Halloween is just around the corner but when you listen to politicians speak you have to wonder if they have already put on their masks. Americans concerned about taxes, and the economy should all be asking, “Will the real candidate please stand up and take your mask off please”. Halloween is great fun, wearing costumes and masks are all about the celebration of the holiday and the fun; but politicians shouldn’t be wearing masks or hiding behind double talk because nothing about the business of running a country is first and foremost about fun. How can both parties be promising reduced taxes while pointing fingers at the other party and saying they will raise taxes. How do we know what or who to believe? Is it as simple as assuming that both parties will in effect both raise and lower taxes? Is it only possible to solve the economic problems by lowering middle class taxes and raising the taxes of the upper class that has benefited unfairly throughout the Bush years?

If you look at the Bush tax cuts as the Washington Post did and then analyze the average savings per income bracket it’s not surprising that the savings benefits by percentage do not appear to have been equal. The highest % of savings for those earning under $100,000 appears to be approximately 2.406% while the highest % of savings for those earning $500,000 to $1 million appears to be approximately 4.526%. So while many people received reduced taxes those that needed the help the most do not appear to have benefited as much as those in some of the higher brackets. Since all things political and many things related to taxes can appear to be one thing and actually be another any analysis is, of course, subject to additional analysis.

So now what if the next political leaders create tax laws that cause the higher bracket tax payers to benefit less from tax laws and lower bracket taxpayers to benefit more from tax law changes? Wouldn’t that just be balancing the scales of justice and treating all American citizens more fairly? Logically, the best way this could have worked would have been if all taxpayers had received the same % of benefit in the first place.

So how do we decide who is wearing a mask and who is not and who is a straight talker and who is a double talker? That’s a big enigma, isn’t it? This election, more than any other election, we must be vigilant with regard to looking past the packaging of the candidates and trying to discern as much as possible who is showing us their real face and who is wearing a mask and just as importantly, if they are showing their real face, do we agree with the words coming out of their real mouths. We are supposed to be enlightened intelligent Americans and as women we’ve come a long way. We need candidates to be elected who will protect that progress. We do not want policies that will put us back in the last century? We as women have a great responsibility to hold onto all that we’ve worked so hard to achieve, and not to backslide into narrow minded ideas that have no place in an enlightened society. We owe it to Susan B. Anthony and every other woman who stood up for what they believed in and showed us the way to stand up for what we believe in.

Think long and hard about what you want from your government. Listen and make logical choices and VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE OF YOUR CHOICE, not because of their packaging but because of the substance of what they are advocating and how it will touch you both as a woman and as an American citizen. This is a historic election year. Be a part of it. Speak your mind – VOTE!


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