My Soapbox

Please allow me the opportunity to rant for a bit…

One of the things that makes me the most turned off about our political system is the way we seem pigeonholed into the us vs. them mentality. If the other guy disagrees with me, then he is an idiot and I can say whatever horrible thing I want to about him, his family, his background, and his ideas. These horrible things are designed to make others see that my guy is the best choice. I’m not exaggerating here. I have met people that have said outrageous, gossipy, and hurtful things about a candidate because he or she was on the other side. These were things that in some cases were completely unsubstantiated. They may be true or they may be false. That doesn’t seem to matter. It was heard on _____ (whatever cable news channel supports their ideology) and will be gossiped and clucked about disapprovingly.

I don’t think you can pin this on just one side, either. The followers of both parties routinely engage in this kind of behavior. It makes me sick. It makes me not want to vote at all.

So I am confused. There are things I like about both candidates and things I dislike about both of them. I want to study their ideas and their plans and make an informed choice. I have been approached by supporters of both candidates who were incredulous over the thought that I could even CONSIDER the other candidate because of _____.

I think it is time for some positive, thoughtful, and respectful discussion in this country. Our problems are too great just to yell epithets at each other.

Here is one subject that I would love to see studied in depth. Under most economic conditions, which ideology has proven to be the most effective?

My understanding of the basic philosophical differences between Republican and Democratic economic strategy goes something like this:

Democratic – We need to tax higher-earning individuals and corporations at a higher rate so the middle and lower classes can get more programs and opportunities. They earn so much more than the rest of us; they need to give back to the country that allows them to create their wealth. This will level the playing field more and make the nation prosper on the whole. There is a lot of injustice in the world and a lot of corporate greed and excess. It is time someone did something about it.

Republican – We should give additional tax breaks to higher-earning individuals and corporations because they invest in our country and hire the rest of us. Higher taxes for them means they work harder to find loopholes (they can afford tax attorneys) and move their funds out of the country, so the Treasury gets less anyway. When rich guy “A” buys a yacht, all the yacht workers get work.

Which is the better approach? And how do varying economic conditions affect each strategy? It would be really great to read some in-depth studies on the subject.

I read something in our paper this morning. In the business section, they talk about the Mexican Immigrant population declining in San Diego County. There are not enough jobs in the construction industry, and Latino workers have the highest unemployment rate in our area. Here is a link to the article. It made me very sad because everyday I see the guys standing outside at the Home Depot hoping that someone will need handyman help of some kind. (It makes me very grateful for the temp job I was able to get.)

At least in this case, this would provide some evidence to support the Republican strategy. Although, it is not really tax-related, so maybe it is an unfair conclusion to draw. But it seems clear that one part of the population is spending a lot less and that directly impacts the economic opportunity of another segment of our population. It would be interesting to see this studied further by sociologists and economists.

See? Thoughtful, respectful, and productive discussion. Was that so hard?

Or do you just think I am an idiot because of my beliefs?