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Obama
What are your thoughts and views on Obama?
Will you vote for him if you're a citizen? If you're not a citizen would you vote for him? Would you vote for someone else, like McCain, Barr (Libertarian Party), Nader (Independent), Baldwin (Constitution Party), or whoever the Green Party nominee will be?
Here are my thoughts: Obama will suck.
First, he wants to put higher tariffs on foreign alternative fuels, even though he wants to wean us off oil. Wouldn't it make more sense to lower tariffs so cheaper (and more efficient) ethanol and other biofuels can come from Brazil and elsewhere?
Secondly, he is refusing to let us drill in anwar and offshore. Drilling in these places would make America more energy self-sufficient, AND it would be both an immediate solution and a long term solution. By drilling in more places speculators will recognize oil won't go up as much as they thought previously - and thus prices will fall in the short term. Likewise, oil drillers will drill more because they'll recognize that once offshore and ANWR drilling commence oil prices will fall. The counterargument to this is that oil companies already have a lot of leased land and they're not drilling in it. The obvious answer to this is that a lot of that oil is "uneconomic" - i.e. it costs more to drill in some of these areas than the oil itself (i.e. costs $150/barrel to drill when oil prices are $140/barrel). By opening up more economic drilling areas - like offshore and in anwar, we'll be able to drive the price of oil down.
Thirdly, Obama wants a windfall profits tax on oil companies (a tax where a certain percentage of your profits are taxed away after corporate and income taxes). This is ridiculous. When companies make huge profits, that's a signal to these companies to expand supply. That's exactly what oil companies have been doing. With more profits, they've starting building and renovating oil refineries in America - the first time in three decades. By taxing these profits away, oil companies won't have as much money to update and repair their equipment or to search for new oil reserves. This will mean even higher prices at the pump.
Fourth, Obama wants a progressive capital gains and corporate tax. This is ridiculous. Capital gains and corporate taxes are the most distortion creating taxes. They prevent individuals and businesses from investing and helping the economy to grow at a higher rate.
Fifth, Obama wants to repeal the Bush tax cuts. Quite frankly, that's just retarded. Anyone with a decent amount of intelligence knows that in the poor economic situation we're in now, we need to stimulate the economy by lowering taxes. By raising taxes instead, you'll be destroying
Sixth, Obama wants to renegotiate NAFTA and other free trade agreements. Anyone remember how the Hawley-Smoot Tariff threw the entire world into the Great Depression by choking off trade? Renegotiating our free trade agreements might have a similar effect. Exports have been the only part of our economy that has actually grown. Without exports we'd officially have negative economic growth and therefore be in a recession. We need to increase the scope of our free trade agreements to promote exports, not reduce our free trade agreements.
Seventh, Obama is against school choice. I firmly believe that parents should be given vouchers. If they want to go to a public school fine, but if they want to go to a private school, they should have the right to do so. Being against vouchers is one of the worst positions you can take. Whereas rich families can pay on their own to send their children to private school, poor inner-city families cannot. This forces inner-city families to send their children to crumbling public schools. By giving them school vouchers, these families could opt out of public schools and send their children to much better private schools. Studies have shown that inner city students can do much better in private schools than in public schools. This is why it's essential to allow poorer families the choice between private and public schooling.
Eighth, Obama is a big spender. Recently, he voted to pass a $300 billion farm subsidy - $300 billion dollars that went to rich farmers and even richer agribusinesses. That money could've been used better by changing our energy policy or cutting taxes or giving school vouchers.
Lastly, Obama's health care plan sucks. He wants to force businesses to pay more for your health insurance. This will simply drive jobs away from America into foreign countries like Mexico and China where employers don't have to pay for these ridiculous demands.
Personally, I don't like anyone whose running right now. I liked Ron Paul and I wish the Republican Party would return to its more libertarian roots. Two candidates are trying to ride off of the Ron Paul tidal wave - Bob Barr (LP) and Chuck Baldwin (CP). Both, ultimately, are closet big government statists, though they're far better than both Obama and McCain. As for just Obama vs. McCain, I'd still choose McCain. He at least supports vouchers and has a better tax, education, and energy policy.
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