I am dropping out of college. I’m going to leave the University of Missouri and never come back. You, the reader, may be asking yourself, “ . . . why is he going to do such a rash thing like give up on his education?” The answer is quite simple. If the presidential race pans out like the polls say, I will be getting taxed at a higher rate 4 years after graduation when I, cross my fingers, begin to see the fruits of my labor via a 150,000 to 200,000 dollar salary. Now, that being said, the question begs to be asked: why should I stay in school if this is what is waiting for me after graduation? 

  I worked hard and tirelessly for four years of my life, prior to being accepted into MU. I started school to better myself and to hopefully, one day, pull myself up and out of the lower and middle class earning bracket. I spent a lot of money on school to give myself the education that could one day earn me a healthy living.

 You, the reader, can blame my father for instilling in me this “build yourself up” mentality. It was always drilled into my head that if I worked hard enough and sacrificed more than “the next guy” then the proverbial world, or at least America, could be my oyster. “Chris” my dad would say:

 We live in the land of opportunity where if you get yourself an education and put your nose to the grindstone then, well, there is no limit to where your dreams can take you. We live in a land, my son, were wealth is not relegated to someone who inherited “old money.” Simply put, normal everyday Americans who simply show up can earn wealth. “New money” dreams are not out of the realm for you. 

Hold on dad, not so fast; we’re entering a changing world were everything seems to be stacked, more so than usual, against the hardworking 401K earning “Joe the Plumber” types. The government that is supposed to look out for our best interest apparently has taken upon itself to put the screws to all of us. It stood around and did little to absolutely nothing as mortgage firms were making shady deals. Millions of people lost a great deal of money investing income into giant mortgage shysters that lied about their profits, but still the government did nothing. Fedzilla, as Ted Nugent would say, could’ve warned the American people not to put capital into those responsible for lying about profits: Fannie May and Freddie Mac, but they chose not to for fear that it may disrupt the fruitful economy. So much for looking out for Americans!

 Unfortunately, the effects of the economic debacle are that Americans now feel angry and are lashing out at the people and parties that are responsible. They are willing to take a look at a nominee (Barack Obama) that, eight years ago, they wouldn’t have thought twice about.  The problem, by and large, is that Americans are simply not thinking rationally; they are thinking about the here-and-now, as apposed to a year or two down the road.

 My issues with Barack Obama are not personal; in fact, I think that he is an honest man who genuinely wants to better America. In essence, the man is a patriot. That being said, his policies are naïve and dangerous, in this writer’s humble opinion. America, because of its debt due to outrageous spending by the Bush administration on Iraq, the bailout and countless pork laden bills passed, is completely broke. We have no money! Yet this reality doesn’t stop Mr. Obama from promising gullible Americans the moon and stars, if they would just vote for him. His class warfare policies will take our already 1 trillion-dollar deficit and skyrocket it into the upper stratosphere. Under Obama our deficit will go from 1 trillion to 4 trillion dollars in just over 4 years. His wanton to add 300 billion dollars to create universal health care and 18 billion dollars to an outrageous 68 billion dollar education spending will cripple an already weak American economy.

 How does he expect to pass these wishful pie-in-the-sky initiatives? Well it’s quite simple: He is going to tax the HELL out of Americans who busted their coconuts earning a healthy living. He figures that the best way to grow the economy is from the ground up; in other words, as Obama says, we need to “spread the wealth.” The argument goes, if the wealthiest 5% of Americans are taxed at a 60-70% rate then that tax money can be funneled to people who earn a low to middle class income. This is classic socialism.

 What is the problem with taxing the evil rich? Well, where do I begin? First off, the wealthiest 5% of Americans already are paying more than a lion’s share of the burden of tax. They pay 40% of America’s taxes. Allow me to reiterate that point one more time: THE WEALTHIEST 5% OF AMERICANS PAY NEARLY HALF OF AMERICA’S TAXES!  That really puts it into perspective doesn’t it? So, this next April 1, you, the reader, better thank the Lord that you are not one of those 5% percent.

