Why Do College Students Still Vote Democrat?

by Kerry Thomas

May 31, 2008

In a May 30 editorial in the Daily Cardinal, Lavilla Capenter attempts to explain why so many college students, especially at UW-Madison, vote Democrat.

Carpenter expresses concerns about financial aid, which seems to be an obvious concern for a student.

But then Carpenter adds, “…we should have access to well-paying jobs, affordable health insurance and a strong economy…the fight for LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered] rights…making a positive change upon the world….”

Since Carpenter is both a journalism and political science major, I ask, do you have any idea how you create well-paying jobs, affordable health care, or a strong economy in a capitalist Republic? (Remember, America is a Republic, not a Democracy.)

Here’s a hint – it’s not by voting for higher taxes, more government regulation, or mandates on businesses.

Private industry is not a social welfare program. It doesn’t exist to give you a job. Private industry exists to make a profit, by providing goods and services people want, at a price they can afford. To that end, they hire employees to produce those goods and services. Pay rates are a factor of supply and demand. If you have a specialized skill that is in high demand, you’ll be paid a higher wage than someone with fewer marketable skills.

If you want access to affordable health care, you most certainly do not want more government regulation of the health care industry. If you think your health care is expensive now, just wait until the government provides it for free. And pray you don’t face a life-threatening illness that requires immediate treatment. Why do you suppose so many people from other nations with low-cost government-run health care systems come to America for more expensive treatment?

How do you make the economy strong? You give entrepreneurs the freedom to invent, innovate and build businesses, with as few government regulations as possible. Every big business started out as a small business, with some little guy having a dream or a new idea for something they thought would be in demand. 90% of all small businesses eventually fail. There is no money-back guarantee for these entrepreneurs. But, despite the odds and the government red tape, new opportunities appear every day in America. These entrepreneurs are the driving force behind a strong economy.

Higher tax rates put a burden on the economy. Lower tax rates stimulate the economy.

Take a look at history. Every time the federal tax rate went down, the economy soared. It worked when Kennedy lowered the top tax rate from 90% (can you even imagine paying 90% in taxes?) to 70%. It worked when Reagan dropped the top tax rate from 70% to 28%. And it worked the same with the Bush tax cuts, which went to every American who actually paid taxes.

Contrary to popular belief, revenues to the Treasury have actually gone up after the Bush tax cuts. Democrats who want to spend even more of your tax money for you would do well to learn this valuable, yet basic, economics lesson.

And, as if it needed to be said again, corporations and businesses don’t pay taxes. Oh, sure, they write the check every quarter. But the cost of those taxes gets passed along to you, the consumer. It’s a factor in the pricing of any product.

Your concern for acceptance of LGBT rights will not come easily. And if it is forced down people’s throats by the courts, absent action by the Legislature, it will only serve to deepen the resentment felt by those who will be forced to accept this lifestyle as normal, a belief many feel is contrary to nature’s law and to God’s law.

If you don’t like the law, change the law, through the electoral process, not by judicial fiat. Use reason and persuasion to convince your fellow citizens of the merits of your beliefs. You will win LGBT rights only by winning hearts and minds, one person at a time. It will be up to each individual to make those decisions, based upon their own belief systems, not by being forced to accept a lifestyle they may find to be abhorrent as somehow being normal.

As for making a positive change upon the world, that seems to be every generation’s dream. It’s a good goal to strive for. But how will you do that? Will you use your God-given talents to make life better for people? Or will you use those talents to force your will upon others, forcing them to comply with your views of how the world should be, robbing them of their freedom of choice?

Government control or freedom of choice? Liberal Democrat mandates or Conservative freedom to choose?

There is a reason so many college students tend to vote Democrat. A good part of it is indoctrination in the classroom. Perhaps it’s simply because they’ve never been exposed to the ideas of freedom of choice, of free markets, of the power of capitalism in a free society, in college.

I challenge Lavilla Capenter and the rest of the student body to do a little research and find out if all these theories you’re being taught at college, the theories espoused by so many liberal Democrats, really stand the test of life in the real world.