"We must beware of trying to build a society in which nobody counts for anything except a politician or an official, a society where enterprise gains no reward and thrift no privileges."     Winston Churchill

Churchill was one of the greatest leaders in modern times. His insight into how a government should run, serves as a guidepost to where this country should go as we face the uncertain outcome of this upcoming election.

Put aside the two candidates, their personalities, and their accomplishments, and just look at what type of governance each proposes for this country.  Also forget Party affiliation, and look more at the philosophies of representation--- liberalism versus conservatism. The differences are startling!

In the pure sense, liberals rely on the government to solve their problems, expecting parity and protection in return. They turn to their leadership to alleviate their social ills, ensure equal opportunity, while protecting their civil liberties and human rights. Strict conservatives want less government and assume more personal responsibility to address their ills. Their need for governance is for national defense and the freedom to pursue their life’s goals.

In a larger sense, liberalism has now come to mean more interaction with obligations in the global community with moves toward parity among nations. This means joining into agreements with other nations where the workforce and the consumers of the wealthier nations are committed to sharing their wealth, opportunities and resources in order to achieve a reasonable level of parity. Conservative thinking is to promulgate the priorities of American workers and consumers as well as funding a larger military presence in order to protect their interests.

The advantages of liberalism are the built-in guarantees for individuals who are in need with entitlement programs such as food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, disability and Social Security. Although these programs are designed to help those who can’t help themselves, they do little to incentivize individuals to move out of these programs. Thus, liberalism encourages dependency, while conservatism encourages independence through productivity that raises the standard of living and lowers the need for an income shift from those with more to those with less.  Liberalism discourages entrepreneurial incentive, and independence. Conservatism does the opposite.

This country is the most beneficent in the world, giving billions of dollars in transfer of monies, in-kind services and protection from ongoing threats.  In return, the hope is to maintain positive relationships and improve standards of living. Unfortunately, it does not always work that way. As this country’s trade-balance deficits and national debt escalate, these previous arrangements will have to be renegotiated.

The United States is at a crossroads with this election. The voters may support four more years of continuing on the path of liberalism with increasing dependency on a growing list of entitlement programs, added regulatory restrictions, while being pushed into an increasing dependence on the global economy.  Or the populous could vote to protect the current workforce, through stricter enforcement of immigration laws, decrease in the corporate income tax, renegotiating the NAFTA agreement, and dissolving America’s membership in the TPP.

Will this country continue to concentrate control in the leadership in Washington with its growing list of federal agencies that constrain new businesses so that more fail than succeed; while older more established downsize, move to another country or just close their doors?

Abraham Lincoln, like Churchill, believed in a people’s government. His closing words of the Gettysburg Address read, “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

This election boils down to a crucial decision; more concentration of power in the government or turning some of that control back over to the people. Don’t vote for or against the messenger, just the message!