Dear Readers,
In six days, our country will elect a new commander in chief – a man who will represent the American people and what this nation stands for: liberty, justice, and the American way.
Over the past eight years, the American way of life became harder to live. More and more families find themselves at the kitchen table, a table adorned not with food, but with piles of bills that need to be paid.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost, more and more homes have been foreclosed, and college tuition is the highest it has ever been – Americans, especially the youth, can’t keep up. This dismal economy, the worst since the Great Depression, has plunged the middle class into poverty.
The American dream is eroding away before our eyes – but it is our duty to ensure that the dream stays alive. Whichever candidate takes office on Jan. 20 must be aware of this hardship and have a solid plan in place to alleviate it.
The U.S. needs a president who will bring back American ingenuity – an idea that has been long-forgotten – and place America back in a position of world-wide admiration.
United States
Students will benefit from Obama’s stance on education – he is determined to make college affordable by increasing Pell Grants, which will keep up with inflation.
Obama will also ensure that those who serve their community or country will be able to afford a college education by creating the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which is universal and fully refundable, and is worth up to $4,000 per student. According to this plan, two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university will be covered and community college tuition will be completely free for most students – good news for everyone here at GCC.
In addition, financial aid will be much easier to apply for – families need only check a box on their tax returns to automate the process – a big improvement over the lines, confusing applications and multiple documents that make applying for public monies such a quagmire.
Obama is opposed to the Iraq War and will bring our troops home with honor, and resolving the humanitarian crisis that has erupted in the Middle East. McCain has voted with George W. Bush on all matters related to this futile and expensive war.
As Americans we do not need to spend another hundred years in Iraq, as was once proposed by Mc Cain or “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” as he also suggested. War spending has exceeded $1 trillion dollars. Imagine the state America’s economy would be in now if those dollars had been spent domestically instead of in Iraq.
Is it “unfair” to require Americans who make more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990’s? We don’t think so. In fact, at El Vaquero, all staff members make less than – $250,000 per year and we oppose raising taxes for middle class and lower income people, who are struggling to make ends meet as it is.
According to Congressional Quarterly’s Voting Studies, in 2007 McCain voted in line with the president’s position 95 percent of the time. Obama voted with the president only 40 percent of the time and, it should be noted, the Senate’s Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, voted with Bush a mere 39 percent of the time on last year’s issues.
McCain is just more of the same. His plan is to stay the course. If you are happy with the developments of the last eight years – the economy, the war, health care, the housing market, the job crisis, the skyrocketing price of gasoline, the lack of public services and the loss of jobs, then by all means vote for McCain. If you want real meaningful change, vote for Obama – he’s the real maverick.
-El Vaquero
