Will Anderson

Yesterday marked a historical moment for our nation. I am proud to live in a country that can elect someone to our most honored office without regard to race. The color of a man’s skin, though so trivial, has divided our country for centuries. I’m glad to be able to witness this great step our country has taken in the journey toward acceptance and inclusion of everyone, regardless of race.

My excitement and optimism ends here.

Our country seems on the verge of economic collapse, reminiscent of the Great Depression of the 20′s. Stocks are at all time lows, jobs are disappearing like rubber balls at a magic show, and foreclosures and bankruptcies seem imminent. Into this picture steps a man who promises hope and change. We don’t have to settle for the status quo. We can affect our future, and we can do it together. Our nation, looking for a savior in our time of trouble turns to this voice of hope and promise. We want change, and we feel that we’ve found the person who can bring it to us.

What concerns me about this change is both the what and how. I’m not opposed to change. I feel that change can be good on many levels, but I’m choosy about my change. One place I enjoy seeing change is in software. I often install beta versions of software before the stable releases are made because I’m excited to see what changes have been implemented (I’m writing this post from Google Chrome for example). If, on the other hand, I install the beta version of a program and I find that some part of it majorly degrades my experience, I’m very quick to go back to what I was using before. Again, I’m not opposed to change, but I don’t like change just for the sake of it.

Let’s analyze some of the ‘whats‘ and ‘hows‘ shall we?

What: New health care plans including expanded eligibility for Medicaid and Government funded insurance.

How: This new plan is estimated to cost the federal government approximately 1.17 trillion dollars. Federal health care costs will raise to around 2.7 trillion dollars a year by 2010. This cost will ultimately fall to those of the working age (about 60% of the population). We’ll assume that other plans have created jobs for everyone and that there is no unemployment, so everyone who can work is working. With about 60% of the population, or 180 million people paying for the cost of federally funded health care, each person will be paying just under 15 thousand dollars a year. Now the plan suggests that these costs will actually be paid by large companies, but ultimately, this will simply mean smaller pay checks for employees… or that companies will have to cut back on jobs and unemployment will be created. I’ll leave it to the reader to determine whether this cost is worth the “benefit” of government funded health care.

What: More research, innovation, and jobs.

How: The government will support company and university research to create new technologies and innovations, creating jobs and increasing the standard of living for American families. Another part of this plan promises publicly available broadband access in every community across the nation. While this will give rise to technology innovations and hopefully to an increased number of jobs, it will ultimately cost us more than if these services were provided by a private investor. The reason for this is that the administration assigned to these projects by the government usually has little to no experience in the fields they are investigating. They are administrators, not scientists or engineers. Because of this, it’s harder for them to determine the feasibility of a project proposal or innovation idea. Private investors, on the other hand, seem to have more people who are experienced in the science and engineering industries, so they are better able to determine whether a project will succeed or fail. Only investing in projects that are likely to succeed cuts back on costs and delivers cheaper products to the customer. Lower production costs will also allow employers to hire more workers, increasing employment.

What: Civil rights reform.

How: “Overturn court rulings that curtail women’s and minority’s rights to challenge pay discrimination”. Pass a “Fair Pay Act” ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work. (I feel that these are great and I applaud equal opportunity employment for women and minorities). Pass an “Employment Non-Discrimination Act” that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. This will effectively tie the hands of employers, making them choose a homosexual over a heterosexual employee for fear of being accused of discrimination.

Conclusion

These are just three of the changes promised by our next president. He has many other changes he plans to make during his 4 years in office. I’ve just highlighted a few that I feel are particularly alarming.

Now to the real purpose of this (rather long) post. How do I as a Christian respond to the results of this presidential election? I could throw my hands up in the air and complain about how unfair the world is, but that is not what God expects from me. Here are some thoughts that put things in perspective for me. I think the may also be helpful for Christians who feel that our next president will be the savior for our nation.

First, my biblical duty is not really to elect my nation’s leaders, but to pray for them.

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.“

I Samuel 12:23 (NIV)

Second, regardless of who our nation’s leader is, it is my biblical duty to submit to them, because they were given their authority by God.

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.“

Romans 13:1 (NIV)

Third, because our nation’s leaders are really elected by God, they are under his control. They cannot do anything He doesn’t allow.

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD;
       he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”

Proverbs 21:1 (NIV)

Finally:

I welcome thoughts and criticisms of anyone, whether you agree with me, or have a totally opposing view. Feel free to comment, please just be courteous to me and anyone else who comments. Thanks for reading!