Column: Election About Money, Not Issues

This story was written by Joshua Delano, The Daily Cougar

Do you remember in the film Wall Street when Michael Douglas gave a speech to the shareholders ofTeldar Corporation and coined the famous phrase, "Greed is good, greed is right?" That expression sums up this election.

Sen. Barack Obama said this electionisn't about him; it's about the people. Well, he's right. It's about you and your greed. If you makebelow $250,000 a year, you should vote for Obama because he will bring about greed - or change you can believe in.

Those who make less than a quarter million dollars, well, we want more. Since Obama says he is going to cut taxes for Americans making below a quarter of a million dollars, then that means more money for us. Likewise, since he is a typical liberal that means more government programs and dollars for people like you and me who aren't millionaires.

Sen. John McCain, however, is the candidate for you if you do make above $250,000 per year, especially if you fall into McCain's characterization of "rich" at the $5 million and up mark. This means more tax cuts for rich folks,more big military government contracts vis--vis Boeing and Halliburton. It also means no more capital gains tax, which Obama won't impose on the rich and middle class investors.

Forget all the social issues, the price of oil, the race and age of the candidates. All that is just commentary and smoke and mirrors on the periphery. This election boils down to the very meaning of politics that we learn in our entry-level political science course - politics is who gets what, when and how. It all boils down to three questions. Who governs? For what ends? By what means?Yes, the means. The best is always saved for last. No matter if we are considered rich, middle class or poor, so many Americans are just simply greedy, and we want more. If you go to other countries, the general feeling among many is that of community, of sharing, of a certain proximity to one another. Furthermore, if you ask most people about Americans and our country, most will either allude to our greed or, at the very least, mention our modern and privileged way of life.

Obama is inspiring and is motivated to change things, McCain will protect us from terrorists, but in the back of our mind we just want to know what's in it for us.

The Bible tells us that it is harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to go into the eye of a needle. What road are we on? Are we a nation that will be the Good Samaritan and help our brother in need? Or are we the country that wants to invade and take oil, gold, land and then liberate any backward culture to turn it into a democracy that favors our free market system?

So many countries that have so little seek to emulate us. When a new technological innovation comes out, even if it is made in China, Americans are typically the first consumers introduced to that product. Some may say that I am being way too harsh or even ungrateful of what we have. I am grateful, but I also think of all those in the world who have so little and even need food to eat. Meanwhile, here we are looking for more government programs, more capital gains, more money and more government sponsored programs - subsidized dirt cheap homeowners insurance for the wealthy who want to build near a river or an ocean, more food stamps, government health care and the like. I am not degrading these programs. I am merely pointing out the level of wastefulness and the fact that we Americans never seem to get our fill.

Whether you are voting McCain or Obama, vote your pocketbook.