Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a portion of a McCain town hall meeting. Several people expressed fear of an Obama presidency. For once McCain reverted to his honorable self and said there was nothing to fear from an Obama presidency. I see now that his campaign and the Republican 527 groups have returned to the fear message. Obama has not resorted to this tactic; however that perspective has not trickled down to many of his supporters. A recent Daily Show piece from both campaigns talked about fear and world destruction with the success of the opponent candidate. I confess that I'm one of those people who fear a McCain presidency. I'm embarrassed that it sounds so lame on TV, especially when my fear is compared to the McCain supporters screaming about the end of the world.

I, in my elite self-exploration mode wonder if I'm not being as narrow minded as those I have identified on McCain/Palin's side. They express what I consider are tarnished and bigoted reasons for fearing Obama: he's a Muslim, an Arab, a terrorist, a socialist, a baby killer. These fears are often hyped by McCain/Palin and their official supporters, especially as we get closer to the election. These fears seem to lead to hostile acts and ugly aggression from some. How will this division end - in another assassination or other unrest.

I do fear a McCain/Palin administration because of his jingoistic calls to attack the "terrorists", defining them broadly, the call to stay in Iraq, perhaps attack Iran, to reignite the cold war with Russia, his Bush-like dismissal of the advantages of talking to our enemies, his economic policies so similar to Bush, his erratic temperament in addressing the economic meltdown during the campaign, his seeming reversal of principles on so many issues; and the possibility that he will die in office. Once I thought he was honorable, but that honor seems to have been overtaken by blind ambition. You know he wants to be President oh so very badly that he has decided that he will say anything, do anything that might stick or work.

I remember a time when you voted for or against the other guy because you didn't like the policies he was proposing, but you generally forgot the rancor of the campaign and got back to life after the election. The one time I remember that didn't work this way was under Nixon, who was despised by half the country because of the war in Vietnam. That war split the country in ways that still reverberate. This election seems to be highlighting those splits in the country again. I love this country but I don't want to be a part of a country that does the things this government has done over the last 8 years. I don't want to be a part of a country that can't put the common good before the individual good. And the other side fears being a part of country that could elect a black man, that could be okay with gay marriage, that allow the "killing" of the unborn, who might control guns so that an 8 year old doesn't get killed by an Uzi he is shooting. I can't help feeling part of the problem preventing a unified country because of my fear, but my fear just won't go away unless McCain loses. Will their fear be as lasting or can Obama appeal to their better selves?

This is a long way of saying that I'm afraid of another Bush four years and I'm glad that Obama is appealing to our better selves, and I just wish I had a better self when it comes to the possibility of McCain winning. I only hope I don't find out, because I really don't think I can continue to live in a McCain/Palin country that Rove/Bush/Cheney have begot.

The Tax Man Cometh!

With the federal debt rising to enormous proportions of our annual budget; with the Bush Administration still trying for enormous Defense Budgets [not even including the Wars] and Wall Street imploding despite their huge profits over the last decade, the time has come to decide why we pay taxes and to get back to those basic core values.

Taxes buy roads, bridges, commuter trains, parks [federal and local], clean water, sewers, fire and police protection, our judicial system, our corrections system, mortgage insurance [VA and FHA and rural homeloans], housing for those who cannot afford any, safe worksites, regulations of Wall Street, immigration management, border protection, search and rescue, the Coast Guard, education, medical care for the elderly and very poor, and so many other things. We all have our pet project that is supported by taxes but we also know that there are some core things that government must do for us. These activities have been attacked by the no-government types for so long, I sometimes wonder if the public really understands that they need government for many, many things in their daily lives. This help doesn't come without cost, but as part of working for the common good, we pay taxes to pay for these things, whether we as an individual uses all of the services or not. We cannot turn our backs on this common good. Yes, many programs in government can and should be improved - to work better, cost less, serve the people more efficiently and effectively - but we shouldn't just throw them out, but without taxes that's what would happen.

We desperately need to come to grips with our spending as a nation, and get to a point where our outgo is equaled by our income. The last 30 years have been mostly about cutting taxes rather than objectively setting priorities. This tax cutting mentality has been done without regard to the need to pay for a wide variety of services. No one wants to pay for government, but everyone wants the services government provides. This disconnect cannot continue. We need to face up to the fact that money must be spent to provide for the common good, and the only place that money can come from is through taxes.

At the same time, we must recognize that the vast number of people at the bottom half of the country have been screwed by unbalance tax burdens [see Social Security, sales taxes, and fees for previously free services]. We need to rebalance that burden. Obama is right to look to helping the middle class but he is not right in his narrow definition. He proposes to tax the rich, because that's where the money is, but eventually, the people who have an affluent if not rich life should bear more of the tax burden than they do now. This redistribution of the tax burden while improving basic government services will make for the common good. We cannot let our personal circumstances dictate our responsibility for sound public policy making.

Not the Great Depression - Yet?

Numerous experts have pointed out that this current crisis is not the Great Depression. They point to the much lower unemployment rate, the current economic doldrums but not chasm, the fact that millions are not living in tent cities, and other issues. They are right, but they miss the fact that this may just be 1928. All the very bad conditions from the GD were yet to come. The country was electing a President. The stock market was still booming and a Republican, Herbert Hoover was on the verge of replacing a silent Cal Coolidge in the White House. Although there were warnings of trouble ahead, the election campaign was upbeat. The trouble began in earnest after the election and by 1931 the meltdown was almost complete. It would take almost 20 years and a World War to reverse the downturn. The question to be asked now is not whether this is the Great Depression, but whether this is 1928?