It's the economy, DYLAN FRENCH!

That's right, underneath what most people believe is the most important thing in selecting a political leader, it's not just social issues, it's the economy. And as of late, our economy isn't flourishing nearly as much as we would hope. There is, however, a way of getting ourselves out of this mess, and while I'm not an economic expert, here are a couple of ideas that I think would greatly benefit us.

From a long-haired hooligan such as myself, I'm sure that you all would expect this first suggestion, but once you can get past stereotypes, the legalization of marijuana would be a huge boon to our economy. If marijuana were introduced into the market we would have a whole new industry at our hand, and a lot less senseless crime. There would be significantly reduced activity in the black market, and the drug itself would be made safer because it would be regulated by FDA mandates, also meaning that it would be less of a gateway drug to harder drugs because there would be no chance of those drugs being laced in the marijuana. Not only that, jobs would be created through the industry, and it would be a strictly American product because it is illegal in so many other countries and the jobs cannot be outsourced. I could go on a moral justification on why it should be legalized, but this is more about the economic standpoint.

Aside from that point, another important change to make would be to cut Social Security, and if not just by a significant amount, completely rid of it. At first, such a drastic suggestion would seem to set people off in anger, especially leftists, but when you think about the facts, it doesn't seem like such an awful idea: it takes around a fluctuating 21% of the Federal Budget, and you literally get less out of what you put in. One of the only intelligent things to ever come from Rick Perry's flapping mouth is that Social Security is a "Ponzi Scheme." And we don't necessarily have to totally get rid of it, but what bugs me is that there is not way to opt out of it. If I have the sense to save money on my own, I should be able to, and that's where my problem with it lies.