I have been seeing a lot of pro Obama information lately. I am left scratching my head and wondering why anyone would vote for him.
First and foremost, when taxation becomes too high on the wealthy, they have the means to leave. It is very hard to redistribute that wealth when the wealth picks up and leaves. Obama has always been big on redistribution of wealth; people must look to his friends to understand why he believes this. Obama has ties to convicted domestic terrorists and others of very questionable character. His mentor was an acknowledged communist. In my world, you are judged by the company you keep.
We were once the freest economy in the world. Under Obama we have slipped very fast and that trend will continue if we do not take action. The U.S. has fallen from No. 3 in 2000 (behind the city-states of Hong Kong and Singapore) to No. 8 in 2005 and to No. 18 in 2010, the last year for which complete statistics are available. Worse yet, the U.S. decline continues, and in next year's ranking, it is almost certain to be lower.
Gas and energy prices have exploded. When Obama took office the average price for a gallon of gas was $1.89. By March of 2009 the average cost was over $2. By December of 2010 the average price was over $3 per gallon and has remained that high ever since. While all of this is going on, the media remains mostly silent on this. While we did experience some high prices under Bush, the numbers for Obama are higher for a longer period of time.
The war on coal is causing our electric prices to increase dramatically. Coal has long been the most affordable source of electricity generation in America; it provides almost 50 percent of this nation's power. Team Obama's actions, via the EPA guarantee higher U.S. electricity prices - which will push up the costs of every business in America. That means more lost jobs. A recent report from the Edison Electric Institute found that the Obama administration's air-quality policies alone could force the retirement of up to 90,000 megawatts of coal power, and require $200 billion in retrofits by 2020.
Finally let's look at the recent events in the Mid-East. Obama claimed that he understands this area because he lived there. I submit that he has little understanding at all or is complicate in the problem. Brutal dictators and repressive regimes seem to have been the norm for the area. Historically, the United States has often backed these people. This was necessary because of the factions that come to power once these people are eliminated. We witnessed this scenario before in the 1980s when the Shah of Iran was removed from power. Iran has become and will remain our enemy. The recent events of last Spring as well as last week are doing nothing more than creating more Iran's for our country to deal with. We will always be the infidels and the Great Satan. The radicals in the Muslim world have the means and the ability to gain and remain in power. Their goal is complete and total domination of the world and people will submit or die.
While Romney is largely untested on the world stage, he is a proven businessman. He turned the Olympics around and has run large companies. The United States is nothing more than a large company. While he is far from my ideal choice to lead this country, he is a better choice than what we currently have.
Jay Owens
Waterford
