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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

A major reason why I read The New York Times is that the company is  
financially strong enough to employ journalists and reporters who are  
qualified to do more than simply titillate readers. The article here  
is written by David Leonhardt. "David has been writing about economics  
for The Times since 2000 and has been a columnist since 2006. He was  
one of the writers who produced the paper's 2005 series on social  
class in the United States. He is also a staff writer for The Times  
Magazine. David previously worked for Business Week magazine, in  
Chicago and New York, and for the metro desk of The Washington Post. A  
New York native, he studied applied mathematics at Yale."

This article is about the U.S. economy and how Barack Obama relates to  
it. The U.S. economy has much of our attention today. Housing price  
freefall, unnerving energy prices, rising food prices, and perhaps  
most of all, uncertainty, are our compelling subjects.

If you make more than $118,000 per year, and your tax payments are  
your strongest criteria, you should logically not vote for Obama. His  
tax proposals will cost you about $700 per year according to Brookings  
Institution and the Urban Institute analyses. If, like retired me, you  
are in the eighty percent of the U.S. population below that figure,  
you would likely pay less overall taxes. Then there is the matter of  
payroll taxes, which hurt most Americans more than income taxes.  
"Obama’s second-most-expensive proposal, after his health-care plan,  
is the equivalent of a $500 cut in the payroll tax for most workers.  
(It is actually a credit that is applied toward income taxes based on  
payroll taxes paid.) In a speech this month in Florida, he proposed  
that the cut take effect immediately, in the form of a rebate, to  
stimulate the economy. For most workers, it would be the first  
significant cut in the payroll tax in decades, if not ever."

Warning: this is a substantial article. It is eight Web-pages long, so  
it will take some time to read and digest. If the upcoming  
presidential election is of serious interest to you, I think it is  
worth your time to read it and think about it.

Tomorrow, the economy will be far different than yesterday.  
Homesteaders and other ruralites are somewhat insulated from the  
outside economy. If you and those you care about pay no taxes and if  
you are largely self-sufficient, then what happens on the national  
scene may be of limited impact on you. But you will surely be  
affected, as always and in several ways, by the larger, national  
economy.

Vote wisely, or keep your counsel.

How Obama Reconciles Dueling Views on Economy
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Published: August 20, 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/magazine/24Obamanomics-t.html?pagewanted=1&hp