<p>Neineibu: Most Americans don't like our current administration. You Canadians are not alone on that. It's sickening how much money we are spending on the war while we continue to ignore pressing domestic problems.</p>
<p>And hermanns, you said McCain isn't George Bush's third term. He basically is, though. If elected, the war will continue. Money will continue to go to the wrong places. Anti-American sentiment across the world will persist. And even though McCain tries hard to distance himself from Bush's policies, he voted with Bush 95% of the time. That's an actual statistic, by the way. I saw it on CNN yesterday.</p>
<p>i just dont like obama's plan to be a modern-day robin hood: take from the rich and give to the poor. it isnt fair at all. in this country, you are capable of rising socially and economically...people should be working on doing that instead of increasing taxes for those who worked hard to get where they are today.</p>
<p>As opposed to what has been happening for the last thirty years...!?! take from the middle and working classes and line the pockets of the top five percent. </p>
<p>The latest data have shown that America is actually one of the worst countries from a meritocracy standpoint. All of those socialist countries in Western Europe and Scandinavia? They enjoy much higher rates of social and economic mobility than our own "meritocratic" nation.</p>
<p>The problem with politics, and especially with economic policy, is that it is founded on the ideal that everybody should have a say on things like tax policy or government investment in infrastructure. But that's kind of silly. I don't tell laurstar07, an architect, how to design a house. Yet she tells me -- somebody who has thought and studied a lot about economic policy -- that I'm a Robin Hood for designing an optimal tax and investment policy.</p>
<p>Trust me on this one. Obama's 'Robin Hood' policies for investment in infrastructure, education, and healthcare, combined with increasing taxes to balance the budget, are extremely good policy. The Republicans have so incredibly disinvested in this country over the last thirty years that it is about time that we started reinvesting our wealth in productive and efficient improvements in our country's way of life.</p>
<p>Sadly, though, so much of our private sector investment has been against productive improvements in our nation's capital. We have built our society wholly around an unsustainable modality of living -- the far flung suburb and exurb -- while investing in technology that titilates and entertains (think Viagara and LCD televisions) but leaving us woefully under-prepared for the challenges of 21st century life. And we're facing an enormous hole right now. But instead of giving us the tools to construct a ladder, McCain would like us to keep on digging George Bush's hole.</p>
<p>What the Republicans and the libertarians fail to recognize is that investment in the country's working and middle classes is good policy, and good for their own profits as well. Your workforce will be much more productive and energized when they have health insurance and can afford pro-active health care treatments. Your businesses will be much less prone to idiosyncratic risks when we have bridges that don't tumble into the Mississippi and urban areas that aren't allowed to expand into deserts and flood zones. And your profits will be so much more higher when your customers can actually afford to purchase outright the products and services you provide -- as opposed to running up their own personal debt.</p>
<p>i didnt direct that comment toward you, cayugared (in fact i didnt even read the other posts in this thread). its just an opinion i have, not a personal attack on you. chill out. i do like obama, heck im a registered democrat, but thats just one thing from the package im not too thrilled about. if he is elected, so many taxes will be taken out of my and my parents pockets and i wont be able to afford college and actually finish the BArch program here. and im sure it will be the same issue for many other cornellians too.</p>
<p>Our education system is falling behind. Our physical infrastructure is crumbling (after that bridge collapsed in the midwest last year, it was revealed that there are hundreds of bridges across the country in similar shape, and in desperate need of repair). Levees that protect cities and developed areas across the country are apparently more for show than they are for actual protection. The gap between the wealthy and the middle class is widening. Homes are being foreclosed in greater numbers than ever. We rely entirely on foreign countries for oil. And, on that topic, we fund both sides of an unnecessary war. And weather you think we are in a recession or on the brink of one, our economy is not what it was during those Bill Clinton years. And George Bush doesn't seem to notice. He focuses so much on foreign policy that he forgets about domestic issues. Oh, wait, he doesn't completely forget about domestic issues: he did push No Child Left Behind. John McCain would do much of the same, only further digging (as Caygua might put it) George Bush's hole. This is why American needs Obama. You would think the wealthiest Americans would be happy to give up a little bit more of their money in order to start fixing these problems.</p>
<p>I never thought it was a personal attack on me. Nor do I hope that you took my own response as a personal attack. Just some beliefs of mine.</p>
<p>And a registered Democrat not for changing the way income is distributed in this country? That's a rare sight.</p>
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You would think the wealthiest Americans would be happy to give up a little bit more of their money in order to start fixing these problems.
