Hello Matt,   
      
    MM> It has been traditionally stated that Democrats stand for the working man   
    MM> and woman, but recently there are various actions that make me not eager   
   to   
    MM> vote for Democrats even though Republicans worship at the altar of the big   
    MM> wedge waging war against Latinos and LGBT people for political expediency.   
      
   Refusing to vote for Democrats is akin to voting for Republicans.   
   Part of Mitt Romney's strategy is to get folks (Democrats and   
   Independents) so disgusted with President Obama that they don't   
   bother to vote, as he knows every Republican will make it to the   
   polls and vote for their candidate.   
      
    MM> First we go with the plastic bag ban, who else is going to have the extra   
    MM> sixty or eighty cents to go to the supermarket to buy paper bags from the   
    MM> merchant because they forgot to bring or purchase reusable bags. Since   
    MM> Democrats driven away most of the businesses away from our state it is   
    MM> going to be a mandate that the working class can ill afford.   
      
   Paper bags cost less than a nickel (for the big ones).  Merchants   
   just pass the cost on to the consumer if paper bags totally replace   
   plastic bags.  Going green is what most businesses are going with   
   today, although plastic bags are still widely used in many places.   
      
    MM> Second we go with the pending one to three dollar a gallon increases in   
    MM> gasoline which aims to discourage people from driving.   
      
   That is total BS.  President Nixon (and President Carter) tried   
   to encourage folks to use energy more wisely, and to carpool, etc.   
   But people like to drive.  Especially Americans.  Asking Americans   
   not to drive is kind of like asking Americans to give up Mom and   
   apple pie.  It ain't gonna happen.  No matter what the cost of gas,   
   Americans will continue to drive.   
      
    MM> Unfortunately transit agencies do not have 24/7 service on many of their   
    MM> routes and they do not have flexible routes to get to where people need to   
    MM> go so people are tethered to their motor vehicles. Since there are not   
   many   
    MM> jobs available people have to commute farther   
    MM> than they used to to find their ideal job opportunity.   
      
   Mass transit and taxis are great in urban areas (such as NYC).   
   But America is a land of wide open spaces, where it is almost a   
   necessity to own/lease a car.  If the price of gas becomes too   
   great, alternative sources of energy will become more attractive.   
   In the early 1900's the choice of going with gasoline-powered   
   engines was made over steam-powered engines.  The difference   
   in efficiency was trivial, but gasoline could be much more   
   profitable.  Today, we can power cars with vegetable oil, or   
   even pond scum.  But we all know the choices that will be made,   
   and who it will benefit.   
      
    MM> Third I would like to see Congress members Baca and Chu support Ron Paul's   
    MM> Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011. It is disgusting how our   
    MM> purchasing power has went down the toilet where the US dollar lost 97% of   
    MM> its gold value since when we got off the gold standard in 1971.   
      
   Bernie Sander's plan is much more sound, and doable.   
      
    MM> When the working class gets more money in their pocket it is a victory for   
    MM> all involved.   
      
   Karl Marx died penniless.   
      
   --Lee   
      
   --- MesNews/1.06.00.00-gb   
    * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)