart elevator controls, you know the ones where the lift has no buttons, you type in your floor on a panel in the lobby, then get assigned a lift number? They are becoming more and more common and I always have a worse experience with them than the old fashioned up and down buttons with floor buttons in each lift.

Are you sure about that? Every wallet or purse I've ever peaked into is full of pointless shit, mostly credit card sized. And every holiday I've ever been on we've always had a spare card to jam in the socket.

Dude, I think this way of thinking has been around a lot longer than 16th century...

He asks for your opinion every 4 years...

I take it you haven't been to Germany lately? Or had any experience in Engineering? Or understand the political power balance in Europe right now?

This has been my single favourite moment so far. I'm still waiting to hear how this will address the planes, tunnels and submarines that currently also being used by smugglers?

What the racism, fascism, division and inciting of hatred and violence? Eerie....

PGP and FDE were available in 9/11 but not common or easy enough for that level of criminal. Yet only 15 years later kids and grandmothers get FDE by default now.
It would be dishonest to imply that there isn't a trend there. And that trend will continue to have implications. I'd still like to hear what approaches anyone thinks can be done to address this new threat.