Do Politicians Really Know What Is Best For Me?

Politicians are always talking about how they will take care of average Americans. But what is the average American any way?

What income does the average America have? According to government figures from 2006, the median household income was about $48,ooo. That means half of household had income more and half had less income in 2006. Now the "average" Congressman makes $169,300 per year. That kind of compensation puts them in the top 1% of all wage earners. So then you have to ask how someone in the top 1% of wage earners knows what is best for families that make less than 1/3 of what the typical member of congress earns? I use the term "earn" loosely in the case of Congress. It sounds terribly arrogant to me that some "rich" person in Congress knows what is best for "average" Americans.

Families are different as well. Some families have many children, others have none. Some families have medical problems, others have none. Some families live in urban areas, others in rural areas. Some families are well educated, others are not. Some families have strong family structures, others do not. The list goes goes on forever in ways that people and families differ. There is no average family or average person, only families and people with vastly different needs and wants.

Congress tries to put us all in a box and classify us in some form or fashion. They do this so they can tell us what is best for our families. However, there is no way they can possibly know what is best for each of us because we are all different. We all value things differently and we are all at different stages in life. The only person that knows what is best for you is you. Frankly, I am tired of hearing how our elected officials know what is best for us and passing legislation telling us how to live our lives according to their perceived notion about what is best.

Congressmen do not know how to spend my money better than I do (i.e. taking over 33% of my earned income and spending it in "my" best interest). Congressmen do not know what is best for my children when it relates to health care, education, or social policy. Everyone knows what is best for them and we should all be allowed to make those choices. We all will fail to make good decisions at times, but we get to learn from those mistakes and improve, quickly. When congress makes mistakes it turns into finger pointing and blame, not learning.

As we enter into the final stretches of the Presidential election, we should all be asking ourselves who will try to run my life and take away my personal liberties? What candidate thinks they know what is best for me and limit my choices?