I watch the news. Of course there is some liberal and some conservative debating why Bush and Kerry did or said this or that. During the day I listen to talk radio when I can. Yes I know that Rush is a bit of a blow hard but he does bring up some important issues. I also listen to Howie Carr. He's local but I believe is syndicated in a few markets. Some of you may know of him. I like what he has to say. He's not out there kissing Bushs' a$$ any more than he is wrongfully bashing Kerry. He brings up many good points, points that I don't see covered when I turn on then TV news. Why?!

So, I watch these people debate Bush and Kerry. The conservatives seem to give reasonable answers. They usually don't seem like they're side stepping the issue, or speaking half truths. The liberals though! They explain in circles. They never get any where. They seem to make excuses for the things Kerry does and says. The main stream media doesn't seem to know, or chooses not to cover topics that I hear on talk radio. Why not? Shouldn't all this be put on the table? I hear plenty of Bush bashing in the main stream media but they seem to defend Kerry profusely. Why? How am I supposed to make an informed decision this November if I never feel like I get the whole story?

To the point: How bad are things for you?

I keep hearing all the things that Kerry wants to do for us. He want's to take away this tax break because it's only the rich who get it. He wants to raise our taxes so that the government can help us out.

During the current admistration I have become a home owner. My income has increased at a rate greater than in previous years.I have been able to have a hobby, my F150, which has recieved several improvements. I am anticipating a VP roll in my fathers (small) company.

I'd say things have been OK. So what is it that Kerry is going to help me with? Maybe make my introduction to business more difficult? I make a decent wage but I'm certianly not rich. That little bit I get in the form of a tax cut helps. So Kerry would like to take away the funding of my hobby, to fund that of someone who hasn't busted they're a$$ to have the oppertunity?

How bad are things for you?

 

What I can't understand is how the same people who change their oil every 3,000 miles are so quick to give Bush & Crew four more years.

Actually it has nothing to do with my bank account or my possible future tax situation.

This is what I posted on Jul 27 2003 and nothing has changed:

(Which was a lie, I voted for Anderson in '80)

I am just an ordinary Republican who is mad as Hell.

 

Well, seeing how I voted for Gore (which he was a bozo right along with all the rest of the politicians) and wound up with Bush in office.....this is how the last 4 years have went for me. I guess I am considered middle class, in between 30k and 40k a year. the first year Bushie was in office, I lost close to a quarter of my salary, had to work 3 jobs to make what I did during the Clinton era, was laid off 1 or 2 weeks every month for a year straight, and started paying alot more for insurance (about a 23% increase) But of course the economy boomed when we started, IMHO, an unjustified war to settle a grudge that his father carried with him. And, before the flaming begins, let me repeat that this is my opinion only. What would be nice is if oneday we could get someone in office that would have some ***** and actually help the little people instead of lining their own pockets more. That and someone that actually knew how to tell the truth.....but we all know that will never happen....democrats or republicans.

 

That's what I say. This two party system is way to narrow to represent the public of today.

 

You will have to wait until '08 before Hillary will run.

 

Well if you can tell me what John "*******ing - did you know he served in Vietnam" Kerry stands for, I will listen. So far his only stance is to bash Bush. Kerry flips then flops then flips again on most all issues. The latest is that he "voted for the 87 billion proposal before he voted against it".

So...waiting for your enlightenment...

runnert

 

I hope that isn't directed at me.
I have no intention of trying to 'enlighten' anybody.
There are many here who put a lot of effort into 'trying to enlighten' one way or the other.

They might as well be trying to persuade someone to change their religion.

runnert, you and I aren't players anyway as Kentucky and Virginia aren't 'battleground' states.

01 XLT Sport has honed his skills here but, he really needs to work his town/county as New Hampshire will be hotly contested in November, it is worth 4 Electorates and was a major player in 2000 just because of how close it was.

Bush will carry Kentucky and Virginia no matter what or how much we hoot and holler at each other.

Just as wittom is probably frustrated being anti Kerry while living in Mass where he knows it's a done deal.

 

You're right, it wasn't directed at you, I kinda know where you stand depending on the day of the week and the level of humor you are transmitting into your posts, lol.

I am directing this to the "serious" kerry supporter/bush haters out there .

runnert

 

In all honesty I am a bit better off then I was in 2000. I got a nice pay raise in 2000 and then after 9/11 it’s stayed the same. However I am smart enough and intelligent enough to understand why I and why I haven’t done much better.

It’s called reality, real life, and logic. When 9/11 occurred many Americans got very scared. We were already in the beginning of the Clinton recession to begin with and the fear from 9/11 just about put the deathblow to it.

