This presidential election was one that made history. The two main candidates were democrat, Barack Obama, with his running mate, Joe Biden, against John McCain, along with his running mate, Sarah Palin. I personally am a republican, so I was hoping John McCain would win. As a person, Barack Obama is wonderful and charismatic. But, his plans for our country could lead us down into the ground.

One of the main points made was the taxing crisis. Barack Obama wanted to cut taxes for the middle and lower classes, but raise tax for the rich people who could afford them. From an outside point of view, this seems like a fantastic plan, which will save people quite a lot of money. But if you really think about it, it is doing quite the opposite. Think about just who all the rich people are. They are the business owners, and they are very bent on having a successful company that makes lots of income. Now, if you start hacking away at their paycheck, they are not going to be too pleased. Rich people did not get rich by being stupid. They are smart and know how to make money, and one way or another they are going to get it, and one way to do that would be to lay off employees so they won't have to worry about paying them any more. From there on, the problem just spreads like a disease. Once your average person looses their jobs, they can't afford to go out to, let's say the mall, and buy things that they want. They have to strictly conserve what money they have for the things that they need. Another way that businesses will get their money back is to raise their prices, which is what they most likely would do if Obama's plan goes through. Or if you really want to pinpoint it, they are going to try to get their money back from the people by raising their prices. For example, some people are pleased with the fact that they are going to get a big check back from the tax cuts with Obama's plan. But once they head to the gas station, they're going to see that they're just going to loose whatever they got back when they see that the price is six, maybe even seven dollars a gallon, because under Obama's plan, which is to tax companies like Exxon more, the businesses are just going to pass along the tax burdens to the customer. It is definitely not good when companies raise their prices, because then people can no longer afford the product. Things sell more when people can afford them. If the taxes get raised, people will not buy, but if they were dropped, the price goes way down, and then you have people purchasing things left and right. The selling of items is what makes a business, and if there is more demand, then businesses will thrive, and have to make more, making room for more jobs. But if the business owners have to worry about the government taking the money, which they rightfully earned, then they are not going to lower their prices, but raise them. If no one buys, then the business goes bankrupt, and closes down, leaving thousands of countless people unemployed. This then eventually puts the small businesses, like malls, out of business as well. Before you know it, everyone is going to be depending on welfare and taxes are only going to raise more, even for those who had a tax cut in the beginning. This basically just leads the entire country to be run by the government, instead of the government being run by the people. Where is the democracy in that?

Another big issue brought up in the debate was healthcare. Barack Obama wanted healthcare to be available and affordable to everyone. Yes, this sounds great, and it is a wonderful dream, but that's all it is. A dream. It's just not possible to give everyone health care. That's the bottom line. In order to give out healthcare to every single person, then we would have to charge an incredulously high tax. Then wheat you are left with is the entire country dirt poor, and depending on the government. That is where you get your socialist. Another health issue is the benefits companies are giving their employees. Obama wants everyone with a job to have health benefits. On top of the overtaxing, now you would just be vacuuming the money away. At that point, the businesses are just going to pack up and leave. They are going to go to another country like Mexico, and continue their businesses there and make lots of money due to the low taxes and cheap labor they would get. That is how our economy goes down.

Actually, we shouldn't be paying more taxes anyway. Look at what the government is doing with the money they have now. They are spending much more then they have, leaving us in debt. Why would you want to give your money to somehow who does not know how to control it?

People are saying that republicans are the cause of our downfall, because when democrat, Bill Clinton was president, our economy grew so much. But how many people know just exactly what he did? Very undemocratically, he supported a welfare cut. This was a very republican thing to do, most democrats want to give out money to the people, but here Bill Clinton saw how bad taking away someone's hard-earned money and giving it to someone who chooses to stay at home and not work would be to our economy. So how can you say a democrat's plan works the best? It's all about the president himself, and how he chooses to run the country. Now yes, our last presidents were not the best. But George Bush has himself surrounded by the people who worked with his father. So of course they are going to have the same views. But that doesn't mean every republican is George Bush. You can't judge a whole group of people on the actions of a few.

Even though I do not agree with Barack Obama's plan for the country, I am still looking forward to what he has to offer. After hearing his acceptance speech, and really seeing just what kind of character he is, I am willing to open up and see just where he could take us. Who knows, he might change a few of his ideas, or come up with better plans while he is president? I am glad that he is one to truly care about the people's well being, and is able to show empathy for what some are going through. Hopefully, the next four years will prove to be a better change for America.