If you want a good shock, look at the government spending vs. GDP in Woodrow Wilsons time. It was 3%, and he felt that was too high and Americans could not live with that for long. It is now in the mid 30% range, with many people running for president promising to balance the budget (not with spending cuts, but with increased revenues), increase spending on the programs we currently have, and adding every single person in America (citizen or not) on governmental healthcare system. That mid 30% range is going to go up hard and fast. That means they are going to raise our taxes even harder and faster. That means we have less money to spend as we see fit. That means the people who are already having financial trouble is going to have even more trouble, such as not paying for their house or car. We are already on the brink of a recession, what will happen if that many people start to make even less and start to get foreclosed on? If you think the housing market is soft now, wait until the government gets even more money from us and foreclosures go up another 25%. If the housing market gets much worse, we may see a bank problem this country has not seen since the Great Depression. This election cycle is very important to vote for the right people just for the financial future of this country. I know many people are voting for the candidate that promises them the most, but I am voting for the candidate that is promising me the least, but giving us the freedom to do what we were designed to do, which happens to be the best thing for the citizens of this wonderful country as well as this country's future.