Well...Barack Obama is President-elect of the United States. It really is an historic moment in the history of our nation. I'm simultaneously struck by the greatness of the achievement and struck by the, frankly, terrifying platform that the first Black American President has used to enter the office. It seems to me that his platform is exactly opposite of what America needs at this moment.
Higher taxes, new trade barriers, and more regulation are not going help jump-start an ailing economy. They're instead going to discourage innovation and entrepreneurship and force more American companies relocate abroad or outsource labor. Funneling more money into the education system and apply more pressure to public schools is only going to encourage waste and inefficiency in the system. And it doesn't address the main issue that is affecting education in America: children can't be bothered to learn and parents can't be bothered to "encourage" them to learn. Until you address those two fundamental issues, education in America is going to continue to decline. Taking American's Constitutional right to bear arms isn't going to solve to problem of violence in cities and schools. It's only going to keep guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens with whom the problem doesn't rest.
Crawling back into the "good graces" of the international community isn't going to solve the major foreign policy issues, either. Countries like Iran, Syria, North Korea, and China aren't looking to be friendly. Their actions, which I personally think are completely independent from our foreign policy of the last 8 years, indicate that. Iran doesn't want to negotiate...they want nuclear weapons. They want to destroy Israel, one of our most steadfast allies since its foundation in 1948. I think it's a bit naive to suggest that they've been waiting for us to sit down with them to suspend their nuclear program and play nicely with Israel.
Ahmadinejad: "Oh, here comes America. Finally, they've come to negotiate! Now we can abandon our plans for dominance in the Middle East and the complete annihilation of Israel and return to civilized membership in the global community. If only they'd come sooner..." Give me a break!
Now that I've gotten that out, I want to say that I'm honestly going to try not to be hateful about Barack Obama anymore. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and see how his plans pan out. He is going to be the next President of the United States and as such deserves of all the respect that the office entails. I'm going to endeavor, throughout all the disagreements I'm sure to have with him, to remain respectful. I hope and pray that, by God's grace, our nation prospers, that it remains secure, and that our most treasured ideal, liberty, flourishes for generations to come.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Holloween Candy
I was listening to Glenn Beck on my way to work this morning (Yes I know...I'm an old man.) and he made a great Halloween analogy.
The scene begins as three trick-or-treating children come knocking on your door. You open the door and quickly survey the kids' candy bags. You notice that two kids have lots of candy and the other doesn't have nearly as much. There are several reasons that the one kid doesn't have as much: he might not have been able to get to as many houses as the other two or he might have just been lazy and not have tried as hard to get candy. Seeing the apparent inequity, would you take candy from the other two kids to try and even things out? If you did, the two kids that lost candy would immediately recognize the inequity of that action. The kid's recognize that taking the candy that they've collected and giving to another kid without their consent isn't fair. A parent looking at this situation might encourage the two with more to give to child that doesn't, but probably wouldn't force the kids to do so. It's far more meaningful and appropriate when the child gives because they want to.
I love that analogy because it shows so many truths about this election. Some people would say it sounds stupid or ridiculous, but it shows how Obama's tax plan would play out. It also shows the other side of the Republican argument that the media never really addresses. Republicans aren't about taking from the poor and making them suffer. Rather, we emphasize that it should be an issue that each person deals with on an individual basis rather than passing it off on government. If anything, Republicans are emphasizing personal responsibility. And that, dear readers, is really at the core of the problem with America today. We're are having a crisis of responsibility!
Almost every issue boils down to Americans refusing to take responsibility for their actions and trying to transfer that responsibility onto someone else. I'll admit that that is not the case in every situation, but I would venture that it is the case about 90 percent of the time. Yet one cannot understate the importance of personal responsibility to the future success and strength of America. Without it, we will continue on this present decline until the America that we know and love ceases to exist.
The scene begins as three trick-or-treating children come knocking on your door. You open the door and quickly survey the kids' candy bags. You notice that two kids have lots of candy and the other doesn't have nearly as much. There are several reasons that the one kid doesn't have as much: he might not have been able to get to as many houses as the other two or he might have just been lazy and not have tried as hard to get candy. Seeing the apparent inequity, would you take candy from the other two kids to try and even things out? If you did, the two kids that lost candy would immediately recognize the inequity of that action. The kid's recognize that taking the candy that they've collected and giving to another kid without their consent isn't fair. A parent looking at this situation might encourage the two with more to give to child that doesn't, but probably wouldn't force the kids to do so. It's far more meaningful and appropriate when the child gives because they want to.
I love that analogy because it shows so many truths about this election. Some people would say it sounds stupid or ridiculous, but it shows how Obama's tax plan would play out. It also shows the other side of the Republican argument that the media never really addresses. Republicans aren't about taking from the poor and making them suffer. Rather, we emphasize that it should be an issue that each person deals with on an individual basis rather than passing it off on government. If anything, Republicans are emphasizing personal responsibility. And that, dear readers, is really at the core of the problem with America today. We're are having a crisis of responsibility!
