For the next four Fridays, I intend to be positive, and provide three reasons to vote for each of the four best known candidates for President. Today, I look at Independent candidate Ralph Nader. Friday the 10th will be Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. Friday the 17th will be Republican candidate John McCain. Friday the 24th will be Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Ralph Nader, Independent
It is safe to assume that most folks have heard of Ralph Nader. He first came to prominence in 1965, when, as a lawyer, consumer advocate, and author of 'Unsafe At Any Speed,' he battled General Motors (GM) over the safety, or lack thereof, of the Chevrolet Corvair. When Nader was through, so were Corvair sales. He has run for President numerous times. See his web site for additional details.
#1. He favors opening up the Presidential debates. The League of Women Voters ran the debates until 1987. A private corporate entity, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), took over the process that year. It was formed by both the Republican and Democratic parties, and has not been kind to third party candidates. In 1992, Ross Perot was included in the debates. He won 19.7 million votes, equating to 18.9% of the vote total. In 1996, Perot ran again. This time, he was excluded by the PDC from the debates, and won only 8.9% of the vote.
#2. He favors a securities speculation tax to reduce the radical fluctuations in the stock market. His web site has this explanation: "Securities speculation -- buying and selling blocks of derivatives to profit from rapid fluctuations in price -- is one cause of the escalation in oil prices at the pump, the mortgage industry meltdown, and the dot.com bust. A securities speculation tax would reduce speculation in the markets and increase stability." I take pride in my knowledge of economics. I faithfully balance my checkbook every month! But my knowledge on the subject pretty much ends there. So I had to look up 'derivatives,' and found that they are futures contracts and options, used primarily by institutional investors. A speculation tax of this nature, with, say, a two year trial life span, with analysis thereafter before extending or ending it, might help reduce the wild swings we've seen in the stock market, and the ripple effects on well-diversified IRAs and 401Ks.
#3. He is squeaky clean. He is so untainted by... well, anything... that during the 1960s Nader-GM war, GM's private investigators were unable to dig up any dirt on the guy. And you know they dug deep.
Next Friday: Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr.
Friday, October 3, 2008
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6 comments:
Thank you for the profile.
You're welcome.
Just a couple of thoughts:
-Securities Speculation and the mortgage industry meltdown. Yes speculation on the bundled products, but I think making loans to people who have no business having loans (NO JOB? NO PROBLEM!!! NO MONEY DOWN AND JUST PROMISE US TO GET A JOB!!!) led to much of the problem. Just look at the crazy number of foreclosures that are happening now.
- Back on subject, Ralph is squeaky clean and does not seem to harbor any hidden agendas. I don't think Mr Nader has much foreign policy experience. It's a big world out there and you had better know how to deal with it. Ask Jimmy Carter about that!!!
Are you suggesting tighter oversight/regulations on mortgage companies and banks who loaned money to people they knew couldn't afford them?
On Nader's foreign policy experience: the post was on 3 reasons to vote FOR him. Besides, I'll bet he looked at a map once and saw Russia...
I know nothiiiiiing about regulation/oversight. I however understand what you are saying.
I would be willing to bet that when Ralph looked at that map and saw Russia, that map had safety edges that would not inflict dangerous paper cuts!
Speaking of dangerous cuts, did you hear about the guy who was riding a snowmobile across a frozen lake, and it broke through the ice and plunged into the water? He died of cold cuts!
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