Preferences

Which of these do you prefer?

1) As a way to help small business?
a) Set up rules that restrict the ability of community banks to lend to smaller borrowers.
b) Allow community banks to lend to smaller borrowers based upon their creditworthiness.

2) As a way to bring down energy prices?
a) Slow down approvals for drilling permits on federal land.
b) Require the Department of Energy to approve permit applications within a reasonable time (like 10 days from filing).

3) As a way to reduce youth unemployment?
a) Change the rules to allow about another 800,000 young folks to seek jobs.
b) Promote economic growth so that more jobs for young people are created.

4) As a way to increase economic growth?
a) Place restrictions on plants that produce electricity from coal to such an extent that many of them are forced to close with the result that electricity costs soar.
b) Continue the regulations on coal fired plants that reduce air pollution, but allow electricity to be generated from this low cost source.

5) As a way to deal with China?
a) Allow the Chinese to continue to manipulate their currency so that their products cost less than similar products made in America.
b) Tell the Chinese that they have to let their currency reach equilibrium so that they have no special advantages in world markets or else the USA will take action against them.

6) As a way to reduce energy imports?
a) Spend tens of billions of federal dollars to "invest" in green energy schemes of campaign supporters and contributors even though the green energy schemes produce energy at a much higher cost than conventional fuels.
b) Allow American producers to increase the quantities of natural gas and oil from shale formations in the USA and promote the usage of domestic natural gas as a vehicle fuel by converting much of the federal fleet of vehicles to using natural gas.

7) As a way to improve educational outcomes in the public schools?
a) Increase the amount spent by the federal government on teacher salaries and the like while requiring local districts to follow federal guidelines in their classrooms.
b) Send federal funds to localities while allowing the local boards and parents to determine what is best as far as the curriculum in each school.

8) As a way to make the tax code fairer?
a) Leave the code unchanged with all its loopholes, deductions and special provisions, but increase the rate at which tax is paid by the very richest Americans.
b) Overhaul the entire tax code to lower the rates while at the same time removing the special provisions, loopholes and deductions that allow some folks to pay nothing while others pay large percentages of their income in taxes.

9) As a way to reduce the deficit of the federal government?
a) Leave spending untouched but raise taxes on the wealthy in an effort to increase tax collections of the federal government.
b) Review federal spending to stop waste, fraud and abuse of the system while at the same time getting rid of programs that no longer work or which are unnecessary.

10 As a way of promoting world peace?
a) Let the United Nations determine American foreign policy in places like Syria.
b) Take actions that are in the best interests of the USA whether or not all of the members of the UN Security council agree.

Obviously, it does not take a genius to understand that all of the "a" answers above are the Obama positions and all of the "b" answers are the Romney positions. Nevertheless, it is important to look at these questions and to see how many of the issues push you to one or the other candidate.

It is not just that the economy is doing poorly. Obama just takes the wrong position all the time.