The State of Conservatism

The state of conservatism is in disarray. The fundamentals put forth by Ronald Reagan are collapsing. At a staggering 35%, the United States has the second largest corporate tax rate in the world next to Japan. What does this mean to the average American? The trend for many years has been for companies to move their headquarters overseas and outsource jobs. Liberal pundits are quick to point out that Americans continue to lose jobs, and that corporations are becoming greedier than ever before. While there is some merit to this stipulation, let me raise some points for discussion.

I am against CEO's of major corporations receiving obscene amounts of money when the companies they head have been run into the ground. These crooks should be sentenced to life in prison. If more of these indivduals receive harsh criminal penalties, perhaps future CEO's would abstain from this type of illicit behavior. Nevertheless, it is clear that corporations exist to make money for their employees and their stockholders. Why not make corporate taxes competitive with the rest of the industrialized world? How can this be achieved? Eliminate the Internal Revenue Service altogether, or simply adopt a fair tax nationally. The present tax code has over 66,000 pages, and it is impossible for anyone to know every point. Because no one really knows or understands fully the present tax code, the fair tax seems a viable alternative to taxation as it presently stands.

Another stipulation that has to be discussed is job creation. For one to obtain a good-paying job, one must possess a marketable skill, obtain a college degree, or procure a trade. Some liberals have pointed out that migrant workers perform jobs that ordinary Americans won't do. My answer to this argument is: why won't Americans perform any type of work? If an individual is uneducated and does not possess a marketable skill, then what can they expect to do? In Miami-Dade County, migrant workers arrive in Homestead every year to pick fruits and vegetables. Why won't Americans fill these jobs? Isn't a job a job, and isn't every job honorable? So, let me understand this concept correctly, liberals would rather see an unskilled laborer receive entitlements instead of a real job. This type of reasoning is un-American and dangerous to our democracy. The Welfare system of economics, instituted by Lyndon Baines Johnson as a temporary means to allow individuals to get on their feet, has a 43-year record of failure. President Clinton tried to reform it in the 1990's, but much more needs to be done. McCain's plan to use community colleges as a bridge to a skilled labor force has its merits. Good paying jobs are not minimum wage jobs; minimum wage jobs should be left to teenagers and not working adults.

Lastly, coming from a communist country, I am well aware of the dangers of this failed economic system. Redistribution of working capital is not the answer to our present economic woes. Lowering taxes on all citizens and companies, in addition to regulating intelligently the banking industry and Wall Street should be the priority of the incoming administration. I have been hearing political speeches and observing politicians since the 1960's, and Senator Obama is the most gifted politician I have seen hands down. He is bright, articulate, calculating, and poised. Nevertheless, I believe that he is the least transparent candidate in American political history. No one really knows anything about his time in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather, his time at Columbia and Harvard University, or his life in general before he entered Chicago politics. Those, to me, are clear red flags. Don't misunderstand me, I am not a huge McCain fan, but certainly, he is a better alternative to Senator Obama. Hopefully, Americans will look past historical precedents, and look at this election cycle objectively; look at the candidates and their respective records. Vote your conscience and your head, not a polished veneer.