Neither Obama Nor McCain In My Top 3 Candidates

Earlier this week, I was discussing my choice for President of the United States, and I took an interesting position by ordering the candidates that have sufficient promotion that I am aware of their candidacy.  The following list shows my preferences from 1-7.  I based this entirely on how their positions match up to my political ideology.

1. Bob Barr
2. Chuck Baldwin
3. Alan Keyes
4. Barack Obama
5. Ralph Nader
6. John McCain
7. Cynthia McKinney

Any surprises there?

Comparing the Tax Plans of Barack Obama and John McCain

The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, released this analysis (see graph below) of the tax plans proposed by both Barack Obama and John McCain. The first thing that jumps out at me is the stark difference for the top .1% of income earners. John McCain’s tax plan will decrease their tax liability by nearly $270,000, while for the same 147,000 families, Barack Obama plans to swing their tax liability in the other direction nearly $1 million annually by increasing their tax liability by just over $700,000. A married couple at the bottom of that .1% paid $976,706 in 2007, and under the Obama tax plan, that would change to $1.679 million. To give you an idea of what the tax brackets for 2007 were paying, take a look here.

McCain’s plan calls for a larger average tax cut across the board, focusing on those that are already shouldering a very significant burden of the taxation under the graduated tax brackets, being forced to hand over more than thirty cents of every dollar of earned income. Obama focuses his plan on the bottom of the income scale, giving the largest decrease in tax liability to the bottom 60% of taxpayers.

Obviously, they are appealing to opposite ends of the taxpayer spectrum. The only positive I see in McCain’s campaign is his understanding that the individuals who pay the most taxes will be unable or unwilling to support more of their income being taken by force every April. These people are the small businessmen and women who are continuing to achieve today, despite the overwhelming burden of taxes. They are also the small businessmen and women that provide 56% of all jobs, and 90% of America’s new jobs are created by them via the 27 million firms they own.

Sounds like someone is creating a tax plan for the greater good of the economy while someone else uses their tax plan to buy votes. I know what I think, but I will let you decide who “someone” and “someone else” are.

Graph from The Washington Post

Cross Post: United Liberty

Presidential Debate Live Blog at United Liberty

Lone Star State, Lone Presidential Candidate?

On Wednesday, Ballot Access News reported that BOTH the Republicans and Democrats had missed the filing deadline for their candidates, John McCain (presumptive) and Barack Obama (official), in the state of Texas. Late in the afternoon, after many third party watch groups and blogs reported the story and the Bob Barr campaign sent out a press release to all of his supporters, Fort Worth’s Star-Telegram political blog, PoliTex, reported that “[b]oth parties filed before the deadline. We expect their amended filings after both parties finish their nominating process at the conventions,” according to the Texas Secretary of State’s spokesperson, Ashley Burton. The website for the Secretary of State’s General Election candidates also displays a blank where one would anticipate seeing John McCain and Barack Obama, along with their respective running mates.

As of the publication of this article, that website still does not list either ticket from the status quo parties. This story has yet to be picked up by anyone in the mainstream media, since they are all in Denver awaiting a picturesque oratory from Barack “The Chosen One” Obama. I fully expect that it will be swept under the rug without a full-court press by the third parties and bloggers who are sympathetic to their ballot access woes.

What does this inaction mean for voters in Texas, as well as the other 49 states?

1. If the deadline was actually missed AND is unchallenged, Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root ticket would be the only one qualified to be pre-printed on the ballot in the state, along with the option to write-in one of the six candidates who qualified and filed on time. This would effectively eliminate 34 electoral votes from the scenarios both campaigns are looking at to determine their strategies to achieve the 270 needed to secure the election. Specifically for John McCain, this would eliminate a traditionally Republican state from his plans, especially with the outgoing president having been the governor there prior to his eight years in the White House. 270 electoral votes would be much harder to achieve without these 34. Barack Obama can stick to his original plan, as I am sure Texas was not a part of it.
2. If the deadline was actually missed, and either or both of the status quo parties acknowledge the state law, there may be a legal battle. That legal battle will bring into question the validity of such a deadline in qualifying candidates for ballot access. Should a court find this deadline arbitrary and invalid, that decision would help many third party candidates in their quests for ballot access. Specifically, several states in this general election have lawsuits before them arguing this point on behalf of the Libertarian Party. Russell Verney, the Barr/Root campaign manager, was quoted as saying “We know all about deadlines. We are up against them constantly in our fight to get on the ballot across the nation. When we miss deadlines, we get no second chances. This is a great example of how unreasonable deadlines chill democracy. Republicans and Democrats make certain that third party candidates are held to ballot access laws, no matter how absurd or unreasonable. Therefore, Republicans and Democrats should be held to the same standards.” Unfortunately, holding the Republicans and Democrats to this deadline would mean sacrificing positions in lawsuits in other states.
3. The most likely of scenarios is that this “mistake” will be forgiven without any acknowledgement by either party or the mainstream media. As we have seen in the update by the Star-Telegram, the Secretary of State’s office backtracked yesterday afternoon. This shows me that someone alerted the duopoly, and either one of both of the parties flexed their muscles to make such a quick dismissal. Quelling this story before it gains ground makes it easier for both parties to ignore the mistake and move past it. My advice is for the Texas Libertarian Party to file suit to close the door, rather than allowing a repeat of 1988’s mistake with Indiana, where the suit was “filed too late” to keep the candidates off the ballot. They should also publicly request the proof of receipt by both status quo parties to show the actual date of filing.

The real question here is whether the double standard for the political duopoly to have its cake in Texas, while being able to eat it in states like West Virginia, will be able to stand. That two-party stranglehold on American government relies on their ability to play the game by a different set of rules than everyone else. For the 2008 general election, Libertarians, Greens, Constitutionalists, Socialists, and anyone else organized enough to petition for ballot access, must each provide 867,134 unique signatures nation-wide endorsing their candidate, while Republicans and Democrats do not need to turn in any signatures to secure ballot access.

So, how many Presidential candidates do you think will be on the Texas ballot in November?

So Much For a Recession…

The official definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth of the Gross Domestic Product.  For the second quarter of 2008, Forbes is reporting a POSITIVE GDP growth of 3.3%. Imagine what kind of growth could be achieved without the introduction of more taxes proposed by both of the status quo candidates…

So, who wants to bet that the mainstream media holds onto this statistic, which contradicts the story they have been telling for the last few months, until next year when they can credit Barack Obama’s new administration?