WARNING: the following post contains my political views on the discussion at hand, presented in a confusing rant. My ramblings are sure to be inflammatory and difficult to understand at best. In this post, I will summarize what I find wrong with the American political system, my opinion of the constitution, my answers to America's decisions, and my review of recent presidential candidates. One thing is for sure: this is bound to start some good discussions. You have been warned, so read at your own risk.
The major flaw with how American politics function is the democrats and the republicans. There is so much animosity between the two parties, that every politician is afraid of being ostracized by their party for having differing views from the party base, that they go lockstep with the rest of their party and nothing ever gets done. Problems in America are grey, not red and blue.
I believe that too many people view the constitution (bill of rights) as the only things the government can do. These people have clearly forgotten about the preamble. I do not want to write out the whole preamble, but that concisely explains the mission the founding fathers set for the government. The rest of the constitution is only to give boundaries to how the government goes about meeting the conditions of the preamble.
The first set of American problems I will tackle come from the social side. My major problem with the Republican Party is that they claim to stand for freedom for all and little government involvement (the phrase "I disagree with what you do, but I will defend your right to do it" comes to mind) yet instantly rejects this idea under the guise of religious views. I am of course talking about gay marriage and contraception. If the Republican Party really stood for freedom for all and little government involvement in people's lives, then they would support the right of gays to get married, even if they disagree with gay marriage because it is not the government's place to encroach on personal freedoms. The same view can be applied to gun control and hunting. Too many liberals go on and on about how the government shouldn't try to control people through religious views, yet try to control gun owners and hunters by impressing their own personal views on others and violate their personal rights. It is a two way street for both parties.
When it comes to social discussions, especially about gun control and immigration, many people are going to try to bring up other countries as examples to support their view. Many people say that England has strict gun control and low crime rate. I say look at South Africa. People say look at the strict immigration policy of Germany and how it helps their country. I say look at the level of government control in major industries that allow this system to work.
Now lets talk about American fiscal problems (my wheelhouse). Instead of trying to explain the faults in each political party's fiscal plans, I will say my ideas and let you contrast them. Lets start with taxes. People want smooth highways and fast government employees, but don't want to pay for it. The money that runs all public services does not come from no where. More tax revenue means that the government (if properly managed) can work more efficiently and provide better services. Otherwise, you can shovel your own roads and hand deliver your own mail. I am not for tax breaks for either the rich or the poor. I think we should start with an equal tax for all tax brackets. Then, give a tax break to the lower class for a period of time. Next, give a tax break to the middle class as well. Finally, give a tax break to the upper class. This way, taxes will be incrementally lowered to an agreeable level without a major drought in tax revenue. If my plan works as well in reality as it does in theory, then the lower classes will have an opportunity for financial growth while also letting the government time to adjust to steadily less tax funds.
When it comes to welfare, I am for the Clinton-era "work for welfare" program that George Bush got rid of. I am all for helping people on the bottom who need it, but not unlimited handouts. There is nothing wrong with giving the unfortunate a helping hand getting on solid footing, but endlessly supporting them is just ridiculous. The republicans act like all poor people are subhuman leeches on society, while the democrats act like the poor are children who are unable to take care of themselves. The poor are neither of these things. They are people just like the rest of us. This means that the majority of them are good and hard working (not leeches) but also many will take the path of least resistance and rely on government support instead of taking care of themselves (even if they can do so).
When it comes to government spending, I am actually for heavy government spending if it supports the growth of the nation. The whole point of the government is to help the nation thrive by meeting the goals of the preamble. This can only be accomplished by spending money so that the government can carry out plans to help the country. Just look at all of the good that FDR did through high government spending when it is done right.
When it comes to fiscal problems as a whole, the biggest problem that i have to grapple with, and I think is a bigger problem for the republicans, is that deciding to do what is right vs what is the best course of action. One example for this is when Florida tried to drug test people on welfare. They found that less than 2% of welfare recipients were on drugs, and the tests themselves cost more than just giving welfare to that 2%. While it seems like it would be right for us to try to test for drug addicts in the welfare program, it is just not efficient and logical.
