Watch out if Barack wins

Watch out if Barack wins

EDITOR:

If the polls are right, and Barack Obama is elected, the change we get may not be the change we need or are expecting.

Barack Obama will raise your taxes..no matter how much money you earn, no matter what he has promised. John McCain knows that to raise taxes on anyone in a recession will only deepen and prolong the downturn. All of the Bush haters should at least give the President credit for the tax cuts that stimulated our economy after 9/11.

Barack Obama will take away the secret ballot in the workplace. He has promised the unions that he will support card check, which will let intimidation and undue pressure be applied to unionize any business they choose. If the employees really want union representation, they can use the secret ballot to vote yes, if not, they should be able to vote no without fear of retaliation.

With Democrats controlling Congress and the White House, all restraints will be gone. Every spending bill that comes along, every pork laden bill that promises everything to everyone, will become law. Barack Obama has promised so many costly programs that the deficit we have now will seem like chump change. His promises smack of socialism, something that Americans have always rejected.

Barack Obama does not support offshore drilling. He has been strongly against it, and although he is now backtracking, it will never happen if the Democrats are in control. Yes, we know that we can’t drill our way out of this, but we can use our natural resources to ease the transition to alternative fuels, which will take many years to develop. You can also forget about nuclear plants and clean coal. The Dems only give lip service to them. Our national security is dependent on moving forward with oil drilling. John McCain will push through the programs needed to become energy independent and create much needed jobs.

Barack Obama’s campaign slogan of “judgment to lead” belies the bad judgement he has displayed in the past. Associations do matter, and the people he has allied with and called mentors are disturbing to say the least.

DIANNE FRANK

Youngstown

Pre-election thoughts

EDITOR:

Here are a few random thoughts as Election Day nears:

If Wal-Mart jobs are good enough for Joe and Jill Main Street to raise their families on, then why weren’t Wal-Mart clothes good enough for Sarah Palin’s wardrobe (or that of other legislators who continue to allow the unpatriotic outsourcing of U. S. manufacturing and service jobs)?

If the average U.S. corporate CEO makes an income over 400 times that of his or her average employees, why are the Republicans accusing Democrats of inciting class warfare?

We have had a progressive tax structure for nearly a century. It helped to lift us out of the Great Depression and allowed us to maintain a continuous standard of living that is still higher than that of much of the rest of the world. Would dismantling it be patriotic?

Given the Republican Party’s shameful attempts since the run-up to the 2004 election to smear John McCain’s service record and patriotism, how strong will their support be for a candidate they neither wanted nor seem to respect? What will that mean in terms of his ability to lead Congress or the American people?

To all those citizens who suddenly find themselves in dire financial straits, worrying about losing their homes, jobs, health care, the ability to fuel their cars or heat their homes, I say: Hang in there. Youngstown has been dealing with the same circumstances for 30 years now, and we still have our dignity, our ingenuity, our humor, and our spirit.

VIRGINIA ELSER

Youngstown