Is 'Joe the Plumber' going to win it for McCain
- Thread starter MonsterMark
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MonsterMark
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7 people viewed so far and no comments. Nice
Nope,
Small business owners are a minority and don't have any clout with the politicians.
If you asked Obama why he wants to tax the rich the honest answer would be because that's where the money is.
In light of the 55 trillion the country owes long term whoever wins will have to cut spending and raise taxes. (Since 40+ trillion of this is for Social security and healthcare it brings to mind the movie Logan's Run http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_5 as a macabre solution, and I'm just kidding here)
As a medium sized business owner (100 employees and growing) I don't want to see Obama win but have resigned myself to that probability.
I remember when the NDP(Canada's extreme left wing almost communist political party) won a surprise majority victory in 1990 in Ontario, Canada's richest province.
Bob Rae found it was easy to talk about left wing utopian policies when he was the opposition but it was a totally different story when he had to govern.
He gave the government workers a big raise then had to claw it back because the money wasn't there.
The spectacle of govt workers striking and protesting their own party had a delicious irony to it.
After 5 years the voters got tired of the NDP and turfed them out in 1995 bringing back a conservative government.
The country will survive Obama and if he fails the people can vote him out of office.
Small business owners are a minority and don't have any clout with the politicians.
If you asked Obama why he wants to tax the rich the honest answer would be because that's where the money is.
In light of the 55 trillion the country owes long term whoever wins will have to cut spending and raise taxes. (Since 40+ trillion of this is for Social security and healthcare it brings to mind the movie Logan's Run http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_5 as a macabre solution, and I'm just kidding here)
As a medium sized business owner (100 employees and growing) I don't want to see Obama win but have resigned myself to that probability.
I remember when the NDP(Canada's extreme left wing almost communist political party) won a surprise majority victory in 1990 in Ontario, Canada's richest province.
Bob Rae found it was easy to talk about left wing utopian policies when he was the opposition but it was a totally different story when he had to govern.
He gave the government workers a big raise then had to claw it back because the money wasn't there.
The spectacle of govt workers striking and protesting their own party had a delicious irony to it.
After 5 years the voters got tired of the NDP and turfed them out in 1995 bringing back a conservative government.
The country will survive Obama and if he fails the people can vote him out of office.
Watching the debates with the 'tracker' on it was interesting to note whenever Joe the Plumber was mentioned, it tracked very low. As 04sctls said, in general, people don't relate to him or his problem.
I hope if Obama does win, he gets a fighting chance. Although, watching how congress is going - he might get a free ride. Now, even though I am a pretty far left leaning Democrat (I know...
), that scares me a little. However in just 2 years that could change. Wow - 2 years with override a lot of damage can be done.
If McCain is smart he will work on that aspect - an out-of-control Democratic congress spending like crazy and no one to watch over them (although currently - within the last 50 years - the debt has been run up with Republican congresses who have had a Republican president at the helm). But, he does have one of the worst campaign machines I have seen in a long time, and at this point it might be too little too late.
ohhh cool - can we say 'carousel'
I hope if Obama does win, he gets a fighting chance. Although, watching how congress is going - he might get a free ride. Now, even though I am a pretty far left leaning Democrat (I know...
), that scares me a little. However in just 2 years that could change. Wow - 2 years with override a lot of damage can be done. If McCain is smart he will work on that aspect - an out-of-control Democratic congress spending like crazy and no one to watch over them (although currently - within the last 50 years - the debt has been run up with Republican congresses who have had a Republican president at the helm). But, he does have one of the worst campaign machines I have seen in a long time, and at this point it might be too little too late.
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He's a great symbol.
But reports indicate that the election is going to be decided by "independents", specifically "undecided women."
It's a controversial, or rather more taboo, subject, but the voting trends of women indicate that, short of a true security issue arising, they'll break for Obama.
