Election Day

Election day is here. It is kind of strange to have just typed that, seeing as how the election has been going on for some 2 years now. They said on TV who the first guy to file the papers required to run for President was, but I forgot who that was. It was only a week or two after the 06 elections were over.

But the TV ads are still around. For at least one more day. Less actually. I do not think I will be seeing any more once the polls close in FL - unless I am watching a cable channel.

And the ads are getting desperate! Wright is back! Only now the 20 second audio clips that they used to play over and over are shaved down to 5 second audio clips. Cutting out all the crap, and only playing the good stuff.

I guess Republicans have ADD, and can not sit through the 20 second clips anymore? Who knows.

And they want to forget about how their own crazy ass people - such as Falwell, Robertson, Hagee, and so on - have said all kinds of fun America hating stuff. Like predicting God would destroy major cities because of "the gays", that the flood of New Orleans was ordained by God, that Dover Pennsylvania have it coming because they somehow kicked God out of science class by not teaching creationism - and so on.

And then there is the horrible specter of socialism! And we can not have that in America. Because America is NOT about socialism.

Fine. You know what? FINE! And let this be known. Many of the perpetually red states are states with low incomes. Not that the people are dumb, it is just that in places like Alabama and Mississippi and so on the cost of living is lower. A million dollars will buy a whole lot of land and a big ass home. In Miami - a million bucks buys a very nice home in a very nice area - but not exactly a huge plot of land. You can probably live better on $50,000 in Mississippi than you can on $200,000 in New York City. It is all about cost of living.

So all you anti socialists in "real America" know this. Your states are funded with pork. Where do you think the money for your interstate highways comes from? How about bridges? Water treatment plants? Sewage plants?

Ill tell you where SOME of that money comes from - tax payers in other states. States with a higher tax base. So lets take all the states and divide them up into red and blue. The "blue" states tend to be the states with higher property values, higher incomes, higher populations, and therefore a higher tax base.

Which is then redistributed to you.

So small town America - lets say your town has a population of 15,000 people. And lets assume half of those people work. So that is 7,500 income earners. And then lets say your town needs a $25 million water treatment / sewage treatment plant. I hope you are ready to PAY FOR IT YOURSELF!! It would only be a tax of $3,334 per income earner in that case.

By the way, if the population is 15,000 and only half the people work - that means that nobody has kids. You just have one person working for money, and one at home taking care of things there. If you assume each family has one income earner and one child - and nobody is retired or on disability or whatever - then you can cut that number back and the tax share up.

And do not worry about "socialists" like me. I live in an area with about 2 or 3 million people. But what the hell, lets assume 1 million. And lets assume that half work. And we need a $25 million water treatment plant upgrade. Well thats only $50 per income earner, and that number assumes only 500,000 people are working. There are more than 500,000 employed people in Miami.

So the big cities will be fine under your system. Big cities have the population and tax base to afford such things as roads and bridges and clean water. It is the small town rural populations that will be shit out of luck there.

Still think "socialism" sounds bad? I do. To be honest, I am tired of my tax money leaving my local area to pay for your shit.

If "pork" was really cut from the budget, and there was no federal money for state or local projects, guess what? Pooer states would fall apart. Only wealthy cities would have paved roads. Only wealthy areas would have sewage treatment, or clean water. America would look and smell like India.

No offense to India.

What gets me is that so many people in small towns have bought into the bullshit. So I say to you, if you live in small town rural America - be careful what you wish for. You may get it.

And then there are taxes! Oh no! One guy is going to raise taxes and kill small business! The question I have about that is where is the evidence in this? Where is the evidence that the Bush tax cuts helped small business? I am seeing small business closing shop here. And where are all these jobs I keep hearing so much about?

This is also insane. Business is NOT going to expand unless there is, and here is where I go off the socialist deep end, INCREASED DEMAND FOR PRODUCTS OR SERICES. That is what makes business expand. Owners see that by expanding, they can make more money by capturing more of the market share.

Well right now there is not an increased demand for products and services. People are cutting back. Weather is it increased energy costs, increased food cost, lack of credit, excessive debt, or even that uncertian feeling that your job is not secure - people are cutting back on the spending.

Meaning less demand for products and services.

Meaning less reason for small business to expand.

By the way - who benefits? Well see that sign in the picure I put up? I took that picture. And yes, that is $40 to park. A little furhter down the road (closer to the boat show) parking was $60. Now if your small business is running a boat show parking lot then yea, tax cuts for the top may help you out. But really - people that were going to the show to buy a yacht would pay the $40 parking fee with or without a tax cut.

No, what seems logical and reasonable to me is to target the middle for the tax cuts. This way custmers of small business MIGHT have some more money to spend. And then they MIGHT hire a plumber to fix a leak, as opposed to just turning off a valve and declaring the leaky toilet off limits - so everyone has to use the other bathroom. And why do that? It saves a couple of hundred bucks. Which can be used for other things.

Or better yet, people MIGHT have the money to obtain a new major appliance or two. Which means retail sales. Which may also mean delivery and setup.

And which would mean a small plumbing business might have more customers. And then have a reason to expand, in order to provide better service to their growing custmer base.

As the wealth is spread, and the tax cuts are spent, money circulates. Cash flow is the LIFEBLOOD of business. And once the heart of business is pumping blood again, and not just air, people will feel more secure in their jobs. And then may decide that it is OK to add on that extra bathroom to the house. Or remodel the kitchen. Ot buy a new car. Or whatever.

OH WAIT! I forgot, I am supposed to be "socialist" and hate business! I forgot.

I take all that back. Business WILL expand even if there are no customers in sight.

These are crazy times. Ill admit that. There are all kinds of things going on in the world. But really, to me this election cycle is a puzzle. There is no single strategy that will always work for the economy or national security. But in this case, I have made a choice which road to try out for the next few years.

I do not feel safer from the threat of terrorism. I know my economic situation could be improved. One side is proposing to try differnt strategies, the other side is pretty much just saying the same shit - even if that side was opposed to much of the shit years ago.

And that had a great deal to do with my choice.

If that makes me a socialist - fine. Ill live with that.

And if you live in a debtor state, demand that your representatives and senators not bring home one single penny of pork. Then demand that your state raise your sales tax, or even start (or raise) the state income tax, to pay for your own projects. Because socialism sucks.

Remember - be careful what you wish for, you may get it.