When it comes to democrats saying that we need to give tax breaks and increase welfare for the poor and increase taxes on the upper class, my first reaction is to immediately oppose this idea. One of my favorite expressions for this discussion is that "people get rich be knowing how to make money and also keep it". I make a living knowing how to manage businesses and finances, and my hard work and knowledge should not also fund people who do not do the same hard work as me. I choose to work in such a difficult field because I want to make more money, and it is not fair that someone should profit off of my hard work and knowledge (without paying for my consultation first). While saying that, I also understand that the American economy does better as a whole if the lower class is contributing to the economy through spending money, which they can only do if they have a disposable income. This means, in the end, giving tax breaks and welfare to the lower class and compensating for the decrease in tax revenue by increasing taxes on the upper class. It may not be right, but it is a necessary evil.
Now, I will talk about the recent presidents and candidates and what I think their flaws and strengths are. I will start with Bill Clinton. He is the closest America has ever gotten to actually working Reaganomics. If you actually look at Clinton's economic and foreign policies, he is far more conservatives fiscally than George Bush ever was. The problem with Clinton came from his gun control ideas. He nearly ruined the country (and any favor he won with me) through his gun control bill.
Moving on to Bush, I think he was a pretty bad president, but nowhere near the monster that liberals make him out to be. It is obvious that the Iraq war and the deregulation of the banking system were the leading causes for the economic downturn. At least he did not renew the Clinton gun bill. I do not think that Bush was intentionally to ruin America (as many liberals want you to believe) but I do think that he suffers from what I like to call "daddy whorebucks syndrome" whihc is a name I use to describe the CEOs I regularly deal with who inherit massive corporations, but do not have the knowledge to run such corporations.
Before we talk about Obama, lets talk about John McCain. I used to be a huge fan of John McCain but I did not vote for him. The reason why my view of him changed so dramatically is because I think he sold out. John McCain used to be the only republican who spoke his mind and did what he though was right. Even if I did not agree with all of his views, I respected his strength and commitment to doing what he thinks, and would make a great president. During the campaign, however, McCain sold out his views in favor of adopting the views of the Republican Party base.
Romney falls victim to the point I made earlier about doing what is right/best for me, and doing what is best for the whole country. If he had become president, I would be making more money and paying less in taxes, at least short term. The problem is, the lower and middle classes would have suffered and hurt the economy in the long term. Romney also would have bowed to the conservative religious right and enacted restrictive laws on personal freedoms.
I see Obama as a wasted opportunity and crushing disappointment who did not do nearly as much damage as republicans make it sound like he did. Obama promised to reinvent America and help the lower and middle classes grow. He failed terribly on these promises. Luckily, Obama has not trashed the economy anymore than it already was (actually improved it) and he has not enacted and gun laws (he received a F- grade from the Brady association). He has also deported a higher percentage of illegal immigrants than any other president. He is no where near as good as every democrat seems to worship him as, but is also not the devil incarnate that the republicans say he is.
When it comes to future presidential candidates, the democrats that come to mind are Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. I have actually always been a fan of Joe Biden because he is the democratic counterpart to the old version (not age but politics) of John McCain. There is also a benefit of having a politician with as much experience and seniority as Biden, which was clearly demonstrated in his debate with Paul Ryan. I would vote for Hillary in a heartbeat because of the Reaganomics that the Clintons preach and her impressive job as the Secretary of State (don't mention benghazi because I will not get into that discussion with you). My only problem with Hillary is the fear that she would push for stricter gun control and maybe even ban hunting. If she said in her campaign that she would want either one of these things, I could not vote for her. And I know that someone will say that Obama campaigned on stricter gun control and did nothing, but Hillary actually has the balls and will to follow through with her promises. The only possible republican candidate that I considered is Chris Christie, but his recent scandal has caused my support for him to waver. He is probably the only politician who actually stands for my political views. While I am not yet completely sold on Christie, he is probably the person I will vote for in the next election.
Well I applaud you if you actually read my ridiculously long post and were able to make it out alive. I think it will start some good discussions here and I want to hear what your opinions on my views are. This is what makes America the best country on earth. We can share opposing political views without fear of negative repercussions.