I know this always comes as a shock to the Hope & Changers here at Camp College, but not everyone in the U.S. is a die-hard fan of Barack Obama. Since numerous people have inquired how I could possibly dislike Obama, I thought I would spell out a few reasons for everyone to read.
As a preface, I have read Obama’s books, I have watched him speak, and I genuinely think he is an honorable, fun man that I would probably enjoy hanging out with. However, these traits do not mean I think he is the best presidential candidate.
It would be foolish for me to say that everything Obama has done during his first term is bad; Obama has numerous accomplishments including killing Osama bin Laden and repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Unfortunately, Barack Obama also made a lot of promises four years ago. The drawback to making promises is that their fulfillment (or lack thereof) can be analyzed. Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay within his first year. That didn’t happen. He promised to make the rich pay their “fair share” by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. That didn’t happen.
Most notably, Obama promised “change.” I, for one, do not see any positive changes in my day-to-day life. While I realize some of Obama’s promises would have been very difficult to accomplish, he made them and therefore must be held accountable.
1. Accountability is my biggest problem with President Obama. He has elaborate, Utopian visions of a world in which everyone can go to college and get medicine on someone else’s dime. These services cost money, and since the government does not inherently have any funds of its own, this money must be collected through taxes. I have never met a person who likes taxes – who enjoys seeing their weekly paycheck drop from $500 to $460?
The problem Republicans and I have with Obama is not his societal goals but rather the costs required to achieve them. These are impractical and unrealistic visions, not plans.
2. Social Security in its present form is not sustainable. There is more money being paid out than there is being paid in. This occurance is not an opinion, it’s a fact. At this rate, we CC students will never get a penny from Social Security. For Mitt Romney and myself, this is a problem worth addressing. Obama, on the other hand, seems to believe money will magically grow on trees.
3. The current cost of health care in America is unacceptable for a nation of our caliber. However, I do not believe the costs are high strictly because of crooked insurance companies and greedy doctors. Rather, I would blame excessive government regulation that limit the number of doctors and specifies what each doctor or nurse can or cannot do. Do I really need someone to have a nursing degree to weigh me? Do you need a PhD to prescribe cough syrup? There are countless regulations that could be eliminated and would save billions annually.
4. I also find it ironic that the same party that advocates for women having rights to their own bodies is telling others what they must do with theirs. A healthy 25-year-old should be allowed to live without being mandated to buy insurance. End of story.
5. What I find more disturbing than the Individual Mandate is requiring employers to cover birth control. Don’t get me wrong – I am all for birth control if someone wants to pay for it. However, I cannot think of anything more selfish and unconstitutional than requiring one person to pay for another person’s birth control, especially if birth control is against that person’s religion.
Obamacare is certainly not the solution to our health care nightmare.
6. Obama expressed sympathy for Occupy Wall Street. Complaining about your problems and creating chaos in public spaces is not a way to positively change our country. Enough said.
7. The DREAM Act is another reason why I will not be voting for Obama. There are nearly five million immigrants patiently and legally waiting to enter the U.S. Providing amnesty for illegal adults or youth may seem like a compassionate thing to do. Unfortunately, it disregards the rule of law and I am not interested in promoting criminal behavior. The DREAM Act is a blow to immigrants who follow protocol.
8. To succeed in soccer you must score goals. To succeed in personal health you must exercise and eat well. To succeed in business you must make a profit. Mitt Romney made profits. While the “you didn’t build that” controversy was partially taken out of context, Obama has repeatedly criticized financial success. Obama’s campaign ads broadcast how wealthy Mitt Romney is. The president tries to use Romney’s success against him to spark resentment. These ads are a call for less financially stable Americans to get angry at someone who has earned more than they have. Jealousy should not be encouraged.
9. Obama has repeatedly misrepresented the American tax system and claimed that the wealthy do not pay their “fair share.” Let me review a few tax facts. First, half of Americans do not pay any income tax. Second, according to the Wall Street Journal, “In the 2000s, the top 5 percent averaged 28.4 percent of the income and paid 40.3 percent of the taxes.” While “fair” is a subjective term, paying 12 percent more of the taxes than you earn of the pie does not seem greedy but rather quite generous. The wealthy pay more, so half of Americans can pay nothing. If anything should be done to the tax code it should be closing loopholes, not mindlessly increasing tax rates for the those in the top brackets who already pay more than their fair share.
10. I have been to the DMV. I have seen tax documents from the IRS. I attended what was considered a good public high school. The last thing I want to do is give our government more power. For this reason, I will not be voting to re-elect Barack Obama on Nov. 6.
Is Mitt Romney my favorite person in the world? No. So why would I choose him over a young, energetic, charismatic leader? Because Romney rightfully knows that government is not the solution to every problem.
It is important to remember that at the end of the day, both Democrats and Republicans want a citizenry that is employed, happy and healthy. We simply have two very different road maps to get us there.
Ellen Scully
Guest Writer