If you are undecided about who to vote for, I will be writing a series of articles suggesting that you look at this election with a very critical eye – for it is unlike any other in history. By paying attention to things we normally don’t pay attention to, things will be revealed that may help you make your decision.
Have you noticed that this year, almost all the attention has been on personalities, character, and non-policy issues? This is partly by design by the Clinton campaign, and partly organic, because of who Donald Trump is. So let’s touch on which policies truly matter.
Gallup’s most recent poll shows the top issues people are most concerned about are the economy, and jobs, specifically. That’s usually the case. Most people care about the economic security for themselves and their families. “It’s the economy, stupid.”
What makes for, and what is, a “good” economy? It is where businesses of all stripes can conduct operations with reasonable regulations. Too many regulations cost companies money in order to be compliant. That money is paid to compliance officers and not to Americans like you and I who need jobs. Several sources report that 600 major regulations have been implemented under Obama, costing businesses $743 billion.
Look at that number again: $743 billion.
Think about how many jobs that would pay for, even if it were cut in half.
Hillary Clinton is likely to continue this trend, as Democrats tend to overregulate. Donald Trump has said he would reduce the regulatory burden. That should free up money that doesn’t go to compliance. Where does it go instead? To actually growing businesses, by freeing up that capital to hire more people, to advertise, and to innovate.
What about cutting taxes on corporations, from 35% to 15%, as Trump proposes? Is this truly a “tax cut for the rich”, as Clinton says? No, it isn’t, and in fact, it would be great for more jobs.
If you listen to Clinton, you’d think that a corporate tax cuts mean a handful of CEOs get big pay raises. Did you know that there are over 18 million businesses in our country, but only about 10,000 of them are traded on stock exchanges? A business tax cut means that real businesses – the ones in your neighborhood and mine – get to keep more of the money they’ve earned. What will they do with it?
They will pay down debt. They will innovate, and improve quality, to beat out competition. They will advertise more. In some cases, workers will get paid more. They will have to be paid more, because if that business doesn’t pay them more, the competing business down the block will, and steal away the best employees. In some cases, the owners will get to take more money home for their own families.
All of that money goes into the economy, creating a virtuous cycle. Otherwise, it would go to the government. Do you think the government is spending tax money wisely? I don’t. I trust regular Americans to spend it better.
Do we need this money in the economy? You bet we do. Normally, we like to see the economy grow at about 3% per year. Right now, it’s at about 1.3%. Not only that, there is a statistic called the Labor Force Participation Rate. This is the percentage of eligible working population that is actually working or looking for work, and it is at its lowest point since Jimmy Carter. That should tell you how bad things are.
Now, can you guess what Gallup found is the second biggest issue?
Dissatisfaction with government!
If you have been unhappy with the overall direction of our country, and how politicians have been behaving, why on earth vote for Hillary Clinton? She is more of the same. It’s more of the Bush-Clinton dynasty. It is more of the entrenched political and power class that has driven America on a downward trajectory for quite some time.
This is why Republicans nominated Donald Trump. Despite the massive conservative base in our country demanding that a real conservative candidate become the nominee, the most qualified conservatives were passed over in favor of an insurgent outsider. Republican voters sent a message that they would rather select someone totally outside the political class, regardless of his temperament, than even select an actual conservative.
I don’t think most voters – even independents or Democrats even – realized what Trump’s selection really meant in that regard.
Americans can no longer afford to keep placing members of an elite and contemptuous political class in power. Heck, these same politicians exempted themselves from Obamacare. If you just got your 2017 premium announcements in the mail, you’ve almost certainly seen a 20%+ increase in what you’ll be spending.
Hillary Clinton and the ruling political class have saddled us with Obamacare, with $20 trillion in debt, with the lowest job participation rate since Jimmy Carter, and voting for her means voting for the same old thing.
While I’m not a big fan of Donald Trump, he does represent one thing: flipping the bird to Washington. Right now, what do we have to lose?