Time to Vote

 Is everybody as sick of the campaign commercials as I am?! Even though we are getting blasted from every possible angle and can hardly wait for the elections to be over, we absolutely must study the issues and take the time to vote.

 The presidential campaign is very important, but don’t forget about the other races. Obviously, McCain and Obama have huge budgets and advertising campaigns to match, and the senate races are spending ad dollars like there’s no tomorrow. But don’t forget to study up on our state, county and city candidates as well. Whether your business succeeds or fails is sometimes the result of how one of our “little” city council members votes. A candidate for county commissioner or city council may have only a small campaign budget. That means that their best advertising will be yard signs and maybe a few radio ads, forcing us to do some actual research and maybe an in-person interview with the candidate.

 I personally am a free market supporter - the less government and government intervention the better. The free market will reward good business and punish bad business. If your prices are higher than your competitors, the free market will correct that (not the government). If you don’t treat your customers well, the free market will correct that by drying up your customer base. When bad business gets a government bailout we have detoured from the free market and are on the road toward socialism.

 As many of you know, I have been a contractor and landlord here for about 18 years, and do most of my business in the city limits of Bend. In the past 13 years or so I have built the same duplex plan six different times in Bend, and every time I build it, the city has required me to make different changes to it. Each time it gets more complicated and more expensive to build. Last year’s duplex was the worst ever when the building permit totaled more than $32,000 and they made me add windows and trim where I didn’t want them, but had to anyway. (I used to have hair when I started building!)

 What’s even more frustrating is that the same people at the city will turn right around and cry for “affordable housing” when we as landlords here in Central Oregon are trying to provide affordable rental housing, and could be more successful at it if the cost of building didn’t constantly go up.

 In summary, study the issues and know where the candidates stand on them, and then vote your conscience. Our city, state and country need concerned, involved people now more than ever, and your vote can make all the difference.

See you next month

Terry Luelling