Election Issues
As mentioned in an earlier article, “Election Predictions” I still believe that Gore will win despite Bush’s current lead. My reason for this is that the rational will win. Some of the things Bush has said seem irrational and Gore seems more rational.
Bush, like his father has been trying to sell the American people on tax cuts. Instead of doing the rational thing and using tax revenue to strengthen the country by reducing deficit, Bush wants to give the money back to the people. Don’t get me wrong, I dislike taxes as much as the next guy, but their is a time to do things and a time not too.
Anyone who has taken economics knows about fiscal policy and monetary policy. Fiscal policy, or taxes are controlled by the president and monetary policy or interest rates is controlled by the federal reserve board, aka, (Alan Greenspan). Alan Greenspan has had the best record of nearly all Federal Reserve Chairmen. He has managed to keep inflation at a rate that is very low. Nearly all year he has been increasing interest rates to combat any potential inflation. Unemployment is at an all-time low and people have money to spend.
Bush wants to combat Alan Greenspan’s policy and lower taxes. This should increase the chances of inflation which is not good.
Also, one of the largest problems in this country is lack of parenting. More and more children are being raised by single parents. The result may be unstable childhood’s and lack of good guidance. The results are crime and unhappiness.
When women are impregnated by men who do not want to father children, the best choice is often an abortion. Bush is against abortion. However, his state, Texas kills more people than any other state. The plan is to hope that the child will raise him/herself properly and solve any problems later. Well, children don’t raise themselves well, and the result is often, these neglected children end up as criminals in prison and we as citizens end up paying more in the long-run.
Gore is for campaign finance reform, he is for balancing the budget and supports abortion. These are things that are necessary for good government. Unfortunately, he carries the burden of his Democratic party which is known for “big government” and social welfare programs.
Some positive things about Bush is that favors letting people invest their own social security money, wants to get rid of inheritance tax, wants to lower taxes and is generally in my opinion, a better speaker. Unfortunately, some of these things such as the tax cuts are really not necessary right now.
Fundamental things such as campaign finance reform are much more important. Campaign finance reform is a platform for progress. As we know, it is hard to create progress when you have corruption. When campaign money starts affecting decision making as it has been, there is a problem.
The things that make for a successful country are in my opinion: good government, good natural resources, hardworking people. Some countries have good natural resources and hardworking people, but the countries fail because of bad government. Just go to Jim Rogers.com, one of my favorite sites. Jim is on a three year journey around the world. He travels through every country and reports about his thoughts about different countries. He is very keen on economics and talks specifically about the economy of different countries. Many of the countries fail because they have corrupt governments that steal from the people and make poor governmental decisions.
What is good government? Rational decision making represantivie of the people. Low beuracracy which allows for businesses and trading to occur without much hassle. The first one is really the main one. Having a government that represents its people will lead to the second and many other decisions such as good education or good social welfare.
Many of us have heard about some crazy laws that just don’t make any sense. When this occurs, you can bet that corruption had a role in the decision making. Many of you may have heard of the tax cut or tax break for purchasing a yacht. Now, how many millions of Americans do you think supported that? Since it is most likely unrepresentative of the people, corruption played a role in this.
The closer we can get as a country to corrupt free, the better our country will do. Setting and improving the basic foundations of our success, is the most important. Only then can we see true progress.
What is necessary for this. Well, money shouldn’t go to fund campaigns that isn’t representative of the people. This means that we as the people or government must finance campaigns collectively and disallow contributions by individuals or companies. This will cause our government officials to focus more on the people. The barrier between rich and poor must be eliminated to level the playing field as well. Advertising should be banned by those running for office. This will keep the rich from having an advantage over the less fortunate. It should be more like a job interview, but like a really long one. The person applies for the job and goes to interviews. The interviews or primaries should be subsidize by the government. And, speaches should be held in different cities at specific time and televised and put on the web for the people to vote for. Then, people vote, for their favorite two people and the two candidates have a final interview or question and debate where they are asked questions . Then people vote.
It shouldn’t be like it is today where it takes millions of dollars to get into government and you have to go around advertising. When someone goes in for a job interview, they don’t go around putting up signs, hire me!! The advertising is the presentation of the individual and interaction between the job seeker and the decision maker. It shouldn’t be much different with a government job.
Gore has spoken about this idea. If he could accomplish this as president, this would be an accomplishment that would be more valuable that what many of the past presidents have accomplished and set the foundation for progress.
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