Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Dear co-worker, While we are typically told before each Presidential election that it is important and historic, I believe the upcoming election will determine what kind of America future generations will inherit. If we elect candidates who want to spend hundreds of billions in borrowed money on costly new subsidies for a few favored cronies, put unprecedented regulatory burdens on businesses, prevent or delay important new construction projects and excessively hinder free trade, then many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences. ... It is essential that we are all informed and educated voters. Our future depends on it.This is why we have a secret ballot, folks. There's always been pressure from people in power to force those in their employ or otherwise answerable to them to vote according to their instructions. The biggest problem with this is the fact that while they are allowed to proselytize in favor of their own issues and candidates, they also have the freedom to restrict their employees from doing the same. They can fire you for it --- there's no such thing as free speech in the corporation. But no matter how much they try to pressure their employees to vote their own way, they will never be know who followed their orders and who didn't. And that's because some people long ago who truly valued liberty and understood what it meant, also understood that you cannot trust those in authority not to use their power for their own purposes. They knew that Democracy simply cannot exist without the secret ballot. *In case you are wondering about the "No on Prop 39" ad at the beginning of the Chris Hayes segment, Credo's Progressive California voter guide is urging a yes vote. Here's the LA Times editorial board explanation for why they are urging yes as well.