 Secondly, the other 95% of Americans are working for the wealthiest 5% of the bourgeoisie. If that 5% have to, because of Obama’s tax plan, cut excess fat from their expenditures so as to keep themselves in the black then they will. That excess fat may just happen to be the jobs of blue collar Americans. Martha Stewart says that the rich should suck it up and be willing to fork over their dollars to Barack. Martha is a very successful woman with ownership stakes in many different corporations. If, when Obama is elected and her taxes go up, she better suck it up and not lay off or fire any of the employees that are employed by her.

 Thirdly, the 5%, to combat Obama’s policies, will likely pick up their toys and go to another house. Why would the businesses, and people, earning over 250,000 dollars want to subject themselves to the draconian tax codes that Obama is advocating? I suspect that the majority of them would pull whatever investments they have in the stock market out and relocate their businesses to countries that offer lower taxes. For instance, Ireland is one such country that has been thrown around as a wonderful place of economic prosperity. The taxes on corporations are nearly non-existent in said country.  If I were a business owner that was being targeted by Obama I would certainly contemplate the idea of moving my business. It’s only common sense. When the country begins to hemorrhage successful corporate talent from its borders then the unemployment rate will soon, thereafter, increase to unforeseen levels. In other words, the 6.5 percent unemployment rate that America has now will pail in comparison to the 9 percent that will come due to corporate emigration to Ireland. What’s more, Obama’s idea of the wealthiest will become subjective. The wealthiest will move down gradually from 250,000 to 100,000 to bridge the gap that will come when the aforementioned companies split town. He will need to change the definition of wealthy. The change will be sold using the guises of patriotism. Obama and his administration will argue that it will be every American’s patriotic duty to fork over more than half of their income to the government.

 Lastly, it has been said that the rich don’t pay taxes. The prevailing wisdom behind this belief is that whatever taxes are levied upon corporations will be passed on to the customer. When corporate taxes begin to rise then, in order to meet the pre Obama draconian tax level of profitability, the corporate world will need to increase the price of the products that are produced. Therefore, the more taxes that they pay means that we will be paying higher prices for the products that we need. This eventuality will put “everyday blue-collar” Americans in dire straights.

 I am, however, leaving out hope that, if elected, Obama will govern in a Bill Clinton middle-of-the-road fashion, whereby I believe him to be intelligent fellow enough to realize that governing from a far-left socialistic platform would be political suicide. He, I believe, understands that the policies that are being promised will never come to fruition, because said policies are too risky. He is merely saying the things that he believes will put him into the White House. His use of charting politically expedient courses is well documented. His glomming onto far-left figures in Chicago like Bill Ayers, Rev. Wright, Rev, Michael Phledger and far-left nut websites like the Daily Kos show that he knows how to use people to get to the top. He has, so far, ridden far-left liberals all the way to the front lawn of the White House. Maybe this hope that I have is enough to stave off my need to quit school. Moreover, I can only hope that my hope is well founded, because if it is not then we, Americans, are in for a lengthy and painful four years.

Christopher W.

"Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman--a rope over an abyss... What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end: what can be loved in man is that he is an overture and a going under..." Friedrich Nietzsche

 Psychologists, political scientists and sociologists argue constantly over the meaning of this quote; in my mind, Fred is speaking of the constant battle that a man wages between being a self-fulfilled man or a man who constantly gravels. The self-fulfilled man takes care of himself in his own way. He doesn't feel the need to flagellate himself or humble himself repetitively so as to get recognition. He relies on his own strength to get him through the day, not on the strengths and weaknesses of institutions, governments or individuals.

 Contrarily, the "beast" or the man that gravels, has no qualms about saying whatever is necessary to maintain a steady connection with an individual or entity; he'll go far and below, if you will, what is  acceptable in order to make certain said individual stays within close proximity of  him. In other words, he'll surrender his own-self worth so as to cling to what he feels is important.  Luckily and unluckily for these men, the road to both the self-fulfilled man and the man that gravels is a rope that is hanging precariously over the abyss. The man that gravels can see the fringes at the end of the rope and take the journey to self-fulfillment; likewise, the self-fulfilled man can be tempted to cross the precarious rope into the land of self-pity and self-loathing.

 The question then is: Are Americans, en masse, the overman or the beast?

 Christopher W.