Obama, Romney. It Makes No Difference to Me

I may catch some flack for this post from many in the prepper community. I hope you won’t stop reading at the title and will follow through to hear my rationale.

The Two-Party System

As the Republican National Convention gears up this week in Tampa, Florida, the Romney/Ryan ticket is positioning this November’s election as one of the most important in U.S. history. Romney claims to have more private sector experience and contends that will help him manage the economy. Up and coming Ryan is steeped in economic theories from the likes of Ayn Rand and Jack Kemp.

They believe that this gives them a different perspective on the U.S. economy than someone who hasn’t had that experience. They are desperately trying draw a significant distinction between their campaign and their primary rival’s campaign, the Obama/Biden ticket. They claim that the President doesn’t know how to properly manage the economy.

Meanwhile, the Obama/Biden ticket is pleading for another four years so they can take the country even further down the path they believe is best. This generally includes a more liberal agenda with a broader social safety net, higher taxes, and bigger government. They portend that a Republican victory will be a disaster and will lead to more debt, more big businesses making the rules, and less taxes for the rich.

The problem is that, in my opinion, there is very little true distinction between the two parties anymore. Both parties realize that they have staunch supportors in their camps who won’t change their minds not matter what happens.

So they battle for the “undecideds” by easing toward to the middle. Once they get into office, they find that the inertia to continue the status quo is so great, they cannot make the few changes that they’d really like to make.

3 Reasons It Doesn’t Matter Who Wins In November

Here are 3 reasons I believe that it doesn’t really matter to me who wins the Presidential election of 2012.

The President Has Little Control Over the Economy

Although Presidents have won or lost re-election bids over the state of the U.S. economy, in actuality, the President has very little immediate influence over the economy.

Oh, they claim to be able to help it. They claim that they will create over 3 million jobs with a stimulus package. But the reality is that their policies can only affect the economy many years down the road. They can implement business-friendly environments, but that won’t be felt for at least 5 years down the road.

According the University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee:

I think the world vests too much power, certainly in the president, probably in Washington in general for its influence on the economy, because most all of the economy has nothing to do with the government.

The economy with trudge on regardless of which candidate is a the helm.

Neither Candidate Will Touch Entitlements

According to the Heritage Foundation, 62% of all money spent by the U.S. government in 2012 will go to Entitlements. All of the money spent on defense, homeland security, park rangers, federal buildings, Presidential vacations, education, and paying interest on the U.S. debt comes to only 38% of the money spent.

Trimming a few million from NASA, cutting the number of park rangers, and shrinking the amount spent on foreign aid or wars, will make almost no difference in the bottom line.

The vast majority of the money spent is in the form of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, along with unemployment, food stamps, and housing assistance. Until the nation deals with that issue, the U.S. will continue to race toward the economic cliff that awaits before us.

I don’t believe that either major party candidate has the stomach to deal with that fact.

We Prepare for Many Reasons

Laura and I prepare for many reason and many types of disasters. We have built up our coffers with supplies of food, vitamins, first-aid supplies, etc, to provide for our family in times of need.

It may be that we need those supplies due to the loss of a job. If so, we can go several months drawing from the food we have stored. That helps me to sleep at night, knowing that my family won’t go hungry should I have trouble making ends meet.

It may be that there is a local disaster such as a loss of power due to a storm. If so, we are prepared. A regional disaster such as a flood, tornado, or hurricane? We’ve prepared as best we can. We don’t just prepare for global disasters such as a worldwide economic collapse or an EMP.

In any of those disasters, from the most personal to the most widely spread, I don’t expect that whoever the President of the U.S. is will make much difference to us.

We Will Continue To Prepare

So, it truly doesn’t make any difference to us who wins the 2012 Presidential election. Our outlook on life will not change. We will continue to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. We will continue to strive to make our little slice of creation as self-sufficient of a homestead as possible. We will continue to raise our children to be self-reliant and to extend a helping hand to others who are down on their luck. None of that will change as a result of the election.

That’s not to say we will not be affected by the outcome of the election. We will.

A President can implement policies that will affect us. Gun control policies, bigger and more invasive government bureaucracies, Supreme Court nominees, etc, can all affect our daily lives.

In fact, my personal belief is that the two party system needs work. I’d like to see a third or even fourth party evolve to make things more interesting. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

As for November? I’m going to vote my heart. I’m going to make a statement with my vote and cast my ballot for someone from outside the two major parties.

Related Posts

• Vote Your Heart
• The Government’s Deficit is 4 Times Greater Than Reported
• Another Look at the US Budget
• The Bandwagon Changes Direction