Who am I?

I am home from work, sick, today.  Sitting here, pondering life in the quietness of my house, I began to question why I believe in the values I write.  Maybe it is the illness and self pity that has driven me to this point.  Or, maybe it was a blog I read this morning.  I am so delirious I do not know.  Either way, here I am...

I strongly believe that my politics are a reflection of my own personality.  People who know me are sometimes shocked at my political beliefs because of my actions in the real world.  But, for anyone who truly is open minded to politics, it should not come as a surprise.

First and foremost, I am a fiscal Conservative.  Like every family in America, government should live within its means.  This does not mean expanding the tax base or raising taxes for every justifiable cause under the sun.  Americans work hard for their homes, families, food, and other necessary items.  Some are more blessed than others, but many times reflects the education they received or the hard work they have put forth.  Yes, I know, there are always exceptions to the rule.

I was raised in a lower middle class family; we did not have money for extravagant vacations, family outings or any extras in life.  I learned to live with what we had and tried not to complain too much growing up.  My parents worked very hard to provide food and shelter to us and rarely complained.  They gave excessively to our church and paid for me to attend a private school in grade school and high school.  I learned that hard work was required and frugality was a part of life.  We could not live outside of our means without punishment of some sort.  Today, my wife and I are considered highly successful; she too coming from a similar background.  To me, the government's overspending is only hurting those who it purports to keep safe; American families and especially our children.  After all, we are spending so much that our children will now have to pay back much of the debt we are accumulating now.  That would be like my parents charging me for my childhood...so wrong in my mind.

Unique times call for unique solutions

It is time to step outside the box and review some of the issues this great nation faces.  We need not necessarily look at issues from a partisan perspective, but rather as individual contributors who can solve the problems we are now facing. It is the rugged individualism and creativity of this nation that allows us to come up with new ideas, innovations and solutions.  Why are we not then, exploiting this for the good of the country? From the beginning of this nation, a small group of people collaborated to put the framework of this country together.  The Founding Fathers and several other contributors looked at other nations and their shortcomings.  From this historical perspective, they began to meld new thoughts and ideas into our founding documents we still live under today while recognizing the strengths of previous and current governments of the time.  It was this innovative spirit and freedom that created one of the most powerful nations this world has ever seen.

First, let us start with a simple idea; why not a flat tax?  Think about

this; liberals and conservatives alike complain about loopholes and tax breaks and credits.  Why not eliminate them all?  No more favortism, no more special interests in our tax code, just a simple and straightforward tax.  This should apply to individuals as well as businesses.  It also holds our politicians accountable to what they spend and on what they spend our money.  In addition, it makes sure that no millionaires can take advantage of the tax code and also makes sure that everyone pays something.