Election Day 2008 is here. My civic duty is done. I voted before going to work today. It didn't take too long although the lines were definitely longer than last year. While MA will probably end up for Obama, since we seem to choose democrats for president (although not necessarily for governor, weird) we do have three touchy issues on our ballot this year.
1. Whether or not to reduce the state income tax to 0. Let's go ask the other states that have no income tax how that is working out for them. Florida? How are those public services going? Does anyone want to be able to afford a college education in this state? How about decent teachers in the public school system? This is a bad idea. We can't afford it. But last time it was on the ballot it got 45% approval. Sigh.
2. Whether or not to reduce the crime of having less than an ounce of marijuana from a felony to a fine. I am conflicted. Does this particular problem clog the courts and the prisons? Probably. But is this the right solution? Will it have unexpected repercussions from a drug dealing perspective? My friends from Canada are all like "Oh just vote yes. There are worse crimes out there that need more attention" but they come from a country with a whole different relationship to the ganja than we do.
3. To eliminate dog racing in the state. Well I am all for that. I think animal racing in general is a bad idea. But dog racing is so hard on the animals. There have been some ads on TV showing the people that would lose their jobs if this is approved. They say things like "I will lose my home" or "I didn't do anything wrong" or "I have worked there all my life". And maybe those things are true. But dogs, living beings are being mistreated and abused. It is sad. Less than 200 people would eventually lose their jobs as it is phased out. How many dogs will die if it continues?
I almost got to be on TV after voting. The local channel 7 dude was there, but he just finished interviewing someone as I came out, so I missed my chance. Oh well.
If you haven't voted, and you are registered - GO VOTE. Even if the presidential election doesn't motivate you, and it should, your local propositions are too important to ignore. GO VOTE.
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