The fickle independent voters… They’re courted by politicians every election. Independent voters are growing in number. Much has been said about the number of self identified Republicans and Democrats. For whatever reason people are proud to be Democrats. This isn’t new phenomenon, and I’m sure a whole book could be dedicated to party loyalty. The number of independent voters is growing because people are disillusioned with the Republican party. Who can blame them? I had always been a registered Independent until last year’s presidential primary. Florida isn’t an open primary state, so I registered as a Republican to vote.
What is a disillusioned voter to do? This answer isn’t as simple as switching parties. Many voters are fed up with the size and power of the federal government. Ever since the New Deal the government has been spending more and more money. By 1980, the tax burden to pay for everything was killing the economy. Reagan wisely cut taxes to reinvigorate the economy, but Washington has lacked the political will to reduce spending. It’s easy to cut taxes, but it’s nearly impossible to rein in spending. That’s where we are today: twenty years of low taxes and high deficits. Liberals simply want to raise taxes, but doing so would cripple our economy.
“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.“? - Gerald Ford
Sadly the Obama administration isn’t really a change. More spending and larger entitlements is simply an expansion of the status quo. It is a quiet march into bankruptcy. It’s amazing to hear liberals tout environmental sustainability. They are champions of only taking what is necessary from the environment, but what about sustainable government? Is there a better example of waste and mismanagement than our federal government? Our spending priorities are simply not sustainable. What is a disillusioned voter to do? The Democrats offer no way out and the Republicans just spent eight years spending and increasing entitlements.
American needs change and neither party is offering a solution. America needs real courageous leadership. It will be a colossal task to reshape our government. I’m not sure it’s possible. Fewer Americans are paying taxes while an increasing number of Americans are receiving some kind of government assistance. This is not the recipe for a stable Republic. As the hand outs increase the number of entitlement voters increases as well. The American experiment is a miracle, and it’s going to need another miracle to escape this vicious trend.
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