I was an undecided voter.
This is my last post about the election. I don't remember how many I did.
Here is the quick recap-
Taxes - I think taxes should be more progressive. I think more taxes should be collected to lower the national debt and thus remove a big inflationary pressure. I don't think higher taxes = slower economic growth, it just depends what the money is spent on.
Advantage Obama.
FICA (Social Security) - Obama's statement that he won't raise anyone's taxes making under $250,000/year will come back to bite him when he raises the cap on FICA collections from $86,000 to $250,000 as his website says he will do. Republicans will have a field day on that quote. McCain said in the third debate that he would have a 'Reagan and O'Neill' style discussion on the matter was code for him agreeing with Obama on the issue, because raising the collections cap was what Reagan and O'Neill did. I think there should be no cap at all, so that Warren Buffet's overall tax rate (like 18%) more closely approaches his secretary's (like 30%). Look up the article, 'warren buffet secretary tax'.
Advantage - none.
Energy - They both say, all hands on deck, let's do it all, but Obama places more restrictions on offshore drilling and nuclear reprocessing than McCain does, while offering more corn ethanol subsidies and mandates to make up for it. Obama means well with the restrictions because offshore drilling may hurt the environment and spent nuclear fuel on its way to be reprocessed might be intercepted by terrorists. I don't agree however; I say that the most powerful country in the world can surely have clean offshore oil rigs and safe nuclear transit if Norway and France have these things. His corn ethanol subsidies are a giveaway to Midwestern farmers that will do nothing for us but raise food prices. It takes a lot of fuel and fertilizer to grow corn, and it's a terrible source for ethanol. Sugar Cane is better.
Advantage McCain.
Healthcare - Been over this one already. Apparently I'm the only one not scared to death of McCain's plan. Obama's plan - allowing everyone to get coverage from the government - will slowly encompass more and more people until everyone has it. It will slowly undermine existing private insurance. Then the government will decide who gets care.
People say McCain's plan is a huge tax increase and it's not. Most people end up paying less taxes under this plan and only those with the 'Cadillac' health plans pay more. McCain's plan is actually progressive.
They say the government benefit is not enough to buy insurance. It's not. Your employer is supposed to stop buying insurance for you and give you the money directly instead. You'll get more money in your pocket from the employer, plus the new personal tax benefit.
They say that people who right now aren't offered coverage through their employer and don't make enough to buy it won't be helped. False. They will get the tax benefit and their employer will see no extra cost because the employer wasn't using the old tax benefit. Might still not be enough for the poorest of the working poor, but Medicare is supposed to pick up these people.
They say that those with cancer will never get coverage they can afford outside of employer-based coverage. True. They should apply for a separate government assistance program that's for them and only for them. Not for everyone. McCain has promised such a program.
Advantage McCain.
Illegal Immigration - No real difference between the two here. I just wanted to take the space to express my radical views on the subject. My opinion is that distinguishing between 'legal immigrants' and 'illegal immigrants' is a Jim Crow law for my generation. Look at where it comes up - schools, hospitals, and courtrooms, the voting booth, very similar to racial segregation. It's artificial, wrong, dehumanizes others, and allows our government to play God in a negative way. God told ancient Israel to be kind to the alien in their land and essentially leave out food for them. Israel was warned never to adopt their ways but also never to treat them un-neighborly. (All the people that God commanded Israel to go to war with had their own unfriendly government and their own homeland, they were not aliens within Israel). I'm not saying everyone should be a citizen with voting rights the day they get here, nor am I saying we shouldn't protect the borders against drugs, terrorism, etc, and keep track of who's going in and out, but I do think anyone who just wants to work should be in, and should be allowed to use all public facilities.
Education - Obama wants to give such large tax breaks to college students, paying for their tuition, that going to college becomes a right instead of a privilege. Universities will lose incentive to be selective in admissions because more money will be coming in, but along with that money will be increased federal control and bureaucracy , as if there wasn't enough already. McCain calls for vouchers at the primary school level, which I don't really care for, but he's unlikely to get that passed. I am for more charter schools but I think that's a state issue. I would favor repealing No Child Left Behind on grounds that it makes the Department of Education too large. Obama wants to expand that law and throw even more money at it.
Advantage McCain.
Abortion - I used to believe that attempts to outlaw abortion were nothing more than religious demagoguery, but now that I am married and some of my friends are having babies, I have changed. If most people in this country want it outlawed, I don't think it's a woman's inherent 'right' to abort unless her life is in danger. Just carry your rapist's baby to term and give it up for adoption. If it's your boyfriend's baby, sorry, should have used a condom. Give that one up for adoption too. I know, the shame, the anger, I don't understand, you wouldn't want people looking at your pregnant and yet single body and judging you, etc, etc; I'm basically an asshole. But I'm reluctant to vote for somebody who opposed the 'Born Alive' act.
