Before voting ask yourself how you actually live.  You might be surprised at how you live compared to how you vote.  You should always vote the way you live, though.  If you are comfortable in your lifestyle, then you should be comfortable voting that way.  If you aren’t, then you have further questions to ask.

1. Do you live off of a government check or have a government job or do you have a job in the private sector?
2. Do you make your own decisions or let others make them for you?
3. Do you give donations to private charities?
4. Do you only pay your taxes owed or send extra money to the government?
5. Do you handle your own personal issues in life maybe with family and close friends or do you ask for council from your neighbors and community or a government body?
6. Do you allow just anyone to walk into your house or do you lock the door and expect people to knock or call first before coming over?
7. Do you have a fence around your yard or a portion of it?  Do you have a privacy fence?
8. Are you involved in things like the PTA, local community groups, or charities?
9. Do you have a savings account?
10. Do you live on credit or within your means?
11. When people ask you for money do you just give it to them no questions asked?
12. When you loan someone money do you tie certain behaviors to it?
13. Do you hope to be able to pass your property on to your children when you pass on?
14. Do you look for bargains or sales when shopping or do you use coupons?
15. Do you believe your money should be taxed more than once?
16. Do you pay attention to what is taken out of your paycheck in taxes?
17. What percentage of your paycheck should be paid in taxes?
18. Do you think everyone should pay the same percentage in taxes or that the more you make the higher your taxes should be?
19. Do you think anyone should not be taxed?
20. Do you think you should be bailed out of any and all financial risks you take?
21. Would you rather pay into Social Security or have your own private retirement fund?
22. Do you own/drive an SUV or “gas-guzzling” vehicle?
23. Do you bike to work?
24. Do you carpool?
25. Do you recycle?
26. Do you actively hang out with people who have different belief systems than you?
27. Do you put your trust in the people you know or people you’ve never met before?
28. Do you attend church?
29. Do you believe in right and wrong?
30. Do you play games/sports where there is a winner and a loser?
31. Do you believe that global warming is man made or are you not sure all the facts are in, yet?
32. Do you hunt?
33. Would you prefer to send your children to private school if you could afford it?
34. Do you show pride in your country or do you think there is a better country in the world?
35. Do you go to political rallies and/or protests?
36. Do you obey the law and expect those around you to do the same?
37. Do you vote?

There are two choices in all federal elections.  You have the Republican and Democrat parties as your two central choices.  (In some states there are more choices, but they rarely matter.  Maybe that's a shame.)

It doesn’t matter who is running.  It doesn’t matter what side the individuals take on social issues.  It doesn’t matter which side the individuals take on any specific war.  It doesn’t matter what the individuals think of the economy.  It doesn’t matter what the individuals think about much of anything, to be honest.  They are going to vote with their party on most everything and there won’t be much crossing of party lines.  That just happens to be a fact of life in government.  Look at the two current candidates for president and see how many times each has voted against their own party.

The two choices come down to each party’s core belief system.  If you believe that government can solve most problems, then you vote one way.  If you believe that people have most of the answers to their own problems, then you vote the other way.

There are key phrases to tell you which party is which.

If you hear talk of raising taxes, discontinuing tax cuts, taxing the rich, taxing big business or big oil, or phrases such as these, then you are hearing someone say that government has the solutions and they want your hard earned money.  If you hear someone talk about starting new programs, creating new government offices, and growing government, then you are hearing someone say that government has the solutions.  If you hear someone talk about job creation, creating incentives for social change, and additional regulation of business, then that person believes government is the solution.  When you hear a candidate talk about making new laws because current laws aren’t sufficient, then be aware that this candidate is telling you that government has the answers.

If you hear someone talk about tax cuts across the board, continuing or increasing tax credits, or anything that means people of any stature get to keep more of their hard earned money, then you are hearing someone who believes people have the answers to their own financial woes.  If you hear someone talk about cutting government funding to certain programs, closing certain government offices, and reducing the size of government, then you are hearing someone state that government is not the answer to most of societies ills.  If you hear someone talk about reducing government regulation on business, that person believes that people are the solution.