I VOTED! DID YOU?

I am not eloquent or well versed in political policies or issues so my blog today may seem elementary; however, I feel it is valid all the same.

I voted for JOHN MCCAIN and SARAH PALIN.

I am a Republican and I don't feel that I am close minded, stingy, self righteous or out of touch with society. My morals line up with the Republican party more than any other and for certain specific reasons I vote this way. I don't feel that anyone out there that is Democratic or pro choice is pro abortion. But I feel very strongly that abortion is not right and cannot in good conscience vote for someone who could possibly make this option too accessible for those who would abuse it's availability because of their own carelessness. And I'm not saying that's everyone's reason for using it, but a lot of peoples.

Anyways, I have looked into tax cuts and raises, education reform, environmental issues, etc. for both parties and I agree with McCain more so than Obama. Tax proposals by both candidates will result in a tax refund for our family. The only difference is the amount of that refund. And we are by all accounts a part of the under $250,000 a year middle class everyone keeps talking about. Part of being an American is the opportunity to advance your economic station through hard work. Our country was built on capitalism. Careful planning, risk taking and diligent effort by individuals. The American constitution guarantees us the right to pursue happiness, not the right to happiness. Any program that offers individuals benefits without that individual making those decisions and investing time in those efforts moves closer and closer to socialism, then communism under the pretense of everyone getting a fair share. In reality, everyone's fair share is based on the amount of effort put into a program. Those that own big businesses have most likely worked for generations and/or are parts of very productive teams that are successful due to their and their employees efforts. The difference between the owners and the employees is that the owners funded the original capital and have taken all the risks. An employee has no risk, puts forth no capital and is paid accordingly. So why then should a person being willing to take risks and put forth the effort to be successful be punished by being forces to pay more than their fair share. If I know that I'll be punished by working harder, then I'll do the bare minimum to get by as will everyone else. As a matter of fact, those that receive more from the government and require assistance should be taxed more with a few exceptions like handicaps, etc. If you have 5 children going to public schools, then in theory your taxes should be more than the single guy making twice as much. Why should he pay to send your children to
school?

I don't work in the school system so I don't have first hand knowledge of what goes on, but one thing that makes sense to me it is this: If other countries can have better education than we do with half the money spent on their school systems as is spent on ours, more money spent on our is not the solution. I think teachers are miracle workers and I am not saying they are over paid or should have their wages cut. What I am saying is that I believe there are many teachers/educators out there that are in the wrong line of work and if they are not motivated to be better by their love of what they do and their desire to educate then more money is not going to change that. Actual education reform, in my opinion, is what's needed.

I know this will probably not set well with most who read this but Luke wanted to know why we were voting and these are some of my reasons. I voted! Did you?

By the way, thankfully, there was no line for me to stand in, I voted in less than 5 minutes and I was given a coupon for a free cup of coffee at Starbucks or a free donut at Krispy Kreme for voting today. I was voting anyways but free coffee and donuts never hurts. :)