6 Days And Counting

Sorry for the "politi-blog" post, but please indulge me.

I'm sure some of you are getting tired of hearing all the political and election news that's been going on for over a year now. I can't blame you, I'm even getting a little tired of it myself and I've actually been enjoying and following it all pretty closely for the last 10 months or so.

I've already made my choice on how I'm going to vote. But I'm waiting to vote until Tuesday. Two things that have impacted my decision have been how the candidate has shown to interpret the constitution and how their overall tax plan will impact our national economy. I think that the interpretation of the constitution is crucial to a lot of other issues and is a bit of an umbrella issue. If they properly interpret the constitution then they will more than likely agree with my position on government involvement in the lives of citizens, abortion, homosexual marriages, etc. The overall tax plan is important to me because one tax is not like another. Income tax is one thing, but corporate, property, and estate taxes are all another. I think they all matter. Another detail issue for me is the candidate's energy independence plan.

As far as corporate taxes go, I think the rate needs to go down. America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. No wonder companies are more willing than ever to move their company or production to foreign countries. They can keep their costs down and remain competitive in the marketplace. But our country looses out on tax revenue when companies leave our borders. Wouldn't it make more sense to lower the corporate tax rate and encourage companies to stay in America? Workers benefit from jobs, and the nation benefits from the increased tax revenue. Raising the corporate tax rate does not make sense to me. I do not believe that companies pay tax--they simply pass their expenses onto the consumer. That's you and me--middle class America. We end up paying the corporate tax.

Back to the constitution. This is additionally important to me because the next president will likely appoint up to 3 new justices to the supreme court. These appointees will have a long term effect on our country. I want to vote for a candidate that I don't have to question the majority of his associations. I cannot trust a president to appoint a justice who will conservatively interpret the constitution, if the people they have chosen to work with, befriend, or receive counsel from in the past are against the core principles of our constitution, the democratic process, or a capitalistic economy.

On the issue of energy or energy independence, I want a president who will increase our domestic energy production and get us off of foreign oil. Domestic energy does not only mean drilling for oil, but also should include natural gas, clean coal, nuclear energy, solar, wind--whatever. I'm open for all energy options so long as they are economically reasonable and a responsible use of our resources. The important part is to continually limit our dependency on foreign energy, primarily oil from Iran and Venezuela.

So for those who haven't made up their minds or are interested here are a few web video links I found that compare the overall tax plans of both candidates.

video clip 1
video clip 2

Happy voting! Just make sure you don't accidentally vote for your dog too! Even if ACORN says you can.