Why I'm not going to vote

Dear Editor:

The only two candidates that we are left to choose from for president have had little competition from the onset of the race. To me, it amounts to "slim pickins." I've never been comfortable about having to choose from the lesser of two evils. What's more, I've uncovered some facts which show Mitt Romney and Barack Obama don't differ on many of the important political issues. If you're dreaming of a different "change" with Mitt Romney in power, you may be in for a real disappointment. Here are enough reasons why I'm not going to the polls this year.

• Both Obama and Romney supported TARP (the bailout bill). The bailout plan essentially bought the badd and uncollectible debts of the banks with $700 billion dollars of taxpayer dollars. Executives paid themselves millions of dollars in bonuses while they destroyed the economy of the U.S.

• Romney said that Obama's bailout of the auto industry was actually his idea.

• Neither candidate supports the immediate balancing of the federal budget.

• Both believe in big government and have a track record of being big spenders while in office.

• Both of them fully support the Federal Reserve and oppose a full audit.

• Both are on record stating that the U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had done a good job during the last financial crisis. Geithner admitted that he did not pay income taxes in recent years. As a U.S. Treasury secretary, he now oversees the IRS. There were 14 positions directly under him that were unfilled because no one wanted to work with him.

• Both Obama and Romney are big promoters of Universal Health Care. Romney actually developed the failed health care plan in Massachusetts which Obama care is based on.

• Wall Street showers both candidates with campaign contributions.

• Both are open to the idea of imposing a Value Added Tax on the American people. This is a levy that is imposed on businesses at every level of the manufacture and production of goods, based on the increase in price, or value, at each level. Because the consumer ultimately pays for the taxed commodity, a Value Added Tax is essentially a hidden sales tax. The U.S. government considers instituting a VAT to fund national health care programs.

• Both support the practice of extraordinary rendition. This is the apprehension and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one country to another.

• Both support the job killing "free trade agenda" of the global elite.

• Both accuse each other of shipping jobs out of the country, and both of them are right.

• Both candidates are extremely soft on illegal immigration.

• Neither candidate has had any military experience. This is the first time that this has happened in a U.S. election since 1944.

• Romney said that he will support a Cap and Trade Tax Scheme, like Obama. This tax legislation will impose a massive energy tax on nearly every kilowatt of energy produced in America. These taxes will be passed on to every consumer of electricity. It's estimated to increase living costs for the average American family by $1,500 to $3,500 per year. Every time you turn on a light switch, or fill your gas tank, turn on your TV, or even buy a loaf of bread, you will pay a hidden Cap and Trade National Energy Tax.

• Both candidates have a very long record of supporting strict gun control measures.

• Like Obama, Romney also plans to add "signing statements" to bills when he signs them into law. A signing statement is a statement which accompanies a law that is signed by the president regarding how the president intends to interpret it for his own benefit.

• Both believe in man-made global warming.

• Both believe that the Boy Scout ban on openly gay troop leaders is wrong.

• They both have a horrible record when it comes to creating jobs.

• Both candidates believe that the president has the power to take the country to war without getting the approval of the U.S. Congress.

• Both candidates plan to continue running up more debt even though the U.S. deficit is already $16 trillion dollars.

Whatever way the election goes, we American people will be the losers once again. We are in for four more years of grief.

Faye Ruckhardt

Nesquehoning