The Voter ID Amendment – Just Deceptive Politics

Voters in many states, particularly in my native Minnesota, are being bombarded with advertisements promoting or opposing constitutional amendments to require voter identification cards as a condition for being allowed to vote. The sole justification for this requirement is the prevention of voter fraud, and most ads cite various anecdotal evidence of some irregularity that has occurred and which might theoretically have been prevented had there been a voter ID law in place.

The thing that I find most perplexing about this debate is why it is so partisan--Republicans pushing the amendment and Democrats opposing it. If there actually is significant evidence of voter fraud, why doesn’t everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike, want to curtail it? Does anyone really believe that Democrats are actually in favor of voter fraud and only Republicans stand on the ethical high road?

Who Pays? The Truth About the American Tax System

There have been several recent articles discussing the American tax structure, and frankly they are all foreboding. According to a recent Tax Policy Center study, about 67 million Americans paid no federal income taxes last year. Excluding children, that’s about 40% of the entire US population who pay no taxes at all. In other words, only 60% of us support the entire massive federal infrastructure.

So who doesn’t pay?

Same-Sex Marriage – A Political Game

I’ve never understood why Republicans tend to oppose same sex marriage and Democrats tend to favor it. What is it in the political credos of these two parties that require them to take these positions? Actually nothing. The primary focus of American politics today is not about what’s best for the American people; it’s about retaining or gaining power. In the very troubled economic times we live in today, why is same sex marriage such a big deal that there is media coverage of the issue virtually every day? A vote one way versus the other won't give us more jobs, reduce the national debt, or increase gross national product. Why do we focus so much energy on issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with the main issues of the day? The answer is simple, the politics of power.

Sure, the economy is more important than same sex marriage, virtually everyone agrees with that. But there are no solutions to our economic woes that will get anyone elected or help anyone stay in power. To solve our long term economic woes, we either have to raise revenues (i.e. more taxes), reduce spending (i.e. cut funding to all the grand entitlement programs that got most of our national leaders elected in the first place), or, heaven forbid, a little of both. No matter which side a politician takes, he alienates half the American voters, and if he’s dumb enough to advocate the one solution most likely to do good, a little of each, then he alienates everyone. Taking a stand on the economy is simply bad politics, unless all one does is talk in absurdly vague generalities.

Under the Microscope: ObamaCare

Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court's decision?

This question–asked multiple times by multiple media outlets in the last few days–is totally absurd. In truth, there are only a miniscule number of respondents who are qualified to assess whether the United States Supreme Court correctly applied the federal constitution to the Affordable Care Act. Consequently the results of this poll are totally worthless.

The real question to ask the public should be: Do you agree or disagree with ObamaCare?

At least with this question everyone is qualified to give an answer because the question asks for nothing but a personal opinion. Unfortunately the results of this poll are likewise entirely unreliable. The problem is that the respective proponents and opponents of ObamaCare have generated so much disinformation that the public really has no reliable information upon which to base any opinion. The Republicans and the Democrats alike publish enormous inaccuracies about this law for the sole purpose of influencing public opinion in the upcoming presidential election. So the public is grossly misinformed as to the benefits the law provides, the cost of implementation of the law or the gravity of the regulations the law imposes. Who could possibly cast an intelligent vote under these circumstances?