Almost every issue boils down to Americans refusing to take responsibility for their actions and trying to transfer that responsibility onto someone else. I'll admit that that is not the case in every situation, but I would venture that it is the case about 90 percent of the time. Yet one cannot understate the importance of personal responsibility to the future success and strength of America. Without it, we will continue on this present decline until the America that we know and love ceases to exist.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Six days and counting
The election is in 6 days. I don't think things are going to shape up well. I have to wonder, though. How can so many people be wrong? I'm so convinced that my viewpoint is right, I'm having a hard time understand how so many people can land on the other side. I think some people really just don't know about the way things work. I'm certainly not an expert, but I feel like I enough knowledge and understanding to have a solidly supported position that I can defend. But I'm sure there are many people who feel the same about the other side! As a Christian, I believe that their in absolute Truth; that there is right and wrong, not degrees in between. Yet there are Christians whose positions fall exactly opposite of mine. How does that work?!?!?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Let's get down to business...
I thought I'd jot down a quick thought I had at work on Thursday. I was watching a clip about Barack Obama and he was going on about his desire to punish companies that ship jobs overseas (because that what his rollback of tax breaks amounts to) and give tax breaks to companies that create jobs here. Here in lies another example of the contradictions that exist in Barack Obama's platform. But first a few facts:
1. According to the Tax Foundation, the average combined state and federal corporate tax rate in the United States is 39.3 percent. That national average gives the U.S. the second highest corporate tax rate among countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Japan is slightly higher at 39.5 percent.
2. The state corporate tax rate is (obviously) determined on a state level. When looking at each state individually, 24 states have a combined state and federal corporate tax rate higher than Japan. In this case, the highest corporate tax rate is Iowa at 41.6 percent!
3. Federal corporate tax rates are highest on those corporations making between $100,000 and $335,000. Those companies at taxed 39 percent!
4. John McCain has proposed reducing the Federal corporate tax rate to 25%.
5. Barack Obama hasn't. He has said that he will broaden the corporate tax base (increase the number of firms that have to pay taxes) and then reduce the tax rate for companies that create jobs in this country.
Firstly, it's absolutely absurd that the United States has such ludicrously high corporate tax rates. It's no wonder companies are looking to move operations overseas. I wouldn't want to pay the government 2/5 of what I make. It's a tribute to the skill and tenacity of American corporations that they are able to be as profitable as they are given the current tax situation. Secondly, how would effectively increasing taxes on companies make them bring jobs back? Somehow, that doesn't seem like it's going to work. At all. Nor should it. It's stupid and counter-intuitive. Companies aren't going to bother.
Side note: Companies don't send jobs overseas out of spite. They do it because they can get the job done to an equal or higher standard at a lower cost abroad. Last time I checked,
that's what running a profitable business is about. Just thought I should clarify...
Thirdly, it's another example of Barack Obama promising things that reality isn't going to allow him to deliver. He ought to know better...and so should the American people. Lower corporate taxes across the board, keeping personal income taxes low, and reduce government manipulation of the market and I think the economy will begin the process of recovery.
1. According to the Tax Foundation, the average combined state and federal corporate tax rate in the United States is 39.3 percent. That national average gives the U.S. the second highest corporate tax rate among countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Japan is slightly higher at 39.5 percent.
2. The state corporate tax rate is (obviously) determined on a state level. When looking at each state individually, 24 states have a combined state and federal corporate tax rate higher than Japan. In this case, the highest corporate tax rate is Iowa at 41.6 percent!
3. Federal corporate tax rates are highest on those corporations making between $100,000 and $335,000. Those companies at taxed 39 percent!
4. John McCain has proposed reducing the Federal corporate tax rate to 25%.
5. Barack Obama hasn't. He has said that he will broaden the corporate tax base (increase the number of firms that have to pay taxes) and then reduce the tax rate for companies that create jobs in this country.
Firstly, it's absolutely absurd that the United States has such ludicrously high corporate tax rates. It's no wonder companies are looking to move operations overseas. I wouldn't want to pay the government 2/5 of what I make. It's a tribute to the skill and tenacity of American corporations that they are able to be as profitable as they are given the current tax situation. Secondly, how would effectively increasing taxes on companies make them bring jobs back? Somehow, that doesn't seem like it's going to work. At all. Nor should it. It's stupid and counter-intuitive. Companies aren't going to bother.
Side note: Companies don't send jobs overseas out of spite. They do it because they can get the job done to an equal or higher standard at a lower cost abroad. Last time I checked,
that's what running a profitable business is about. Just thought I should clarify...
Thirdly, it's another example of Barack Obama promising things that reality isn't going to allow him to deliver. He ought to know better...and so should the American people. Lower corporate taxes across the board, keeping personal income taxes low, and reduce government manipulation of the market and I think the economy will begin the process of recovery.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Is this blog going to make it beyond the first post?
Anyone who subscribed to the Xanga that I created Freshman year knows that I'm terrible at this sort of thing. I was good at posting for about 2 weeks and then...nothing. From time to time, my Xanga still futily reachs out to me from the vastness of cyberspace begging me to use it, but to no avail. Hopefully, this blog won't suffer the same fate. But on to the more important things...
