The Economy Stupid!!

As a Christian, this issue is probably the least consequential to my Christianity, though my Christianity informs my views on this issue.

In order for the economy to thrive you must have certain ingredients. Here are the most important elements that must be present for a strong economy:

1. Capitalism- Individuals must be able to own property and goods, and to develop them to sell for profit. The process of production, buying and selling must be free and regulated by the market itself.

2. A non-oppressive tax system- The taxes on income and capital gains must be relatively low compared to the rest of the world, otherwise you will drive businesses out of the country in our mobile and portable world. There must also be a disparity between capital gains and income taxes (if you have an income tax as we do). If there is no tax-incentive for capital investment, this will discourage economic activity and will slow our economy.

Like many other issues in this race, the economic plans and philosophies of the candidates are very different.

Democrats want more government regulation on industry and wants the government to get into more businesses such as insurance, and health care. They also are in favor of progressive income tax systems which are oppressive and counter productive. The Democrats are for income redistribution to some degree because "what's the big deal? The rich people can afford it." As Obama told O'Reilly on his show.

Republicans for the most part are for less government regulation (not counting the recent real estate bailouts) in business, and seek to let the markets regulate themselves. They are also for lower taxes and a disparity between capital gains and ordinary income taxes. They don't seek to punish success, and believe in the power of free markets to create wealth and prosperity for all, even the lower classes of society.

This is another reason that I vote for Republicans most of the time, because I believe (in general) that their economic policies are more favorable to a strong economy, and they are more likely to keep tax rates reasonable.