Laying The Votedown!

I laid the votedown this past Monday.  It is the first time I voted.  I am one of those people that feels that you should vote based on who would do the better job and not based on a particular party.  You can like a particular party all you want, but if that particular party is not going to do the best job, than does it make sense to vote for them?  No!  But a lot of people don't vote that way.  It would be in their best interest to look at the issues each party stands for, than make a decision based on what appeals to you.  You would think that most people do that.  But unfortunately they don't.

I'll come out and say that I voted for the NDP.  A big factor in why I voted for them is that they have a good stance on helping families.  I've received criticism for this and that's fine.  But one thing I've criticized Jack Layton for is his cap and trade idea which would add ten cents a litre at the pumps.  Gas is expensive as it is.

Let explain why I like his stance on helping families.  It is because there a lot of families struggling to get by.  Some families work hard and don't have a lot of disposable income to save.  41 percent of our money goes to the government to pay various things.  Sure I get that there are people who like to abuse welfare by staying on it their whole life and not even attempt to find a job.  Welfare never runs out unlike other things like unemployment.  If your source of money never runs out, than why incentive is there to look for work?  My mom has said that people apply for jobs after being on welfare for years and find out working isn't always easy, so they quit their job and go back on welfare.  Like it's been told to me, that if you are an able body, you should be working and I totally agree with that.  Having people on welfare puts on a strain on taxpayers.  It also doesn't make you a productive member of society.  Sure I've had times in my life where I wasn't a productive member of society and I hated it.

Stephen Harper's $100 cheques were sent out in place of all the other programs he cut funding too or stopped.  $100 a month is not going to help people with the of raising a child.  What does Harper expect that everything will instantly become cheaper and everything will work itself out?  $100 a month will not pay for childcare while the mother goes out and works.  Nine times out of ten the women ends up staying home with the children because those $100 checks will force them too because it doesn't do much.  But childcare is just one part of it.  Raising a child isn't cheap, but if you take away or under fund the programs people need even though they are trying to provide for themselves and their child would be doing families or single parents a big disservice.  There are many items in terms of helping people, especially families, that Jack Layton has a stance on that appealed to me which in turn is why I voted for him.

On Facebook, on my friends had a status up and it generated a number of responses.  But a person I know brought up a bit of a far fetched thing where he asked if we should we give these people a new house.  I wouldn't go that far.  But you need to keep programs running smoothly in place and even improve some of them so they are their when families or yourself need them.  That encompasses a lot of things.  Not just for the families.

The one thing I don't like that I mentioned is his cap and trade idea because it adds ten cents a litre at the pumps.  Maybe I don't really understand it.  I've noticed if you don't understand something you hate and bash it.  Maybe it's the fact that I don't understand it which is why I don't like it.  Will this idea eventually reduce gas prices?  Decide for yourself if it's a good idea.


Jack Layton explains the cap and trade from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.


I still may need to know more about it to make a firm decision on whether I truly like or dislike it.  The first impressions were that it would raise gas price upon hearing about this.  But if it in the end reduces the price of gas, than I'm all for it.

In any event, I voted for the first time and probably will vote in the 2015 national election.  As you can tell, I focused on two issues with the NDP and if Jack Layton can somehow draft a way to show the people how cap and trade will help us at the pumps, than he could get more votes next time around.  I would just like to see it's benefits.