Change. It is what we heard in 2008, but almost four years later the only change most Americans have seen has been in the wrong direction.

When Obama took office he inherited a national debt of $10 trillion, while currently our national debt has soared to more than $15 trillion.

With this gloomy outlook, Republicans are now hoping for some real change in 2012. We don’t care which Republican takes office, just as long as it is not Obama.

One of the front-runners, and my personal favorite, is Rick Perry. Perry has a track record that shows he is ready to take on the job.

Since becoming governor in Texas, he has cut the budget by $15 million and citizens in Texas now have the second lowest government debt per capita in the whole United States.

He has a plan to lower taxes on all fronts and save our country money through cutting government salaries and removing earmarks from any bill put on his desk.

Perry also knows a thing or two about creating jobs. Since 2009, the state of Texas has gained more than one million jobs. That is 40 percent of the total that the U.S. has put out as a whole.

He will create jobs by lowering taxes so employers will be able to hire more people and allow America to get back to work. Perry will create these jobs in fields like energy.

Perry will order federal agencies to open American energy fields for exploration and development to end the dependency on foreign oil. He says also that any revenue created from these fields will be used to pay down the national debt and eventually end deficit spending as a whole.

Rick Perry believes in revolutionizing the Internal Revenue Service as we know it, with a 20 percent flat tax that is simple enough to file on a postcard. He also believes that people should be able to choose so they can either choose the flat tax option or stick with their current tax plan.

This tax plan still includes deductions for charitable donations, mortgage interest and state and local taxes. He has speculated this will save Americans up to $483 billion a year in annual compliance.

This plan eats away at lobbyists and big businesses trying to exploit the government by allowing everyone to be on more level playing field in the business world. This plan will save Americans $1 trillion and create more than 2 million jobs.

In the last three years, about 2 million Americans have lost their jobs. More than 40 million Americans have foods stamps as their primary source of food.

The national debt has soared higher than ever before, and for the first time in United States history our credit rating has been downgraded.

We as a country cannot afford another four years of this blatant disregard for the American mind-set, and that is why my vote on Jan, 3 will be for Rick Perry.

Kristin is a freshman, majoring in political science and math. She is involved in debate, Campus Activities Board, Pi Beta Phi and is president of College Republicans.