Monday, April 26, 2010

Midterm Alert

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by Richard Crews
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The party in the White House usually loses seats at a midterm election. This is related to:

(1) voter apathy (a presidential election is much more sexy than midterms),

(2) disillusionment (it's a lot harder to get things done than it was to campaign about them)

This year there are two additional factors:

(3) sticker shock (it costs a lot to get things done--especially to rescue the U.S. economy and cultural values from nearly a decade of abuse)

(4) free-wheeling prevarication and obstructionism (the Republicans discovered a cynical, powerful political tool).

A significant shift to Republican power could still bankrupt the country:

(1) they will oppose a value added tax (most first-world countries have a VAT)

(2) they will oppose increased taxes on unearned income (that's non-salaried income--principally stocks and bonds)

(3) they will oppose increased taxes on the very wealthy (remember Bush's "tax cuts" that, in fact, favored the rich)

(4) they will oppose advancing Social Security access age (consistent with a graying, but active, population)

(5) they will underfund education access, infrastructure repair, and green energy development, the long-term building blocks of a strong future for the U.S.

So, those of us who are really watching what's happening--rather than being confused and diverted by the media hype and Republican spin--must VOTE in the November 2010 midterms.
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