An Open Letter to McCain Supporters

Dear McCain-supporting family member or friend,

I respect you and your opinion, but have to disagree.

First, the tax cuts that we all received under Bush were simply a bandage on a boil. There's a lot wrong with our economy and a temporary tax cut can only be a temporary means to ease the pressure of a growing problem.

That said, part of Obama's plan is to (A) cut taxes for 95% of workers and their families, (B) cut taxes for low and middle income seniors, the uninsured, and those planning for retirement or for college. All of this means that you and I (the shrinking comfortable middle class) will either see a tax cut or see our taxes stay where they're at. (To be honest, I don't know for sure if that means where they're at now, or where they were at prior to the supposed-to-be-temporary cuts). Again, these tax cuts are a bandage and Obama has said as much. To fix the problem, however, you have to do more than cut taxes.

As for redistribution of wealth, fair enough. Call it what you want. It's a fundamental difference between not only you and I, but the country in general. A person of extreme wealth may believe "my money is my money," or one may believe that those extremely fortunate individuals have a social duty to provide additional aid to those who need it. Personally, I believe the latter.

Capitalism is a tricky system. At its best, it allows people to succeed, expand business and support their family and local economy. At its worst, it can be argued that it is immoral and relies upon the existence of poverty. Don't confuse this statement as an argument for Socialism. I firmly believe that Capitalism is the best system there is. The problem is in finding a right (moral) balance between greed (hording wealth acquired off the backs of others) and community (reaching out to the less fortunate).

There is a common sentiment among middle and upper class whites to assume "less fortunate" equates to "less motivated." For sure, there are those people out there who will never work for anything, but I believe it to be a pretty damn insignificant fraction of those considered below the poverty line. To believe otherwise is to ignore White Privilege (a real thing) and an economic "trickle down" policy that has proven unsuccessful. Trickle down economics does not work. The widening gap between the haves and have-nots proves this.

Lastly, I'm not an economist. I don't fully understand the intricacies of how our system works. Anastasia pays our bills. I do, however, think I'm fairly accurate in my more big-picture assessment of things.

The population is growing. Cities are sprawling. The global economy has become so closely tied that what started as a credit crisis in the U.S. became an economic disaster half the world over. Things are changing and if we don't do something other than business-as-usual, it will only get worse.

Do I think the richest Americans have a responsibility to those who can't get a job? -to those who are stuck making minimum wage and can't get anywhere because for them there is no where to go?

Yes.

Respectfully,
Jack