How Obama should fix the economy

Monroe with wife, Heather; and children Campbell, 11; Simon, 8; Elise, 6; and Grace, 4

I am a business owner with multiple small businesses. I'm a father of four. I'm divorced and remarried. And I'm directly in the bull's-eye of the changes that our next President is about to make.

From the credit crisis that nearly bankrupted my home-medical-equipment company to the tax changes that could radically change the plans of my financial service clients, I see the impact of our country's fiscal irresponsibility everywhere.

I service Medicare recipients and know firsthand the dire impact of competitive bidding and the cutbacks in reimbursement that have challenged my company. I advise people in the field of financial services and understand the complexity and disparity of the tax code and how it needs [to be] fixed. I own property and am frightened of the additional taxes I will pay when I sell. I have prudently extended myself and my family to take the risks that make a better life for my children and yet, that risk seems to be for naught....

Where do we go from here? Additional taxation will only drive the ultra-wealthy out of this country. The hard-working affluent will get socked with so many additional taxes that they will be disincentivised to accumulate wealth and everyone else will look to the government for direction and financial aid. We will slip into an economic model that cannot sustain the American Dream that this country was founded upon and our poor, elderly and disabled will suffer even more. Increased taxes do not create jobs, stimulate economic growth or promote freedom. Increased bureaucracy does not engender a culture of discovery, creation and reward.

I do not agree with the excessive spending done under the Bush administration, but I also recognize that it is both political parties' obligation and duty to stop it and create a better future.

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