Excerpts from “Freedomnomics” by John R. Lott, Jr., Ph.D. .pgs..159-165
“Economists have long pondered why the government started growing precisely when it did. The U.S. government, aside from periods of wartime, consumed about 2 to 3 percent of GDP up until World War I. That was the first American war after which government spending did not return to pre-war levels. Then, in the 1920s, non-military federal spending began steadily climbing. President Roosevelt’s New deal in the 1930s--often viewed as the genesis of big government--really just continued an earlier trend. What changed before Roosevelt came to power that explains the growth of government? The answer is women’s suffrage”.
In presidential elections from 1980 to 2004, the “gender gap”--the difference between the way men and women vote--was in the double digits in six of the seven contests, reaching its peak of 22 percentage points in 2000. This disparity--in which a higher percentage of women consistently vote democratic--is very important politically. Gender gaps exist on various issues. Perhaps the most significant one is the push for smaller government and lower taxes, which is a much higher priority for men than it is for women. Women were much more opposed to the 1996 federal welfare reforms, which mandated time limits for receiving welfare and imposed some work requirements on welfare recipients. Women are more supportive of Medicare, Social Security, and education expenditures”.
“Studies show that women are generally more risk averse than men. Consequently, they are more supportive of government programs to insure against certain risks in life. Women’s average incomes are also slightly lower and less likely to vary over time, which gives single women an incentive to prefer more progressive income taxes”.
“Marriage also provides an economic basis for men and women to prefer different policies. Because women generally shoulder most of the child rearing responsibilities, married men are more likely to acquire marketable skills that help them earn money outside the household. If a man gets divorced, he still retains these skills. But if a woman gets divorced, she is unable to recoup her investments in running the household. Hence, single women who believe they will eventually get married, as well as married women who most fear divorce, look to government for a form of protection against the risk of divorce--that is, a more progressive tax system and other government transfers of wealth from the rich to the poor. Most people don’t want to share their household income with the government if they don’t expect to benefit from it”.
But reports indicate that the election is going to be decided by "independents", specifically "undecided women."
It's a controversial, or rather more taboo, subject, but the voting trends of women indicate that, short of a true security issue arising, they'll break for Obama.
Excerpts from “Freedomnomics” by John R. Lott, Jr., Ph.D. .pgs..159-165
“Economists have long pondered why the government started growing precisely when it did. The U.S. government, aside from periods of wartime, consumed about 2 to 3 percent of GDP up until World War I. That was the first American war after which government spending did not return to pre-war levels. Then, in the 1920s, non-military federal spending began steadily climbing. President Roosevelt’s New deal in the 1930s--often viewed as the genesis of big government--really just continued an earlier trend. What changed before Roosevelt came to power that explains the growth of government? The answer is women’s suffrage”.
In presidential elections from 1980 to 2004, the “gender gap”--the difference between the way men and women vote--was in the double digits in six of the seven contests, reaching its peak of 22 percentage points in 2000. This disparity--in which a higher percentage of women consistently vote democratic--is very important politically. Gender gaps exist on various issues. Perhaps the most significant one is the push for smaller government and lower taxes, which is a much higher priority for men than it is for women. Women were much more opposed to the 1996 federal welfare reforms, which mandated time limits for receiving welfare and imposed some work requirements on welfare recipients. Women are more supportive of Medicare, Social Security, and education expenditures”.
“Studies show that women are generally more risk averse than men. Consequently, they are more supportive of government programs to insure against certain risks in life. Women’s average incomes are also slightly lower and less likely to vary over time, which gives single women an incentive to prefer more progressive income taxes”.
“Marriage also provides an economic basis for men and women to prefer different policies. Because women generally shoulder most of the child rearing responsibilities, married men are more likely to acquire marketable skills that help them earn money outside the household. If a man gets divorced, he still retains these skills. But if a woman gets divorced, she is unable to recoup her investments in running the household. Hence, single women who believe they will eventually get married, as well as married women who most fear divorce, look to government for a form of protection against the risk of divorce--that is, a more progressive tax system and other government transfers of wealth from the rich to the poor. Most people don’t want to share their household income with the government if they don’t expect to benefit from it”.
Should the suffragette post be it's own thread? Because, although women look to increase some entitlement spending, they look to decrease other spending, such as defense. And the offsets are interesting to look at...