Why I am voting for Obama
The second presidential debate is tonight and I just want to reiterate that it’s a better idea to vote for Obama. I’m voting for Obama. Let me tell you why (and if you don’t care, just leave. See if I care). I’ve already said that I’m about the Most average worker you can find in the web development industry. Proud of it, motherfuckers. I don’t care. But I think there’s still confusion on the part of the American public, especially in the ‘battleground states’ where votes think one candidate may be better than another candidate in terms of producing jobs. Have a look at this video on Huff Po by Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics on how much presidents matter. If people think that one president vs another would create manufacturing jobs or oil jobs… they are simply deluding themselves. What are you going to do with those oil jobs when Alaska runs out of oil? Oh you gonna be ready for retirement by that time? Or are you going to be fucking stuck in your career, in your mid-40s, with a family, a mortgage, and wondering which next president is going to produce some ultra clean coal jobs? Get real.
Here’s what the American public needs to understand about the role of the president. It’s simply a person who makes all the important decisions and influences the direction the country takes. The president has no control over the Fed, and has no control over making Congress agree with one another. What it comes down to is which candidate is more decent, and which can gently guide the direction for the United States.
Often, individuals feel entitled to a tax break. These are the same individuals who listen to the Romney 47% comment (and yes, he believes every single word of it, don’t listen to that lame apology), and thinks, “I deserve a tax break! I deserve things!” Meanwhile they think the 47% believes they deserve handouts. The United States has one of the highest rates of income inequalities in the developed world. Not only has it been rising, it’s been rising for the last 50 years. But yea, EVERYONE deserves a tax break, including those who are making over $250,000 a year. Really? Income inequality is on the rise and there’s people who want to vote for the douchebag who makes over 13million a year via capital gains income and thinks the wealthy shouldn’t pay a little bit more? Obama is down with taxing those making over $250k a little bit more. No one is deluded into thinking Obama’s plan will somehow change the course of the country. The tax on the wealthy will barely bring in 1% of overall government spending in 2011. It’s just a matter of fairness. If you were stupid enough to listen to Romney say he’ll close off loopholes, guess what? The most giant loophole is the one that lets him pay 13% taxes on millions and millions in income. That’s a loophole. And the biggest deduction from Federal taxes is called the Homeowners Interest Deduction. Guess what? That’s backed by one of the strongest lobbying groups called the Realtors Association. That will never ever get overturned unless World War III starts and they need every penny possible to build weapons. So as far as closing loopholes and deductions is concerned. Big Bird is fine. That shit don’t even matter. Taxing the 1% will more than pay for our yellow friend.
I think there is a middle class mentality in America that might one day ruin America. And that mentality is this: “I deserve a break and those less fortunate than myself are simply taking handouts.” But the problem is that if you’re a president, you’re essentially running a company of over 300 million employees. And the middle class are willing to vote for Romney in hopes that they get a break right now, but with no regards to how it affects the country as a whole in the long run. It’s very irresponsible for those who want to vote for Romney. The other half of the problem with that line of thinking is that most of us truly cannot grasp the level of problem from which some parts of the country suffer. There literally are new parents out there who do not know they need to provide a baby with kindness and love. And it’s not born out of stupidity… it’s just a complete lack of education on a seemingly obvious part of parenting. I have been on the sidewalk at 8 am in the morning, watching a mom scream at her 3-year-old, “Stop fucking crying! Do it because I said it’s fucking cold!” I mean… teabaggers across the country can’t fathom this. But there’s a swath of the population growing up to parents who have no concept of the idea that there are times when a baby just cries for no reason. Think about that. One, there are people that poor and that poorly educated both in terms of cognitive development and what some of us call common sense. Two, there are groups of Americans who can’t fathom this is happening and blame those types of people who simply need education or help, are just sucking on America’s teet. Seriously, people who have those kind of misguided judgement need to grow the fuck up.
The truth is that society should take care of its own. What Obama has over his opponent is called humanity. It’s something we should all have a little bit more of. If you’re running a company where you cannot fire your employees, what you need to do for the bottom third of your employees is provide them with extensive help and training. Obviously if everyone is at B-level, then no one is at B-level. But there’s an invisible line out there, and the world past that invisible line is so drab and difficult that basically none of us can really fathom. We can’t bring all of the bottom third to the middle third, but we need to at least take them past that line of shittiness. The idea that they are simply taking a handout is just the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard.
There’s another middle class mentality that’s thinking that the government wastes a lot of money. But most of the time, these individuals have no idea how the government even spends its money… odd, right? You think all the spending is inefficient, but you don’t have an idea how it’s spent. More Americans should study the chart from Planet Money about how the government spending breaks down. If the government is inefficient, then the number one area to target is probably defense spending, seeing as it’s the largest chunk of the budget for many many years now. But conservatives don’t want to cut that kind of spending right?
Besides general guidance of the country (see Obamacare), the other major thing the prez has power over is the nomination of supreme court justices. In recent memory, all of the nominated supreme court justices that went through the confirmation process has gone through. Just think of how old Ruth Bader Ginsberg is… she turned 79 this year. It’s almost a certainty that she’ll retire before 2016, and that means whoever is in office could either fuck it up by giving us someone along the lines of Thomas, Scalia, or Alito. OR, Obama could give us someone along the lines of Kagan or Sotomayor. Everyone likes to think that social progress just happens. The fact that Roberts voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act under the idea that the government can impose a tax was actually a huge upset for the conservatives. Just imagine if Ginsberg’s liberal vote turned into an asshole vote. That’s not the kind of country you want to build. You want to build a country with eyes set on the future, not one that’s trying replicate Biblical times or some shit like that.
Anyway, I hope Obama does well in the next two presidential debates, but that still remains to be seen. I just wish more voters look at the bigger picture. Focus on the issues that matter like how would the laws of this country shape its future, and who gets to decide on the next judge that’ll help direct us in the right place. Romney can’t even stand by Romneycare, even if Obamacare is modeled after Massachusetts. That’s not the kind of leadership that you want. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming. I’m going to keep writing whatever I want.
Posted by Danny on October 16, 2012 at 6:49 pm
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