Well, I have been a Republican since I immigrated to the United States in 1991. It was a simple choice for me really, I just did not believe that people that don't work hard should enjoy the same benefits in life as those that work their butt off. There has to be a difference between these two categories. I could never force someone to work extra hours or study very hard to become somebody but I reject the notion that they deserve to be at the same level of standard of life of those that do.
That said, this is the first time I am contemplating voting for a Democratic President, Barak Obama. I like this guy!
President of the United States of America for me is not really a Job, it is a title. I expect the President to be surrounded by a lot of very smart people that are expert on the subject matter at hand to advise him. My expectation is also that the President be smart enough to listen to them and make the correct choice based on their feedback.
For me, the President of the USA has to have "PRESENCE", when he or she speaks, people listen! it is a gift, not everyone has. I expect when my President travels abroad, citizens of other countries receive him in awe, respect and admiration.
You have to be able to tell that you are listening to the most powerful man in the world from the most significant country in the world.
Barak Obama gives me that feeling. Very elegant speaker and a convincing one for sure.
MCCain stands for all that I believe in, I am with him on Iraq (I think I am qualified on this as I spent more than half my life in the middle east and I know how things work there). I am also with him on the latest economy issues like bailing out consumers on the mortgage crisis. Why? Why should the US Government bail citizens out that made bad choices in getting ridiculous mortgage deals that they can not afford, why should I be paying for that? And what about my mortgage and my good choices, I get nothing for that?
So it was hard this year to find an easy answer of how to vote, until I decided to do what I am good at and use numbers:
Capital Gains Tax:
- MCCain -> 15% (no Change)
- Obama -> 28%
- Clinton -> 24%
How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.
Dividend Tax:
- MCCain -> 15% (no change)
- Obama -> 39.6%
- Clinton -> 39.6%
How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama or Clinton become president. The experts predict that "Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit."
Income Tax:
- MCCain -> No Change
- Obama -> Reversion of pre-Bush tax cuts (Very Significant)
- Clinton -> Reversion of pre-Bush tax cuts (Very significant)
Inheritance Tax:
- MCCain -> 0%
- Obama -> Keep the inheritance tax
- Clinton -> Keep the inheritance tax
How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes.
New Taxes being proposed by both Clinton and Obama:
- New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet
- New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)
- New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)
- New taxes on retirement accounts
- and last but not least....
New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!
So although I like Obama as a person very much, I am afraid I can't afford him! Go MCCain!