Out of Debt = Freedom!

In response to What Debt?

I agree with you that our national debt is out of control and that action needs to be taken very quickly. Since Reagan’s presidency the nation’s debt has been skyrocketing. The upward trend slowed some due to the Clinton Administration but has increased at an alarming rate since Bush came into office. The money the government spends comes from our taxes and when that’s not enough they borrow money from the people through savings bonds and such, praying that everyone doesn’t decide to cash in at once. Americans are in debt, mostly, to the government and the American government is in debt, mostly, to Americans. Can anyone say nightmare?

I agree that the government should stop spending (wasting) so much money on nationwide programs but I disagree on the tax cut issue. Our taxes are outrageous, period. When taxes get to be so high it discourages Americans from working hard because they don’t get to keep any of their money. Poor people already don’t contribute that much to the economy, and when middle class Americans are being taxed anywhere from a fourth to a third of their income, they don’t contribute much to the economy either. Lowering taxes makes people work harder and produce more EVERY time. The government would actually be getting the same amount of money. Lets say John Smith makes $100,000 a year and is in the 28% tax bracket. If his taxes were lowered to 25% he would work harder knowing he’ll get to keep 3% more of his money and may make $112,000 the next year. The government still gets $28,000 and John Smith keeps more of his hard earned money. He has an extra $12,000 in his budget to promote the American economy! Magical, I know.

As for national government programs, that’s not what the government is for. The government’s purpose is to protect, and defend its people, to regulate commerce, and to secure individual rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. I think that specific programs should be made and funded by the state and local governments, to personalize them. The national government should especially steer clear of education and health programs. Its not that their help isn’t appreciated, its that it shouldn’t be their responsibility. They need to let the people take care of themselves to create a nation with strength not a bunch of dependent, lethargic citizens.

Our debt can be corrected, but it has to start with Americans realizing that deficit spending is STUPID. We’ve been made to think its ok to the point where we are completely desensitized to the damage that credit cards, and loans, and advances on paychecks create. Yes these things are certainly necessary at times and very convenient but in small amounts, please. To be in debt is to lose one’s freedom!

Pro-choice or pro-life?

A monumental issue in United States government today is the issue of abortion. Is it moral? Should it be legal or illegal? These questions aren’t easily answered. After the questions of morality and legality, more questions surface. Is the unborn child a human? Does life begin at conception and if not, when? Should a woman be able to choose what’s right for her body? Should unborn children have legal rights? Should abortion be kept legal for rape and incest pregnancies? There are no simple answers.
I myself still cannot decide whether I am pro-choice or pro-life. I’m on the fence. Being a woman makes the answer even more blurred to me because it causes me to question what I would do and I can’t know because I’ve never been in that dilemma. I know that I don’t think anybody should be able to tell me what to do with my body. Having an abortion falls into that category. But also, I know in my heart that abortion is morally wrong. I believe that life begins at conception. At the moment the egg is fertilized the blueprints are laid down for this child, whether they will be boy or a girl and what they will look like. The baby is a reality. The little fertilized egg has so much potential. Halting that potential, that little innocent energy, is inherently wrong to me.
At the same time, I don’t believe that anyone should be able to decide what a person can and can’t do with his or her body. I think that telling a woman what she can or can't do with her body is a form of discrimination and also a violation of privacy. Also, I can’t decide whether or not I believe abortion should be kept legal just for the sake of the pregnancy of rape and incest victims. Yes, these people are victims of horrific crimes, but does that justify killing the child that was conceived. Do two wrongs make a right? I really can’t say since I’ve never been in this situation. All I can say is that the child is innocent in all of this. I think that they should get a chance at life.
I really can’t come to a conclusion. I believe the unborn child has a right to live but I also believe the woman has the right to decide what to do with her body. Is there a middle ground? Is there a way to compromise?

Gasoline Careen

In response to Is There An End In Sight?

I agree, "A major issue currently facing American citizens is the rising prices of gas." It is an issue that is affecting the quality of life for all Americans that drive and it doesn't seem like the problem is going to go away any time soon. The main point in my colleague’s article is that the government needs step up to the plate, acknowledge their promise, and take action on this national issue and sooner rather than later, and also permanently. No band-aid can cover this bullet wound. The government needs to step in because Americans depend on transportation for many aspects of their livelihood. She makes a clear argument with evidence such as gas price statistics from past years and also with basic knowledge of inflation. If gas prices go up, the price to transport goods including food goes up, and as a result the price of goods go up. So even if we could scrounge enough change out of the sofa for gas to get to HEB, once we were there we couldn’t afford the groceries. Also no one will be able to afford to go on vacation by road or air because it is too expensive. Families will become isolated from each other. As gas prices sore, American contentment will plummet. What a dilemma. This argument has effectively convinced me of the importance of the US government fixing this problem as soon as possible.

