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Politics - The Next US President? - Page 8

Unfortunately, the people in the US are following Canada and Europe in using the power of the ballot box to create a nanny state - let the government control everything from the cradle to the grave. The problem with this is, that it doesn't work. Now, President Bush is seeking a Constitutional Ammendment to define marriage. Gay marriage, as wrong as I think it is, IS NOT a matter for the US Constitution. It is purely a matter for the individual states.

Now, what IS a matter of Constitutional law (but shouldn't require an ammendment) is to protect individual states from the actions of other states. So, if Massechusetts decides to allow homosexual marriages, then Wyoming shouldn't be required to recognize them.

So, I think that President Bush is going the wrong direction in dealing with this issue.

Now, about the economy. People I work with blame President Bush for losing hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. The US economy is struggling, as it changes from a production economy to a service economy. We now appear more like a colony of China (economically) than an economic powerhouse. Under the colony system of England and France, the colonies provided raw materials to the colonizers, and purchased manufactured goods back. The US now does exactly the same thing.

What is particularly bad about this is that according to all metrics, US workers are still far and away the most productive workers in the world (mostly because of technology). However, the government of the US has fostered a culture of over regulation, taxation, and short-term planning. Because of regulation and tax laws, it effectively costs companies twice the salary of any worker to hire that worker. Capital investment is stifled, and short-term profits are the only feasible business strategies.

And President Bush has not done anything to change this.

I still think he will be elected this year. But I may not vote for him. I am looking at the Constitution party. If that isn't viable where I live, the Libertarian candidate will probably get my vote.

NightHawk

President US The Politics

Wouldn't that cause a great divide in the union and cause certain states to become more populated by the gay community?

Politics - The Next US President? History & Civil Business Politics

Yes, but that is the way the Constitution was written. Originally, the nation was to consist of individual states, each sovereign in its own borders, united in defense and in commerce.

Marriage law has always been a matter of State law, not Federal law. Yes, states are required to recognize such things as marriages, driver's licenses, etc issued by other states, but that is more a matter of overlooking minor differences. For example, when I was 14, I got a driver's license in Idaho. When I was 15, we moved to California. I was legal to drive in California, until we became residents! As soon as we became residents of the state, I was required to take Drivers Education again, go through the permit process, and retake a driver's test, although I had been driving for almost two years already.

The point is, that with homosexual marriage an issue, states such as Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Missouri may vote overwhelmingly to ban them, while Massechusetts, New York, and California may allow them. The people in the first group of states MAY be forced, against their will, to recognize those marriages.

Heck, California has a STATE LAW forbidding it, and the courts seem to be intent on ALLOWING the marriages to continue anyway!

And nothing GWB does will really make a difference. If a Constitutional Amendment were to pass, it would just be an additional injustice in an already unjust situation.

NightHawk

Page 8 President US The Politics

That is understandable. I often wonder if the US, the way it is going, might once again brake out in some sort of civil war wherein certain States are aligned to a group? But anyway, back on track...

Bush as President again means what for everyone really? So far has there been any new plan from the Republicans for the next term besides the war drums?

President US The Politics

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't know was that bad. Although I am not sure whether Bush will will again or not, I know Americans think a lot with their pockets like any other citizen of any country let's see what has more impact on the people: The Economy or the so called 'War against Terrorism'.

Politics - The Next US President?

Don't get me wrong. The economy is really recovering, in many ways. But it is recovering into a much less robust state. There are new jobs coming about, but they are lower paying, less satisfying jobs. I would much rather make a transmission than flip hamburgers, but guess which type of job is growing.

I think that there will be some big wins in the "War on Terror" in the next few months, and that GWB will win. It is certainly going to be interesting to watch the news.

NightHawk

Politics The US President - Page 8

One thing people forget is Bush didn't create the problems that have caused this loss of jobs. A big part of that is the North American Foreign Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This was Bill Clinton's (a democrat) legacy to the country. Another was 9/11 and the impact it had on the stock exchange, travel, airlines and the trickledown effect. Bush is doing what he can, in my opinion to help the economy recover.

What I find interesting is Kerry is trying to run as a war hero, yet every vote for any defense project that he has been faced with he has voted against. No patriot missile, no F15 attack planes, no B-2 bombers, etc., if Kerry had gotten his way. He has also voted against veterans benefits, and military pay raises, etc. So, most veterans that actually pay attention to politics know he is not their hero.

I am not sure I think I agree that states should be able to pick and choose what marriages they accept or reject from another country. I could see a problem with retaliation. For example, Massachusetts might say "If you won't accept homosexual marriages that take place here, we won't accept any marriages (heterosexual) that take place in your state." That would be a huge problem, in my opinion.

Politics The US President Politics Business Civil & History - Page 8

That is just what I was thinking when Nighthawk said that is how your Constitution was written to cater for a difference between Church and State. So it may really better that all do it or not - just to keep peace. It is almost like a Socialist system when the Central government has a far greater command over choices?