Posted on 11/21/2008 6:13:07 AM PST by upchuck
The stock market was down another 400 points or so yesterday. People are wondering where in the world this will end. Retirement funds are being devastated. People are losing jobs. The picture certainly isn't rosy right now, and nobody can really explain why. The media, on the other hand, is certain that there is one recent event that is having no effect whatsoever on this economic slide; and that would be the election of Barack Obama.
OK ... why don't you try to put on an investor hat for a moment here. Let's say you're considering getting back in the stock market. You know that some stocks out there are at historic lows, and they're bound to bounce back ... right? So why don't you just take some money out of your savings or out from under your mattress and plow it back into the market?
Let's see if we can find any reasons why you might hesitate.
We have a president-elect who ...
So .. think about it. We've only scratched the surface here. We could also talk about expanding the family leave act and many other little federal anti-business goodies. Invest now? Why? Doesn't it make more sense to wait until you get a true measure of our new anti-capitalist president?... has promised to raise capital gains taxes, perhaps even double them. So this guy is just waiting for you to jump into the stock market and make some money so he can seize a huge portion of it. Why jump now? Obama has been asked if he plans to go forward with his capital gains tax increase, but he's not saying. Just hold off on your investments for a while until he tips his hand. If he goes the tax increase route you might want to consider trying to move your money offshore to grow until he's out of the picture.
... has promised to sign the so-called "Card Check" bill. Now again, you're smarter than the average voter, and you realize that this unionization-through-intimidation idea is going to have an adverse affect on American business. As soon as the bill is signed union thugs (organizers) will start their petition drives at thousands of businesses across the nation. Large businesses and small businesses. America's largest employer, Wal-Mart, will be one of the first targets. You don't know how far this will spread, but you do know that every business that is unionized will be a poor investment for you. So you wait .. you wait to see what is going to happen with card check.
... has promised to raise income taxes on the largest jobs producing segment of our economy, small businesses. During the campaign you heard him say that he would not raise taxes on 95% of small businesses, but you know that most of the jobs rest with the remaining 5%, and that's where most of the new jobs would be created. The ignorant voters bought his 95% line, but you're not that stupid. You saw through his rhetoric. So, again, why jump into the market now? Wait until we see what Obama is going to do with these tax increases on America's jobs-producing machine.
... has promised more business regulation. Obama is no fan of free enterprise. He loves government. Obama believes America is great because of government. You really think you need to wait before you make your investment moves until you see just what regulatory punishment Obama has in mind for the free market.
FYI: Bush didn’t drop interest rates after 9-11.
FReepers know that the present fundamental conditions are not the blame of 0bama personally. But there are others here that are trying to say that his election hasn’t had an impact at all on the forward-looking equity markets. That’s bull. 0bama is quite capable of taking a horrible situation and making it dreadful, just by doing what he has promised.
lol...probably best, since we won’t be allowed to drive automobiles either. However, we won’t have jobs to go to or money for hay..so we might have to keep the option of Bar-B Que pony open.
We do seem to be minimizing the role of W in this debacle. Undoubtedly, he was not a good steward of our financial health and lead o some of the backlash which put the Dims in office. Having an economically bone-headed President for 8 years, who spends a lot more than he takes in, should put a dent in our economy. But instead of a dent, what's happening now is more of a slow-motion train wreck, with a litany of contributory factors to be explored. We tended to review the factors which have a more liberal alignment and skimp on the ones representative of conservative values and free markets. Recently it seems we are more open to investigating all interacting causes, even when some are painful, such as you mention.
“and the ponies will eat rainbows and poop butterflies!”
LOL...but only the Obamatrons will think they are unicorns!
Fannie and Freddie did not cause this...as tempting as it is to blame them. The truth is we were sold a bill of goods-the new economists said we had evolved beyond the need to produce goods...let third world losers do those unimportant jobs. We have a service economy which will lead to great, sustainable prosperity (sarcasm). For a while it worked. During the Clinton years tech propped up this economic model. I believe we were beginning to see real economic problems when 911 hit. As another poster has noted, we threw money at the problem-easy credit let both the government and consumer use debt to finance one of the biggest spending sprees in history. Now, the chickens have come home to roost.
America is essentially bankrupt. We are dangerously close to a deflationary period better known as depression. Our first instinct is to stop spending. Consumers must do this if their jobs are in danger-most people’s jobs are in danger no matter where you work or what your do. However, the government has got to stimulate,stimulate in order to get us out of this mess. Bush was absolutely right to stimulate big after 911. Where he made his mistake was to continue the big spending spree after the crisis was averted. I know many believe the government must reign in spending now and cut taxes, but the opposite is true. We must stimulate this economy massively and pray it works. I love tax cuts. Certainly anything that puts money into people’s pockets will help. No one except the government can spend enough to avert disaster-not private business. If it works, when times are good again, we must resist the temptation to spend and begin paying down the deficits. If we do not take control of our economy-wrest it from the Wall street types, we will become a second rate country in all senses of the word.
Inflating the economy isn’t going to work. What needs to happen is for government to step away and let things sort themselves out. The more it interferes the worse it gets. That said, I do see a role for it. Cut taxes, reduce regulation, reduce spending programs and stop propping up the BS. If bad businesses with bad balance sheets go under then that’s what has to happen. If people need to learn to stop spending what they cannot afford to pay for then that’s life.
You nailed it - and the problem is that it "ain't over yet".
I don't think it's Obama Derangement Syndrome to state that no, we're going to be paying the price four years from now once Obama's short-sighted and stultifying policies not only wreak more havoc than Bush's did, but also cause any possible recovery to grind to a halt. The market knows this, which is why it's downward trend has taken on an even steeper curve since 4 Nov.
The ear rings look like they were made of finger bones wonder who’s fingers.
The closest thing to a pony he's gonna give us is the poop.
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