The whole reason that I've started this blog is to give me a place to rant. Not general ranting about day-to-day things like work or school, but the single topic that inevitably causes a surge of frustration or anger to well up inside me: politics.
This election season has nearly driven me to drink. Heavily. I am so saturated with the (to steal a phrase Dr. Holland) "oral rot" that pours forth from the liberal media on a daily basis that I could slap someone (Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Randi Rhodes, or all three :). I feel as though reality is so distorted, manipulated, and in some cases completely obscured that people have no chance of seeing things for how they really are. Will the prevarications never end?!?!? But rather than draw their own conclusions and do their own research, the majority of Americans, in typical American fashion of late, swallow the exhaulted opinions of the liberal media and believe it as gospel truth. {Side note: does one capitalize gospel truth in this context?}
And though I'm typically referring to people of the liberal persuasion, I'm finding that its true of many Republicans as well. The difference is that, though they often don't really know why the believe what they believe, they happen to believe the right thing. That's another thing that I'm tired of: people who believe whatever they believe simply because they inherited it from their parents or they heard it on the news or their barber told them. I used to be one of those people. I respect my parents beliefs a great deal, but until about two or three years ago, I hadn't really made them my own. But I reached what I consider a watershed moment in the development of my own political philosophy: I had class with Linda Raeder. Undoubtedly one of the most brilliant people I have ever known, Dr. Raeder challenged me to examine my worldview and make it my own ("worldview" strikes me as a bit trite, but there isn't another word that will suffice). She showed me how complex a worldview is a how important it is to understand your own worldview and really subject it to scrutiny. If it's based in truth, it'll hold water. Since that time, I've been going through the process of really solidifying my worldview. I feel now that I don't have to make any apologies for my beliefs because I've spent alot of time thinking and praying about what I believe.
But I guess what I really struggle with is coming to grips with the fact that, despite the fact that truth of my beliefs seem as plain to me as the nose on my face, a majority of Americans think differently. How dare they! I vacillate between feeling like I know the truth and wondering if I missed the boat somewhere. I feel that if I really was RIGHT, then people would leave the wicked ways of liberalism and come over to the enlightened side of conservatism. In my mind, the justness of my beliefs and the worthiness of my cause should be readily apparent and appealing to everyone. Pretty arrogant and self-focused, isn't it?
I know this a really weird place to stop, but I'm tired of trying to organize my thoughts. I think this will be enough for now. Tune in for part two tomorrow...or maybe the day after.
The whole reason that I've started this blog is to give me a place to rant. Not general ranting about day-to-day things like work or school, but the single topic that inevitably causes a surge of frustration or anger to well up inside me: politics.
This election season has nearly driven me to drink. Heavily. I am so saturated with the (to steal a phrase Dr. Holland) "oral rot" that pours forth from the liberal media on a daily basis that I could slap someone (Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Randi Rhodes, or all three :). I feel as though reality is so distorted, manipulated, and in some cases completely obscured that people have no chance of seeing things for how they really are. Will the prevarications never end?!?!? But rather than draw their own conclusions and do their own research, the majority of Americans, in typical American fashion of late, swallow the exhaulted opinions of the liberal media and believe it as gospel truth. {Side note: does one capitalize gospel truth in this context?}
And though I'm typically referring to people of the liberal persuasion, I'm finding that its true of many Republicans as well. The difference is that, though they often don't really know why the believe what they believe, they happen to believe the right thing. That's another thing that I'm tired of: people who believe whatever they believe simply because they inherited it from their parents or they heard it on the news or their barber told them. I used to be one of those people. I respect my parents beliefs a great deal, but until about two or three years ago, I hadn't really made them my own. But I reached what I consider a watershed moment in the development of my own political philosophy: I had class with Linda Raeder. Undoubtedly one of the most brilliant people I have ever known, Dr. Raeder challenged me to examine my worldview and make it my own ("worldview" strikes me as a bit trite, but there isn't another word that will suffice). She showed me how complex a worldview is a how important it is to understand your own worldview and really subject it to scrutiny. If it's based in truth, it'll hold water. Since that time, I've been going through the process of really solidifying my worldview. I feel now that I don't have to make any apologies for my beliefs because I've spent alot of time thinking and praying about what I believe.
But I guess what I really struggle with is coming to grips with the fact that, despite the fact that truth of my beliefs seem as plain to me as the nose on my face, a majority of Americans think differently. How dare they! I vacillate between feeling like I know the truth and wondering if I missed the boat somewhere. I feel that if I really was RIGHT, then people would leave the wicked ways of liberalism and come over to the enlightened side of conservatism. In my mind, the justness of my beliefs and the worthiness of my cause should be readily apparent and appealing to everyone. Pretty arrogant and self-focused, isn't it?
I know this a really weird place to stop, but I'm tired of trying to organize my thoughts. I think this will be enough for now. Tune in for part two tomorrow...or maybe the day after.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)