Tomorrow will be my first time voting. I am a college student from MA and this election has a far more impact on my generation than anyone has lead us to believe.
Tomorrow I will vote for President. Tomorrow I will vote for three statewide ballot questions.
The Presidential choice is one I don't take lightly. Ultimately it comes down to, who is going to do the most for my generation. The answer seems clear cut in Obama. Young, and has more experience than people give him credit for. Well to not state the obvious. Obama is not white, nor is he full black. He has a white mother and a black father. While this alone does not merit experience, he grew up having to work for everything. He saw both sides of life, the ultimate poor and the rich classmates of Harvard Law. He did what no black man has done before and became the editor of the Harvard Law review.
When I look at the opposing side, I see someone who is older than me and not likely to understand things that effect me. Also I see repetition of the past eight years.
For Massachusetts there are three state wide questions on the ballot. The first is involving the state income tax. Do we lower, then eliminate the tax. Proponents say it will allow people to have more money, but with every action comes a reaction. Do they really think that they can eliminate a tax without consequences. One such tax to fear that would take its place is a consumption tax. This would tax all the goods we buy. This rate would be around 23%.(Now the current tax is 5%) But the problem here is that this effects the middle class the most. A middle class family spends about 90% of their income on necessities and these would all be taxed. So they would be taxed on 90% of their income. For higher class citizens they can spend maybe 50-60% on necessities. So they would be taxed on that percentage. So in the end the middle class would be paying more than they probably pay now under the tax.
The second question is one of marijuana. The question does not allow the legalization of this drug, but rather lessens the current penalty. Under this question, any persons over the age of eighteen caught with the drug would be fined, have it taken away and sent on their way. Persons under eighteen would have it put on their record, later to be removed if they complete a drug rehab program, then they will be fined and sent on their way. Under this new proposition, this would allow police to concentrate on other crimes and not ones related to small amounts of weed. Not only this, but currently a drug possession charge remains on a record for a minor and this limits this persons chances at a job and college. This would allow a person not to mess up their life for one mistake.
Question three is dog racing. A yes vote would make it illegal to race dogs in Mass. This question is one I don't feel like discussing.