Letters to the editor
Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/69928/
We can’t afford to be wrong again
Obama and McCain both speak of change. Not surprising considering the dire mess our Republican president and the Republican-led Congress (six of the past eight years ) have created.
Let’s be clear. The underlying reason for our economic crisis is no regulation on Wall Street. While Democrats believe regulation is necessary to maintain a stable economy, Republicans believe that regulation interferes with the free market. For 26 years, McCain has been against regulation, consistent with the Republican Party philosophy. Last Monday, McCain said “ the fundamentals of our economy are strong” while two days later, he suspended his presidential campaign to help fix the economic crisis. His lack of understanding of our economy is beyond troubling.
How can Americans buy into the idea that McCain equals change when 90 percent of the time, McCain’s Senate votes supported Bush’s policies ? That is a matter of record. The Bush / McCain tax policy benefits the top 1 percent of our country and hurts the rest of us. Obama would actually cut taxes for people who make less than $ 250, 000 a year, benefiting at least 95 percent of Americans.
Are we going to be fiscally responsible, rebuild our middle class, support programs that help Americans recover from the Bush years, and invest in our own country for a change ? Or are we going to continue down the same path, having the largest federal government since the New Deal, out of control spending, and little investment in American jobs and infrastructure (while we rebuild another country which has a surplus !)?
CNN reported last week that Obama’s plan for America would cost $ 14 billion while McCain’s would require over $ 300 billion ! Wonder how McCain plans to actually pay for this while lowering taxes ? By closing corporate loopholes ? According to the Senate roll call votes, McCain voted 7 times against closing corporate tax loopholes that would have funded veteran and American troop’s programs (1 no show vote ). Obama voted all eight times to fund the veteran programs and close corporate loopholes. And McCain says he supports veterans and will crackdown on corporate tax loopholes ? Why would any American want to reward the Republican Party by giving them another four years ? For some reason, McCain is believed to be a “ maverick” who will bring change. Please ask yourself whether the McCain promise of change is nothing more than a political slogan. We literally cannot afford to elect the wrong person this time. We already did that in 2000 and 2004. Finally, if you need proof that this “ maverick’s” policies will not work, look at our current situation and remember the fact that McCain has supported the Bush policies 90 percent of the time. That is not change. The past eight years have been one costly experiment that must not be repeated.
Sarah H. Corley / Springdale
The human factor
In his Sept. 15, 2008, column in the Northwest Arkansas Times Lowell Grisham tries to debunk the findings in a 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center which concluded that conservatives by a large margin were “ very happy” (47 percent ) and liberals weren’t (28 percent ). In a very naive (and to my way of thinking, unChristian ) diatribe Grisham offered his psychological examination of the minds of both groups. His mind-reading led him to the following conclusions: Conservatives rationalize themselves into believing “ the system is fair” and therefore can hide behind “ a kind of ideological buffer” against the bad feelings they would have if they recognized the true “ social and economic inequality” in America. I do agree with Grisham in recognizing that conservatives and liberals think differently. His typically liberal vagueness and self-centered opacity certainly prove that. Grisham is 180 degrees off, however, in his rationalizing. Conservatives are far more reasoned in their thinking than liberals. Conservatives know (and liberals don’t ) that full equality is so statically an antithesis to human nature that it is unattainable. That is why conservatives strive for the most attainable equality through the stimulation of free enterprise as opposed to the liberal fantasy of placid group apathy through the involuntary servitude of socialism. Grisham calls our attention to the perceived growing gap between the rich and poor since the 1970 s. Is it just happenstance that the inequality he refers to happened after the socialistic revolution of the 1960 s ? Conservatives knew that the system was working; it had created the greatest country in the history of the world with the highest attainable equality. Oh no, said the liberals. We must, they claimed, put the power of government in charge of certain groups and force them to think differently. Liberals whine about the “ inequality that is the reality” in the lives of Americans while conservatives offer them freedom through incentives. Conservatives recognize that some need help, but they don’t cling to the liberal theology that a government program can change reality into nonreality. Grisham makes the outlandish claim that “ Liberals see the inequality and want to humanize and improve the system. ” How can that be so when liberals are working as frantically as a bunch of termites trying to dehumanize the system through government squashing of the human factor ? Socialism does not bring equality. We can put all of humanity in cages with equal suffering like the Grishams of the world want, but the enterprising individuals will find a way to set them free.
Don A. Bright / Fayetteville