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<p>And all evidence points to the fact that they are. Let's just hope that the junior Senator from Illinois doesn't get too cushy with them.</p>
<p>I'm a registered Democrat and I'm not a huge fan of Obama, but I do support his ideas to redistribute the wealth. And CayugaRed...I thank you for your posts on this matter...they're helping me become more informed as the election season draws near.</p>
<p>I live in a rural and economically distraught area. I read somewhere that my county is one of the poorest in NYS. Jobs are being lost, taxes keep rising and people are leaving. This is one of the reasons my family is relocating. With the recent loss of the Hall of Fame game...I don't know what's in store. When I graduated HS..we had a class of 105. The entering kindergarten class has 50 students and it goes down every year.</p>
<p>My family just scrapes by....I can't imagine how those less fortunate do it. Something needs to be done. Obama has the plan...I just hope he carries through with it if he makes it to the White House.</p>
<p>Well... Upstate New York's woes and the nation's ills are not one and the same. When it comes to New York State politics, people often suspect me of being a libertarian. Which is pretty funny.</p>
<p>In many respects, though, Upstate New York may be one of the best places to ride out the coming economic storm. Decent farm land. In-tact small towns and cities (just like Cooperstown). And a much more sustainable way of living.</p>
<p>And the entering kindergarten class may be partly a reflection of generational demographics. The echo boom generation peaked between 1988-1990. So it's only natural that the birth class of 2003 be significantly smaller than your own graduating class.</p>
<p>hah...I don't know about that. Cooperstown is not a good way....the number of homes for sale popping up every week is astonishing. The number of home foreclosures in the area are rising. People aren't just leaving the town...they're leaving New York. But, I guess you need to see it or be in the shoes of those affected to believe it.</p>
<p>cayugared, i dont know the inner workings of politics and every party's exact stance on every issue (nor am i extremely eager to know it). i work during all of my breaks (instead of just hanging out at home or going on vacation) and i dont like it when taxes are taken out...i earned those dollars! its one thing that the money taken out for social security doesnt even help me in the future, but the money i do earn is immediately put into the bank for when i want to buy a house or whatever in the future. how can i save up enough money for that if everything is being taken away? same with my parents who work their butts off to provide a good life for their family. its important to try to improve the lives of people struggling economically, but not by totally taking everything from other americans. if it wasnt for our wasted money going to this never-ending war, we wouldnt be in this problem</p>
<p>Laurstar07 I urge you to read, David Shipler's, "The Working Poor", because one thing about America is that those who do work the hardest are not given the opportunity and have no chance at rising up. In other words, just because someone has a lot of money does not mean that they worked harder than someone who is improverished.</p>
<p>TrackBabi17: and I agree (i.e. George Bush). </p>
<p>However, I don't think socialism is the best way to go. The Canadian government is taxing my family like crazy.</p>
<p>Laurstar, don't be fooled by McCain's claims that he will reduce taxes. In fact, if you compare his tax plans with Obama's, Obama's gives a bigger break to lower and middle class families than McCain's does. McCain gives a bigger break to the wealthiest people, who can afford to give away a greater percentage of their income.</p>
<p>My thoughts on Obama:
I like Obama. And I’m okay with Hilary. You know why? Because they are from the same party, and at the national level the different interests of Democrats from all 50 states have to be moderated into one single platform that the nominee will run on. So I would have voted for Hilary too if she won, but she didn’t and she made a fool of herself in the primaries. </p>
<p>I like Obama because he represents me. His being a minority is so important, that save his politics, people have to relate to him. He is a minority on many different levels as well:
He is Black
He is Biracial
He is Black and White
His father is an immigrant
He is the child of an immigrant
His father is African
His father is Kenyan
His father was Muslim
His father was not present in his life
He is a Black child raised by his white mother
He from the middle class
He is a transfer(that’s a big deal to a lot of people at Cornell
His name is weird and always got a pause in roll call
He lived in Hawaii
And so on…</p>
<p>For me, the child of African immigrants, and for a lot of other minorities(Jewish people, women, Hispanics, anyone not Anglo-Saxon male) Obama gave me hope. He cleared the path for me to achieve more than he is, with higher respect from white America. Before Obama there was a ceiling for Black America, and now, though it may still be there, it is has risen tremendously. </p>
<p>But the problem with that is the old theory the faster and higher you rise the harder you fall. Is America ready to vote in a Black President? Probably not. (and if he does win I suggest Black people stay in their house when it is announced ‘cause there will be mayhem. So cheer loudly for 5min then run back inside and lock the doors)</p>
<p>Anyone who is in office cannot possibly fix the mess the current President has made in the last eight years. A mess made in this short period will take a decade to fix let alone 4 years. So if Obama does win, he will be blamed for all the problems he is not immediately able to fix. For McCain the same will happen, but for Black people when one of the group is blamed, the whole group is blamed. America will use his “failings” to justify the “incompetence” of Black people. Even the white people who voted for him will say, “Dang what was I thinking? A Black man for President?”. </p>
<p>But it is to be expected that this will happen. The first one is always the worst to be, but they still open doors for more to follow. Sorry this is so long.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But the problem with that is the old theory the faster and higher you rise the harder you fall. Is America ready to vote in a Black President? Probably not. (and if he does win I suggest Black people stay in their house when it is announced ‘cause there will be mayhem. So cheer loudly for 5min then run back inside and lock the doors)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oh please. You are fear mongering just like the best of the Republicans. Nobody got bent out of shape over Condi Rice or Colin Powell or any one of the hundreds of black mayors across the country.</p>
<p>
[quote]
He is a minority on many different levels as well:
He lived in Hawaii
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</p>
<p>I was born in Hawaii and lived there for a few years...I'm also middle class...my biological father deserted my family....but I'm white...so I guess I'm not as "special" as Obama.</p>
<p>
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i work during all of my breaks (instead of just hanging out at home or going on vacation) and i dont like it when taxes are taken out...i earned those dollars!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Who do you think pays for the Iraq war or for your grandparent's Medicare bills or NASA or for your federal work study program or for all of the roads and bridges and tunnels that you drive on?</p>
<p>DewDrop a lot of that was just for some humor, it's not that serious.</p>
<p>CayugaRed I may sound paranoid, but America is crazy. I hope and pray Obama wins, but being a Black person in this country I have to be cautious and ready for the worst. Given past examples and even present times, some American people are not kind to Black people who gain any kind of success.</p>
<p>Woah, TrackBabi, could you please remind me how Hillary Clinton made a fool of herself during the primaries? Is if by being the first woman with a realistic change of becoming the president of the United States? No .. that doesn't sound right. Maybe it is by winning millions of votes (more than any other individual in any primary season in American history, in fact) and representing the voices of countless Americans? That doesn't sound right either. Please, refresh my memory.</p>