To the Editor:

In answer to the statement made two weeks ago by Lisa Weeks as to why working people would ever vote Republican, I would suggest this: simply, to keep on working.

The Republican approach to government is that it should be smaller; that citizens should keep more of their hard-earned money; and that taxes should be lower so that businesses can expand and create the jobs we so desperately need. Republicans believe in an America where people reach goals by honest work, by doing for themselves what they can. They believe in a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” They believe in encouraging initiative. This sounds like a working class party to me.

 It is very inaccurate to label the Republican Party as the “rich man’s party.” That very idea is one of the ways Obama has divided this country and created class warfare. Rewarding effort and success is a good thing, not an evil thing. Lowering taxes even for “the rich” (many of whom risked their time and savings and worked hard to get to where they are today) encourages business to expand. When more people earn a paycheck the government takes in more revenue and fewer people have to depend on welfare.

As Lisa points out, Roosevelt put people to work. But this adminsistration is expanding programs that keep people in poverty. Yes, we need to help those who need it, but the best way to do that is to provide those who can with a way to help themselves. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” This is how the Republican Party favors the little guy. It is the people who have the capital who help the people who don’t, by providing them with jobs.

Democrats look to bigger government to solve our problems. But as Gerald Ford said years ago “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take everything you have.”

Americans value their freedoms and, with expanding government, these are eroding bit by bit each day. The mandate in Obamacare that would force people to do what is against their consciences is a good example. And we see in Greece a preview of what could happen here economically if things don’t change drastically.

So when you go to the polls in November, recall the longstanding 8.2 percent unemployment rate (15 percent if you consider those who have given up looking for work), the massive deficit, the promise of more taxes (with little hope for relief), the high prices of food and gas, the stale economy and the sense of hopelessness that prevails. Three and a half years should be enough to show us where we have gotten and where we will continue to head without a change in direction. It is imperative to give someone else a chance to lead our country and restore hope for America’s future.

Loretta Hastings

Franklin