The average American views the status of our economy though the lens of thier family budget.
All canidates are hearing that and have responded with speeches.
The high cost of living is blamed, and the high cost of the war in Iraq is being blamed.
Today Obama addressed the cost of our war in Iraq, noting that the cost of oil has gone up drastically over the past 5 years due to that war.
But he hit on an important observation. The cost of the war in Iraq is mostly due to how the war was conducted, and due to how money was wasted in the war effort that could have been avoided if the war had been more wisely directed by the Bush directives. The mass amount of money that was transferred to private contractors such a Haliburton.
He got three thumbs up from me for mentioning Haliburton and about how money was wasted by over-paying them. Other money spent to hire private companies for reconstruction and for private security companies such a Blackwater. Giving Haliburton a blank check and letting them fill in what us taxpayers owe them was a big misstake.
Meanwhile Hillary Clinton also addressed the economy. Health insurance comes right out of eveyone's home budget. Even if you are healthy you still want coverage just in case something unexpected happens, and the cost of health insurance is high, especially for people who have a private business such as a farm, and cannot join a "group coverage" plan. To safeguard the family budget most voters know that affordable health insurance is a must-do solution for bringing down the cost of living for the average worker. And as news of high priced gasoline continues people are feeling the pinch of that and it hurts the family budget. The desire to find cheaper fuels or vehicles that get more per gal is on every bodies mind. Alternative fuels has become a popular suggeston and Clinton is of course an advocate of that.
Buying and selling real estate is also a factor along with home ownership.
The biggest political issue is now about the family budgets of those concidered to be mainstream Americans.
Once people had more control over managing their budgets to make ends meet. But they are loosing that sense of personal control as the cost of living continues to get out of control, and they are now looking to canidates to come up with answers and to help make America an affordable country to live in. And to remove some of the nails that might give the family budget a flat tire. |