Why should I vote Republican?

[Emsworth]

Government isn't there to 'offer' stuff to you or 'improve' your community. It's about justice and order.

I would say that it's about protecting the rights of the People, but I otherwise agree.

[opebo]

I don't agree that there's any real link between crime and the state of the economy.  Crime rose for decades whether the economy did well or not.  The economy was booming in the late 1980s as crime went through the roof. 

The aspect of the economy which effects crime is the well being of the lower classes - in other words income distribution.  This has almost nothing to do with whether the 'economy is booming' or not.

And certainly any economic 'boom' of the late eighties did not trickle down on the great majority of people.  Those years were very bad for the poor and working class.

[Shira]

The numbers show that over 90% of the jailed people belong to the 20% lowest income families. Some love to preach the distorted theory that if you work hard you won’t be poor. Furthermore, we also see that in developed countries that have high tax rates, crime rates are significantly  lower than in our country. It’s all interrelated.

[The Duke]

My contribution to the Giiuliani crime debate.  Bill Bratton, the NYPD Chief during much of Rudy's tenure and crime plummetted under him.  He's now the LAPD Chief, and crime is down 18% since he took over here.

This is a settled debate, guys.

[dazzleman]

As far the the economy in the late 80's, I was mainly referring to the local economy in many of the higher crime areas of NYC was real bad.  While the national economy got a bit better during the late 80's, the local economy in many of the high crime areas was as bad as the early 80's.  The National economic boom in the late 80's did not have any impact on many of these high crime & inner city areas.  The economic boom during the 90's however, was something that was also felt in the inncer-cities and these areas experienced rather large economic growth as well, something they did not experience in the late 80's.

Dude, there was a decades-long trend of increasing crime no matter what was happening with the economy.  Crime increased substantially during the period when the government was spending billions of dollars on urban "improvements."  So I must respectfully reject the connection between poverty/economic conditions and crime. 

More likely, there is an intertwining between the thought processes and patterns that produce long-term intractible poverty, and those that produce criminal activity.  Though all poor people are not criminals, and all criminals are not poor, there is some overlap here.

[Smash255]

As far the the economy in the late 80's, I was mainly referring to the local economy in many of the higher crime areas of NYC was real bad.  While the national economy got a bit better during the late 80's, the local economy in many of the high crime areas was as bad as the early 80's.  The National economic boom in the late 80's did not have any impact on many of these high crime & inner city areas.  The economic boom during the 90's however, was something that was also felt in the inncer-cities and these areas experienced rather large economic growth as well, something they did not experience in the late 80's.

Dude, there was a decades-long trend of increasing crime no matter what was happening with the economy.  Crime increased substantially during the period when the government was spending billions of dollars on urban "improvements."  So I must respectfully reject the connection between poverty/economic conditions and crime. 

More likely, there is an intertwining between the thought processes and patterns that produce long-term intractible poverty, and those that produce criminal activity.  Though all poor people are not criminals, and all criminals are not poor, there is some overlap here.

Money was spent both in the 80's & 90's, I believe more money was spent in the 90's.  Anyway the economy in the inner-cities did NOT improven during the 80s.  Unemployment, poverty artes & whatnot showed little change during this time in many of the high crime areas of NYC.  However during the 90's, the economic recovery in many of these areas was vast.  Unemployment rates (although still high compared to other areas) & poverty artes (although still high compared to other areas) dropped sharply in the inner ciiy parts of NYC during the 1990's.  The differnces from lets say 1998 to 1988 were stark.

During the early 1980's the economy was bad & was getting worse across the country, in the mid & late 1980's the economy improved nationwide as a whole was getting a bit better, but it had no impact on the economy in he inner-cities.  The economic conditions there were still real bad & in some cases got worse.

During the economic boom of the 1990's however the boom expanded into the inner city regions of NYC, as stated earlier poverty rates & unemployment dropped sharply in the 90's not only nationally, but in the inner cities as well, something that did not happen during the 1980's

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I think one reason to vote GOP is to protect traditional values.  If you want to keep "under God" in the pledge of allegiance at your kids school, if you want to end taxpayer funded condom distribution in public schools to your 14 year old son, if you want strong anti-drug policies, etc. then vote Republican.

Your general direction seems to be that Republicans aren't there for you on financial issues, and people in that position shouldn't vote Republican because of the culture.  But you can't put a price tag on living in a country where you feel comfortable with your kids walking down the street and not being mugged by a heroin addict whose going to shoot up with government funded needles from the needle exchange program.

I think the response is that a stronger culture, even if you agree with the GOP on social issues, won't pay the bills.  This is true, but neither does welfare if you're making $40,000.  I'd imagine that your family doesn't qualify for Medicaid, Food Stamps, AFDC/TANF, or any of the other social programs that are supposed to make things easier for people like you and your family.  Big government had its chance, and it didn't come through.  People like your dad keep paying huge sums in taxation for benefits they never see.  He's at an age where he can't even count on Social Security and Medicare being there for him.  Maybe a stronger culture doesn't pay the bills, but apparently welfare doesn't either.

I'd also say the war on terror is a reason to vote GOP, but I don't even know where your parents stand on that issue.

"Traditional values"? The same people who were against inter-racial marriage because it "wasn't traditional" are now against gay marriage because "it's not traditional".

Democratic Presidents are much better than Republican Presidents at creating jobs.

I would suggest voting against anyone who ignored the 8/06/01 imminent attack by Al Qaeda on US soil memo.

Name ONE national Republican who opposes inter racial marriage.

At what point did anyone say anything about job creation?

You 9/11 memo claim has already been refuted many times.

It's the same people making the same arguments. Public opinion on inter-racial marriage has gotten to the point where it's a seriously losing issue, so they're mum about it now.

Jobs are kind of useful, you know.

What specificially has been refured about the 8/06/01 memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike US"?

[Rob]

The numbers show that over 90% of the jailed people belong to the 20% lowest income families. Some love to preach the distorted theory that if you work hard you won’t be poor. Furthermore, we also see that in developed countries that have high tax rates, crime rates are significantly  lower than in our country. It’s all interrelated.

Wow, Shira, that's really deep. "It's all interrelated"... that is just incredibly insightful. Care to grace us with more of your wisdom?