People got scared and horded their money. It’s a nature reaction and when people do that they are obviously not going out and having a great time shopping and traveling. That in turns means people are not buying products and/or using services. When people do not buy products and/or use services that means people lose jobs, things slow down and thus the business I work at sales less motors and makes less profit. We were lucky for a small company we were able to break EVEN for those few years. That meant no pay raises and cutting other things out like company parties but if meant for the most part that many people kept their jobs.

Had Algore been President I don’t know what the outcome would have been. I cannot predict the future or the past with another person in charge. However my instincts from viewing past performance tells me things would have either been basically the same, because Algore would have had Clintons recession to deal with and then 9/11. It could have been worse depending on the actions Algore took after 9/11.

I don’t know if Algore would have been man enough or not to make the tough decisions that President Bush has made, he may well have been.

So the fact of the matter, in my opinion, is I am doing good, and would be doing the same or maybe worse if Algore had been in office. I know with confidence that I would not be doing better then I am now had Algore been in office, maybe the same, but not better.

That’s all anyone can ask of another person, even if it is your President is to do the best job they possibly can. I believe President Bush has done the best he can under the situation. He has made some mistakes along the way, only human, but for the most part he has done a good job and made American’s proud to be Americans, at least those that are not completely filled with hate…

 

that answers your question.

I personally will not vote for any candiate that won't clearly state their position. Avoidance of the issues is the same as lying about them.

 

Better, meh, I guess so overall. That stock market went in the tank, but other things have improved. It's surely a different world than it was in 1999. There's things that I wish would have gone differently and the pres would have done differently. I become more and more glad I didn't vote for Gore (I almost did).

I know people that aren't doing better and people that are. Most of the people that I know that are doing better have done so from working hard and being smart. The people that are doing worse haven't done much, and some have truly had a basd hand delt to them. Most of the worse off ones were not directly effected by anything Bush did, and a few(say %50) of the better off ones are directly effected.

I'm not considereing things that do effect us all directly like wars and crap, just stuff like taxes, jobs, etc.

 

I'm in the military, so things are pretty good. We're finally doing what the American taxpayers fund us to do (defend this great nation) rather that a million and one "humanitarian" missions spread across the globe.

 

This is exactly what I'm looking for. People saying they're basicly doing ok for themselves. I know that there have been a lot of people that have become unemployed in the past three years. I'm curious to know if a lot of these people blame the current administration, or if perhaps there are other circumstances that might play a bigger part. Aso, no ones really saying they're doing great. I surely wouldn't discribe my situation as great. I'm still not driving a Lightning. But I have managed to make progress. So have many of the people I know. I think that's a good thing.

Now, when I say that I don't want to see Kerry in office, that doesn't mean that I necessarily want Bush for another four years.

I can't say I dissagree with the Iraq situation, and at this point WMD's aren't the first thing on my mind. Getting things stable so that Iraqies can take care of themselves, and take part in the global economy seems to me the most important. The issue of WMD's isn't ever going away, I just think that sometimes hind sight does a better job of showing the big picture. What ever that picture might show.

There is definitly issues I have with the current administration. Bush might have found it necessary to bully Iraq but there is no reason to bully the people of our country. At this point I don't want to see the constitution amended. This gay marrige issue needs to stew for a while before such a big step is taken. I don't want to pay the way for illegal imigrants. Bushs' plan for the imigrants is a slap in the face of the people that were born, raised and worked their whole lives in this country. And the religious right. I'm sorry, to thoes of you who find peace in religion please don't judge me because I choose not to follow. I'm not religious, at all. I'm not anti religion, it just doesn't make sence to me. So why is Bush pushing this religious agenda. He can recite all he want's from the bible but that's just a story I don't believe. A religious agenda alienates all thoes who choose to believe differently. And....... I like Howard Stern. People can say how bad he is for society, but I listen and like what I hear. If he does a bit that I don't like, I change the channel. Howard Stern pushes the limits but he isn't doing anything different than every one else in the entertainment industry. Is this administration going to try to make this country do a 360? It's not going to happen. Let me decide what I want to listen to, watch or read. I'm not a kid any more. Parents should do like the parents of previous generations did, protect thier children from things they consider indecent. I don't want or need the governments protection from what "they" consider indecent.

Sorry I'm using so much space. It can be a scary thing to think about. In November it'll be Bush or Kerry. You all can tell who I think is the lesser of the two evils. If only we had more choices!

 

To answer the original question, I am doing much better. Both me and my wife found new jobs within the last year and increased our taxable income substantially. I say taxable because I was in the military (a lot of their income is untaxable). Before anyone flames me for leaving when the country needed me. They proved over the last 4.5 years I was in, that they didn't need me for any major deployments, even after volunteering, the only one I was sent to was Desert Fox and that one was minor.

Yes my investments have sucked but my income has gone up and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We pay about the same in taxes as before we increased our income and received the tax reductions.