Why I Voted for A Change In Leadership Today

Today I voted for a change in leadership. As I have looked back over the past four years, considered the state of our country and my own personal family's situation, I came to the conclusion that the President has not convinced me that the next four years will be any different than the last four years. Consider just these few facts:

 A gallon of regular gasoline the day President Obama was inaugurated was $1.79 on average in the U.S. Today that price is $3.59, a 100.6% increase. The number of food stamp recipients has risen since President Obama took office from 31,983,716 to 43,200,878, a 35.1% jump. Long term unemployment soared 146.2% during the same 32 month period from 2,600,000 to 6,400,000. American citizens living in poverty have risen 9.5% from 39,800,000 to 43,600,000, and the number of unemployed has jumped almost 25% from 11,616,000 to 14,485,000 as of August 31, 2011. The number of unemployed blacks has risen from 12.6% at the end of George Bush’s term to 15.8% today, a 25.4% increase, and finally, our national debt is up 34.4% from 10.627 trillion to 16,278 trillion. I am not an economist, but even I know that the U.S. cannot sustain this level of debt indefinitely. 

There are many more areas I could write about, but I want to keep this short. My own experience in these past four years has been 14 months of unemployment and under-employment. Because the church I worked for is exempt from paying into the unemployment insurance fund, my family had no "safety net" during those 14 months. In spite of that, we did not seek any governmental assistance. I am presently stuck with a house I can't sell because the real estate market is still incredibly depressed, and we're going "into the hole" by $1,500 a month, paying for a mortgage and keeping the utilities on so our house can be shown for sale, while maintaining another household in the new state we are living in. While I am incredibly thankful for the full time job I have, my salary is 23% lower, because most companies have hundreds of applicants for most jobs, and therefore, pay and benefits can be reduced.

I know that our trust cannot be in man, and the Scriptures admonish me to pray for our leaders, regardless of their political affiliations. However, presented with a clear choice, I made my choice. I will pray for whomever is elected, and trust God for better days ahead.