Call for Fair Campaign Financing Laws

It should be easier for third party candidates to obtain campaign fund reimbursements. Current campaign laws completely favor the two major parties when it comes to matching campaign funds. third party candidates have to jump through hoops in order to secure their funds, which usually come well after an election has ended pending the percentage of the votes they received.

Third parties are important because they bring attention to certain issues that the two main parties ignore. While they may not win elections, especially not big elections, they do act as a voice for these issues, and the main parties will be more likely to adapt to such policies in order to take those votes away from the third-parties.

With the multi-party system in Europe, even the smallest minorities has a say in their governments. Representation depends on the percentage of votes each party receives. In America, we downplay our differences and forge all of our ideals and values into a two-party system in which the winner takes all with a plurality of the vote. This ignores many of the minority groups in America and Democrats and Republicans continue to dominate with their middle-of-the-road politics, which is the umbrella most Americans fall under.

With funding laws that favor all parties equally, at least minorities will have more of a voice during campaigns and elections. Third party candidates would still be a long shot to win those elections, but the amount of voter support would speak for the issues they stand for causing the main parties’ platforms to eventually adapt to those policies if they want to take back those votes.

This can only happen if campaign financing laws are changed to be fair and equal towards all parties. Money is power and as it stands both Democrats and Republicans have all the money while third parties struggle just to make it through their campaigns, many times paying out of pocket or going into debt. Especially with the growing part de-alignment with Americans and the Democrats and Republicans, it’s important to save the true essence of our democracy in which is everyone has a voice, not just the two major parties with the most money and power. Third parties should have an equal chance under the campaign finance laws.

Gas Tax vs Mileage Tax

Columnist Duncan Black wrote an opinionated article entitled "Increase the Gas Tax" in USA Today on October 17, 2012 supporting the raising of the federal gas tax, in lieu of a new proposed tax based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT tax), to increase funding for our transportation system.

His audience is clear, anyone who owns a vehicle in America, and his arguments even more clear. Black raises a number of arguments supporting and justifying an increase in the federal gas tax as the best and most simple, obvious solution in response to a need for more funding for our transportation system.

His first argument is that the federal gas tax rate, which is currently 18.4 cent per gallon, has been at the same rate since 1993 and there have been no adjustments for inflation. While gas is expensive today, and many Americans spend a large portion of their incomes on gas, it's only fair that funding for the roads on which people drive come from those affected by the problem. It's not fair, for instance, to increase income taxes to satisfy this need because not everyone who pays an income tax necessarily drives a car. Gas being too expensive can't be the end all argument against an increase in the gas tax. At the very least the 18.4 cent per gallon rate should be raised for inflation.

In order to implement this new VMT tax a new method of collections and enforcement would have to be created. Part of this would include a tracking device in every vehicle which a lot of people would be strongly against. Even if people were to record their miles traveled and file them much like taxes, this would be an extra burden on both drivers and on those who would have to monitor for fraud.

Furthermore, the creation and implementation of a VMT tax would discourage travel and hinder the American dream of a freedom to travel the open roads. By increasing revenue through the existing federal gas tax those with fuel efficient cars would be rewarded for their energy-saving efforts.

Finally, with all the counteracting bureaucracies already in the federal government why not stick with the simple tax plan already in place to collect revenue for the transportation system, rather than having to create a whole new way of collecting taxes, one that could potentially pry even more into our personal lives by ways of a GPS tracking device.

At first glance I strongly disagreed with Black but the arguments he proposes and the evidence by which he justifies his claims have caused me to reevaluate my position. The fact of the matter is that the transportation system is lacking the funding it needs and the federal gas tax is the most direct and fair manner by which to increase that revenue, especially since it hasn't been increased in almost 10 years.

The logic presented in the article calls for a simple solution versus a complicated one that endorses and fuels big government. A means by which to collect tax for the transportation system is in place and the federal gas tax should be increased to supply the necessary revenue to the transportation system.

Congress Pushes for Extra, Extra Tanks

Against the advice of the Army's Chief of Staff, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, to halt tank productions until 2017, Congress included in the proposed budget for next year $181 million for 70 or so new tanks the Army doesn't need or want.

The United States has been producing tanks since WWII and on top of having more than enough tanks on the ground in Afghanistan, there are currently 2,000 M-1 Abrams tanks collecting dust at an Army depot just north of Reno, Nevada. 

Yet 173 members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urging him to continue supporting their decision to produce more tanks earlier this year, arguing that there would be a negative effect on the industrial economy if tank productions were to come to a halt. 

Here's where it starts to get interesting. General Dynamics, a defense manufacturing plant in Lima, Ohio is where these tanks are being produced, and according to research done by the Center for Public Integrity, well-timed campaign contributions were handed out to lawmakers by the company around the times hearings were being held on whether or not to build more tanks. 

Needless to say, I think we all know who's most likely getting that $181 million government contract to build more tanks if the budget proposal is approved. Yes, you guessed it, General Dynamics.

Rep. Buck McKeon, a Republican from California and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said, "General Dynamics would probably get the contract for it anyway because they are kind of the ones that are out there leading the way on this."

This article is important to note because it goes to show how far some lawmakers will go to keep their jobs. When they should be doing what's best for the country, they are doing what's best for their future campaigns. 

The article titled "Army to Congress: Thanks, but no tanks" can be found here.

My Political Self

According to the Political Ideology Test I'm a Post-Modern. After taking the Civics Quiz I received a score of 84.85%. And I scored 9 out of 11 on the Current Events Quiz.

I consider myself, ultimately, to be an Independent. I don't appreciate the "politics" that go along with politics. I can't stand the multi-millions of dollars that are spent on fluff TV ads that don't include anything more than smiling politicians asking for your vote.

If I were to align myself on the political spectrum I would fall slightly left and very libertarian. Above all else I strongly believe in the foundations our country was founded on. I believe individual rights come before most anything else.

There are a lot of things I believe government shouldn't be involved with, yet they are. Most people stubbornly mistake this as me "going against them". But in reality all I'm saying is that certain things shouldn't be left up to the government, they should be decided by the people.

Overall, I feel like government wastes a lot of time and money persecuting people. If no one is being hurt by the actions of another I believe we should all live and let live and enjoy the unique experiment of a country that is the United States of America.