Election, Debate, etc

So I came home today and came across the first series of our Presidential Debate. The most entertaining part of the debate was how the proctor was trying to get Obama and McCain to "debate." They were mostly answering the questions posed by the proctor versus "debating" with one another. I guess the guy was trying to stir the pot and make things more exciting.

I guess my only grip would be their arguments in terms of tax cuts for which groups. It's hard for me to swallow Obama's idea that tax breaks for the low to middle class will help the economy. The idea that we start from the bottom then move up has always been a Democratic idea/staple, but I'm sorry, as someone who studied Economics and Political Science, it doesn't work that way in real life.

I have always been a believer that money trickles down and always has been. The rich just spend a whole lot more, because they have that available to them. To give a better illustration of my point. The United States has become a service industry versus a labor or agricultural one. With that mind, those who have the capital for a luxury like maids, butlers, cooks, make-up artists, etc tend to employ these professionals on a regular or semi-regular basis. People who offer services are more in the middle-class or lower class range and would not use the services they are paid for on themselves. So the money does not "trickle up," but rather trickle downward.

But I do have a soft spot for middle class Americans. People who make enough money to go on vacations every now and then, be able to support a family comfortably, own their own home to some degree and maybe put a kid or two through college (with financing help). People put in the "lower class" have a lot of programs at their disposal and a lot of government help. People who are classified as "upper class" don't have access to programs or government assistance because they don't need it. But for the middle class, they in conjunction with the upper class help pay for programs for the disadvantaged, but reep no benefits.

Example: My parents, own their own home, own their own business and have 2 children to put through college. Business taxes are insane amounts of money even for a small business like a donut shop. Property taxes in California are just as crazy. What my parents pay to the government is Business Taxes ($$$$) + Property Tax ($$$$) + Income Taxes & State Taxes ($$$) - 2 Dependents ($$) = $$$. All this on a yearly basis before sending us off to college. So I thought, okay let me try to get some goverment money for college to lessen the burden. What I don't understand is they wanted me to add in the approx. value of my parents home and business. The value versus profit is entirely different. Obviously the value of a home and business are one lump sum where as the actual income is in increments. Why does the government want me to give them an estimate of its value when my parents are not going to sell the home or business to put me through college. It's a ridiculous formula that didn't make sense. Also to top it all off, we get no assistance in terms of medical care. They basically pay full price. That's for another time. US Health Care system, HA!

Oh well. I guess its what it is until Nov. 4th.

My last plea to get more of us twentysomethings to V-O-T-E!
http://www.rockthevote.org/home.html

I really could care less who you vote for, as long as you vote. I'm not going to be like my many other friends and try to swad you this way or that way on who to vote. I think its a personal thing like how much you make a year. It's great if you can have a political conversation with a group of people who don't get angry or overly emotional, but its politics and policitics are emotional, so its hard to seperate out the two.

FYi. I'm a registered Republican, deal with it. :-)