A good friend of mine has been an Obama supporter since before he was in the news.  I can tell you that Obama has been "the news" ever since.  We, via a partnership with the news analytics experts, track news volume.  Obama being talked about 3 times the volume of his competitor is just same old, same old.  Its remarkable, but its normal for him.  I normally don’t say much about politics because I dislike them all so much, I choose to disengage. 

Obama is a great leader

When I saw him speak for the first time, I was definitely impressed.  In fact, I was inspired.  I feel as though he has the capacity to make a difference in this world and will certainly be a driving force in our near and not so distant future.   However, is he qualified to lead or country?  I know, its been asked and the McCain camp is beating it to death.  Well, is he?

What has he actually legislated and what success can he present as proof of his candidacy?  I finally found reference to his tax plans.  He will raise taxes.  He’ll leave lower income people pretty much alone.  They are having a hard enough time.  Those people who are managing to grow and produce, they get a stick in the nuts. 

The top tax bracket would go up to 39%.  So, make $100,000.  Before you see it, Uncle Sam takes $40,000, leaving you with $60K.  That’s an awful lot of the pie.  For a family of 5, it breaks down to 0.12 remaining for each member of the family with 0.40 pouring down the IRS gullet. 

There’s the numbers.  Should we keep squeezing or does it look like the problem is perhaps in the utilization of these funds? 

So let’s say I invest my .12 of my own earnings in an effort to grow a retirement fund so I don’t have to work until I keel over.  Let’s say I manage to put something away and grow it by investing in our nation’s economy.  Obama wishes to raise capital gains, any profit made over a greater than 2 year period (ie: long term investment, aka: retirement) to 28%.  So, after already being taxed on what I earned, I get taxed again for being smart and investing.  That’s stinks.  How much longer do I have to work to make up for that?

McCain will be a lot more of the same

Yes, McCain wants to continue with some of the directions that the last office took with regards to Iraq, taxes, the economy.  Is that so bad?  …really?  I know the war has been a big cluster-f#@% but our economy, though weak and in much more danger compared with 5 years ago, is still doing pretty darn well.  I say that because I’ve been hearing that a recession, and sometimes even depression, is immanent - for five years!  The media proposes that everything is near disaster but then they listen to what Rock stars have to say in between bong hits so consider the whole picture.  I don’t personally know anyone who has lost their primary residence due to foreclosure.  I know a lot of people who bought way more house than they could afford, including myself.  Still there.  Many expect it to rebound soon.  I do know people who have lost their jobs but they found new ones right away.  The European economy isn’t exactly trouncing us so I tend to look globally when there are global issues at hand. 

McCain wants to make tax breaks permanent.  He wants to leave other things alone.  This will likely cause our deficit to continue to grow.  Of course, we measure our deficit by a bunch of 19th century voodoo that is no longer any more appropriate than measuring the length of a mile by the instep of some dead British king.  So, are we in economic turmoil?  Some, yes.  Should we respond by taking all the money that productive Americans earn ad give it to government agencies who still operate under the "do whatever I want" patriot act?  I know, Obama will protect us from those mean agencies.  He’s our hero.  Great.  But I haven’t met him and I would rather not appoint a government employee to handle my money for the better of the whole over my interests in educating my kids and retiring with enough to keep me eating while my heart is still beating. 

Long Term Consideration

I am no expert in finance.  I am no expert in politics.  I couldn’t tell you a thing about law (except a few ways you should try not to break it).

However, I’ve learned that you should follow the example of those you respect and those whom have proven success and avoid the mistakes of those who deserve no less love but haven’t figured it out.  I am not going to listen to the opinion of some techno blogger (me) about whether I should vote for Obama because "I like him".  I will, however, be very careful to find someone older than me whom I would like to emulate and try to figure out what they have learned and apply that to my own situation.  As much as I like Obama and what he stands for, I prefer to make my own decisions with my money and I disagree with Michelle that ""The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more."

That statement indicates that we foster a culture where we redistribute wealth from great to small in a framework that favors balance and indiscriminate equity.  Unfortunately, economics is anything but.  A person who invents and builds a remarkable thing should not have to hand over the gains they made so that those who have not risen above can have the same wealth and benefits.  No one should have to endure sickness or hunger and everyone should have access to education.  We don’t all need iPods and designer jeans.  What happens if you remove reward for effort an risk / benefit?  Apathy.

History in the Making

I just felt compelled to speak my thoughts on why it is so important to check the government before handing over more control, more money and more of our collective pie.  With limited information, I make careful, deliberate decisions.  I want you to keep your job.  I want you to put your kids through the college of their choice.  I don’t want your employer to cut staff after the tax plans "change, change, change" only to benefit the budget of inefficient and ineffective government organizations.  We’re all pissed off about some of the things that the Bush administration has been responsible for but we had only one attack on American soil (though it was unbelievable, tragic and massive in scale).  We’ve been able to keep other countries in check who thought, briefly, that this was a good tie to test the line.  While my family will make half as much as our last generation counterparts made, we still have a chance to make a future for our children that does not include leaving their education and health up to the government.  Remember the cost/benefit of everything we do.  Raising taxes provides a benefit of more money in government but at what cost?  Communist healthcare provides equitable medical benefits to all but at what cost?

I invite rebuttal and please point me to the appropriate resources so I can make an educated decision as I go to the polls.  I was very much in favor of Obama in the beginning.  But as this unfolds, I worry about how the message has not evolved.  I worry about the "feel good politics" and promises that sound like they may be just more empty promises from a man with no really performance to demonstrate.  I spent a number of years claiming that I would be a rock star and many people believed me, including myself.  I might still record an album and I might even sell some copies but I am now wiser because I have experience behind me.  Idealism has its place: in the hearts and minds of our children.  We have no idea what they can accomplish.  However, there is a good reason we don’t let our children make decisions until they grow up.

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