To the editor:

All my life I’ve heard the expression “voting with your pocketbook.” If you’re concerned about your money, you will vote Republican because they are conservative with your money. Here are some examples:

Under the present administration we have seen in Kansas double-digit rises in health care costs for the last three years. It was announced recently that Medicare part B deductibles will be raised 17 percent, way beyond inflation and any cost-of-living increase retirees will receive. Many stock market investors and retirement plans hooked to the market have lost millions. The price of gasoline has skyrocketed in the last year with no end in sight. Two-hundred-billion plus of our tax money has gone to a war and into the pockets of a few large corporations with proven ties to the administration.

Taxes have been lowered. My personal income tax cut amounted to around $2 a paycheck or $1 a week. My wife’s amounted to around 25 cents a week. This doesn’t even begin to cover the other increases that affect my pocketbook. As you can easily see, there is no excess money left over to “trickle down.” You have to ask yourself, “Am I financially better off now than I was four years ago?” I’d have to say I’m worse off.

I guess I will “vote with my pocketbook” and vote for the Democrats.

Michael Irvin,

Lecompton