It's almost election time and this is when I'm at my most pessimistic. Let me show you what I mean, and before you argue with me on anything I say, I don't care enough to watch all the political crap on TV, I don't know what they're promising, and I don't know what their campaign platforms are, I'm just going off of past experience (which, in politics, is usually good enough).
The Republican candidate, John McCain, which is trying very hard to get out of George Bush's shadow, is going to say anything and everything to convince us he's not George Bush. In the end, it's all lies. If he wins the Presidency, he'll do what all Republican Presidents do and try to make as much money for the rich as he can, the middle class will get even smaller, and the lower class will get much larger. I'm sure his promise to fix the economic woes will be fulfilled ... with thousands of minimum pay jobs, again, making the social gap between the rich and the poor all the much larger. I'm also sure, based on Republican Presidential trends over the past few years, he'll find an enemy, new or old, and send troops to fight a meaningless battle so someone can get rich off of some natural resource.
Then, there's the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, who, in our very bi-partisan society, will have little trouble showing he's not George Bush, after all, you're either Republican or you're Democrat. I believe Obama will get us out of Iraq, as long as the Democrats control both the House and the Senate. That's the thing with a bi-partisan government, the parties are more concerned with who's policies are put in place and less concerned with who these policies benefit or hurt.
Here's what I would like to see happen to the US Government.
- I would like to see the party system completely eliminated. Quit wasting tax dollars on Republican and Democratic conventions and start spending them on education and the poor within the US.
- Put policies into place that severely limit or tax companies that prefer outsourcing to local employment. Make companies hire 1 local employee for every 2 non-local employees(that includes people given visas to enter and work and people working from other countries) and make these companies pay taxes on every outsourced job they have. I think it's time the US starts worrying about our own development and well-being before the well-being and development of other countries. I mean, we're making India and China rich while we have our highest unemployment rate since 2003 (over 6%, and that's just the people who qualify for unemployment), 9.2% of home owners are defaulting on their mortgages, and the government is taking control of two of the largest lenders in the country so they don't go belly-up.
Am I cynical about the US situation? You're damn right I am. I'm only 31 years old and I've seen enough to know that there is something wrong and there is absolutely nothing being done about it. Do I think writing this will make anything change? Not a chance, the people in power see nothing wrong with the current situation and will fight (I mean they'll send the people who aren't as well off as them to fight) anyone who tries to get in their way. Who will I vote for in 2008? I am not going to vote because I don't think it will matter who's in office, I don't see anything changing in my lifetime.
