The Healthcare Bomb

With the re-election of President Obama on November 6th, it has become an imminent event for his healthcare plan, or "Obamacare", to come to full fruition. It will require the states to put the burden of providing government mandated healthcare on the backs of the taxpayers, and to make sure that every citizen is covered as by law. With this thought, the federal government offered the opportunity to have states set up their own system of affordable healthcare as long as it is in regulation with federal law. In this scenario, the state will be able to at least have the illusion of control compared to having the federal government come in and set it up.
However, Governor Perry declined this option, citing states' rights as a key reason why Texas shouldn't be forced to put these laws into action. While I think states' rights is an excuse that died with the Civil War, I don't disagree with it at all. This law, while promising to bring affordable healthcare, is a crushing blow to the American middle class which is already getting demolished by the economy. The bill doesn't pay for itself, and all the money is not going to come from just the top 2 percent that the tax rates are about to be increased on. It is a bill that is going to be harmful to the majority of Texans' wallets, and is something that I personally wish could be shot down with a thought such as states' rights.
Shame that for the moment, all that Perry accomplished was delaying Washington's judgement on our state, especially since the laws will be put into action next year. Who's ready for 2013?

Commentary on the Rejection of the Voter's ID law

On November 4th, via his blog "The eyes of Texas are upon you", Josh Cox stressed his support towards Rick Perry's stance on the Voter Identification law in his commentary "Texas Voter ID Law". He believes that our state should protect the citizen's right to vote and prevent acts of fraud at the ballot box by having an ID law, and that people who haven't earned the right to vote, such as illegal immigrants, should be kept from voting in our elections as well. He uses direct quotes from the article he is providing commentary for, as well as direct quotations from the governor himself to support his view.

I personally support this view myself, and Josh brings up a valid concern. There are people who are worried about their vote being cancelled by someone who is either committing fraud or isn't able to vote under legal means. But people see it as an attack on our rights to require ID. We have to provide identification when we buy alcohol or tobacco, there's no reason not to provide a picture ID for voting as well.

The article Josh bases his commentary off of is found on the Texas Capitol Report, An article called "Reaction to rejection of TX voter ID law". It is here that Josh finds the direct quotes from Rick Perry to support his writing, and express his thoughts on the lack of a voter ID law.

Decision 2012

Next Tuesday is the big date. November 6th, 2012 is election day, where the leader of the free world for the next four years, among other offices both nationally and locally, will be decided. Forget the line between Democrats and Republicans, this is the future we're talking about, something that will impact our nation, our state, and us in the long run. So with that in mind, I can not express how important it is for each one of us to express our voice and go out to the booths.

The last day of early voting is today, November 2nd. The locations that you can go out to at this time to cast your vote before November 6th in both Williamson and Travis counties are both listed in the links on their names. It is the best way to avoid any crowds on election day and, as I have found myself, can be a very quick five minutes of your time.

I try to stay as neutral as I can with my view on this blog, but I really can't say enough about how important it is to have a voice in the government. In these times, we need people who can work for a better future and buck the trends our country is currently undertaking. Vote smart, be informed, and remember that no matter who wins that they are the people we are to rally behind for our future.

God bless us all, and may the people who are best suited to lead our country and our state be elected.