Advantage McCain
Iraq and Afghanistan - In spite of original intentions, I don't see much difference in policy between the two men going forward, now that the new treaties with Iraq are in effect. Obama is a much stronger hand at these issues, and foreign policy in general, than most give him credit for, but that just makes him even with McCain and his team.
Veeps - Sarah Palin is clearly someone who never studied world, or even national affairs, with any sort of rigor until recently. The Katie Couric interviews prove this. She is however, a quick study and getting more coherent by the day. She is a liability for McCain because she reflects poorly on his judgement, at least initially. She is making up the ground though and is more than capable of grasping the issues once she has studied them. The debates and more recent interviews prove that. I'll go out on a limb and say she's learning faster than W did. Biden was ready from day one and while he doesn't have his facts straight all the time, he seems to always know what's going on and has a clear idea of what he would do.
Advantage Obama
The Economy - Most voters seem to assign a huge Obama advantage here. Obama's line is that Bush deregulation is to blame for the current problems, and he's right, and most voters agree. McCain's line is that Democrats blocking better regulation for Fannie and Freddie is really the culprit, while those to the right of McCain also point out the Community Reinvestment Act and tag that on the Dems. The problem is, they're all right. Each policy had a role to play, and both parties are to blame. While McCain 'suspended his campaign' and looked foolish as these problems were coming to light, Obama and McCain ended up casting identical votes. No advantage to either.
Character - I think both candidates are basically good people who are doing this for the right reasons. I would like to have a beer with both. Everyone knows Obama isn't actually friends with terrorists or violent communists. Everyone knows that Obama has also made unfair attacks on McCain's age and wealth and judgment. I ignore these things. But I think McCain is too prone to anger and recklessness while Obama is far too arrogant and cocky (just watch his speech in Chicago about the 2016 Olympics, ultra cocky). I think they will both overcome these problems to bring in cabinet members they disagree with and yet still have a successful relationship. No advantage.
Ultimately, I cast my vote for McCain, but against Adam Putnam. Let's get someone with independent thought representing me in the House. I do not dread an Obama administration.
Here is the quick recap-
Taxes - I think taxes should be more progressive. I think more taxes should be collected to lower the national debt and thus remove a big inflationary pressure. I don't think higher taxes = slower economic growth, it just depends what the money is spent on.
Advantage Obama.
FICA (Social Security) - Obama's statement that he won't raise anyone's taxes making under $250,000/year will come back to bite him when he raises the cap on FICA collections from $86,000 to $250,000 as his website says he will do. Republicans will have a field day on that quote. McCain said in the third debate that he would have a 'Reagan and O'Neill' style discussion on the matter was code for him agreeing with Obama on the issue, because raising the collections cap was what Reagan and O'Neill did. I think there should be no cap at all, so that Warren Buffet's overall tax rate (like 18%) more closely approaches his secretary's (like 30%). Look up the article, 'warren buffet secretary tax'.
Advantage - none.
Energy - They both say, all hands on deck, let's do it all, but Obama places more restrictions on offshore drilling and nuclear reprocessing than McCain does, while offering more corn ethanol subsidies and mandates to make up for it. Obama means well with the restrictions because offshore drilling may hurt the environment and spent nuclear fuel on its way to be reprocessed might be intercepted by terrorists. I don't agree however; I say that the most powerful country in the world can surely have clean offshore oil rigs and safe nuclear transit if Norway and France have these things. His corn ethanol subsidies are a giveaway to Midwestern farmers that will do nothing for us but raise food prices. It takes a lot of fuel and fertilizer to grow corn, and it's a terrible source for ethanol. Sugar Cane is better.
Advantage McCain.
Healthcare - Been over this one already. Apparently I'm the only one not scared to death of McCain's plan. Obama's plan - allowing everyone to get coverage from the government - will slowly encompass more and more people until everyone has it. It will slowly undermine existing private insurance. Then the government will decide who gets care.
People say McCain's plan is a huge tax increase and it's not. Most people end up paying less taxes under this plan and only those with the 'Cadillac' health plans pay more. McCain's plan is actually progressive.
They say the government benefit is not enough to buy insurance. It's not. Your employer is supposed to stop buying insurance for you and give you the money directly instead. You'll get more money in your pocket from the employer, plus the new personal tax benefit.
