Politics and Money

I watched the Presidential debate last night. I wasn't particularly impressed with either candidate, though I was slightly more disgusted by Obama's rhetoric. I have come to the conclusion that Republicans and Democrats alike are idiots when it comes to fixing the economy.

Democrats think the best way to bolster the country is to steal from the rich and give to the poor (Robin Hoodenomics). Could somebody explain to me how this is a good idea. There is a lot of privilege and a lot of poverty in this country that is a result of where, when and to whom one is born, but there are also a lot of people who work their way up and down in society and the Democratic views of leveling the playing field will never work when they are taking dirt from the winning side of the field.

Republicans think that giving money to the wealthy is the way to go. Trickle down economics was all the rage in the 80s. The theory goes that these people invest their time and money into business, leading to more jobs across the board and thus more production and money. Those who are not working don't necessarily benefit, but who cares, they don't really deserve anything anyway right? That's not the only drawback to the theory. There is also the problem of unethical behavior at the top. Wow, isn't that what's happening right now Jake? Ding, Ding, Ding.

So if neither political party is right what do we need? What we need is something that the American public will never accept. We need to be held accountable. The poor in the country need to stop depending on handouts, and the rich in the country need to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves without being forced to do so. Politicians need to stop catering to the wants of the nation and realize that as a collective group we are idiots (as opposed to the politicians who are geniuses).

When the average American citizen spends more than he makes in a year we've got a problem and Washington needs to stop blowing smoke you know where and tell it like it is. If the senator from Alaska can neglect to report $250 grand in gifts, while, at the same time, telling pharmceutical companies that they can no longer provide pens to physicians, then that same senator can tell the American public to stop spending money they don't have even though the government does this as the sun rises in the morning.

I disagree with Senator Obama when he says reform needs to start in Washington. As the country goes Washington will go also. It is not the other way around.

One final thought; why is finance not taught in schools? I think a basic finance class should be required of every high school student in the nation. I find finance much more important in my day to day life than many of the other classes I was required to take. I had to take 6 terms of art for heaven's sake. Now don't get me wrong I use those Acapella skills every week in church and I do enjoy looking at the beautiful pot I made in ceramics, but seriously a year and a half of art? Wouldn't high school seniors be a little better prepared to handle all the credit they are offered (or were offered a month ago) when they turn 18 if they had just a little bit of financial education?*


*My not-so-secret dream is that I can convince the school district in Cedar to allow me to teach a finance class at Cedar High School. I don't want to go back to school to get a secondary education degree, but you never know what will happen in the next 20 years.