No More Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

The two candidates probably couldn’t be more different than if it were planned that way.

Sen. John McCain is a decorated war veteran with many years of experience in government. Sen. McCain comes across as a ‘maverick’ conservative, willing to buck the party line for the good of the people.

Sen. Barak Obama, a relative newcomer to politics, has been a strong candidate on change and government reform, especially when it comes to the war and the economy. He’s inspired a record number of young voters to come out and vote, and has been described as the ‘future of the Democratic party’ on more than one occasion.

A Sucky Economy is still a Sucky Economy

No matter your normal political leanings, both candidates are very likely going to be handed a country in the doldrums of a recession. What they are planning on doing to resolve that recession is the focus of much discussion and concern on both sides of the electorate.

Sen. McCain has already stated that he wants to make the Bush tax cuts (mainly effecting the upper bracket tax payers) permanent, in an effort to stimulate the economy. I’m not so much a fan of this approach, as it’s done very little to alleviate a recession, record budget deficits, or caused the hoped-for trickle down of money from the upper echelons. It hasn’t worked for the last eight years, so who’s to say it will work for the next four?

Sen. Obama on the other hand, wants to eliminate part of the tax cuts, primarily for those Americans making less than $250k/year. Those that make more would continue to pay the reinstated taxes, while the remaining populace would receive the benefits of the tax cuts. This means a difference of nearly a million dollars to the upper 1% of the American populace (McCain’s cuts would give back around $270k/year while Obama’s tax reinstatements would COST around $750k/year to these same upper-class earners). This still leaves the issue of budget deficits and the national debt to be resolved, which Sen. Obama hasn’t directly addressed yet.

The Differences Continue

This isn’t by any stretch, the ONLY differences between the candidates, but this is one of the bigger, more ‘political’ ones. As the general election progresses, the candidates are going to stake out more issues that differentiate them.

So, the question is,

Does the Economy significantly change the way you vote? Would you vote for a candidate that is different than your party affiliation (i.e. vote for McCain if you’re a Democrat, or Obama if you’re a Republican) based on their economic plans/views?

No so much that the cost has gone up SO much, but that budgets are having to be tightened because more money is going out to fuel costs. Still, there’s numerous articles and interviews talking about how hard it’s getting to keep families going like they used to with increasing costs.

One interesting set of interviews on NPR talked to a mother of three, making less than $800/month, and how she’s having to economized on EVERYTHING (lot less meat, much more staples like beans, rice, etc).

Another interview with a ‘middle-class’ retiree talks about living with increasing prices while surviving on a fixed income. Her solution was more bulk-food purchases, along with planning trips more carefully to save in fuel costs.

The final interview was with an ‘upper-middle-class’ homemaker ($250k/year income, two homes, a business, and some VERY nice cars). Her solution was to shop in different locations. She’s shifted from a mainly Whole Foods shopping routine, with it’s fresh everything selection, along with the accompanying premium prices, to a more pre-packaged, less-expensive routine.

The pinch is being felt up and down the income spectrum. So this question could help many people with that make-or-break of getting through this tough time.

What is your best/most creative cost cutting measure when getting groceries?

I admit, I fall into the bulk-buying arena. We buy most everything in bulk, and store a lot of it downstairs on our shelves. This is good for things/foods that don’t spoil, so we only have to think about what to do for fresh veggies and meat. I’m considering getting a large freezer and looking around for meat in bulk too if things continue to go like they are now.

Let us know your best tip by leaving us a comment!! Help out our fellow readers with your ideas!

Airlines are already starting to charge for EACH bag, and the paltry little snack bag they give you has already been the first casualty in the cost-cutting-measures war. Less flights mean more packed airplanes, less time/destination choices, and less comfortable flights.

Jumping in the car and driving cross-country is becoming a MUCH more expensive alternative.

Gas is already within smooching distance of $4.00/gallon (up almost $.35/gallon this month alone), with no signs of stopping. What is $4.50-5.00/gallon fuel going to do to the American vacation plans?

A few questions come to mind I’m curious about, so if you’d like to share, I think our readers would love to know.

• If you normally take a vacation each year anyway, are you doing things differently this year?
• If you don’t take vacations every year, is this one of the years you’re ’skipping’? And is it because of the gas prices/economy?

This is your chance to share your pain over rising fuel costs, leave us an answer and share your situation!

This has already caused quite a bit of change in the business community.

• Ford motors curtailing car manufacturing through the end of the year and looking to lay off hundreds or thousands of employees.
• 5 different airlines have either gone out of business or gone into bankruptcy restructuring.
• Food prices are being affected through the shift of farmers growing biodiesel-capable crops and the heightened cost of transportation of goods.
• American Airlines is now charging $15 for the FIRST checked bag (undoubtedly the rest of the airlines will follow suit unless there is a huge customer backlash against AA)

I heard a statistic yesterday that grabbed my attention;

"During the Bush presidency, gasoline prices have risen almost 400%, and have risen 100% in the last 3-6 months alone."

Now that’s some scary news. With the Memorial Day weekend looming, we’re going to see gas prices cause some serious reconsideration about the family road trips being planned.

Which brings me to the question of the day;

What are you doing differently because of the high gas costs? How is your lifestyle and actions effected by this new higher-priced fuel??

Leave us a comment and let us know. Share your tips for handling the price increase with others!

Eventually though, I worked all my cards down to below 10%, with the majority of them below 5%. That’s why it was such a shock when I found one of my cards raised to 25.25% recently.

I’ve also heard that this isn’t an isolated incident, as credit card companies are starting to raise rates again. So, I thought I’d ask What is your Highest Interest Credit card you currently carry?

My highest current card is; Chase Platinum – 25.25%

Let us know how much and from what company, and we can do a little ad-hoc comparison of current rates.