If you haven’t noticed already C and I are pretty vocal about politics. We see the broken system and want to do whatever we can to change it. C has even thrown around the idea of running for city council, which he probably still will once we complete our project and become more active in the community.
Anyway, last Saturday we went to a meet and greet for an independent candidate running for governor. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I really liked him. His main platform was wanting to fix the broken system here in ky, which included fixing badly written and broken legislation as well as not being able to be bought (which would prevent bad legislation that only helps coorporations or the rich). I went with several questions, all of which were answered very well and in somewhat unique ways from other candidates. For example: he is all for raising minimum wage, but his solution would be to make small businesses exempt for at least a trial period if not for good. His solution to helping the Appalachian area is hemp and legalizing medicinal marijuana (it’s going to happen sooner or later anyway, why not make profit on it now) so it can legally be grown in those areas. He also wants to fix the secondary education system so people aren’t graduating with huge debt and no jobs. He is also all for moving to renewable energy sources (like solar) once we can get the cost down closer to $.04 per kWh, which we will once the larger scale Tesla batteries come out.
If you can’t tell already I really like this guy.
One thing that really stuck with me though was this: we were talking about the poor and what can be done about helping to stop the criminalization and blaming of people who use the system (either temporarily or for long term) and he made a statement that I had ever thought of before. He said that even though the poor are made out to be irresponsible that there is evidence supported by studies that the poor, and especially the homeless, are better at money management than those who have money. I thought about it and realized that he’s right. When I had disposable income I spent it on a lot of crap I really didn’t need. Now that we don’t I know exactly how we can eat and get gas for the entire week on $50 without over drafting our account. That’s skill. That’s something I’m really proud of. Anyone who can make me feel even somewhat good about being in a tough situation is worthy of a vote in my book.