They say that people who right now aren't offered coverage through their employer and don't make enough to buy it won't be helped. False. They will get the tax benefit and their employer will see no extra cost because the employer wasn't using the old tax benefit. Might still not be enough for the poorest of the working poor, but Medicare is supposed to pick up these people.
They say that those with cancer will never get coverage they can afford outside of employer-based coverage. True. They should apply for a separate government assistance program that's for them and only for them. Not for everyone. McCain has promised such a program.
Advantage McCain.
Illegal Immigration - No real difference between the two here. I just wanted to take the space to express my radical views on the subject. My opinion is that distinguishing between 'legal immigrants' and 'illegal immigrants' is a Jim Crow law for my generation. Look at where it comes up - schools, hospitals, and courtrooms, the voting booth, very similar to racial segregation. It's artificial, wrong, dehumanizes others, and allows our government to play God in a negative way. God told ancient Israel to be kind to the alien in their land and essentially leave out food for them. Israel was warned never to adopt their ways but also never to treat them un-neighborly. (All the people that God commanded Israel to go to war with had their own unfriendly government and their own homeland, they were not aliens within Israel). I'm not saying everyone should be a citizen with voting rights the day they get here, nor am I saying we shouldn't protect the borders against drugs, terrorism, etc, and keep track of who's going in and out, but I do think anyone who just wants to work should be in, and should be allowed to use all public facilities.
Education - Obama wants to give such large tax breaks to college students, paying for their tuition, that going to college becomes a right instead of a privilege. Universities will lose incentive to be selective in admissions because more money will be coming in, but along with that money will be increased federal control and bureaucracy , as if there wasn't enough already. McCain calls for vouchers at the primary school level, which I don't really care for, but he's unlikely to get that passed. I am for more charter schools but I think that's a state issue. I would favor repealing No Child Left Behind on grounds that it makes the Department of Education too large. Obama wants to expand that law and throw even more money at it.
Advantage McCain.
Abortion - I used to believe that attempts to outlaw abortion were nothing more than religious demagoguery, but now that I am married and some of my friends are having babies, I have changed. If most people in this country want it outlawed, I don't think it's a woman's inherent 'right' to abort unless her life is in danger. Just carry your rapist's baby to term and give it up for adoption. If it's your boyfriend's baby, sorry, should have used a condom. Give that one up for adoption too. I know, the shame, the anger, I don't understand, you wouldn't want people looking at your pregnant and yet single body and judging you, etc, etc; I'm basically an asshole. But I'm reluctant to vote for somebody who opposed the 'Born Alive' act.
Advantage McCain
Iraq and Afghanistan - In spite of original intentions, I don't see much difference in policy between the two men going forward, now that the new treaties with Iraq are in effect. Obama is a much stronger hand at these issues, and foreign policy in general, than most give him credit for, but that just makes him even with McCain and his team.
Veeps - Sarah Palin is clearly someone who never studied world, or even national affairs, with any sort of rigor until recently. The Katie Couric interviews prove this. She is however, a quick study and getting more coherent by the day. She is a liability for McCain because she reflects poorly on his judgement, at least initially. She is making up the ground though and is more than capable of grasping the issues once she has studied them. The debates and more recent interviews prove that. I'll go out on a limb and say she's learning faster than W did. Biden was ready from day one and while he doesn't have his facts straight all the time, he seems to always know what's going on and has a clear idea of what he would do.
Advantage Obama
The Economy - Most voters seem to assign a huge Obama advantage here. Obama's line is that Bush deregulation is to blame for the current problems, and he's right, and most voters agree. McCain's line is that Democrats blocking better regulation for Fannie and Freddie is really the culprit, while those to the right of McCain also point out the Community Reinvestment Act and tag that on the Dems. The problem is, they're all right. Each policy had a role to play, and both parties are to blame. While McCain 'suspended his campaign' and looked foolish as these problems were coming to light, Obama and McCain ended up casting identical votes. No advantage to either.
Character - I think both candidates are basically good people who are doing this for the right reasons. I would like to have a beer with both. Everyone knows Obama isn't actually friends with terrorists or violent communists. Everyone knows that Obama has also made unfair attacks on McCain's age and wealth and judgment. I ignore these things. But I think McCain is too prone to anger and recklessness while Obama is far too arrogant and cocky (just watch his speech in Chicago about the 2016 Olympics, ultra cocky). I think they will both overcome these problems to bring in cabinet members they disagree with and yet still have a successful relationship. No advantage.
Ultimately, I cast my vote for McCain, but against Adam Putnam. Let's get someone with independent thought representing me in the House. I do not dread an Obama administration.