Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Woman to Woman: Really, You’re Voting for Romney? Please think about this.


By Kelli Lundgren

I get it. We are so busy with life, who has time for politics?  We’re woman and many of us are finalizing our decision right now on who we will vote for for president.  And lately, it looks like many of us are leaning right, toward presidential candidate Mitt Romney, toward change.  I can see the enticement, especially if life just isn’t as good as we had hoped.


Yet, please think about these issues... 


Regarding health care, the Affordable Health Care Act, or rather Obamacare, it's scary, but guess what?  Our college age sons and daughters can now receive health care on our insurance plans versus being vulnerable to a catastrophe without insurance, without a hospital breathing down a family member's neck for payment.  If you are a small business owner, female or male, and have a self-employed insurance policy, you now won’t be dropped from insurance coverage when you get sick because of new rules.  It makes sense.   


And also, women, we have a pre-existing condition according to health insurance companies... we’re women.  This is discriminatory and our President is trying to fix this through his new plan.  And why shouldn’t insurance cover birth control pills?  Do women really exist in a world where decisions are made for us by men as had been touted by the Republican candidates in the primaries?  I think not.  Republican politicians cannot just suddenly shut off all the blather about what a woman can and cannot do and pretend it is an etch-a-sketch moment.


Health care costs are rising.  The root of this problem has not been addressed by either political party.  Yet I do not see Republicans going after the health care industry.  They keep touting “It’s a free market.”   I keep decoding it as, “If you want to live, pay.”  Why vote for this?


As far as the deficit goes, it’s a problem, and it could be another ledge like 2007 if we don’t address it.  However, women, did you know that when our country was led by Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., and G.W. Bush we had significant red ink, and with Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, black ink?  It's true.  See link.   Romney and Ryan's Republican supply-side economics philosophy (lower federal taxes to boost the economy) has proven to be an insufficient way of balancing the budget. 


President Obama inherited an economic disaster in 2008. President G.W. Bush had been spending in the red for years without a recession to stimulate.  Bush spent five trillion dollars off-the-books.  It honestly went on the books when President Obama came into office.  Now, instead of using deficit spending to bolster our country at the start of a recession, the red ink spending was already occurring years previously.   


Romney and Ryan, while running for president and vice president, are not telling us what they intend to do, except to lower taxes even further (lower than current record low rates), increase military spending, and decrease mysterious other expenditures.  Arithmetic says Republicans will not solve our deficit’s pending disaster.


I will tell you this, when Romney and Ryan elude questions on what expenditures they will cut, one that keeps cropping up is the mortgage tax deduction.  If Romney is really planning on eliminating the mortgage tax deduction, it is a slap to the face of the middle class and another potential downturn of our home values.  The very wealthy will be affected little by this, but almost every one of our working class homeowners will.  


I argue right now we are heading out of this recession.  The residential home value and construction world looks promising.  We pivoted into a healthy market finally last June with a shrinkage of homes available on the market, and with some markets turning into sellers' markets.  Demand has finally caught back up to what was excessive inventory, thanks in some part to the federal government offering low interest rates and mortgage bond purchases to free up credit.  Growth in home ownership equities is suddenly healthier.  The future is promising. 


And our jobs.  Well, any change looks great, including a change to Romney, simply because he’s a change.  But change isn’t always better.  We haven’t heard details of Romney’s plan. The plan he’s given to economists, in evaluation, does not calculate, does not balance the deficit.


Our country simply cannot balance a deficit by increased military spending and further reduced taxes; Romney’s plan.  It was the G.W. Bush plan in the 2000’s and it simply did not work, as we all painfully know.  The Republican way of "cut, cut, cut," "deregulate, deregulate, deregulate" and "stir up wars" finally ran amuck and out of control.  Our economy was artificially over-stimulated in 2007 by this Republican method and it will be again if Romney has his way.


America is growing out of the Great Recession, slowly but surely. My industry--residential construction--sees a lot of light at the end of the tunnel right now.  And when my industry grows, jobs grow, and the economy grows through free market, the better choice rather than “cut taxes and increase military spending.”  Increased private construction means many people on food stamps will go back to work.  States will enjoy an even greater tax revenue because of increased consumer spending and increased property taxes on homes and buildings, which are appreciating in value versus depreciating.  We’re in an upward cycle of a win/win under President Obama’s care.  Please don’t risk this.


A balanced approach to a balanced budget makes sense; stir the economy then start cutting back on expenses, including military.  Raise revenues once our economy can sustain itself in its housing recovery; maybe back to the tax rates in our economic glory years of President Clinton.  

Don’t place the fox back in charge of the hen house.  Romney and company, including Karl Rove, are the fox.  We will risk any strides we have made pulling out of the 2007 tragedy by putting supply-siders in charge once again.    


Women, you’re now looking at these candidates and deciding.  Great.  But choose the promising future, and ride a decent wave with President Obama. We’re heading in the right direction; a balanced direction, a sensible approach.


(This is an opinion of Kelli Lundgren and does not necessarily represent the views of all members of Represent Me Utah!)