A Voting Public Service Announcement – 2022

*steps on a soapbox*

For more than 16 years, I have encouraged readers of this blog to vote in upcoming elections and this year will be no different. Next week, on November 8th, I hope you will join me and so many other American citizens in exercising your right (and privilege) to vote.

To say that this year much rests on your vote is perhaps an understatement. There are two distinct political viewpoints in play this year. One party says the events of the January 6, 2021 insurrection are unimportant and that the election of 2020 was stolen by the current President. That party in 2017 passed tax cuts that added $1.9 trillion to the national debt; are permanent for those making more than $400,000 a year while those making less than that amount will see their taxes rise in calendar year 2025 as part of that bill’s payment scheme. Their answer to the economic problems caused by this tax cut and todays world events is more tax cuts for the wealthy and the sunsetting of Social Security and Medicare.

The other party capped seniors’ out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year and ensured no senior on Medicare pays over $35 per month for insulin as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, 212 of 213 House Republicans voted against this law. This same party addressed veterans healthcare taking on issues such as burn pit exposure and toxic water at Camp Lejeune in the PACT Act. But 174 of 213 House Republicans voted against this law, too. The same party reauthorized and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which had been allowed to expire under the previous administration. But 172 of 213 House Republicans voted against that law as well.

In short, it appears, to me, one party wants to solve problems while the other party isn’t interested in anything that isn’t a tax cut for the wealthy. Each party has fielded candidates that reflect their policies on leadership.

Your vote for one of the two party candidates will determine not just what kind of nation we will be for the next two years, but what kind of people our children will be well into this millennium. The decisions we make in this election will impact our healthcare, Social Security and Medicare as well as our national management of debt.

While this election has national implications, as Thomas Phillip O’Neill, Jr., (‘Tip’ to his friends) who once said, “All politics is local,” and the late Speaker of the House of Representatives was absolutely right. This election is no exception.  The political issues most important to you will always be the local one first. My home resides in the following Districts:

– A Congressional District

– A State Senatorial District

– A Public Service Commission District

– A State Representative District

– A County Judicial District

– A Superior Court of Georgia District

– An Agriculture District

– And finally a City Council District.

Every single one of these Districts is asking for my vote, my concurrence, on some candidate or issue that will fiscally impact me and mine for years to come. That is a simple fact. And if I haven’t taken the time to know the positions of the candidates and the issues in these 8 Districts – well, I’ll get what I deserve: expensive, but poor Government service.

The most precious thing in the world is a knowledgeable and informed electorate. An electorate that knows what it is voting for and against; that knows the consequences of that vote and knows that they (and they alone) will have to live with the final outcome long after all the pundits that tout the social merits of any candidate or issue have left. An electorate that can recognize that words have meaning and liars can’t be trusted to look out for anyone’s interest except their own is an electorate that will make good decision.

We should never forget that a democracy is always only one election away from never having elections again. Thus, we, as a nation, should treat each election cycle as if it might be the last because one day… it just might be. Your vote is important. It is valuable. It is precious, but only if you exercise it.

I encourage you to vote on Tuesday, if you haven’t already, but know what you’re voting for (or against). My name is Bill and I approved this message.

*steps off soapbox*