In analyzing your proposed tax plan, Senator Obama, it's become apparently I will fall among that 5% of the population who will see an increase in their taxes and not be among the 95% of the population who will see a decrease in their tax burden. In years past, this was enough to make me vote Republican, sticking to that oft-used Republican slogan that I know how to spend my money better than the government does. I won't lie... the prospect of being able to keep an extra bit of my money under a McCain administration is appealing. Similarly, the last 8 years of a Republican administration promising me I could keep hold of more and more of my money so long as I did what I could to keep them in power held some appeal.
But, the realization has since come that a slight tax increase is more than worthwhile a sacrifice to make for the greater good. I've come to realize that not only will this country benefit more from having Obama in office but my pocketbook, my conscience, and my peace of mind will also benefit more. To be able to look at our government and be proud is worth higher taxes. To know that the country is on the right course is worth higher taxes. To know the increased taxes I am paying are being spent more responsibly and intelligently than whatever lower taxes I am paying under a Republican is worthwhile.
So, to an Obama administration, I have the following requests on how you spend the increased taxes I'll be paying with Barack Obama as president:
- Don't spend my money in Iraq. It is an illegal war built on deception, manipulation, lies and false pretense and it sickens me to know so many have died as a result of the Bush administrations lies, and that many more will die under a belligerent and trigger-happy McCain in office. That GOP "fiscal conservatism" apparently involves throwing billions per month away in a warzone that should not exist in the first place is a travesty.
- Spend some of my money on helping others enjoy the good fortune I have. Though I am an American, I grew up the son of a US servicemember stationed overseas - in some of the poorest nations on earth, exposed to poverty and suffering the likes of which many Americans couldn't even imagine. I have come to recognize that caring for the unfortunate or underprivileged is not a burden we shoulder, but instead a privilege we, as the wealthiest nation on earth, are fortunate enough to have. We have the wealth and means, in this country, to help those who are struggling to help themselves. Most of the world's countries can only dream of being in such a position. We are in that exact position, and should be honored to have the opportunity to help our fellow citizens that need it.
- Spend some of the taxes I pay on putting veterans through school and caring for those returning from war. I served in the military, and know that many of the 17, 18, and 19 year old kids that I went through boot camp with were there as a means to better their lives by getting access to an education the military offered and that they otherwise might not have had. They weren't there to die at the behest of a corrupt administration too eager for war. They were there to emerge from their youth better suited to care for themselves and their families, and I'll gladly pay taxes knowing I am contributing to that cause. Further, the Bush administration - with McCain's support - is actively creating a generation of young people who will suffer physically, emotionally, and mentally for the rest of their lives as a result of the war in Iraq. Rather than paying a Republican administration to create more such suffering, I ask that Obama's administration spend my money on healing those wounded.
- Put some of my money towards making Social Security stronger. I understand that my money is helping out the generation that came before me, and that I will in turn be helped by the generation that comes after me. It is a genius concept that needs to be supported and sustained and I'll gladly do my part to help it.
- Support community organizers - private citizens who take it upon themselves to do exactly what Republican lip service says we shoudl do, but that they apparently don't support and freely mock. It has long been Republican mantra that charity and activism should be privately funded and initiated, and yet they seem to want to mock people who take it upon themselves to do just that. How sad.
There are countless other things I look forward to having an Obama administration spend my increased tax dollars on - developing alternative and renewable energy sources, increasing job opportunities here in the US, rebuilding a broken military, social programs that alleviate suffering and offer opportunity, educating not just veterans but young people in general, offering aid and assistance here in the US and worldwide to fight disease and hunger. There are other things no amount of money can do anything about, such as getting the civil liberties back that have been stripped away from all of us over the last 8 years. Though the higher taxes I'll be paying won't necessarily do anything about that, I'll gladly pay those taxes to an administration that is committed to not only spending my money wisely but doing so while at the same time respecting our rights and freedoms and upholding and protecting my rights.
The price I, and all Americans, have paid to have a Republican administration in office these last 8 years is far beyond anything kind of tax increase any of us could ever face. Can you measure, in dollars, thousands of dead servicemen and women, lost civil liberties, wrecked alliances, a broken economy, an endorsement of torture, warmongering and belligerence, corruption and an absense of accountability? If so, please do let me know. Because I'll happily do my best to pay extra taxes if it means fixing all of that.
If there's anything a business-savvy Republican should appreciate, it's Return on Investment (ROI). So, I'll invest in Obama, and enjoy tremendous return as a result.