Education Crisis!

The education system is failing American children. The education I received in public school, kindergarten through graduating high school, is monumental compared to the education that my younger brother is receiving now, only six years later.

All of my life, I had amazing teachers, who encouraged me every step of the way. They were patient, they were kind, they were personal, and they treated me like I mattered, sometimes even like I was their own child. They sincerely enjoyed their jobs. Where have all of those wonderful educators gone? They sure aren’t the people standing in front of classrooms today. In only six years, they have all managed to disappear. I guess they all gave up, became burnt out, frustrated. The “teachers” I see in my old classrooms today are bitter, intolerant, and can barely make it through the day without strangling a child, it seems. Bottom line: they don’t care anymore.

It’s not just the quality of the instructors that’s lacking. It seems that the standards in public schools today are heading to hell in a hand basket. When I was in school I was placed in all sorts of advanced classes, where the curriculum fit the description “advanced”. My brother attends the same so called “advanced” classes but the subject matter is hardly advanced at all. Now the advanced classes are over run with children who don’t yet have the aptitude to be in them. Those children inevitably fall behind, which is no fault of theirs, and slow down the class. They are basically set up for failure. All students are getting the shaft in this situation. This defeats the whole purpose of advanced classes, and the whole learning process, and it’s probably all due to some budget cut. All children, and for that matter all people, learn at a different rate, it is a fact of life, and they should be accommodated.

I know that education is more important in some parts of the country than in others but I’m sure this is not isolated incident. I’m sure this situation is common to many cities and states in the United States. I don’t have any facts or figures to prove my claims, only my personal experience. I think one major obstacle for education is the budget. It’s too low. Maybe we should stop giving so much money to adults who refuse to help themselves and start giving it to the children who have every reason to succeed in life.

To and Fro

On her website, Ann Coulter is making the argument that words mean nothing to liberals. The argument has come about due to the media poking fun at Hillary Clinton for thinking the popular vote has any significance. This argument is directed toward conservatives, to entertain, and toward moderates, to convince. She uses satirical writings, based on her beliefs in conservative values, to attract and maintain her audience.

Coulter’s basic argument is that liberals possess no true beliefs, that they just say whatever promotes their agenda at the time to whomever their audience is. Her assumption relies on the fact that the electoral vote is the law and that the popular vote is virtually meaningless come election time. Her argument seems to be reasonably clear.

She claims that words mean nothing to liberals and she supports it with evidence from past elections. She argues that when Gore won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election the mainstream media claimed he was cheated, but now they’re asserting that Hillary taking any credit for winning the popular vote in this year’s Democratic primary is absurd. The media has contradicted itself.

Her argument successfully convinced me because I think the evidence is clear. Of course Coulter has a bias, but she’s not pulling her argument out of thin air. I had no opinion on this matter before hand, but now I think that she may have a point about liberal mainstream media.

The political significance of this article is that some of the mainstream media manipulates the reporting of factual events to advance their agenda. This manipulation affects who wins and loses in the political process because uninformed people have a tendency to formulate their stance based on the shallow impressions they derive from the mainstream media. This article has caused me to have a greater understanding of how voting works through the Electoral College.

Hillary Drops Out

Source: Clinton Expected to Drop Out This Weekend, Endorse Obama

Hillary throws in the towel. This weekend, Hillary Clinton intends to quit the Democratic presidential race and devote all of her support to Barack Obama. Sent Wednesday, a campaign email to Clinton supporters read “Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy.” Hillary believes that the differences between she and Obama are insignificant compared to the differences between they and the Republican Party, and that she intends to keep her promise to support Obama now that he is the Democratic Party’s nominee. On Saturday, in D.C., she will thank her supporters and convey her support for Obama.
This momentous battle, the first she-candidate “in it to win it” versus the most feasible African-American candidate in history, comes to a close, and the most feasible African-American candidate in history becomes the first African-American major party presidential candidate in history. What a week. Whats next? Clinton as Obama's running mate?