So, I think I might actually vote for Bernie Sanders. Don't hold me to that, you know, but there is something kind of refreshing about the guy. You get the sense that he's the kind of politician we haven't had for a bit. He reminds me of Dave, when the guy brings in his accountant buddy to fix the books in the White House. I like that he's a pain in the ass.
It may sound weird for a guy who makes $150k a year, but I'm pretty ready for socialism, honestly. Yes, it was quite a shock to see 48% taxes taken out of my signing bonus, but honestly the only reason I really cared was that I had debts to pay off; debts that arose largely from not being able to pay for things like health care and rent. Point is, I'd rather just not have the debts or the money.
Someday, my goal is to teach, and when I make that decision, I'd like to not have to think about money as a big part of it. Twice now I've tried to become a teacher. Once, I sat through a semester of classes in Early Childhood Education, to get a license to teach preschool. I discovered to my chagrin that the average salary of a preschool teacher in San Francisco was about $28,000. You can't live here for that. Nobody could. So I asked my fellow students what they were doing there. Almost every single one said that she (they were all women) had a husband who made enough to support them. :( The second time around, I applied to and got into a very prestigious teacher training program at Stanford. I even went down for the "sell weekend". As I sat there, I added it up in my head: approximately $100k in lost wages, and $80k to attend the program. In one year I would spend $180k to become a teacher, and go from being financially solvent to massively in debt for the rest of my life. And so, I didn't pull the trigger.
I would love for somebody to just tell me: "hey, be a contributing member of society, and we'll take care of education, health care, and a place to live. the rest is up to you". I'd love that. For someone who specializes in anxiety, that sounds like a dream come true. I want to be ambitious and successful, yes, but my ambition is to climb mountains, make some woman very happy, get in awesome shape, have a collection of awesome friends, etc., etc. Not to make a big pile of cash.
So, yeah, Bernie, let's do this thing. Maybe land of the free means free to do our own thing, and maybe the best way to do that is to let go of control a little bit.
P.S. I reserve the right to change my mind. :)