What influences your politics?

With this being a historic election year, I would like to ask what influences your political decisions. Is it birthright, political policies or something else entirely? Most of us inherit our political views from our parents, like our religion. What our parents were raised to believe, in most cases is what we've been raised to believe. It is a big misconception but, I have always felt that political beliefs were based mostly on financial standing. Piggybacking off of this misconception, I have always thought these beliefs were instilled by virtue of economic independence or dependence. It's true that your parents' wealth does not always translate to your own personal wealth. Many people, rich or poor, do not live as if their money and assets is all they have. We as Americans tend to live outside our means.

Many Americans from every social class believe that there’s always a safety net (i.e. your parents, credit cards or the government). I have always felt that if there were more people who were independent of these safety nets there would be more liberals - if the shoe were on the other foot so to speak. I know this is not completely true since conservatives mostly believe in self-empowerment. To them, the people should have control over their lives and personal possessions with little to no government interference. My political beliefs are very broad and do, to some extent, embody this belief. As in life, I believe there needs to be a balance. Government should not fully control our lives but should also protect us from potential hardships. The AIG bailout is a prime example. In a strictly conservative society (decreased regulation) the market would have to play itself out (laissez-faire). If AIG were not bailed out there would have potentially been a large crash in the economy. I’m no economist so I can not say this for certain but undoubtedly the effects would have been deeply felt across the globe and the fabric of American life would have been greatly altered.

My personal views were partly inherited from my parents but also shaped by life experiences. Help is always welcome but I'm not going to waste my time waiting on it. I have never believed in trickle-down economics. For those unaware of this policy, it's the belief that if you lessen the burden on those that have resources, wealth will trickle down to those that do not have any resources (through investments). To put this in perspective, the more food we have on the kitchen table, the more likely we'll have food fall off of the table for the "bottom feeders" to eat. What happens though when there’s no over abundance of food? Also, who's to say that those at the kitchen table will not eat more or horde the food when there is abundance? I believe George Bush's last 8 years have somewhat proved how human greed can takeover. Yes, the people with resources have the ability to create business but, I feel that the middle-class define this country.

You empower the middle-class, you empower the whole country. When they have money, the middle-class will eagerly invest/spend their money. The dollar will circulate. Not one, but all social classes will benefit from this. Those who control the resources will become profitable and will have to find ways to outpace the demands. As a result, jobs will be created. Having jobs gives those without resources a means to gain resources. Wealth becomes more tangible. This keeps the wheels of the economy churning. The whole “team” is moving in the same direction. Consumer confidence is up when the people have money to spend. The upper-class will always have money to spend. To them, the economy may currently be in decent shape. Truth be told, the economy is in the dumps and it doesn’t take Alan Greenspan or Ben Bernacke to tell us this. At the present, consumer confidence is very low and the middle-class is being crushed. The problem is finding a solution. I believe government should create opportunities for the middle-class, not stifle them. If this means I must pay more taxes than so be it. This is a fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives.

I trust that the government will invest my money in things that will better the country as a whole. Whenever I hear someone state "I don't want anyone sitting around being lazy and living off the taxes I pay," it makes me scratch my head. I feel this to be a cop-out. I wonder how many "poor" people are there that sit around and do nothing. I know it exists but then again there are also privileged individuals who squander opportunity. Some will make the most of opportunities (if given one) and others will take advantage. Maybe there are circumstances that have become a hindrance to the prosperity of that less resourceful individual. If he/she is working hard and doing everything within their own power to be successful, do they not deserve help? Is it just unlucky for that person to be tied to their current situation? Who's to decide what's fair? I don’t think we should look at it as paying taxes, we should look at it as pocket patriotism, a direct investment in American soil. This country after all is the land of opportunity. The scales tip when the opportunities are suffocated. This only creates more problems.

Enough about me! Again I ask, what influences your politics? It's true that the cream of the crop rise to the top. Why fear change? Why fear the status quo? The best of the best will thrive in any climate. I feel though that keeping things at a constant will only favor those who are benefiting from it. Change is good! If there were no change we wouldn’t have had a Revolutionary War, slavery would still exist and civil rights would be a non-issue. America without change is no America at all. Where has complacency gotten us? Your two-cents are welcome.