Politics -

Okay - truthfully Sarah Palin kind of does freak me out a little, although she seems like she is smart enough to stick to what she knows and seek help in the areas where she is a little shaky.  But Palin aside... I have Republican tendencies.  Somehow this shocks the heck out of people I know.  It does?  Yes, it does.  Something about my being an artist makes me a candidate for being a Democrat.  Apparently so does my innate femaleness.  (umm... how many Republican FEMALES are in the House and Senate?)  And so does my five kids. It does?  And then there is the transracial adoption thing that so makes me a democrat.  Really.  Somehow my republicanism just surprises (and inevitably disappoints) everybody.

But I really am not sure why this makes me evil or delusional.

Hello people.

My husband owns a small business.  He employs less than 100 people.  This is small.  Big business is General Motors or Coca Cola.  We are small.  Tiny. Microscopic.  And YET... the whole tax those making over 250K well, based on the legality of an LLC, that would be my husband.  Yeah, I know.  Nice to be me right?  

Well, kinda.  Except it is actually cheaper for my family to have catastrophic medical insurance than it is to have a normal family plan.  We can't afford a family plan.  So to require my husband's business to provide medical insurance to each employee without REQUIRING the INSURANCE COMPANY to make it affordable is insane.  Think about this for a minute, a guy who falls into the 250K bracket because of how an LLC is taxed paid out of pocket prenatal and hospital maternity bills because it is MORE AFFORDABLE than family insurance as a business owner.  

Luckily I pull off a vaginal delivery fairly well so our bills were low.

While not all small business owners treat people the way my husband does, I have to say, I get really really sick of the "entitlement" mentality of the people who work for him as well as others I meet.  My husband works nearly 7 days a week on his business.  All kinds of crazy hours.  His kids sacrifice a LOT.  When ever there is a cash flow shortage he shorts himself.  His employees all get paid first.  I cannot tell you how many times, and this year it has been basically all year, that he pays himself enough to cover the mortgage on the house and our utilities.  A guy who falls in the 250K bracket because he owns an LLC hasn't allowed his kids to use the air conditioning this summer because the electric bills are too high since the price of electricity has doubled.

So that is all I am gonna say about the 250K thing.  

As far as the rest of it.  If you read your History, the more Roosevelt and Hoover tried to mess with the countries economics, the bigger the mess became.  People were spending money they did not have.  Sure, you can "blame it all on wall street greed" but seriously people.  Almost EVERYBODY I KNOW has been living beyond their means since college graduation.  Nice houses, nicer cars, the clothes people buy for their kids OMG!  If the kids raised in the 80's and 90's actually got their credit cards under control than there would be fewer house issues, and the SUVs don't get me started.  I've been saying since 1989 that unless you actually live in the Mountains you don't need an SUV - and the suburban housewives who drive them to soccer practice drive me nuts.  A minivan may not be sexy but it doesn't gussle gas and it fits all the kids and it gets the job done people.  

So sure, Wall Street maybe greedy, but Main Street is just as bad in my opinion.  Don't bail out Wall Street, don't bail out Main Street.  If you are paying your mortgage it should be safe (my grandfather's father lost his house to his bank - and his mortgage was almost paid OFF and he'd been paying it.  But the bank failed and recalled all loans.  Now that sucks.  I'm not advocating that at all.)  But this whole tax credit that is looking suspiciously like a government welfare check.  Sorry not getting it. 

 And you are telling me that not only can I not buy my kids Christmas presents this year but that I have to foot the bill for 95% of the nation's tax cut, because of how an LLC gets set up?  And that voting Republican makes me evil?

Look wench, I hope your man does win.  And I hope you go down with me.