Harnessing the Latino Vote

I am a successful Latino small businessman who is patriotic, pro-family and pro-community. My vision is for quality and meaningful lives for my children and all U.S. Americans. So, for whom should I vote – Bush, Kerry? Because I know that every vote counts, I decided to use my precious vacation time to prepare.

I asked myself, "What are the most important issues to me?" My top seven included taxes, health care, social security, employment, education, environment, and of course, security and the war in Iraq. In researching these subjects, I made a number of discoveries and realized it was my responsibility to share my findings with other Latinos.

My Concerns

1. Responsible Spending/Use of Tax Dollars

My wife and I contribute over $30,000 per year in income taxes, so we want a president who is responsible with our hard-earned dollars. Minimally, I expect the president to understand that one can't spend without raising funds, and then those funds should be spent responsibly. Bush inherited a $236 billion dollar surplus in 2000. He has replaced this with a deficit of $422 billion in 2004! As I see it, he squandered billions of dollars of our money on tax breaks for the big businesses and the super wealthy, and is now using the presidential credit card to soak us and our children for billions more. We, the middle and working-class, work too hard to be exploited like this.

The Bush plan is to provide us more of the same. More tax breaks for companies and for families making over $200,000, continued military spending, and decreased funding for education and health care. Kerry's plan is to cut corporate welfare and restore tax levels for the rich to their 2000 level to reduce the deficit, move America to less dependence on oil (that's why we started the Iraq war), and invest more in education, job creation, and health care.

2. Affordable Health Care

I have worked in several other countries where all citizens are assured medical care. Our citizens deserve at least the same. Instead, I pay nearly $600 per month for medical insurance and that doesn't cover dental and optometry, nor does it cover health care for my two adult and under-employed daughters who are among the 45 million without medical insurance. I want to see guaranteed medical care for all.

To maintain the tax cuts for the wealthy, the Bush plan is to invest only $90 billion in health care over the next 10 years. The Kerry plans will invest over $650 billion during this same period to ensure affordable health and accessible health care for all Americans, using his rollback on tax cuts for the wealthy. Under Kerry's plan there is a greater possibility our children will be able to secure health care insurance.

3. Social Security

As a small business owner, I must provide for my own retirement. Over the past few years, I have paid over $150,000 for my children's college education, leaving me with little money to invest into retirement. Consequently, I don't want to lose my social security or see it additionally taxed. I see how my mother and other older family members struggle on their fixed incomes. I want an administration that will ensure that social security will continue, and that supports policies and services for the aged.

While Bush states his commitment to Social Security, his party's record speaks volumes to the contrary. The Republican Party took Social Security from an independent fund and put it in the general fund so that Congress could spend it, which it has been doing. It has raised taxes on social security, and now, Bush is advocating placing greater responsibility on the individual to establish his own retirement/savings plan. Given the current record of corporate crime (e.g., Enron, Arthur Andersen, savings and loan industry, etc.) can big business be trusted to take care our best interests, especially given that Bush has been removing policies and programs that protect the consumer? I have more trust in the Democratic Party that has historically fought to institute and protect social security.