Thank You America

[vikingviolinist]

Never again will I stand by and listen when I hear Americans tell me that their vote doesn't matter. That the government doesn't do anything. That the parties are the same anyway.

The Democratic 110th congress has had less than two weeks so far. What could they accomplish in two weeks?

H.R.1: Implements the remaining 9/11 Commission

Comments

[vikingviolinist]

First off, thank you for your response. It is always nice to know that someone in my age group has a political pulse.

Aligning one’s self with a political party is limiting in no way whatsoever. I am a Democrat, but this is not to say that I intend to swallow the Democratic party platform whole, but rather that I recognize that the fundamental ideas of the Democratic Party are held by myself as well. That being said, I do not always fall in with the Democratic Party line, but that’s okay, because at that underlying level, we’re all coming from the same place.

Now you on the other hand do not subscribe to either political party’s ideas, and therefore consider yourself unaffiliated. That is perfectly valid as well. But to label as “short-sighted” the majority of Americans who do associate with one party or another is complete generalization, not to mention somewhat insulting to a rather large block of people.

I’m a Democrat because I believe that the most important role of government is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is why I support these bills recently passed by congress.

The average American citizen cannot stay safe from terrorism by his or herself, so the government steps in with H.R.1.

Seniors living off social security, receiving their essential medications from Medicare, do not have the ability to negotiate with pharmaceuticals for affordable prices on their vital prescription drugs, so the government steps in with H.R.4.

Victims of physical injuries, genetic diseases, or degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease cannot alleviate their ailments by themselves, therefore the government steps in with H.R.3, to bring hope of a cure to the many who could be helped by stem cell research.

And of course the working poor cannot negotiate with their employers to receive a livable wage, so the government steps in with H.R.2 and declares that in our America we will ensure that no one works hard with three jobs and still finds themselves unable to feed their families.

Although experts generally agree that minimum wage laws do have some effect on the job market, there is no agreement regarding how big (or small) of an effect this is. Furthermore, other economists claim that minimum wage laws can provide a boast to the economy by putting more money in the pockets of those who actually do spend their entire paychecks.

On the whole, my point is that there is no consensus regarding the effects of minimum wage legislation. This is not a case of the big mean Democrats interfering with the private sector. This is a case of the government protecting working class Americans from worker exploitation. This is the government doing exactly what the government is intended to do, protect those who are unable to protect themselves.