Will you vote in your own self-interest this year?

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As Election Day Approaches

To allow candidates the right to respond to criticisms about their candidacy before Election Day, the last day Independent Newsmedia will publish new election-related letters in our weekly print editions is Oct. 21, and the last day they will publish online is Oct. 27. Candidates may submit a 150-word reply addressing criticisms only and should email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org along with their name, address, contact number and the headline of the letter they’re addressing.

OPINION — Why do we continue to vote against our own self-interest? Is it because we are from a family of life-long Republicans or Democrats, or do we pay attention to political commercials that are fabricated and paid for by billionaires? Are we pouring all of our attention into media that manufactures outrage dividing us as a nation?

We have a president that starts wars without the consent of Congress and a congressional majority that lets him get away with it. He has alienated our allies by threatening them, setting up tariffs trying to coerce them, and in doing so he has harmed farmers and thousands of small and medium- sized businesses.

He seems more concerned in erecting monuments to himself than working to make life better for Americans. The majority party in Congress rammed through the One Big Beautiful Bill and it permanently cut taxes for the richest 10% of Americans and cut benefits for the poorest. America is currently an out-of-control dumpster fire, in my opinion.

In Sun City West, most of us had better-paying jobs, bought houses when they were affordable, sold them at a profit and didn’t pay an ungodly amount for our education.

We had pensions and great retirement plans and are now receiving Social Security and have Medicare, Medicaid or VA benefits. We aren’t feeling as much economic pain as our children and grandchildren are.

When voting this year, please consider what would be best for this country’s children and grandchildren. I believe if people vote for a Republican this year, even on a state or local level, we will be in exactly the same place as we are now and quite possibly much worse. Please, this year vote to get us out of this mess.

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