I had been thinking about writing a general "get out the vote" post for the 2018 elections but in the end this isn't going to be that post. For one thing, if I had made my strongest arguments, it wouldn't matter as Facebook won't let my advertise my blog anymore without signing my life away. Without that extra push my post wouldn't get that much attention. Instead I will be writing instead about how today's current politics have affected me positively, which is more directed to the people that know me personally. I know I rarely talk about myself on this blog and since it is semi-anonymous I will be leaving some details out.
I graduated college in December of 2007. It was one of the weakest job markets there has been in my lifetime and I of course ended up entering the full time job market then. Nobody ever said I had good timing. It did not go well for me to say the least. I had put in for a few jobs but never got any call backs and I was working two part-time jobs with infrequent hours. I was broke and generally miserable. Though I have fond memories of one of the jobs, the other one was horrible and neither paid more than a pittance.
My degree ended up being largely useless as it was in a VERY crowded field. Criminal Justice at the time wasn't like it is today with lots of job openings, it was a joke. For police jobs, which was what I initially wanted, there were 300+ applicants per posting, and many of them had more qualifications then I did (i didn't have certification to go along with my B.S., but the people that got jobs generally did). And everything else was as bad or worse.
Why was the job market so bad? I like to think it was the economic polices of our last two presidents. Both Bush an Obama bear responsibility for the terrible economy that has only started to turn around now under President Trump. Their main goal was never to make sure that people like me had work and that our conditions improved. Both of them cared way more about big businesses, who were exporting jobs out of the country and hiring illegal immigrants, than the people that made up the base of the Republican and Democratic parties.
I did finally end up getting a full time job. It took a couple of years but it did finally happen. It's the job that I work at today, which I am still thankful to have. The pay wasn't great and it was a 45 minute commute each way but at least I could pay my rent money. I couldn't really afford too much else. Things got better but not that much. My first couple of raises were completely wiped out by the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the cost of living was generally higher than it is now. I was working hard but I never felt like I was getting ahead.
I caught one huge break though. When Obamacare was passed, I was lucky enough to be at a job that offered full healthcare benefits. I have heard so many horror stories of people around me that paid through the nose for healthcare that they didn't need and couldn't afford to use. I personally would have been absolutely broke if I had to go on Obamacare and to this day I am so glad that I didn't. If I had I know for sure that I would have been more outspoken in the 2016 election, but not on here. The internet would have probably had to have been something I had to cut out of my life because I couldn't afford it anymore. Obamacare was that bad, and I am thankful every day that I never had to go on it.
Things have changed for the better now. It started to turn around in 2014 or so, largely because I worked so much overtime. I had gotten a couple of raises and was putting money into the bank. But I was still scared to spend it. I generally did not buy things I needed because I had no faith in our countries leaders to keep the economy going and knew that if Obama and the Democrats had gotten their way I'd go right back to being broke.
That mindset finally changed after Donald Trump got elected. The national security situation stabilized and the economic situation seemed very bright. It was to the point where I took my first vacation as an adult, to Las Vegas, last year and I actually buy things, not only when I need them but also when I just want them. I generally don't worry about money that much anymore, which is a great feeling to have, even if I don't really make as much as I had hoped I would by this age.
The presidency of Donald Trump and GOP control of the Senate and Congress has been an economic boon for me. The tax cuts that they passed ended up giving me quite a bit more money each paycheck. It was enough of a raise that it pretty much pays for my energy bill each month off on one paycheck, with money left over for other things.
I have also gotten, since Trump has been elected, three raises, which ended up being a lot more than before he got elected. Some of that was our general small raises to combat inflation, but a huge chunk of it was due to President Trump. Though our company hasn't publicly said that they raised wages due to the tax cuts and booming economy (and I wouldn't dox myself by putting that info here), that was what I was told by my bosses and management. They told me that they just couldn't get away with the lower wages with the hundreds of job openings out their right now.
I think that this economy only continues if the GOP keeps congress. Trump's economic plan seems to be working out great and he has reformed the GOP party into one that actually delivers jobs. From tax cuts, to tariffs to punishing companies that outsource, he's doing a great job on the economy and the GOP held legislature is helping him out.
The problem is that if the Democrats take the house (which is possible) and/or the senate (which isn't), all those economic gains could be wiped out. It's very clear to me that the Democrats would be willing to tank the economy just to spite Trump and the Americans who support him. They haven't even made the case that we should elect them for their ideas. Their entire pitch is that we should vote for them because they hate Trump and nothing else.
That's an argument that isn't ever going to work on me. My life is better under Trump and the GOP then it would ever be under the Democrats. They have nothing to offer me and I fear for this country if they gain power again. I know that my bank account would suffer as more illegal immigrants would pour in and more jobs would be sent overseas. And that's leaving out the obvious cultural and foreign policy damage that a Democratic congress would bring.
And that's the main question I want you to ask yourself before you go into the polling place on Tuesday. Is your life better now than it is two years ago? Forget about the culture war BS, I am talking about your economic life. I know for a fact that I am and I implore everyone who feels the same to vote Republican in the 2018 election.
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