When I heard the Democrats had taken control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, I immediately lost my appetite. I couldn’t eat my breakfast and the headache I had earlier got worse. Now that Democrats have their “mandate” from the American public, not only will my appetite suffer, but so will my wallet.

Democrats propose the following:

A boost to the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage would be the first since 1997. Democratic leaders have proposed raising it in stages to $7.25 an hour.

The attempt to raise the minimum wage to help the poor is an absurd idea at best. Not only does this increase the amount of dollars employers must pay out to workers, but it takes away natural incentives to hire new employees, increases supply costs, and decreases capital to invest back into business. Price increases will then trickle through the market, triggering inflation and increased unemployment. Sooner or later, the market will hit equilibrium and the same problems Democrats tried to solve with a minimum wage increase will show its ugly head again. This isn’t a conservative scare tactic, it’s simple economics.

…Democrats eager to keep their promises to pass several pieces of legislation in the first 100 hours of business, including…stem cell research funding.

While I don’t see an inherent problem funding stem cell research, Democrats insist the stem cells of study should be embryonic in nature. There are other sources of stem cells besides dead fetuses, including bone marrow and umbilical cord blood. Democrats thus far have not shown they have the capacity to understand that killing a fetus is the same as killing a human life. It’s murder, plain and simple.

Nearly seven of 10 adults, 69 percent, favor the government taking steps to make it easier for people to buy prescription drugs from other countries, where some medicines cost significantly less than in the U.S.

Like many in the United States, I too wish prescription drugs cost less. However, a large cause for outrageous costs is too much government involvement. Instead of promoting market-based and private approaches to medical care, government bureaucrats tie the American public down with needless regulation and paperwork. The movement in Washington is not to give healthcare back to the people, but to strap the people with higher taxes to pay for universal coverage. Just look at John Edwards’ campaign. Anyway, healthcare is NOT a right and according to the U.S. Constitution, purely a state issue.

The Democratic Party agenda has been said to be centrist; its early attempts at legislation will be bills that most of the American public can support. While it may be true that many Americans can see a good side to Democrats’ agenda, the real truth is that their policies will leave nothing but a gap in real Congressional leadership and a hole in your pocketbook.