Neilson: I wouldn't vote
Janet Neilson says she'd abstain from voting
Janet Neilson - November 3, 2008
If I had the choice to vote in the U.S. election on Tuesday, I would abstain.
This is not because I am lazy or apathetic. I believe that both Obama and McCain would steer the country in different but equally bad directions. Many people are calling this the most important election in their lifetimes but to me the the vote looks like a choice between more of the same and more of the same. If I were to take time out of my day to go and vote for a major candidate, I would be voting to make life less free and prosperous for the people of America and so, acting in good conscience, I wouldn't do it.
Some libertarians are making the case for voting for McCain as a vote for divided power. I like divided power, but don't buy the argument. McCain has shown a willingness to work with Democrats and it's likely that many bad policies will still get through -- in fact it's pretty likely that most of the policies that would be blocked would be the ones that I actually agree with McCain on.
Were I forced to align myself with a particular party, it would be the Libertarian Party since its policy positions are generally pretty solid. That said, while many of his positions are good, I disagree with Bob Barr strongly on the War on Drugs, which I believe puts a horrendous cost on Americans both in terms of funding it and in terms of perpetuating organized and violent crime, and also on immigration, where I believe his position ignores important human rights issues. He's also not on the record as a strong supporter of free trade, which is another important issue to me, and so (even ignoring the argument listed below) I wouldn't make the trip out to vote for him.
The economist in me would also add that the expected benefit of voting (the chance that my vote would make a difference in the result for the state and that my state would make a difference in who assumes the presidency and that my chosen candidate would actually make changes that they had promised and they wouldn't then enact other bad policies that would negate the gains) is extremely low, especially when compared to how much time I would likely have to invest in order to vote in the first place if I were voting on Tuesday with the lineups predicted.
Janet Neilson is a director with the Institute for Liberal Studies.