Across the entire country, the rising price of gas and the record setting price of a barrel of oil has been front page news for the past few weeks, if not months.
This Tuesday morning, when I first arrived at work, I was greeted with the news about a price increase in a different commodity, copper. If you haven't been paying attention, the price of all precious metals has under gone drastic increases just in the last few weeks. Copper in and of itself is up more than 25% year to date, with the lion's share of that increase coming within the last few weeks. Gold, silver, platinum and aluminum have all followed similar patterns.
Wednesday morning, I turned on my television just in time to hear the news that grocery prices were rising. A gallon of milk is now more expensive than a gallon of gas, and I don't have to tell you how expensive that is.
Thursday morning there was even more bad news.
The stock market had taken a severe tumble the day before, and to top it all off, the US dollar is taking a beating around world. It seems that no one wants our currency anymore.Where am I going with this? Well, the reason that I'm telling you all of this is because it's an election year and I want to make something perfectly clear. "It's the economy, stupid."
Don't let yourself be swayed at the voting booth by political rhetoric about abortion or race or religion or gun control or any other sleight-of-hand issues. Owing a gun won't protect you from political tyrants. There are so many guns and gun owners in the United States and little by little we're still losing our country and our right to self-determination, not to a military coup, but to shysters and swindlers with a pen and a suit.
So I want to urge you to vote with your pocket book. The middle class in this country is shrinking and the amount of people living paycheck to paycheck keeps on growing, and yet, election after election we let ourselves be side-tracked by political issues that have very little impact on our daily lives and our quality of life.
When Ronald Reagan ran for office in 1984, his campaign slogan was "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" I want you to consider that same question now. Except, this time, think back eight years ago, before Bush took office.
If you can honestly answer that you are better off today than you were eight years ago, then I urge you to vote republican. But if everyone who is worse off today than they were eight years ago votes for the democratic nominee, then come the November, we'll have a democratic president heading to the White House with an overwhelming consensus.