Dear Editor,
In her student opinion titled “Obama’s platform threatens U.S. foundations,” Arielle Schneider writes Sen. Barack Obama is running on a platform “rife with socialist policies.”  Her solution to our current fiscal problems: Sen. John McCain, a man who “truly gets economics.”

Earlier this month, McCain – and Obama for that matter – voted to approve the $700 billion bailout. Then McCain pitched a $300 billion plan Oct. 8 to help struggling homeowners. In only eight days, McCain has managed to spend $1 trillion. Is this a man who truly advocates “limited government?”

In addition to $700 billion, the bailout package allows Henry Paulson, the Secretary of Treasury, to buy stock in financial institutions – an issue the Bush Administration (and Congress) currently advocates.

Did McCain miss this fine print? Or does he support a broader government role in our private bank system?  I don’t know which one terrifies me more – his support of a socialist state or his inability to read a bill he has voted on.

“Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and exclusive monopoly,” Carl Marx wrote in the “Communist Manifesto.

It is one of 10 measures to be used in the creation of a Communist state – a measure both Republicans and Democrats currently support, even McCain. Is this the “true hope and true change” we crave?

Students, instead of taking Schneider’s word – or other writers for that matter – I recommend putting in the time to research and learn more about your presidential pick before you vote this November.

James Sirois
Junior, Political Science